Sheila Terman Cohen - Sterling North and the Story of Rascal

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SHEILA TERMAN COHEN

Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Publishers since 1855

2015 by State Historical Society of Wisconsin

E-book edition 2015

For permission to reuse material from Sterling North and the Story of Rascal (ISBN 978-0-87020-735-8; e-book ISBN 978-0-87020-736-5), please access www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users.

wisconsinhistory.org

Photographs identified with WHi or WHS are from the Societys collections; address requests to reproduce these photos to the Visual Materials Archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706.

Back cover photo: Courtesy of the North Archives; photograph by Clarence E. Olson
Design and layout by Jill Bremigan

19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cohen, Sheila, 1939

Sterling North and the story of Rascal / Sheila Terman Cohen.

1 online resource. (Badger biographical series)

Includes index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-0-87020-736-5 (Ebook) ISBN 978-0-87020-735-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. North, Sterling, 1906-1974Juvenile literature. 2. Authors, American20th centuryBiographyJuvenile literature. 3. Rascal (Raccoon) I. Title.

PS3527.O585

813.52--dc23

[B]

2015022391

To Sterling Norths daughter, Arielle Olson,
and Edgerton resident Walter Diedrick,
who have each helped to keep
Sterling Norths memory alive.

When Sterling North was 11 years old, he had no idea that his adventures with a most unusual pet would someday make him famous.

Sterling grew up in the small town of Edgerton, Wisconsin, in the early 1900s. Many kids in Edgerton had pet dogs or cats. Some had pet goldfish or birds like canaries. But Sterlings pet was different.

Sterling North at 10 years old

Sterlings pet did not come from a pet store. His name was Rascal, and he was a furry, ring-tailed raccoon. Sterling plucked Rascal from a burrow in the ground after their den. Sterling knew Rascal would never survive without food or water. So he brought the frightened little creature home.

This began Sterlings year-long adventure with his beloved 4-legged friend.

When Sterling grew up, he became a famous writer who worked in New York City. But he never forgot the time that he and Rascal spent together. When Sterling was 56 years old, he decided to write about his childhood memories and his adventures with his favorite pet raccoon.

There is a good chance you or someone in your family has read Sterlings book, Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era. It was published in 1963. The book became so popular that Walt Disney Productions made it into a movie.

This copy of Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era is on display at the Sterling North Museum in Edgerton.

Before long, Sterlings lovable pet Rascal won his way into the hearts of people young and old all over the world.

Sterling Norths mother, Elizabeth Nelson, was born in 1866. Elizabeths nickname was Libby. She loved language and nature, and she was very smart. Libby wanted to learn more about both of her passions. In 1880 she enrolled at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, at the young age of 14. Four years later, Libby graduated first in her class with degrees in .

Sterlings mother, Libby, was one of his greatest influences.

At Lawrence College, Libby met another student named David Willard North. After graduation, both Libby and David enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison as students.

Lawrence College, ca. 1860

In the 1800s, many women did not go to college. But Libby was eager for more education. She got a masters degree in biology, while David studied .

David grew up on a farm close to Edgerton, Wisconsin, near the shore of Lake Koshkonong (kahsh kuh nawng). His grandfather, Thomas North Sr., was one of the early settlers in Wisconsin. Thomas Sr. arrived from Sheffield, England, in the 1840s with his 18-year-old son, Thomas Jr., who would later become Davids father.

Together, Thomas Sr. and his son walked more than 80 miles from Milwaukee to the wilderness (wil dur nuhs) near Lake Koshkonong in southern Wisconsin. There they staked out a 380-acre plot and built the familys sturdy log cabin. Later, they built a larger house on the property, too. This house became home to 3 generations (je nuh ray shuhnz) of Norths, including young David and his parents. Each generation farmed the soil, hunted animals for food, and searched the land for arrowheads (