Trail of the old man: Historic and Legendary Tales of the Old Man of the Mountain - Paperback

by Paul D. Berube (Author)

High above the lush valley which makes up Franconia Notch, the gateway to northern New Hampshire, there lived an old man. He has been described as a relentless tyrant, a fantastic freak, and a learned philosopher, feeble of mind and weak of mouth and of unique beauty, most stern and very solemn, one of the most remarkable wonders of the mountain world. Daniel Webster once said, ..."Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

Author Biography

Born in Fall River, MA in 1952, Paul grew up in Somerset, MA; a small town across the Taunton River. He lived in Somerset until 1994 and then moved to Cranston, Rhode Island close to the Roger Williams Park and Zoo. In March of 2001, Paul moved to Meredith, New Hampshire with his wife, Joanne, and their then 21 month old son, Jonathan. Paul and his family now reside in town on Lake Wakeewan. Paul has also been blessed with four other children who now reside in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Hampshire. After the World Trade Center tragedy of September 11, 2001, Paul felt the need to do more, so he joined the local on-call volunteer fire department and graduated from the New Hampshire Fire Academy as a Pro Board Accredited Firefighter in March of 2003. At about the same time, Paul was approached by an Army National Guard recruiter and asked about his military background. That June, he was once again sworn into the Guard and soon received orders to report to Fort Sill, OK for re-training. Due to Paul's debilitating arthritic condition however, he was found to be unfit for deployment overseas and was given a second Honorable Discharge in March of 2004. Paul received his first Honorable Discharge in August, 1981 after serving in the Massachusetts Army National Guard for 10 years as FDC Chief with Delta Battery 1/211 Field Artillery out of Fall River. Unfortunately, due to joint replacement surgery, he no longer serves as an on call Firefighter. But Paul hopes that through his poetic story telling, he can still help others in some small way.