Remington Museum Book Club to Discuss Stories from Crooked Trails

Pictured: A page from Frederic Remington’s story “Cracker Cowboys of Florida,” one of four stories being discussed at the March 14 meeting of the Remington Book Club at the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg

The Frederic Remington Art Museum invites the public to the next meeting of the Remington Book Club on Tuesday, March 14 at noon. The Book Club, which meets monthly, explores the writings of Frederic Remington. The Club is free and open to the public, and has a hybrid format, so that participants can join the conversation in person at the Museum or virtually via Zoom. The Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at noon, so that even working people can participate during lunch. 

The next meeting of the Remington Book Club will discuss four stories from Remington’s 1898 collection of stories and articles called Crooked Trails. The four stories include “Joshua Goodenough’s Old Letter,” “Cracker Cowboys of Florida,” “The Strange Days that Came to Jimmie Friday,” and “The Soledad Girls.” The stories include a piece of historical fiction set among Roger’s Rangers during the Seven Years’ War, Remington’s observations of cattle ranching in Florida, an account of a group of city dudes on a canoe expedition in the backwoods of Canada, and a portrait of “young girl vaqueros” in Mexico.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 14 at noon, in person in the Museum’s Tiffany Room and online via Zoom. To learn more and to register, you can call 315-393-2425 or email Laura Desmond

The full text of Crooked Trails, including the three stories to be discussed this month, is available digitally for free here through Open Library.

“Frederic Remington’s creative output was not limited to paintings, drawings, and sculptures; he wrote works of fiction and nonfiction as well, ranging from articles for the magazines of his day to full-length novels. This book club is an opportunity to explore the work of Remington the writer,” notes Museum Curator & Educator Laura Desmond. Readers can participate in the entire series, or just individual sessions. Desmond added that readers should expect to encounter and discuss Remington’s complicated, and sometimes disturbing, views of race and ethnicity.