Long-time PennLive outdoors writer Marcus Schneck captured Pennsylvania’s rich menagerie of birds, wildlife, fish and critters of all kinds – not with traps, hooks, bait or weapon – but with words.
Schneck wrote millions of them, churning out thousands of stories, columns and newsletters running the gamut of his wide-ranging interests and packed with his astute expertise over the course of a 26-year career at PennLive and The Patriot-News. He ranked as the Keystone State’s preeminent outdoors journalist.
Schneck, 66, died Tuesday night after being hospitalized with a sudden ailment. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jill Caravan, and a son, Casey Caravan Schneck of Hamburg, Pa. Services will be planned at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, or a conservation organization of one’s choice.
“He found a home in the position he loved,” wife Jill said of her husband’s decades of outdoors coverage for PennLive and The Patriot-News. “He knew just about everything there was to know about wildlife and the outdoors, especially in Pennsylvania, and was always willing to share his knowledge in formal programs or just in conversation.”
One of those he shared his passion with is son Casey, now a staffer with the Keystone Trails Association.
“I didn’t get to grow up quite as wild as he did, but he was my outdoor mentor for sure,” Casey said. “I used to go along with some of his sportsmen stories as a kid.”
Added Jill: “He was just wonderful. He added a lot of energy to our lives.”
Schneck went far beyond the usual hunting and fishing coverage to pen poignant columns on the exquisite beauty of bird-watching, the well-earned rewards of gardening, the leg-burning satisfaction of hiking, and almost anything in between. He even managed to do some serious reporting on the ongoing quests to unravel mysteries of Bigfoot and UFOs -- something of a cottage industry in parts of Pa.
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Schneck set out to do nothing short of bringing the entire expanse of Pennsylvania’s great outdoors to his legion of loyal readers.
“Everything from birding our forests to paddling our streams to cozy relaxing in a rustic state park cabin to watching the winter sunrise from a deer stand, ‘Outdoor Pennsylvania’ will take readers there,” Schneck wrote as he launched a PennLive newsletter in 2021. “There are few outdoor pursuits that the Keystone State fails to offer, or that I’ve tried at least a few times, and this weekly newsletter will explore them all.”
Schneck, a 1978 Shippensburg University grad, never stopped exploring and bringing those outdoor adventures to his readers.
“Marcus was a champion of all things outdoors, from hunting to bird-watching to gardening,” PennLive’s Vice President of Content Burke Noel said.
“Whether through his stories on PennLive and in the Patriot-News, the dozens of books he wrote on outdoor topics, or his guest appearances on our Today in PA Podcast, Marcus forged a bond with his readers.”
Marcus established that bond with his shrewd knowledge of every strain of Pennsylvania’s indigenous species – and the skills required to meet them in their natural habitats. But it was his love of nature and his passion for sustainably interacting with it on all levels that sealed his relationship with legions of hunters, fishing enthusiasts, sportsmen, conservationists and lovers of all things outdoors.
Above all, he was one of them.
Marcus SchneckTHE PATRIOT-NEWS
Authoritative, yet approachable, Marcus was a minor celebrity at the annual Eastern Sports and Outdoor expo held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. He was respected by readers for the reverence he displayed for all wildlife, the traditions of hunting and fishing, and the imperative to preserve it all for future generations. Pennsylvania’s great outdoors were his church, and the stories and columns he penned were his way of proselytizing the importance of conserving our natural resources and revering the sanctity of all wildlife.
He loved it. He lived it. And this shined brightly in everything he wrote.
“He always brought an extra dose of enthusiasm,” Noel said. “He obviously loved the topics he wrote about and wanted to share that passion with readers, friends and colleagues. He was always willing to try something new, whether it was launching a weekly outdoors newsletter or writing about Bigfoot for PennLive’s Paranormal PA series.”
Sports and outdoors experts recognized one of their own.
“Marcus Schneck was one of the most respected outdoor journalists in the state,” said Tim Schaeffer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. “He always had the best interests of his readers in mind was never afraid to ask tough, probing questions to make sure anglers and boaters were as informed as possible. Marcus’ reporting was as reliable as the coming of the next fishing season, and the conservation landscape here in the Commonwealth will not be the same without him. Personally, I will miss him as a trusted colleague and friend.”
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Added Travis Lau, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission:
“Marcus was a respected writer and a trustworthy counterpart for his sources. We at the Game Commission could always count on him to get things right. And many of us here worked closely with him over the years because he worked so hard and stayed so busy. Marcus always was paying attention to what was going on in Pennsylvania’s outdoors and ready to ask the tough questions. He did this all because he cared deeply about wildlife and its conservation, and the hunters and trappers who stayed up-to-date with happenings through his writing. He will be deeply missed by all of those he impacted.”
Among his colleagues at PennLive, Schneck was known for his understated, humble demeanor, a dry sense of humor, eagerness to tackle any story and willingness to commiserate over never-ending ambitions to craft the perfect sentence.
Said long-time PennLive writer Ivey DeJesus:
“He was the most affable person, generous with his time, his knowledge and his passion for the natural world. I will miss our email exchanges in which he always talked me off the ledge with regards to invading garden pests or wildlife. He will be missed.”
And when there was a Christmas fund drive for a needy family, Schneck was more than happy to throw in some cash at the office. But he quipped to former Patriot-News staffer Tom Flynn who was organizing the benefit that if he had a little more notice, he would have gladly shot some wild turkeys to add to the holiday bounty.
“It would have been great. It would have been different from what you get at Giant,” said Flynn, a former sports copywriter who worked with Schneck for 20 years. “He certainly would have been capable of doing it. Just a gem of a guy.”
In addition to his nearly 27 years at PennLive and The Patriot-News, Schneck was the author of two-dozen outdoors books, including ‘Backroads of Pa.’, ‘Country Towns of Pa.’, ‘Attracting Wildlife to Your Yard’, ‘The Birdfeeder Guide’, and ‘Creating a Butterfly Garden.’
Outdoors writer Marcus Schneck. March 11, 2021 Sean Simmers |ssimmers@pennlive.com
He was a member of the Pa. Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and was appointed by the governor to the first Pa. Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing, and Conservation.
Yet according to the self-deprecating Schneck, he wasn’t even the most accomplished outdoorsman in his own family. That honor belonged to his older brother, Bruce, of whom Marcus once said, “He was the preeminent fly fisherman in Pennsylvania and I credit him with everything I know.”
Much of his boyhood was spent in the woods by his home in Muir near Tower City, where he was free to explore all the wonders of the outdoors, his wife said. Among his writings is a series of articles about “Growing Up Wild,” which can be found on his website www.marcusschneck.com.
“He talked about that place all the time. He had nothing but good memories of his childhood,” wife Jill said. “His father spent a lot of time mentoring him and his older brother. He had no complaints.”
Schneck never lost that boyhood wonder for nature. He spent his life living and breathing the great Pennsylvania outdoors and its endless offerings. He saw our state’s natural bounty as a true treasure and a sacred trust. He sought to safeguard it for countless generations to come.
Said Schneck in 2021: “There are very few spots in Pennsylvania where I have not been in pursuit of some outdoor story, from the shores of Lake Erie to the wilderness of the Pennsylvania Elk Range to a bear den in the Poconos to shad fishing on the Delaware River.”
Well-traveled, outgoing and engaging, Schneck was always able to bring something new to even hardcore nature lovers, while facilitating accessible introductions to whatever outdoor passion newcomers hoped to pursue.
“He’s going to be missed,” Flynn said. “He was an evangelist for the outdoors in a genial kind of way. He was always just a kid at heart who loved being outside. And he was a really good writer and really good communicator. He was such a great voice for people who really enjoyed the outdoors, all aspects of it.”
Pennsylvania’s wildlife, its sportsmen’s communities, its natural resources and its undimmed outdoors offerings are the richer for Marcus Schneck’s lifetime of efforts -- and now the poorer for the loss of his voice, passion and imagination.
“He always had a million ideas, and unfortunately, we will never know how many interesting stories were still to come from his notes about topics such as nature, environment, wildlife, hunting, fishing, conservation, sustainability, wild foods, gardening, travel, and even Bigfoot and other cryptozoology topics,” wife Jill said.
Here are more recent stories by Marcus Schneck:
Backyard feeders welcome but not essential for winter bird migration
Deer hunters on the move early Saturday, despite comfortable conditions
Chestnut Ridge, ‘The Twilight Zone of Pennsylvania,’ is the setting for strangeness
Thanksgiving wishbone has dual role as winter forecaster, folklore says