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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
Free Home Page Stories & Photos
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor (bullet)

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
Home of the Tarheel Stomp (bullet)

Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

The Old Soldier Goes Fishing:
Collected Sketches from Forest, Field and Stream By Frank Wilkeson, Edited by Patricia N. McAndrew
Chapter Introductions by Noel V. Bourasaw and Steven J. Wright
Original Illustrations by Kenneth F. Raniere

The Old Soldier Goes Fishing

Patricia N. McAndrew: In 1889, American Civil War veteran, journalist and sportsman Frank Wilkeson gave his New York Times readers a bit of advice. "One chief pleasure in traveling," he told them, "is to meet strangers and to hear them talk of interesting things. The man who travels without making acquaintances might as well stay at home. He learns nothing, he sees things wrongfully, and he misses stories, and good stories, too."

The Old Solider Goes Fishing will
be published in April 2006. For ordering details, click here to email McAndrew for an ordering form. You may pay by check or credit card. Softcover. Cost: $19.95, plus applicable sales tax.

Wilkeson knew what he was talking about. For more than a quarter of a century he traveled the United States (and parts of Canada) on foot, on horseback, by steamer and canoe — and especially by railroad coach — gathering stories, observing people, places, politics and nature. From the pounding Atlantic surf on Long Island to the foaming rivers and trout streams of Washington state; from heart-stopping buffalo hunts with Blackfeet warriors to roisterous Rocky Mountain mining camps and endless, rolling Kansas prairie and squalid cow towns, Frank Wilkeson saw it all. So did thousands of others. But Wilkeson was one of those people who reflected on things he had seen and heard; then, when the time was ripe, conjured up the images he had stored in his mind and, through the storyteller's art, made them come alive.

His graphic war memoir, Turned Inside Out: Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac, has captivated readers ever since its publication in 1887. Now, in this newly-collected series of hunting and fishing articles, written for the New York Times, from 1887 to 1893, Frank Wilkeson's love of nature and outdoor life is shared with new generations of sportsmen and armchair adventurers alike. Join Wilkeson and his teenaged son, Sam, as their travels take them from the pounding surf of Long Island to the lakes and forests of Minnesota, and the foaming trout streams of Washington state. His stories, told simply and vividly — with their occasional sarcasm tempered by a hint of nostalgia — will be a fine addition to any library or backpack. As Skagit River historian Noel V. Bourasaw observes, "Although he could easily swap spit with the great unwashed, as many called the frontier families, he could also dress in white tie and amuse the witty and well-heeled gentry of Seattle, San Francisco and New York City."
Gertrude Garrison, the Associate Editor of the New York Sun, described Frank in 1886: "One cannot fail to see by Frank Wilkeson's literary work that he loves nature and natural people, and has no liking for shams and pretenders. His sketches are among the choicest contributions to journalistic literature. . . . Mr. Wilkeson is a man of tremendous physical force as well as strong and fine mentality. . . . He could be what is called great if he chose to figure where the world's prizes are offered. . . . He has, however, chosen to live out of the contest as much as possible. With his family, his dogs, guns and love of nature and nature's wildnesses he finds deeper joys than the strife of life affords."
Patricia McAndrew is the author of books on Danish ballet and biographies and she founded her company, Moon Trail Books, in the summer of 2005 to publish the Wilkeson book and two civil war titles, Isn't This Glorious!" The 15th, 49th and 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments at Gettysburg's Copse of Trees, by Edwin R. Root and Jeffrey D. Stocker; and Bethlehem Boy: The Civil War Letters and Diary of James A. Peifer (Co. C, 46th Pennsylvania Regiment). Edited by Carolyn Abel and Patricia N. McAndrew. She works with designer Kenneth Raniere on the publishing projects. "We plan to do runs of one to three thousand copies, in either hardcover or softcover editions," McAndrew explains. "We don't intend to be limited in subject just to the Civil War, either." A graduate of Moravian college, McAndrew was honored by Moravian last year.
Ed. note: You can read a biography of Frank Wilkeson and his famous family and you can see the table of links to the transcription of 14 of his columns at this Journal website. If you have material you can add about Frank and his family or have questions for any of us, please email us.

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Story posted on Sept. 20, 2004, and updated February 28, 2006
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