In just under two weeks, Purple Mountain Press will release a new edition of Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks. Since its initial publication in 2004, this book has become a classic of New York State history. In Breaking Trail, authors Sandra Weber and Peggy Lynn teamed up to tell the stories of the intrepid women who blazed trails–in some cases, literally!–through the Adirondacks in the 19th and 20th century. In the following Q&A we asked Sandra and Peggy to tell us more about their research and writing process.
Authors Sandra Weber (left) and Peggy Lynn (right)
PMP: How did you decide which women to include? What was the process like?
Sandra: We both had friends and contacts in the Adirondacks. I think we started with a longer list and went with those that we were able to document or flesh out. We also wanted to vary women from the past and present, and represent various parts of the Adirondack region. Some stories, such as Matilda Fielding’s, just captured the imagination.
PMP: Why was it so important to tell these stories? Did you feel these women had been — or were in danger of becoming — forgotten over time?
Peggy: Both Sandi and I had been digging into Adirondack history and found women’s stories entirely lacking. Generally, one could assert that men opened up the wilderness, did the logging, mining, surveying, etc. But it was more often women who settled the mountains and founded organizations to serve their communities. We wanted to honor that work.
Sandra: We also wanted to capture the voices, eyes, and spirits of women who experienced the Adirondacks in special ways — as pioneers, guides, cooks, singers, activists, and conservationists.
PMP: Peggy, the book includes several of your folk songs about strong “mountain women.” When were you first inspired to write songs about them, and who was the first?
Peggy: My first college degree is in forestry from Paul Smith’s College. After graduating, I worked in the library with Neil Surprenant, the librarian. We were looking at old photos of Paul Smith’s hotel and Neil told me all about Lydia Martin Smith, who was largely responsible for their success. I wondered why there was no large portrait of her on campus. Why was there only a dormitory bearing her name? He told me to write her a song. That was my first ballad of an Adirondack woman. As I performed it throughout the region, people came to me with other stories of strong women and it became what I was known for.
PMP: Sandra, did your research send you down any rabbit holes that you found particularly fascinating or that led to other historical research projects?
Sandra: My first book about Esther Mountain was the result of letting my research and writing “go astray.” So, you might say jumping down rabbit holes is part of my process and my passion. The paragraph I wrote in Breaking Trail about an Inez Milholland memorial held at a sculpture in the US Capitol Crypt in 1923 led me to write an entire book on the Woman’s Suffrage Statue. Since moving to the Adirondacks within five miles of Inez’s grave, I have written many articles about her and held several events at her grave, including a stop during the Champlain Valley Suffrage Centennial Auto Tour. The connection of Mary Brown, Kate Field, and Katherine McClellan with the John Brown Farm is part of my current research and forthcoming books on John Brown and the historic site near Lake Placid.
PMP: There are so many women in this book whose lives and legacies transcend the Adirondacks, too, such as the Newbery Medal-winning author Emily Cheney Neville. Another who caught our eye—pun intended—was the photographer Katherine McClellan, whose photo actually graces the cover of the book. How did you come across her story?
Sandra: It was surprising to find photos of women active in nature in the 1800s, and even more so that they were the works of a professional woman photographer. I first came across McClellan from her booklets about John Brown’s grave and Keene Valley. Intrigued by her photos, I searched for more information and discovered her successful career as a photographer in Adirondack landscapes and as official photographer for Smith College.
PMP: Final thoughts?
Sandra: We believe it is time to incorporate women’s stories into the general history of the Adirondacks. But perhaps we also need Breaking Trail Volume 2?
Learn more about Sandra and Peggy on their respective websites:
Peggy Lynn: http://www.quercusmusic.com
Sandra Weber: https://sandraweberbooks.weebly.com
