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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
600 of 700 total Free Home Page Stories & Photos
(Also see our Subscribers Magazine Sample)
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

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

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 has survived from lashing waves on the shore of the recent economy. Plans for publication have been revived, with the hopes of printing in 2012. We will alert you to the news about final publication. This has also given us a chance to update some chapters to include results of more research and discovery. When we are nearer that time, you can 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. Or you may share Wilkeson information you might have or inquire about the book plans.

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.

Any time, any amount, please help build our travel and research fund for what promises to be a very busy 2011, traveling to mine resources from California to Washington and maybe beyond. Depth of research determined by the level of aid from readers. Because of our recent illness, our research fund is completely bare. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. And subscriptions to our optional Subscribers Online Magazine (launched 2000) by donation too. Thank you.

We recently visited our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, which is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds & duvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

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 2005. After a delay, she plans in 2012 to publish the Wilkeson book to join 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, which are already in print. 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 Moravianin 2005.

Links, background reading and sources

Read a profile of Frank Wilkeson and his famous family.
A hilarious column by Frank about the Two hobos of Sedro, from the Dec. 14, 1890, New York Times.
See a list of links to all of Frank Wilkeson's columns on our site. And read about Patricia N. McAndrew's new book, The Old Soldier Goes Fishing — planned for publication in 2012. It is a collection of his columns, especially about his first love, fishing. He claimed to have fished most of the major tributaries in the upper Skagit River area, while living in Skagit and Whatcom Counties in the 1890s and reporting for the New York Times. Your editor has also supplied chapter headings that will add to the biography of Frank and his family, and his connection with the Northwest, starting as a co-explorer with D.S. Linsley in 1870 when they mapped the Skagit Watershed as a dry run for Northern Pacific Railroad investors.

Story posted on Sept. 20, 2004, transferred to this domain July 13, 2009, and last updated April 22, 2011
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Our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds & duvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 90 years continually in business.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing
Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley — doubling in size for RVs and camping in 2011.

Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley.

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Skagit River Journal

The Old Soldier Goes Fishing: Collected Sketches from Forest, Field and Stream

The Old Soldier Goes Fishing:
Collected Sketches from Forest, Field and Stream