Reader's Reviews
My Life To My Children by Jack Vilas Revised Edition is a reprinted memoir from 1929. It was originally written only for his children and close friends, and was not available to the general public until now.Enjoy devilish boyhood pranks and delightful descriptions of �shackers� from northern Wisconsin nearly one hundred years ago. As a graduate pilot from the Glenn Hammond Curtiss Flight School, Vilas earned Hydroplane Pilot License #6 from the American Aero Society. Six weeks later, he was the first person to attempt and complete a 53-mile flight across Lake Michigan. With no compass or flight instruments, he successfully flew a 75-horsepowered Curtiss Flying Boat from St. Joseph, Michigan to Grant Park, Illinois, in 1913.
After railing his flying boat to northern Wisconsin in 1915, he took Chief Forester Edward Griffith for a ride to demonstrate how easy it was to spot forest fires by air. This led to an official appointment by the Wisconsin Conservation Commission for Vilas to become the first flying fire warden in the entire world. The �Wisconsin Plan� soon became a vital part of fighting wildfires in forested countries around the globe. Vilas flew his surveillance missions from the forestry headquarters at Trout Lake in Boulder Junction for the salary of �many thanks.�
My Life To My Children is an entertaining MUST READ for lovers of pioneer aviation and local northern Wisconsin history. (Soft cover, perfect bound, 235 pages, 21 original newspaper clippings, 35 photographs. Published: August 1, 2007; ISBN: 978-09771137-2-9; $23.18 with tax) Order Book
The Soldiers of Poverty is a creative nonfiction story that begins in Virden, IL, and follows the factual events of the author's father, Mike Kerkes, before joining the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The narrative continues with Mike�s everyday camp experiences, his friendships and his work in the hewing yard for Company 696 at Giant City Park in rural southern Illinois. After a reorganization of CCC manpower, Mike is transferred to Company D-692 as a lead carpenter to help develop Copper Falls State Park in northern Wisconsin, where the men endured one of the coldest winters on record. A desperate cry for help from the U.S. Forest Service on 
Isle Royale, MI during the drought of 1936 sent Company D-692 to help contain the inferno that threatened the entire island from destruction. Conditions on the island soon forced ordinary men into circumstances in which heroes find themselves.
The underlying theme of the books is the triumph of the human spirit through courage and perseverance, and the honor that comes with performing one�s duties above and beyond the ordinary. It is a tribute to the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps --- filled with humor and extraordinary friendships in helping one another through the painful losses of the Depression.
The Soldiers of Poverty is a very easy, wholesome read for general audiences from youth to adult. It contains 335 pages and 217 graphics, many of which came from personal photo collections that have never been seen or documented. The glossary contains words common to the Great Depression, conservation and construction. Enjoy this historic journey that is the first book to reveal what these remarkable men accomplished in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, concluding with a tribute by some of their grandchildren.
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NEED A SPEAKER? Mary is a public speaker for the Wisconsin Humanities Council (http://www.wisconsinhumanities.org/ExpertsABC.html;Browse by name.) She has given her PowerPoint presentation to public schools, state park and forest nature centers, museums, libraries, historical societies, senior groups, fairs and conservation groups. Through historic pictures, enjoy this 45-minute PowerPoint presentation of the powerful cause and effect lesson nature teaches us about taking care of our natural resources. Trace the aftermath of the logging era and the men who were called upon to restore Wisconsin to its native beauty. (Appropriate for 6th grade audiences and beyond.) Please contact her at: mary@rusticbooks.net for availability.
Rustic Reflections of Copper Falls State Park contains the National Register nomination of the park site in Mellen, Wisconsin, in the areas of Rustic architecture, conservation, and entertainment/recreation-tourism. In addition to a description of each contributing Rustic-style building, the nomination documents the land and conservation history and how the park's development contributed to the culture of the state of Wisconsin.
The book is written for a general audience and contains a glossary of unfamiliar conservation and construction terms. It will appeal to history enthusiasts who want to know more about the land history, and how development of park coincided with the growth of tourism in northern Wisconsin. This is the first park site to be listed on the National Register in the Wisconsin park system and contains five rustic log and granite structures from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). The book can easily be used as a school resource for outdoor field trips or for vacationers who want to learn more about the park and its features.
The book contains 110 pages of text which includes 48 graphics of blueprints, Master Park Plans, historic WPA Federal Art Project posters, and original CCC photographs obtained from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
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