Mac Sebree | |
|---|---|
 Sebree in 1986 | |
| Born | George McClelland Sebree III August 26, 1932 (1932-08-26) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 2010 (2010-03-08) (aged 77) Vancouver, Washington, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fayette City Cemetery,Fayette, Missouri |
| Other names | G. Mac Sebree |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, editor, publisher; owner ofInterurban Press |
George McClelland Sebree III (August 26, 1932 – March 7, 2010),[1] better known asMac Sebree, was an American journalist, writer and publisher whose area of expertise was urbanmass transit, particularlyurban rail transit. He was also a businessman, being owner and president of the publishing company,Interurban Press, from 1975 until 1993.[2] In addition to writing and publishing historical material, he also followed – and regularly reported on – contemporary developments concerning rail transit, and by the 1990s he had become an expert onlight rail in North America.[2]
G. M. Sebree adopted the nickname "Mac" at an early age and went by the nameMac Sebree, both personally and professionally, for most of his life, only modifying this slightly in 1995, toG. Mac Sebree. Growing up inOmaha, Nebraska, he later lived inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, and attended theUniversity of New Mexico. He was editor of the university's studentnewspaper (at the time named theNew Mexico Lobo) from June to September 1954,[3] and graduated from the university in 1956 with a bachelor of arts degree.[4]
He worked as a newspaperman from 1955 until 1982,[2] including 20 years covering transportation forUnited Press International (UPI) and theScripps newspapers,[5] the UPI stint lasting 11 years.[6] He was employed as areporter for two Albuquerque newspapers, theAlbuquerque Journal andThe Albuquerque Tribune, and for theAvalanche-Journal, ofLubbock, Texas.[7] He began working for theAvalanche-Journal in August 1955.[4]
In 1956, he was hired by United Press to manage itsJefferson City, Missouri,news bureau.[7] In November 1957, he was transferred toTulsa, Oklahoma, to manage UP's bureau in that city.[8] (United Press became United Press International the following year.) In 1961, at age 28, Sebree was appointed as UPI's manager for the state ofOklahoma.[7] He later held an executive position at UPI'sHouston, Texas office, moving in 1966 to itsDallas office.[9] For several years he additionally worked as a salesman for asyndicated service providing illustrations for newspaper advertisements,[10] the Stamps-Conhaim Creative Newspaper Advertising Service. He moved toSouthern California in the late 1960s.
In 1975, Sebree inherited from his friend Ira Swett asmall publishing company namedInterurbans, which published books aboutstreetcars andinterurban electric railways.[10][11] A longtimerailfan, particularly of streetcars andtrolleybuses, Sebree had already done some writing and editing for Interurbans, including co-authoring the books,Transit's Stepchild: The Trolley Coach (LCCN 73-84356) andThe Trolley Coach in North America (LCCN 74-20367), in 1973 and 1974, respectively. Sebree renamed the business "Interurban Press" and, after adding a partner, Jim Walker (as vice president), expanded the company's output.[10]
Under Mac Sebree's ownership, Interurban acquired the monthly railfan-oriented magazines,Pacific RailNews (PRN) andPassenger Train Journal, and the bimonthlyPrivate Varnish.[11] In the case ofPRN, Sebree was the magazine's publisher, and he also compiled a regular column ofurban rail transit news, which was published in each issue from the mid-1980s until 1993, whenPRN was sold. He followed with great interest the revival in the 1980s of streetcars as a significant public transit mode in North America, modernized as "light rail", telling aLos Angeles Times reporter in a 1983 interview, "The United States let a tremendous national asset go to waste when it junked its trolley systems, but the further the trolleys fade into the past, the larger the number of people who would like to have them back."[10] Indeed, several cities did bring back rail transit, mostly in the form of light rail, in the 1980s and 1990s, and Sebree documented these developments aseditor of three editions of theNorth American Light Rail Annual and User's Guide (in 1992–94, published by Interurban Press/Pentrex).[2]
Although he authored few books himself, Sebree edited several books written by others, includingWhen Oklahoma Took the Trolley (1980)[12] andThe Railroad Artistry of Howard Fogg (1999).[13]
In 1993, Sebree retired from full-time work, sold Interurban Press toPentrex and moved from southern California toVancouver, Washington.[2][14] From his Vancouver home, he worked part-time as a transitconsultant.[5] He also took on the job ofeditor ofMotor Coach Age, the quarterly magazine of theMotor Bus Society,[5] and held that position from January 1995 until fall 2003.[15][16]
He was the "International Editor" (one of thecontributing editors) for the quarterlyNew Electric Railway Journal from fall 1996 until the cessation of publication of that magazine, in late 1998. His contributions toTNERJ also included articles onNew Orleans' plans to expand itsheritage streetcar system,[17] as well as on light rail and streetcars inAustralia, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
In 2001, G. Mac Sebree introduced a new, monthly news column onrail transit inTrains magazine,[18] entitled "City Rail", to report developments related tolight rail,streetcars,rapid transit andcommuter rail in North America, and he was the column's author/editor until 2003.
In 2005, Sebree donated $20,000 to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society (based in Sacramento, California), to establish atrust fund to provide permanent support for publication of the organization's longtime journal,Railroad History.[19] In 2008 Sebree donated $10,000, and pledged $90,000 more, to theOrange Empire Railway Museum to support the construction of a permanent library and archive building.[20]
Mac Sebree died on March 7, 2010, at his home in Vancouver, Washington.[1][21]
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