L. M. Boyd
Encyclopedia
Louis Malcolm Boyd, popularly known as L. M. Boyd (June 9, 1927 in Spokane, Washington
, USA
– January 22, 2007, in Seattle) was a newspaper
columnist
whose nationally syndicated
column was a collection of miscellaneous trivia
l and amusing facts.
Boyd was raised in Chimacum
and Bremerton, Washington
. He joined the Army at the age of 16 and worked for the Stars and Stripes
.
After having worked at the (Spokane) Spokesman-Review
, the New York Post
, the San Francisco Chronicle
and San Francisco Examiner, and the Houston Chronicle
, in 1963 he moved to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
, where he began his trivia column.
The column ran locally under the name Mike Mailway, the name Mailway having been derived from the digits in Boyd's telephone number at the Post-Intelligencer. In 1968 it was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle
, where it was renamed The Grab Bag, the name by which it is most commonly known, though it ran under other titles in other markets. It eventually appeared in nearly 400 newspapers. Grab Bag often featured the occasional asides of "Our Love and War Man," a character that presented items developed by him with his wife, Patricia.
Mr. Boyd was "Love" and his wife "War" -- although his wife Patricia maintained it was the other way around -- he told Chronicle writer Sam Whiting in 2000.
The column led to the formation of Crown Syndicate by Boyd and his wife, which went on to offer several other columns and puzzles.
The couple met in 1960, when Mr. Boyd was writing a column for the Houston Chronicle called Dial Watchem, which fielded reader complaints about broken signs and potholes. He had hired Patricia as an assistant. They were married 45 years and had six children.
Boyd announced his retirement at the end of 2000, but popular demand brought the column back for a few more years. The final column officially ran on August 7, 2004, when Boyd was 77.
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
– January 22, 2007, in Seattle) was a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
whose nationally syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
column was a collection of miscellaneous trivia
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
l and amusing facts.
Boyd was raised in Chimacum
Chimacum, Washington
Chimacum is an unincorporated community in eastern Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It lies on the Olympic Peninsula. It was named after the Chimakum group of Native Americans that lived there until the late 19th century.Chimacum is the home of Chimacum Schools' main campus, which...
and Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
. He joined the Army at the age of 16 and worked for the Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
.
After having worked at the (Spokane) Spokesman-Review
Spokesman-Review
The Spokesman-Review is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, where it is the city's only daily publication. It has the third highest readership among daily newspapers in Washington, with most of its readership base in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.-History:The...
, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and San Francisco Examiner, and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, in 1963 he moved to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
, where he began his trivia column.
The column ran locally under the name Mike Mailway, the name Mailway having been derived from the digits in Boyd's telephone number at the Post-Intelligencer. In 1968 it was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, where it was renamed The Grab Bag, the name by which it is most commonly known, though it ran under other titles in other markets. It eventually appeared in nearly 400 newspapers. Grab Bag often featured the occasional asides of "Our Love and War Man," a character that presented items developed by him with his wife, Patricia.
Mr. Boyd was "Love" and his wife "War" -- although his wife Patricia maintained it was the other way around -- he told Chronicle writer Sam Whiting in 2000.
The column led to the formation of Crown Syndicate by Boyd and his wife, which went on to offer several other columns and puzzles.
The couple met in 1960, when Mr. Boyd was writing a column for the Houston Chronicle called Dial Watchem, which fielded reader complaints about broken signs and potholes. He had hired Patricia as an assistant. They were married 45 years and had six children.
Boyd announced his retirement at the end of 2000, but popular demand brought the column back for a few more years. The final column officially ran on August 7, 2004, when Boyd was 77.