The Story Behind the Story

Welcome back to another episode of The RV! We are headed to Wisconsin to speak to James Bastian. James is the author of the book Wisconsin Logging Camp 1921 which was published in 2015. The sequel entitled Willa’s Pursuit is coming out September 2022. The primary inspiration began with a 1936 newspaper account of three loggers in Rusk County, Wisconsin, purportedly finding a petrified body in a hollow tree they chopped down. This report intrigued me and started a decade long search of historical records, logging camp rosters, memoirs, letters, and other newspaper articles. While the original article was ultimately found to be a hoax made up by an enterprising editor, my investigation led to a wealth of information on logging, immigration, and an appreciation for the transformational events that occurred in the era of 1920 and again in 1970. Find more on: www.wisconsinloggingcamp.com