Chapel Street Editions has published Tappan Adney and the Heritage of the St. John River Valley. Keith Helmuth, Daryl Hunter, and Brendan Helmuth have produced the book in association with the Town of Woodstock and the Carleton County Historical Society.

The Historical Society will host the public launch of this new book on Wednesday, June 28 at 7 PM at the Old Carleton County Courthouse in Upper Woodstock. Joan Adney Dragon, Tappan Adney’s granddaughter, will be present for the launch.

Tappan Adney came to Woodstock from New York City for a summer holiday in 1887 at the age of 18 and, essentially, made the St. John River Valley his home ever after. He learned how to build birchbark canoes from the Maliseet, recording every detail of construction. His book, The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, has become the workbench bible of all those who are again building birchbark canoes.

Tappan Adney was an artist, ornithologist, linguist, ethnographer, journalist, photographer expert craftsman, and historical researcher on the treaty rights of the Indigenous people of the Maritimes. He was an extraordinary man who accomplished extraordinary work on the cultural history of Indigenous people and Canada.

His life’s work started in Woodstock, NB and, although he traveled widely, he always returned to his home in Upper Woodstock. Tappan Adney and the Heritage of the St. John River Valley covers the full scope of his life and accomplishments. The book is highly illustrated and concludes with an Appendix of Adney quotes.

The book launch on June 28th will include the display of a Maliseet birchbark canoe made by Eric Paul in 2015. Art Slipp, Mayor of Woodstock, and John Thompson, President of the Historical Society will make short presentations. Daryl Hunter and Keith Helmuth will make presentations on the Adney research project and on the new book. Copies of Tappan Adney and the Heritage of the St. John River Valley will be available for purchase and refreshments will be served.

Celebrating Carleton County Storytelling

Connell House Hosts the Release of Two More George Frederick Clarke Books

Carleton County Historical Society and Chapel Street Editions will host an evening for celebrating the storytelling art of George Frederick Clarke at Connell House on Thursday October 20th at 7 PM. Clarke lived his whole life in Woodstock and became one of New Brunswick’s best-known authors. He wrote and published thirteen books.

Two more of Clarke’s books have now been republished and will be featured in the evening’s presentations. Clarke wrote two books about a young boy named Jimmy-Why - The Adventures of Jimmy-Why and Noël and Jimmy-Why. They became best sellers and Canadian classics.

Chapel Street Editions has now republished these books in one volume, complete with the original illustrations. The new edition is titled, Jimmy-Why and Noël Polchies: Their Adventures in the Great Woods.

Song of the Reel is the other newly republished Clarke book. This internationally famous Canadian fishing classic is a companion volume to Six Salmon Rivers and Another. Both books are packed with stories of fishing, interesting people, and the love of outdoor living in the woods and on the water. Six Salmon Rivers was republished in 2015

Clarke’s books are of enduring interest because he is such a good storyteller. Good storytelling is one of Carleton County’s valued traditions, and the event at Connell House on the 20th will feature Ian Bernard, Clarke’s grandson, sharing his own New Brunswick stories and reading selections from his grandfather’s books.

In addition, the evening will provide an opportunity for others to share their stories about George Frederick Clarke, his books, and his times. Many people in Carleton County remember reading his books and still have the original editions on their shelves.

New from The George Frederick Clarke Project

Now Available

Chapel Street Editions has republished two more George Frederick Clarke books. Song of the Reel, the second of his much loved fishing memoirs. (Six Salmon Rivers was republished in the fall of 2015.) Clarke’s fishing books are much more than memoirs. They are books in which his talent for natural and local history story telling is also amply demonstrated. Since republishing Six Salmon Rivers, local anglers have told us they re-read Clarke’s fishing books every winter. These are the kind of readers authors hope for. These are the kind of books that should be kept in print.

The second book now available is Jimmy-Why & Noël Polchies: Their Adventures in the Great Woods, a one-volume compilation of Clarke’s Jimmy-Why stories for children. Originally published in two volumes as The Adventures of Jimmy-Why and Noël and Jimmy-Why, these books recount the experience of a young boy as he learns the ways of the great woods and woodland living. While written as fiction, we know that one of the main characters, Noël Polchies, was a  First Nation person who appears in the stories in his own name. We also know that in real life Noël was a mentor to a young Fred Clarke. This is, perhaps, why the stories ring so true.

Available Nov. 17th

In November of 2016, an expanded edition of Clarke’s famous book on his archaeological work in the St. John River watershed, Someone Before Us, will be republished. It will have an Afterword by Professor David Black of the University of New Brunswick’s Anthropology Department, which holds Clarke’s extensive collection of artefacts. It will also include an expanded section of new photographs showing notable examples of Aboriginal tools Dr. Clarke found and unearthed during his pioneering archaeological digs. Clarke had written an archaeological monograph but it was lost in fire before it could be published. Fortunately, he returned to this story late in life and produced Someone Before Us, a wide-ranging memoir and collection of stories from his archaeological explorations.

Join us for a book launch of Someone Before Us on December 1st at the Harriet Irving Library in Fredericton.

New Poetry from Chapel Street Editions

Thanks to all who attended the launch event at Westminster Books on June 9th for Jane Tims and Edith Miller. Over 50 people joined us to enjoy readings from their new collections of poetry.

Jane Spavold Tims

Edith Hoisington Miller

within easy reach is a collection of poems by Jane Spavold Tims about gathering local foods. The poems capture the experience of harvesting edible wild plants and foods produced in gardens, orchards, and apiaries. The poems also explore our relationship with nature. They seek to re-establish our connection with nature in the most basic of ways, through growing and gathering our food.

Jane Spavold Tims is a botanist, historian, artist and writer. She was born and raised in southern Alberta and now lives in rural New Brunswick. She obtained her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in biology at Dalhousie University in Halifax and later returned to university to obtain a B.A. in anthropology and history at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. During her career she worked in environmental protection, in the fields of air quality, watershed management, and community planning.

Visit Jane's blog here: janetims.com

All poets write about their experience of the great world and the themes are never exhausted. In Crow Impressions Edith Miller’s crows command the page; they are accompanied by other birds, various animals, landscapes, music, history, and family. She opens windows on her unique story.  In celebration, narrative, and elegy she bears witness to the common wealth of life.

From the Foreword by Thelma Ann Brennan

Welcome to the poetry of Edith Hoisington Miller. Through her book, Crow Impressions & Other Poems, we travel through Edith Miller’s life, a journey lived to the fullest through family stories, travel adventures, nature, music, and history. In her poetry, we discover a writer who has spent her life as a quiet observer, but, at the same time, deeply engaged in natural and cultural environments. Her poems carry the themes of her existence, from one to the other, none more important than another, all presented in clear, sharp images.

The George Frederick Clarke Project: 2016 Update

Chapel Street Editions is set to republish two more George Frederick Clarke books. Song of the Reel, the second of his much loved fishing memoirs, will appear in the spring(delayed until late summer) of 2016 (Six Salmon Rivers was republished in the fall of 2015.) Clarke’s fishing books are much more than memoirs. They are books in which his talent for natural and local history story telling is also amply demonstrated. Since republishing Six Salmon Rivers, local anglers have told us they re-read Clarke’s fishing books every winter. These are the kind of readers authors hope for. These are the kind of books that should be kept in print.

The second book scheduled for Spring(delayed until late summer) 2016 is Jimmy-Why & Noël Polchies: Their Adventures in the Great Woods, a one-volume compilation of Clarke’s Jimmy-Why stories for children. Originally published in two volumes as The Adventures of Jimmy-Why and Noël and Jimmy-Why, these books recount the experience of a young boy as he learns the ways of the great woods and woodland living. While written as fiction, we know that one of the main characters, Noël Polchies, was a real First Nation person who appears in the stories in his own name. We also know that in real life Noël was a mentor to a young Fred Clarke. This is, perhaps, why the stories ring so true.

Original cover of
Someone Before UsIn November of 2016, an expanded edition of Clarke’s famous book on his archaeological work in the St. John River watershed, Someone Before Us, will be republished. It will have a new introduction by Professor David Black of the University of New Brunswick’s Anthropology Department, which holds Clarke’s extensive collection of artefacts. It will also include an expanded section of new photographs showing notable examples of Aboriginal tools Dr. Clarke found and unearthed during his pioneering archaeological digs. Clarke had written an archaeological monograph but it was lost in fire before it could be published. Fortunately, he returned to this story late in life and produced Someone Before Us, a wide-ranging memoir and collection of stories from his archaeological explorations.

In 2017, CSE expects to republish George Frederick Clarke’s three adventure novels set in the Canadian wilderness: Chris in Canada, David Cameron’s Adventures, and The Young Fur Trappers.