May - About - Williamsburg Neighbors

HalGieseking
A 21st Century Man of Words
By Muna Killingback
Perhaps Hal Gieseking is Williamsburg’s
answer to Andy Rooney. They have a lot in
common, and not just the eyebrows and
grandfatherly nature. Hal knows how to
tell a story, and he is full of them, drawn
from his long and colorful career.
A prolific author, Hal Gieseking, 75, has
also been a travel correspondent at CBS,
where he worked with Diane Sawyer and
Bill Curtis. He has been president of the
Society of American Travel Writers and
in the course of working in TV and radio
journalism and public relations, he has
traveled to 45 countries, and lived in Hawaii.
Jamestown 2007, his most recent book,
is a project that was dear to both his heart
and home. Co-written with three other authors,
including two other past presidents
of the Society of American Travel Writers,
the book is a user’s guide to the Jamestown
Anniversary events meant for tourists
and locals alike. The book contains
some of the most up-to-date information
about the festivities.
More than just a guide, it is unique in
telling the human story of the history being
celebrated - from the vantage
point of those who lived it. A fictionalized
diary and hypothetical
photo album of William Laxton, a
real Jamestown settler born
in Lincolnshire, England
provide insight into what Laxton may
have thought and seen.
But Hal is not only enthralled with the
written word. Photography is his other
love, and he shares this love with students
in a course he teaches through the Learning
Tree.
“Photography is the handmaiden of
writing. Photography has inspired a lot
of my writing,” says Hal. In his Jamestown
book he applies a unique eye to this art
and comes up with original results. Real
love is captured as two costumed
Colonial Williamsburg historical
interpreters, a real-life
husband and wife, kiss for
the camera.
“Snap the photo when
the kids think they’re done
taking the picture, and then
you’ll capture their real
selves,” is Hal’s advice on
photographing children.
His book contains
a fine example of
this, a group photo
of kids just being kids.
As CEO for Gieseking and Clive, a New
York marketing firm that later became
the house agency for American Express,
Hal revolutionized the AMEX newsletter,
which had insufficient readership. He
told AMEX execs that the reason people
weren’t looking at it was because it was
filled with even more ways to spend money,
and, since it came with their bill, people
didn’t want to think about that just then.
“’Put an interesting interview with one
of America’s most successful people in the
front and it will lead people to the
rest,’” he told them. Given that
the newsletter went out to
more than 13 million people,
the interviewees were generally
willing subjects.
20 NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS MAY 2007