BOSTON -- Peter Mehegan has been a fixture on Boston television since 1967 when he made his on-air debut covering Kevin White's election as Mayor of Boston. He was plucked from the ranks of news writers at WBZ-TV after passing an on-air audition. For five years previously, he was radio writer, reporter and anchor for WMEX and WNAC.

Mehegan went on to work as a reporter and anchor for 14 years before joining WCVB-TV Channel 5 in 1981. Highlights of his reporting career include Martin Luther King's march through the streets of Boston, Daniel Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers, the 1974 bussing crisis in South Boston, numerous presidential primaries in New Hampshire, and Pope John Paul II's first visit to the United States.

In 1980, Mehegan was awarded an Emmy for outstanding news reporting for his coverage of the Seabrook, N.H., nuclear protests. In 2002, he was part of a Chronicle team awarded a Columbia-Dupont award for coverage of Boston's Big Dig.

After a brief tenure at NewsCenter 5 (including a stint co-anchoring with a colleague named Mary Richardson) Mehegan was chosen to co-host Chronicle in 1982.

He has traveled all over the world for Chronicle including assignments in Ethiopia, Israel, Italy and France. He traced his family roots in Ireland's County Cork and on a remote island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides.

Perhaps Mehegan's best-known feature is his travels through Maine in "The Old Chevy." Inherited from his wife's aunt, the 1969 Impala found new life on Maine's back roads, from remote fishing villages to inland lakes and mountains. Mehegan reports that so far he is staying ahead of the rust and resisting offers from lobstermen to sell the engine, a 327 V-8, to power their boats.

Mehegan is one of the few local on-air personalities who was actually born in the city of Boston. His father hailed from South Boston and his mother grew up in the old West End. Mehegan divided his childhood between Dorchester and Scituate. He's a 1964 graduate of Boston University.

Mehegan and his wife, Julianne have celebrated more than 40 years of wedded bliss! They have four daughters and five grandchildren.

Mehegan Bids Farewell To 'Chronicle' Desk