For Love of Lakes

Acknowledgments

· · xi · · acknowledgments Many people have instructed, inspired, and encouraged me in the writing of this book. First and foremost I thank my wife, Geri, my first reader, critic, and adventurous companion. Her steadfast support, undying encouragement , and endless assistance and patience made this book possible. My mother, Margaret, first introduced me to lakes as a toddler and loved lakes more deeply than any other person I have known. She planted the seed that became this book, though she did not live to see it grow. I am particularly indebted to those farsighted people who had the wisdom to establish the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, providing a place for novice writers to develop their skills. Many thanks to outstanding Loft instructors Cheri Register, Mary Carroll Moore, and, most particularly, Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, for their advice, instruction, and encouragement. I am deeply indebted to dear friends Jim and Marlys Terrian, who read each of the draft chapters, often several times, challenged assumptions that helped me clarify my arguments, and encouraged and supported me throughout. I am also grateful to fellow writers Judy Helgen, Tom Anderson, Douglas Owens-Pike, and Val Cunningham for their invaluable feedback, a · · xii · · acknowledgments healthy mix of tough criticism and wholehearted support. I also thank Sue Leaf and Laurie Allmann for their input at the outset of my journey with the book. Thanks also to John Helland and Barb Coffin for their review and suggestions on the full manuscript in one of its later revisions. Deep thanks to David Dempsey for his enthusiastic support and encouragement and for interesting a publisher to take a close look at the manuscript. His guidance and confidence played an important role in seeing a manuscript become a book. I also thank Julie Loehr at Michigan State University Press for her enthusiasm for the manuscript from the outset and her ongoing help. An early version of the “Shield Lakes Icon” was initially published in the Boundary Waters Journal. I thank Stuart Ostoff, publisher of the journal, for permission to use a modified version here. I also thank Pat Allen and Andrew Hall of Lincoln, Massachusetts, for the wonderful insights they provided about Thoreau and Flint’s Pond, and their deep commitment to protect that lake from harm. Those discussions changed the trajectory of the book. Thanks also to the wonderful librarians at the Concord, Massachusetts Public Library for directing me to key references. Finally, I must thank the following people for their wisdom and inspiration : Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Sigurd F. Olson, RachelCarson,SamEddy,JimUnderhill,JerryCole,WillardMunger,Myron (Bud) Heinselman, Scott Russell Sanders, and Herb Brooks. ...