McMartin, Barbara 1931-

views updated

McMARTIN, Barbara 1931-

(Barbara McMartin Patterson)

PERSONAL:

Born November 11, 1931, in Boston, MA; daughter of D. Malcolm (a physician) and Barbara (a homemaker; maiden name, Clark) McMartin; married Walter A. Reid (retired); children: James M. Long, Nancy Long Loomis, Margaret Lawrence; two stepchildren. Education: Vassar, A.B., 1962; City University of New York, M.A., 1964, Ph.D., 1971. Politics: "Independent."

ADDRESSES:

Home—Canada Lake, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Syracuse University Press, 621 Skytop Road, Suite 110, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, c. 1980—. Member of High Peaks advisory committee, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

WRITINGS:

ADIRONDACK GUIDEBOOKS

(As Barbara McMartin Patterson) Walks and Waterways: An Introduction to Adventure in the East Canada Creek and the West Branch of the Sacandaga River Sections of the Southern Adirondacks, Adirondack Mountain Club (Glens Falls, NY), 1974.

Caroga: An Adirondack Town Recalls Its Past, Town of Caroga (Caroga, NY), 1976, 2nd edition, Lake View Press (Chicago, IL), 1998.

Old Roads and Open Peaks: A Guide to the Southeastern Adirondacks, Adirondack Mountain Club (Glens Falls, NY), 1977.

Discover the Adirondacks, New Hampshire Publishing Co. (Somersworth, NH), 1979.

(And photographer) Fifty Hikes in the Adirondacks: Short Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks throughout the Park, New Hampshire Publishing Co. (Somersworth, NH), 1980, 2nd edition, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1988, 3rd edition, 1997, 4th edition, 2003.

Guide to the Eastern Adirondacks: Lake George, Pharaoh Lake, and Beyond, Adirondack Mountain Club (Glens Galls, NY), 1981.

(And photographer, with Peter Kick) Fifty Hikes in the Hudson Valley: From the Catskills to the Taconics, and from the Ramapos to the Helderbergs, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1985, 2nd edition, with Peter Kick and James McMartin Long, 1994.

(With Francis B. Rosevear) Colvin in the Adirondacks: A Chronology and Index: Research Source for Colvin's Published and Unpublished Works, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1992.

Hides, Hemlocks and Adirondack History: How the Tanning Industry Influenced the Region's Growth, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1992.

Adventures in Hiking: A Young Peoples' Guide to the Adirondacks, illustrated by George Palestri, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1993.

(With Edward Comstock, Jr., and W. Alec Reid) The Great Forest of the Adirondacks, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1994.

Fun on Flatwater: An Introduction to Adirondack Canoeing, illustrated by Gregory Palestri, inserts by W. Alec Reid, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1995.

To the Lake of the Skies: The Benedicts in the Adirondacks, Lake View Press (Canada Lake, NY), 1996.

(With Lee M. Brenning) Adventures in Camping: An Introduction to Adirondack Backpacking, illustrated by Scott D. Selden, North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1996.

The Adirondack Park: A Wildlands Quilt, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 1999.

(With W. Alec Reid) The Glove Cities: How a People and Their Craft Build Two Cities; A Sociological and Economic History of the Glove and Glove-LeatherIndustries in Johnstown and Gloversville, Fulton County, New York, Lake View Press (Caroga, NY), 1999.

Perspectives on the Adirondacks: A Thirty-Year Struggle by People Protecting Their Treasure, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 2002.

Also author of Old Roads and Open Peaks of the Sacandaga Region (map overlays), Adirondack Mountain Club (Glens Falls, NY), 1977. Contributor to collections, including 2020 Vision: Fulfilling the Promise of the Adirondack Park, edited by George D. Davis, Adirondack Council (Elizabethtown, NY), 1988.

"DISCOVER THE ADIRONDACKS" SERIES

(With Dennis Conroy, James C. Dawson, and Edythe Robbins) Discover the Central Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures in the Heart of the North Woods, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1986, 2nd edition, 1992.

(With Dennis Conroy) Discover the South Central Adirondacks: Including the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1986, 2nd edition, 1990.

(With Willard Reed) Discover the Southeastern Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures on Old Roads and Open Peaks, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1986.

(With James C. Dawson and Dennis Conroy) Discover the Northeastern Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures from Lake Champlain to the Rock-crowned Eastern Slopes, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1987.

(With Lee M. Brenning, William P. Ehling, and Stanford Pulrang) Discover the Southwestern Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures in the Wild-Forested Foothills, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1987, 2nd edition, 1993.

(With Edyth Robbins), Discover the Eastern Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures near Lake George, Pharoah Lake, and Beyond, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1988.

(With E. H. Ketchledge, and others) Discover the Northern Adirondacks: Four-Season Excursions from Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Points North, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1988, 2nd edition (with Phil Capone and others), Lake View Press (Utica, NY), 1998.

(And photographer, with Stanford Pulrang) Discover the Southern Adirondacks: Walks, Waterways, and Winter Treks, additional photographs by Laurence King, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1988.

(With Lee M. Brenning, Dennis Conroy, and Sandy Edwards) Discover the West Central Adirondacks: A Guide to the Western Wilderness and the Moose River Plains, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1988.

(With Lee Brenning, and others) Discover the Adirondack High Peaks, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1989, 2nd edition, Lake View Press (Utica, NY), 1998.

(With Lee M. Brenning, Anne L. Burnham, Peter O'Shea, and Francis B. Rosevear) Discover the Northwestern Adirondacks: Four-Season Adventures through the Boreal Forest and the Park's Frontier Region, Backcountry Publications (Woodstock, VT), 1990.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

The Privately-owned Adirondacks.

SIDELIGHTS:

For decades, declared John Rowan, writing in the New York State Conservationist, "Barbara McMartin has informed and entertained us as one of the most prolific Adirondack writers whose works include three histories of the region and several editions each of fourteen outdoor guides." McMartin's personal accomplishments include not only a victory over breast cancer but also a hiking schedule that covers hundreds of miles in the course of a year. In her works McMartin takes hikers ranging from the novice to the most experienced through the wilderness areas of upstate New York. She explores backwoods trails leading to forgotten historical sites, visits nature reserves, and introduces readers to the joys of walking. "For McMartin, the journey is as important as the destination," wrote R. W. Groneman, in a New York State Conservationist review of Fifty Hikes in the Adirondacks: Short Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks throughout the Park.

McMartin's interest in walking in the Adirondacks dates back to her childhood, when she spent summers exploring the mountains on foot with her father. "We always took walks together," the author told Mimi Wacholder for the Adirondack Sports and Fitness magazine, "and I definitely remember my first bushwhack (a term referring to hiking in the woods without a trail)." Although her career drew her away from upstate New York for years, she returned to the trails of her childhood in 1970. After she received her Ph.D., McMartin revivied the family tradition of summering in the Adirondacks with her own children. The notes she took on the family hikes metamorphosed into her first book, Walks and Waterways: An Introduction to Adventure in the East Canada Creek and the West Branch of the Sacandaga River Sections of the Southern Adirondacks. Its publication began McMartin's extensive career as a composer of Adirondack guidebooks.

"What sets McMartin's writing style apart from other guidebooks," Wacholder explained, "is her interest in both history and natural history." The Great Forest of the Adirondacks tells the story of the remaining old-growth forest hidden in the corners of the Adirondacks—one of the last remnants of the forests that covered all of North America when the European colonists arrived. McMartin's research revealed that "at least 200,000 acres, and maybe more than twice that much," stated New York State Conservationist contributor Robert Bendick, have survived the depredations of the previous two hundred years. Surrounding and buried within parts of the old forest there are old stone foundations of houses or perhaps factory buildings. McMartin's research revealed that these foundations were in fact the remnants of tanneries that used the bark of hemlock trees to cure leather for the soles of shoes. These foundations proved to be important reminders of a vanished woodlands industry. "McMartin's research," concluded Bendick, "provides new understanding that can be the basis for sound, well-reasoned decisions about the future."

McMartin told CA: "I write to discover, to summarize my research. I write almost exclusively about the Adirondacks. The sense of place and history inspire me."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York State Conservationist, October, 1995, Robert Bendick, review of The Great Forest of the Adirondacks, p. 31; December, 1996, John Rowen, review of Adventures in Camping: An Introduction to Adirondack Backpacking, p. 30; February-March, 1998, R. W. Groneman, review of Fifty Hikes in the Adirondacks: Short Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks Throughout the Park, p. 30.