Raymond Geiger; Editor of Farmer’s Almanac

Raymond Geiger, 83, the editor who brought weather forecasts, gardening tips and quips to readers of the Farmer’s Almanac for six decades. Geiger once estimated that he traveled about 5 million miles, delivered 3,500 speeches and gave 18,000 interviews to pitch the virtues of his almanac. He retired last fall after editing his 60th edition. Like those that preceded it, it was full of weather tips, planting and gardening advice, recipes and plenty of jokes. Among his editorial campaigns over the years was a successful one to restore place names on postmarks. The Postal Service had tried to replace the names with codes. Among unsuccessful campaigns: to extend daylight saving time, move Thanksgiving to October and replace the paper dollar with a coin. The almanac’s New Hampshire-based rival, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, was founded in 1792 and is sold in stores. The Farmer’s Almanac came a quarter-century later and is sold in bulk to banks, insurance companies and others who imprint their names on it and give it away. In Lewiston, Me., on Friday.