The Old Man Of Flynn's Island
The Hermit’s Tale
by
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Acrid smoke, rebel yells, rifle fire, the flash and crushing roar of Battery A’s canons, the sight and sound and smell of death and dying, all this assaulted the sensibilities of the young soldier. He was overwhelmed as he faced up close the immense horror of the great struggle. Private John Chambers could think of nothing else. It was as if this hell had been going on forever; this time, this place, this battle at Chickamauga Creek. He saw General van Pelt, friend of his parents and commander of the regiment, die in the withering Confederate attack. Other friends and comrades were collapsing around him; bloody, injured, perhaps mortally wounded. Blood, wet to his touch, flowed from a wound in John’s thigh. He could not feel the pain of the wound. Only by the wetness did he know it was there---and the dizziness. He too, collapsed, and as he fell, his gaze was held for a moment by the grim, determined eyes of the Rebel officer who had shot him. The officer was leading the troops that overran the Federal battery which John and his fellow artillerymen were trying to defend. John saw a great wound appear suddenly in the officer’s side. As his enemy crumpled beside him in the dust, John’s will cracked. “Please, God, no more,” he murmured.
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About the Book
This is a story of specific local interest. It is based upon the known existence of a hermit that indeed lived on this island in Higgins Lake. As such it will appeal to folks with connections to Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake and the surroundingRoscommon County.
In addition, it is a story of general interest, covering, as it does, experiences of our forefathers in the years from the Civil War to the early Twentieth Century. It is a good read for anyone with a lively interest in the history of these times.
About the Author
Writing has been a lifelong passion for Cal Patterson. And during retirement he has found time to write novels, a dream he had nourished for years.
After publication of two earlier novels, both targeted to teens and young adults, he turned to a different and more challenging project. He published a third book which brings to life stories of individuals he calls “The Wayfarers,” family members from the past and present, drawn from the genealogical record. Finally, he has completed a story he started many years ago, telling the tale of a hermit who lived at one time on the island in Higgins Lake, Michigan. It is fiction, to be sure, but it is inspired by knowledge that a real hermit did indeed live on that island in the past. The result is his latest publication, “The Old Man of Flynn’s Island – The Hermit’s Tale.”
Cal’s career included three years in the United States Air Force, thirty in the telephone industry, and ten as executive director of a private foundation. In the Air Force, he was a pilot in an air refueling squadron of the Strategic Air Command. During his years in the telephone business, he worked for Northwestern Bell in Iowa and Michigan Bell in the Detroit area. One of his assignments with Michigan Bell was oversight of corporate contributions. This led to an opportunity to retire from Bell and move to a new career with the McGregor Fund, a private foundation in Detroit. He retired from the McGregor Fund at year end 1994, and thereafter enjoyed time in Florida and Michigan. Home is now in northern Michigan, “in the woods about a half a mile from Higgins Lake,” where he lives full-time.