For a 90th birthday gift, lifelong animal rights activist asks party guests to donate cash, or cat and dog food to Front Royal’s Julia Wagner Animal Shelter

Friend and colleague Malcolm Barr Sr. turned 90, Friday, March 10, 2023, leading this writer to promise a one-day moratorium on personal complaints about aging!

A two-part, downtown Front Royal celebration of Rockland-based Barr’s amazingly active longevity was organized by son Malcolm Jr. It began with 50 to 60 friends and neighbors at the Virginia Beer Museum from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., concluding with a dinner party for those up to it at Element from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Instead of traditional presents, long-time animal welfare advocate Malcolm Sr. had another idea.

“Rather than bringing birthday gifts and so on, I encouraged my son to ask our guests to bring dry cat and dog food to the party that would alleviate somewhat the food shortage at an overcrowded Julia Wagner Animal Shelter. Our guests did, indeed, come through, for which I am very grateful,” Rockland’s new “nonagenarian” told us. (And he taught me a new word – at least new to me for 90 to 99 year olds)

Correctly anticipating the generosity of party guests at the Virginia Beer Museum, local humane society and Julia Wagner Shelter Executive Director Meghan Bowers, a friend and invitee, drove to the party in the Humane Society of Warren County’s van specifically to provide transportation of the goodies back to the shelter, along with generous cash donations in lieu of or in addition to the dog and cat food, that were made by some.

Barr, a contributing writer to Royal Examiner for several years, was an international journalist for most of his life, working for newspapers in the United Kingdom – he was born in London in 1933 – Canada, and the United States. First in Honolulu, then in Washington D.C., he rose to the top of his profession, reporting for the AP first from the mid-and-north Pacific during the Vietnam War, later receiving a beat appointment covering the U.S. Department of Justice from The Associated Press Washington bureau during the 1960s.

The guest of honor is toasted at part one of his 90th b’day party celebration at Va. Beer Museum (part 2 was a dinner party at Element). From left, Malcolm Jr. and Sr., and Barr’s Rockland neighbor and fellow Brit Susan O’Kelly (standing in front of George Washington in the GW room at the Va. Beer Museum). Below, Voice Of America D.C. Bureau Chief and friend Steve Herman with Barr. Photos Roger Bianchini

He was appointed press secretary to U.S. Senator Hiram L. Fong (R-Hawaii) in 1971, later enjoying a 25-year career as a media and government liaison officer in the U.S.Departments of Labor, Justice and Commerce. One of Barr’s most memorable assignments resulted in his launching McGruff, the anti-crime dog that became another Smokey the Bear style animal advocate emblem through a portion of the last century and into the early 2000s.

Shortly before, and during retirement, Barr entered a second career – racing and breeding Thoroughbred horses for 21 years in partnerships of several hundred share owners, many retirees like himself, who watched 132 winners from 620 races at tracks including Laurel and Pimlico in Maryland, Saratoga, in New York, and others at tracks in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,  Missouri, West Virginia, and  Virginia. During that time he published a book, “1,000 to 1” about his racing exploits. He still makes regular trips to Charles Town’s racetrack with a friend to entertain his ongoing fondness for the “sport of kings”.

Malcolm and his late wife, Carol, moved to Front Royal in 2002, the year their son graduated from Randolph-Macon Academy. Once settled into his newest “home town” Barr continued his interest in animal welfare with a successful run for president of the Humane Society of Warren County Board of Directors. And on the auspicious occasion of his 90th birthday, Barr continued to illustrate his love and support of animals with that dedication of gifts in support of the county Humane Society’s Julia Wagner Animal Shelter and its tenants.

From left in an Examiner/HSWC file photo surrounding a then not-yet-90 Barr, are HSWC board members Amy Thurman, Ellen Aders, Michelle Kisiorek, and Executive Director Meghan Bowers.