History Sandwiched In
Wisconsin Historical Museum 30 N. Carroll St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
press release: As the heyday of lumber camps faded, a young scholar named Franz Rickaby strapped a fiddle on his back to seek the quickly disappearing songs of Upper Midwestern lumberjacks. Rickaby fell into easy conversation with the men, collecting not just song lyrics but tunes, making careful notes about singers' lives and performances. His book on lumberjack music became a classic, but he died at the age of 36 before it was published. One hundred years later his granddaughter, Gretchen Dykstra, traced his footsteps and tells the story of her quest, with folklorist Jim Leary chiming in on Rickaby's enduring folksong legacy.
Dykstra and Leary’s new book “Pinery Boys: Songs and Songcatching in the Lumberjack Era” incorporates, commemorates, contextualizes, and complements Rickaby's earlier work with an introduction, annotations, and biographical information.
Cost: Suggested donation of $3/person
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