click to enlarge

Genre: Fiction: Historical
Imprint: Flanker Press
Format: Paperback, 277 pages, b & w photos and illustrations
Pub Date: November 2012
Price: $19.95
ISBN 10: 1-77117-032-8

ISBN 13: 978-1-77117-032-1

Shipping Weight: 0.4 kg

Inspired by True Events

“Men who weren’t hard workers didn’t last long at the lumber woods.”

Most people in Newfoundland and Labrador have someone in their family who has worked “in the woods.” Some of these workers were employed seasonally—they fished in the summer and headed to the lumber camps in the winter—while others were full-time loggers who worked year-round.

Stan White runs Camp 13 on the southwestern side of Gander Lake, which is a commercial operation cutting pulpwood for Bowater Pulp and Paper. He and his brother, Allan, oversee the men employed by the company to ensure the camp runs smoothly. The camp had opened in the fall of 1949. Now, during its third year in operation, Stan has his work cut out for him, as Bowater has tasked Camp 13 with the delivery of 7,000 cords of pulpwood.

This historical novel captures a time and place in this province’s not-too-distant past. Camp 13 illustrates in fine, well-researched detail the day-to-day friendships, struggles, triumphs, and tragedies of a hard-working people employed in a way of life that is long gone but never forgotten.

"This book is remarkable and, perhaps, unique. In plain, simple language, it tells of seasons and events in the life of a lumber camp in central Newfoundland. There are few women, no 'love interest,' no sex and no attempt to make any of the men better (or worse) than they really are. Taken all in all, Camp 13 is one of the best novels I’ve read."

PEI Guardian

"Personalities, weather, and animals all clash in this at times funny, at times nail-biting story. From the descriptions of camp food—fresh-baked tea buns, bowls of steaming prunes—to the collaboration needed to succeed in this tough terrain, White’s descriptions evoke what was one of the last bastions of isolated and all-male work situations."

Historical Novels Review

"The new release from Flanker Press, titled ‘Camp 13: Working in the Lumber Woods,’ offers vivid and detailed description of some of the hardest work imaginable."

Western Star

"'Camp 13' is a solid and thorough read . . .."

The Telegram

View photos from a book signing for Camp 13

Interviews

Interview with Bernice Hillier, CBC Radio West Coast Morning Show, December 17, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/thewestcoastmorningshow/episodes/2012/12/17/camp-13---a-new-book-about-woods-camp-life/