Tales of Two Peninsulas


Book Description

Tales of Two Peninsulas – Gary Swagart takes readers back to days of yesteryear in his tales about Michiganders from the Northcountry. Many of his characters are from the ranks of the poor and downtrodden who are just trying to survive one way or another. Aside from the mention of snow with cold weather and the names such as Toivo, Einard, Gutsu and Laakaniemala that may sound a bit strange, these tales could have happened anywhere. Real “characters” are not unique to Northern Michigan. They are scattered throughout the country and are much more plentiful than you might think if you just pay a little attention. In these folksy tales, Gary has captured several of these poor and downtrodden characters on paper where they can survive and go on sharing their joys and sorrows forever, though they would fall through the cracks left by the history books.




Tales of Two Peninsulas and an Island


Book Description

In Tales of Two Peninsulas and an Island, Gary Swagart recalls some of his experiences as a semi-Yooper kid before he changed to a Troll and later became a Yooper again. Many of these experiences revolved around subsistence living farm life, which contained a lot of hard work, drudgery, even. Some of the stories are about some real characters, simply because that is just what they were. His love of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Lake Superior, and Isle Royale shows through despite some hair-raising, near-miss incidents that easily could have resulted in catastrophe (including putting his wife in jail.) In this sometimes harsh, but always beautiful part of the world, Death can slip its icy fingers around the unwary without warning. Something as simple as getting a wet foot or forgetting to put car flaps down can be fatal. As can be getting lost in a Lake Superior fog, going downwind, or dropping a wrench in a boat. Simply underestimating the amount of time it will take to get from point A to point B can be fatal. The person who escapes the icy fingers learns to appreciate just how tenuous the thread of life can be.




Tales of Two Peninsulas and an Island


Book Description

In Tales of Two Peninsulas and an Island, Gary Swagart recalls some of his experiences as a semi-Yooper kid before he changed to a Troll and later became a Yooper again. Many of these experiences revolved around subsistence living farm life, which contained a lot of hard work, drudgery, even. Some of the stories are about some real characters, simply because that is just what they were. His love of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Lake Superior, and Isle Royale shows through despite some hair-raising, near-miss incidents that easily could have resulted in catastrophe (including putting his wife in jail.) In this sometimes harsh, but always beautiful part of the world, Death can slip its icy fingers around the unwary without warning. Something as simple as getting a wet foot or forgetting to put car flaps down can be fatal. As can be getting lost in a Lake Superior fog, going downwind, or dropping a wrench in a boat. Simply underestimating the amount of time it will take to get from point A to point B can be fatal. The person who escapes the icy fingers learns to appreciate just how tenuous the thread of life can be.




Tales of Michigan


Book Description

Chosen to give the reader an insight into Michigan’s rich and varied historical heritage, each of these tales relates a different aspect of the state’s past. Among others, stories in this book include: The life of George N. Smith, a pioneering missionary, who, along with his family, endured years of hardship living with the Native Americans. A man with a common name, but an uncommon life. The story of Detroit’s once proud status as “Stove Capital of the World.” The fiery head-on collision of two passenger trains at Battle Creek caused when one of the crews ignored their instructions. The tale of William Bryce, a Union soldier that returned home following the Civil War only to succumb to injuries resulting from his experiences as a prisoner of the Confederacy. The struggle to build a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac that lasted nearly seventy-five years before the Mackinac Bridge was finally completed. A freighter’s crew that entered into a life-and-death struggle with the Storm of 1913, the most destructive storm to strike the Great Lakes in modern history.




True Tales of the Olympic Peninsula


Book Description

A magnificent landscape of rugged peaks, impenetrable rainforest and wild coastlines, Washington's Olympic Peninsula makes a perfect setting for the unexpected. Dive into the stories of pioneers who created wealth and celebrity out of threadbare beginnings and immigrants who found fleeting success in Port Townsend. Discover the unsavory methods of land-grabber Daniel Pullen, who became indirectly responsible for the creation of the Quileute Reservation, and the rumrunning escapades of Claude Alexander Conlin, magician and con man. Author Carol Turner shares tales of daring and desperation amid the remote towns and beautiful scenery of the Olympic Peninsula.




Tales of the Great Lakes


Book Description

With hundred of original illustrations, Tales of the Great Lakes encompasses the stories of the men who built the Midwest,




Douglas's Tale of the Peninsula & Waterloo, 1808–1815


Book Description

These are the memoirs of Sergeant John Dougl as, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Scots, and his experiences as a soldier from 1809-1817. The book provides a narrative of the Peninsular Campaign, with a descriptions of Quatre Bras an d Waterloo '