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Life With Noah - Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith with Noah John Rondeau
by William J. O'Hern
Noah
John Rondeau, an old-style mountain hermit lived alone in a small
log, board, and canvas hut for 37 years. "Red" Smith, a young
woodsman, was one of Rondeau's true friends. In both, stubborn
endurance and hard work prevailed. At ease with isolation and wild
animals, the brave men looked stern reality in the face
unflinchingly, took what their surroundings had to offer to conquer
hunger, deep snow, cold, and brutal storms. Both possessed a
sensitivity to see the poetry of nature behind the life of hardship
- making the men interesting people. The spirit (and lives) of these
two Cold River backcountry adventurers yield clues to the
mysterious, fascinating pull the Adirondack Mountains has always had
for so many people.
First Person - (By Author William J. O'Hern)
 My
homeland of a lifetime is the mountains of the Adirondacks. The
scenery is matchless with wilderness areas so vast they beg you
discover the hidden natural treasures. Each season offers something
new. One can get caught up with the ever-changing surroundings.
My old friend, Richard "Red" Smith's memories helped me to step
back in time to the old ways of life in the rugged Adirondacks.
"Red" was a woodsman: a fisherman, trapper, hunter, and a loyal
friend of Noah John Rondeau, hermit of Cold River Flow. (Rondeau is
the last and most famous hermit the Adirondacks has known.) In the
final years of Richard's life he spent many hours relating stories
of his life in the wilds to me. Noah took Richard "under his wing,"
taught him the skills and the way of life of the mountains, and
divulged to him his secret writing code.
Rondeau and Smith's woods life impressed me so much. Their way of
living is a nostalgic look back to simpler days. Every so often a
few ordinary people come along with a lot of daring and taste for
adventure (as well as the utmost interest in human beings). Life
With Noah is a timeless story - full of jore de vivre. Readers
write, telling me Life With Noah is one of their most prized
nonfiction books. Not only is the book read time and again but it
has fostered many pilgrimages to the former site of Rondeau's Cold
River hermitage.
Product Details
Paperback: 288 pages
In Stock!
Signed Paperback: $24.75
Buy it Now from The Forager Press Adirondack Bookstore
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