After his friends Harvey Dunham and Mortimer Norton passed away, Lloyd Blankman dreamed of organizing his newspaper and magazine articles, along with articles by his friends, into a book. Sadly, Lloyd died before getting very far into the project.Author William J. O?Hern has resurrected Blankman?s vision, by joining his original writing with the enduring works of Blankman and his contemporaries in Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns, a mosaic history of the lives and traditions of the settlers of the Southern Adirondacks. Venture into the wilderness with French Louie and Alvah Dunning and learn about lesser known characters such as Old Lobb of Piseco Lake and Moose River Plains guide Slim Murdock. Travel the trapline with Richard Woods, E. J. Dailey and Burt Conklin, "the greatest trapper." Explore the turbulent waters of the West Canada Creek in search of trout, learn about the tools of the spruce gum trade, and find out why "the liars club" of Forestport called their get-togethers "parting with the dog." Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns not only fulfills Blankman?s dream, it fills a void in the recorded history of a seldom written-about region and the people who settled it.Over 80 vintage photographs!

Although numerous books have been written about the Adirondacks and Adirondackers, not very many have become regional classics. Early authors such as John Todd, Charles Fenno Hoffman, Jeptha R. Simms, S. H. Hammond, J. T. Headly, Alfred B. Street, William H.H. Murray and Verplanck Colvin earned well-deserved popularity in their day and their literary output still exerts a potent appeal more than a century later. One more volume is eminently entitled to consideration as top-bracket upstate literature...and that is Adirondack French Louie by the late Harvey L. Dunham of Utica.

"The campfire for ages has been the place of council and friendship and story-telling. The mystic glow of the fire quickens the mind, warms the heart, awakens memories of happy, glowing tales that fairly leap to the lips." Contains stories from Jack London, Ellis Parker Butler and others. Originally published in 1921.

An autobiographical account of a frontier family's struggles in a backwoods environment a century ago.

While living far from civilization at ¿Cold River City¿Population one,¿ Noah John Rondeau, the original Adirondack Hermit, wrote daily diary entries to document his experience. To conceal incriminating information from ¿snooping game protectors¿ he developed an enigmatic code that was said to resemble the ¿footprints of an inebriated hen.¿ In 1946, Rondeau wrote his entire journal in code, making it the most mysterious of all. Attempts to break the code all ended in failure until David Greene discovered a key and shared his findings with author William J. O¿Hern. Noah John Rondeau¿s Adirondack Wilderness Days¿A Year with the Hermit of Cold River Flow, tells the story of how the code was broken and then reveals the real story of a fun-loving hermit thriving in the wilderness. In addition to Rondeau¿s decoded journal entries, letters, photographs and reminiscences from friends who visited him complete the story of the misunderstood recluse. Why did Noah create the code? What secrets does it contain? Learn the answers in Noah John Rondeau¿s Adirondack Wilderness Days. Features over 135 vintage photographs and illustrations!

Just as the new technology of photography was emerging throughout the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, it caught hold in the scenic Adirondack region of upstate New York. Young men and a few women began to experiment with cameras as a way to earn their livings with local portrait work. From photographing individuals, some expanded their subject matter to include families and groups, homes, streetscapes, landmarks, workplaces, and important events—from town celebrations to presidential visits, train wrecks, floods, and fires. These photographers from within and just beyond the park’s borders, as well as those based in the urban areas from which tourists came to the Adirondacks, have been central in defining the region. Adirondack Photographers, 1850–1950 is a comprehensive look at the first one hundred years of photography through the lives of those who captured this unique rural region of New York State. Svenson’s fascinating biographical dictionary of more than two hundred photographers is enriched with over seventy illustrations. While the popularity of some of these photographers is reflected in the number of their images held in the collections of the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and the Getty Museum, little is known about the diverse backgrounds of the individuals behind their work. A compilation of captivating stories, Adirondack Photographers provides a vivid, intimate account of the evolution of photography, as well as an unusual perspective on Adirondack history.