Pete Garrow
Guest User
Pete Garrow covering a Reagan protest in Century Plaza in 1982. Photo: ©Rick Meyer
Written by Conan Nolan, KNBC political reporter
If there is joy in work, it often comes less from the effort than in those who labor by our side.
Pete Garrow was that joy.
If you were in the KNBC newsroom or field shop, or if you saw him at a news conference or posted up next to him at a city hall meeting, you knew that you were in for a good day.
For one thing you’d laugh more. A lot more. There was a much greater chance of adventure. There might be a ghost story or a mention of Area 51. If you were in his truck you might even get lost (thus the moniker “Pathfinder”). His reporters also knew they were destined to tell a much better story simply through his lens.
He was less a photographer than he was a storyteller with an Ikegami on a tripod
No pans, no zooms. At least they were rare. It was all composition. Attention to detail. Anticipating a moment of human connection.
Often it was art.
Pete wasn’t big on entering competitions, but he was awarded a Peabody anyway. That was for his searing and heart-breaking images of a young man’s slow death from the ravages of AIDS.
I remember first arriving from KSBW-Salinas to the Riverside Bureau in June ‘86. I was plenty unsure as to how this was going to work out.
“Don’t worry” came the counsel from desk manager Bill Windsor. “Pete Garrow is pretty much all we need anyway. Just follow his lead and have a good time.”
I figured out what he meant during my first visit from ABC. .. when Bob Banfield came by to introduce himself. A lamp fell as Pete and Martin Orozco started wrestling on the bureau floor. Dave Busse helped himself to coffee.
Yes, we had fun.
Pete had battled lung cancer the last few years of his life. Things appeared to be improving when the end came suddenly. His family believes it was cardiac arrest.
Pathfinder’s greatest pride was his son Greg. Speaking with him felt like talking with his father. Grace, wit and strength. I suspect he can take some pretty good pictures too. We offer him our support and love.
It is unlikely that due to safety concerns there will be any in-person memorial. I’ll let you know if that changes. Perhaps we can put together our own at some point.
It was too soon. Way too soon. But there is comfort in knowing we spent time with the very best.
Thanks Pete. We are all the better for it