Midwest Reflections

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    Trapping the Boundary Waters

    Charles Ira Cook, Jr.

    On May 4, 1919, Charlie Cook set off for a year of adventure in the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters. Soon abandoned by his comfort-loving companion, the restless World War I veteran spent an enlightening year learning&mdash;often the hard way&mdash;how to paddle and sail on windy lakes, hunt and fish for food, bake &quot;rough delicacies&quot; in a reflector oven, and build winter-proof shelters. His how-to descriptions of trapping beaver, mink, and other game are unsurpassed in their detail.<br /><br />Cook also found his way into the border community of Ojibwe and mixed-blood families and a motley assortment of mysterious travelers, game wardens, and loners, including trapper Bill Berglund (who &quot;adopted&quot; Cook until the tenderfoot&#39;s eagerness to harvest pelts came between them).<br /><br />Cook&#39;s adventure climaxed in a 700-mile expedition by dogsled north into Canada, where he reached the limits of his endurance&mdash;and just barely lived to tell the tale.<br /><br />For anyone who loves the Boundary Waters or wonders what this rugged region was like not so long ago, Cook&#39;s story reveals a world still ruled by nature but on the brink of change.

    Eggs in the Coffee, Sheep in the Corn

    Marjorie Myers Douglas

    The world turned upside down for city-bred Marjorie Douglas when, in 1943, her young husband moved her and their baby, Anne, from suburban St. Paul to a western Minnesota stock ranch to help his parents stave off financial disaster. With wit and wisdom Douglas&#39;s memoir describes a Midwestern way of life of 50 years ago.

    A Country Doctor's Casebook

    Roger A. MacDonald, M.D.

    In the years after the Second World War, a young doctor took up his post in one of the most remote regions of northern Minnesota. His term of service turned into a lifetime of caring for the people who made this isolated and often lonely place their home. The story of this remarkable adventure in frontline medicine forms the heart of this wonderful book.<br /><br />For almost four decades, Roger MacDonald was the country doctor who tended to those in need in an area larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Because he was the only doctor for miles, MacDonald traveled to the small towns and remote fishing villages, the logging camps and Indian reservation, the one-room schools and the remote backwoods cabins to practice his craft. In the course of his work, he encountered a remarkable group of tough, independent, and idiosyncratic individuals&mdash;all of whom relied on him for medical help. In turn, they taught MacDonald the importance of patience, human strength, wisdom, humor, and simple grace.<br /><br />MacDonald came to know the people he cared for in extraordinarily intimate ways. Treating more than just the body, MacDonald became a confidant, advisor, caretaker, and friend as he plied the back roads of the north woods.<br /><br />As a storyteller, MacDonald shows us the beauty of this remote region and the charm of those who make their lives there. With respect, affection, and humility, MacDonald relates his experiences with those who placed their well-being in his hands. The result is a warm and warm-hearted tale of the life of a north country doctor.<br /><br />Praise for A Country Doctor&#39;s Casebook<br /><br />&quot;This pioneer physician&#39;s account of medicine, life, and death in the north of northern Minnesota is suffused by humanitarian warmth and humor. We all are there: Native Americans and immigrants, our lives beset by accidents and illness, and above all the love and dedication making us who we are, helped by our own Galen. A great read.&quot; &mdash; Robert Treuer, author of The Tree Farm: Replanting a Life<br /><br />&quot;A delight&mdash;wonderfully written with a wry sense of humor. These stories ring true: compassionate, gentle, loving portraits of people for whom Dr. MacDonald cared deeply.&quot; &mdash; David Hilfiker, M.D., author of Healing the Wounds: A Physician Looks at His Work<br /><br />&quot;Beautiful, humorous, and lucidly written, this is a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking treasure of American rural medical history.&quot; &mdash; Pierre Delattre, author of Woman on the Cross, Episodes, and Tales of a Dalai Lama