It started in 1885 when an adventurous young farmer from New London, Wisconsin, trekked north by rail to become a lumberjack. A love of the woods and waters near Florence, Wisconsin, would become a family tradition that continues to this day. More than just the places have been the people who are memorableÑthe relationships of caring, sharing and love that have developed between family members, neighbors and friends from all walks of life.
And the storiesÑfrom the logging and hunting camps near Florence to the tales of farmers and bootleggers who hailed from New LondonÑhave been passed down from generation to generation. Many of the stories were passed on by my dad, Alton E. Hutchison, to whom this book is dedicated. He was the second generation lumberjack and hunter and leader of ÒHutchÕs Gang.Ó
And, as he would say at the conclusion of each storyÉÒItÕs the truth, by God!Ó