Adirondack Faces (Adirondack Museum Books)

Presents portraits and brief profiles of people who live and work in the Adirondacks

These 53 portraits, most exhibited in 1989 at the Adirondack Museum in New York State, represent men and women who live and work in the region year-round. Oppersdorff, staff photographer for Gourmet , captures the spirits of the individuals at their workplaces. Earl Allen makes wooden hay rakes and hauls in supplies for hunting groups via horse and wagon; Debby Boyce, a forest technician, competes in wood-chopping contests; Jim Cameron builds guide boats. Rural and small-town occupations are represented--trapper, furniture maker, teacher, nurse, minister, innkeeper, auto mechanic, logger, beekeeper. Gilborn, who works at the Adirondack Museum, gives a fine introduction to the area. This handsome book, a paean to people who cherish independence and old-time values, is an appealing piece of Americana.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Richard Stewart was 35 before he traveled over 100 miles from his home in North Creek, New York. Jim Cameron moved to the Adirondacks from Wyoming to build guideboats. Nora Newell cut more than 200 pine logs by herself to build a home. Whether they trace their families back several generations or just a few years, the individuals of Adirondack Faces show us the diversity and richness of a "small" world. Larger environmental issues, such as the encroachment of civilization, emerge from the simple vignettes accompanying the images in this book. As a metaphor, the Upstate New York wilderness is a way of life. Loggers, rangers, storekeepers--and even developers--use the land, trees, and water as constant points of reference. Not a study in nostalgia, this book is an honest look at the changing "natural" history of the region. The photographs are straightforward and refreshing in their lack of artifice. Highly recommended.
- Kathy J. Anderson, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.