Ocooch Mountain Rocks

My mother had a flower garden in the back of the house next to the lilac bush where the hill sloped. She arranged it like a terrace with nice, rich soil behind stacked rocks. After my dad passed away when I was ten, I did my best to help her weed it. The stones were interesting, but one stood out, and I wondered where it had been found...I decided to ask my sister where Mother got that big strange rock in her flower garden. She told me to check out the old gravel pit dug for sand and gravel when cars replaced horses, and better roads were needed. It was small, only a few hundred feet long, and about ten to fifteen feet deep. A companion pit dug about the same time on a bluff across a deep, wide valley from my sister's farm was even smaller. The location of the smaller pit seemed odd. It was almost a quarter mile across the field from the curvy road that snaked up the hill. Why didn't they dig out sand and gravel at a more convenient place?

"Ah, you have a familiar looking collection of bizarre rocks, which have had an amazing diagenetic history that almost defies a full understanding"-Robert H. Dott Jr. PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rocks fascinate people, especially exotic ones, and the Ocooch Mountain Rocks give an exceptional, over-the-top visual experience that is visceral and emotive. Several times, we held an open house where people toured my displays, and no one was disappointed. Many returned for another look. One little girl mentioned in the dedication came twice and, on the second trip, brought her rock collection to share. That was a great day! The book was written because people wanted it and encouraged me to write.

I love history, particularly earth history, which was my favorite part of the encyclopedias growing up as a latchkey kid in a small town. Given the highly unusual nature of the rocks, petrified structures formed by an early lifeform, the book became an opportunity to present a unique view of geological history for our area that covers billions of years, tracing the lifeform through time and planetary changes to our present-day, explaining bestowed benefits, and how the rocks were formed.

I have a gift for seeing patterns and catching glimpses of unusual shapes when walking in my rock gardens or seeing a pair of eyes looking at me when sitting in the firelight surrounded by a jagged, horse-shoe-shaped wall of rocks. A surprising visage may appear when turning a rock on bluffs in piles of stones placed there by countless hours of toil as farmers removed them from the field where they weathered up and became a danger to equipment. Magnification can also uncover startling images. In the magic moment of discovery, pictures are spontaneously taken with whatever cellphone or camera is available. They are one-of-a-kind photos. All capture imagination and evoke emotion. A gallery of exceptional images transforms the manuscript into more than a geology book; it is photographic natural art, a story in stone.

About the Author

I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My wife, Kathleen, and I have eight children, all of whom will attest to my desire to lecture on exciting topics! After a business career, we moved to an acreage in Wisconsin. Someone asked me if the Ocooch Mountains were real. Solving the mystery of the Ocooch Mountains awakened a passion for writing, and the Ocooch Mountains and the Ocooch Mountain Rocks were written. With my beard, walking staff, and leather hat, trekking through the hills searching for rocks I become the Ocooch Mountain Man! Grandkids love it and our explorations become an exciting adventure! More unique history books and other genres are planned.