"We had a great time." This is the typical response from Libby Smith whenever she's asked about her latest travel adventure. The destination hardly matters--it could be a week in the Galapagos Islands, a driving tour of Albania, or an overnight staycation in Little Rock's River Market District or . . . . She always finds something to enjoy.
Her consistent glass-half-full enthusiasm has been the defining factor in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Travel section since 1992, when she became its editor. Libby retired Monday, leaving those around her at the newspaper bereft of her expertise and advice on our travel destinations, whether we're heading to Lafayette, La., for a family reunion or dreaming of a luxurious cruise along a scenic river through France and Germany.
Libby arrived at the Democrat-Gazette with practical experience gained not only from her own globe-trotting but during her time at Poe Travel in Little Rock. Her qualifications could be easily listed on a résumé. But résumés can't tell you where to find the best barbecue in and around Austin, Texas (or practically anywhere else; a native Texan, she's an expert on barbecue), what to see at a tucked-away museum in Oxford, Miss., which airline has added a direct flight to a major city, how to find a local bank that can trade your hard-earned dollars for British pounds, and why renting a mini-van for a cross-country jaunt may be a better idea than getting there in your car.
The visitor's chair next to Libby's tidy desk by the newsroom's east windows was often occupied by a co-worker who needed help navigating the rough waters of getting from here to there. She was never too busy to stop what she was doing--writing a travel story in her easily accessible style, gathering and editing photos, interviewing the likes of national travel columnist Rick Steves--to answer any and all travel questions from staff members and readers and offer suggestions on destination particulars that never make it into guidebooks.
She was generous with guidebooks as well; several shelves of them--well-thumbed and bookmarked, available for all to use--lined a cabinet nearby. It's the same cabinet that held a pretty glass bowl filled with plastic-wrapped red-and-white striped peppermints that, as you might imagine, required frequent refilling.
Libby told great stories; a favorite is when she had to make an emergency purchase of a hair dryer in Zagreb, Croatia, from a shopkeeper with limited ability in English. After having shown her a maroon model, he fished around under a messy counter, Libby reported, then produced a white hair dryer. "More pretty?" he asked, which became a recurring theme in our many conversations.
As an editor, Libby felt the success of the Travel section depended on its containing a mix of practical information, ideas for affordable and quick trips, and photos and copy aimed at the armchair traveler who probably wouldn't make it to Bora Bora anytime soon but could find pleasure in imagining what it might be like to be there. Her instincts were right--under Libby's leadership, the Democrat-Gazette Travel section won awards year after year, among them being named best travel section in the 200,000-350,000-circulation category from the Society of American Travel Writers in 2005.
"Among other things, Libby may well be the longest-serving travel editor at any major U.S. newspaper, having held the job since August 1992," said Jack Schnedler, former deputy managing editor for features at the Democrat-Gazette who came to the paper in 1994 after having served as travel editor for the Chicago Sun-Times. "There aren't that many newspaper travel editors anymore, period. It's a vanishing breed."
We wish Libby the best in what she's calling her AR (after retirement) days. Many adventures await, and in true Libby Smith fashion, she's sure to have a great time.
Editorial on 03/31/2015