Pennsylvania Game News - January 2021 - 46

her husband had what he needed to make
this almost impossible undertaking work.
" Terry worked tirelessly to get me set
up and pointed in the right direction every
day, " Bob noted. " By the end of February,
she proved and I saw that it was indeed possible, that if we could maintain a straight
course, it would become a reality. "
Bob's biggest job was getting his columns and artwork ready and transferred to
Game News, ensuring every aspect of quality was addressed. Meeting those high-bar
standards would become more important
to him than living long enough to see the
book published.
" Reaching high always presents some
new challenges, and we had no idea what
lay in store for us, " Sopchick said. " They
included story rewrites, touching up old
pen-and-inks, finding and re-shooting
paintings, organizing the content in a
way that fused with my vision. It took
five months just to remaster and unify the
book's contents. "
But the book reached the editorial
finish-line in late October. And Bob's
health was holding.
Penn's Woods Passages came off the
press in November as a more than 300page bonanza that covers a lot of ground
46

and time, most of it mined from Bob's
almost 60 years of hunting and naturewatching throughout the Commonwealth,
but particularly in the northern tier and
within the Allegheny forests that once
sprawled outside his boyhood home.
Bob assembled the book so readers
would be unsure what awaited them at the
conclusion of one chapter and the start of
another. Suspense, he said, is critical in
writing, as important as the ideas from
which stories and painting are built. Bob
said he often is asked from where his ideas
come.
" It took me a long time to realize the
true answer to this question, " he noted with
a long pause. Then, sensing the timing was
right, he said, " It comes from the connections that exist among natural forces. That's
why I mostly let nature lead the way. "
He explained that in his fictional story,
The Witness Tree, about an ancient white
oak that had seen all manner of life pass
beneath its boughs, including the compelling bond two brothers shared through their
young lives hunting and during the Civil
War, the story's plot came to him one night
in a gentle breeze that stirred the leaves of
a silver maple he sat beneath. As a boy he
used to climb a tall oak to sit and relax,
admire the great view of the river valley,
wondering, imagining what lay beyond.
From there, the story grew.
Long forgotten, decrepit foundations,
old stone walls and partially buried yesteryear implements found deep in the woods
also have inspired his thoughts about those
who called such places home, and the lives
they led. He felt their presence and now
their lives live on.
Penn's Woods Passages is like nothing
else; the book you must read, the adventure you must take. It's special and worth
reading again and again. See the inside
front cover of this month's magazine for
information on how to purchase it.
It's a decision you'll never regret!
Pennsylvania Game News - January 2021

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