Apps - Tamarack River Ghost: a Novel

Fiction:

The Travels of Increase Joseph

In a Pickle

Blue Shadows Farm

Cranberry Red

Tamarack River Ghost

Nonfiction:

The Land Still Lives

Cabin in the Country

Barns of Wisconsin

Mills of Wisconsin and the Midwest

Breweries of Wisconsin

One-Room Country Schools

Wisconsin Travelers Companion

Country Wisdom

Cheese: The Making of a Wisconsin Tradition

When Chores Were Done

Country Ways and Country Days

Humor from the Country

The People Came First: A History of Cooperative Extension

Ringlingville USA

Every Farm Tells a Story

Living a Country Year

Old Farm: A History

Horse Drawn Days

Campfires and Loon Calls

Garden Wisdom

Rural Wit and Wisdom

Childrens Books:

Eat Rutabagas

Stormy

Tents, Tigers, and the Ringling Brothers

Casper Jaggi: Master Swiss Cheese Maker

Tamarack River Ghost

A Novel

Jerry Apps

Terrace Books
A trade imprint of the University of Wisconsin Press

Terrace Books, a trade imprint of the University of Wisconsin Press, takes its name from the Memorial Union Terrace, located at the University of WisconsinMadison. Since its inception in 1907, the Wisconsin Union has provided a venue for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to debate art, music, politics, and the issues of the day. It is a place where theater, music, drama, literature, dance, outdoor activities, and major speakers are made available to the campus and the community. To learn more about the Union, visit www.union.wisc.edu.

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Copyright 2012 by Jerry Apps

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Apps, Jerold W., 1934

Tamarack River ghost : a novel / Jerry Apps.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-299-28880-8 (cloth: alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-299-28883-9 (e-book)

1. SwineWisconsinFiction.

2. Factory farmsWisconsinFiction.

3. Farm lifeWisconsinFiction.

4. Reporters and reportingWisconsinFiction.

I. Title.

PS3601.P67T36 2012

813'.6dc23

2012009944

To
Sue, Kate, and Natasha

I began this novel while in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area of northern Minnesota. It was in early September 2009 that my son and canoe partner, Steve, and I were staying in Moose Cabin at Hungry Jack Lodge and day-tripping into the famous canoe area. On a rainy afternoon, when we appreciated having a roof over our heads, I posed a what if question to Steve, who is chief photographer at the Wisconsin State Journal. (My novels always begin with what if?) I asked, What if an agricultural reporter is caught up in the potential demise of his newspaper and at the same time faces one of the biggest stories of his career, a potential large-scale hog farm coming to central Wisconsin? Being a newspaperman, Steve was intrigued with the idea. When we werent paddling or fishing, we began fleshing out the main characters, and the basic elements of the plot. A year later and once more in the Boundary Waters, we worked on the drafts I had been writing since the last time we were there. This time we discussed subplots, further character development, dialogue, and a host of other matters, including the ghost. Many thanks to Steve, for his knowledge of the newspaper industry, as well as his always honest appraisal of my musings.

All of my writing, novels included, requires a considerable amount of research. Even though I grew up on a farm and had a professional career in agriculture, there is much I dont know. Emeritus Professor Gerald Campbell, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of WisconsinMadison, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, helped me understand some of the nuances of integrated agricultural firms as well as insights into confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). I appreciate his knowledge and insight.

A big thank you to my friend and fellow historian Elmer Marting, Monona, Iowa. Elmer introduced me to Steve Kregel. The Kregel family operates a well-run hog-producing operation near Guttenberg, Iowa. Steve not only took time to answer my many questions about large-scale hog-producing operations, but he also gave me a tour of one of the buildings so I could see their very modern system firsthand.

Discussions with my brother, Donald, helped me to recall how we cared for hogs on the home farm when we were growing up and raised as many as fifty hogs during the war years of the early 1940s. I also want to thank Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation warden Todd Schaller for information about firearms and equipment DNR conservation wardens have at their disposal.

Several people took time to read various drafts of the material. My wife, Ruth, read sections of the manuscript and offered helpful comments. My daughter, Sue, elementary teacher, author, and reading specialist, read parts of the manuscript several times. Her eye for character development and plot sensibility was greatly appreciated. Natasha Kassulke, editor of Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, read the entire manuscript and offered several valuable suggestions for its improvement. I cant say enough about Kate Thompsons contributions. She digs into my stories, looks around to find out if they make sense, and then makes suggestions both large and small to make the story a better one. Thank you, Kate.

A special thank you to Raphael Kadushin, senior acquisitions editor at the University of Wisconsin Press, for believing in my work and supporting me every step of the way. Many others have helped and encouraged me, as I worked my way through the development and writing of my several novels. A big thanks to everyone who in one way or another helped me with this one.

April 1900

Tamarack River Valley, Central Wisconsin

Daylight in the swamp! yelled the log-driver foreman as he pounded a stick on the bottom of a cooking pot. Daylight in the swamp! A hint of pink showed above the pine trees to the east, but it would be another half hour before sunrise. The night temperature had dropped into the low thirties, and white frost covered everything, not unusual for April in Wisconsin. The mighty Tamarack River roared as it tumbled over rocks and raced south. Logs, thousands of them, filled the river, which was just below flood stage. Huge chunks of blue ice also floated on the water, some breaking apart when they crashed into the rocks, sending up plumes of frigid spray.