The Trees Went Forth - A Novel - Introduction to 1982 Printing

Sep 21, 2026

Introduction to the 1982 printing of Walter O'Meara’s historical novel The Trees Went Forth, describing its origins in northern Minnesota logging life. The text explains O'Meara’s background, including time spent in a logging camp at nineteen and family connection through his father’s memory and observation. It frames the book as a “documentary novel”: characters and story are fictional, but camp routines, equipment, and logging operations are presented as scrupulously accurate. It also notes donations of original notes and sketches for a reconstructed 1900 logging camp at a history center.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages260

Reading Time6 h 40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction to 1982 Printing

Author Background and Inspiration

Camp Life and Logging Details

Donation of Notes and Historical Reconstruction

eTreeS Hent FOrthby Walter OMeara KASPER # DATE DUE | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PS0'Meara,Walter3529.M4The trees went forthT71982 INVER HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGELEARNING RESOURCES CENTER OENCB 7.9.5 # WITHDRAWN The TreesWent Forth A NOVELby WALTER O'MEARACROWN PUBLISHERSNEW YORK # INTRODUCTION TO 1982 PRINTING The Trees Went Forth,a book about logging in northern Min-nesota,was the first of an impressive list of historical novels byWalter O'Meara,which include The Savage Country,The LastPortage and Minnesota Gothic.In many cases,the subject matterO'Meara chose for his books dealt with exciting episodes fromthe frontier period of American history,some of which occurredin Northern Minnesota. O'Meara was born in Cloquet,Minnesota,the son of a timberscaler who had spent some thirty winters in the logging campsduring the 1880s,90s and early 1900s.When asked how he cameto write The Trees Went Forth,he said,"the answer is simpleenough.I had always wanted to write,and it was natural that myfirst novel,like most first novels,shouid be auto-biographical...I based it on a personal experience I thoughtmight be interesting to others.” When O'Meara was nineteen years old,he spent a winter in anorthern Minnesota logging camp.O'Meara tells us,"the campboss was Ed"Pine City"Netser,one of the last great boss log-gers in the Cloquet area.with a crew of a hundred men,he builthis camps,laid out his roads,cut over seven million feet of pine,landed it on Pequawan Lake,and drove it down the St.LouisRiver to the mills in Cloquet.And he did it in the classic 'horselogging'style without an ounce of steam.” O'Meara continues,"even then I was developing a sense ofhistory,and I suspected that I was witnessing the last chapter ofa great and colorful American epoch.I decided that some day Iwould write a book about Netser's camp.So I carefully observedeverything about me,the camp layout and equipment,the crewand the kind of life they led,all the details of cutting,hauling, and landing timber.Years later,I checked my observations andimpressions with my father...he was an accurate observer witha total recall memory,and I decided it would be a service tohistory,as well as to myself as a future writer,to record every-thing he knew about logging camps and logging...When Ifinally got around to writing The Trees Went Forth in 1947—these notes,together with my own memories of Netser's camp,gave me a solid historical basis for what I thought of as a'documentary novel.'While the story told in The Trees WentForth is pure invention,and all the characters fictional,everydetail of camp life and logging operations is,I believe,scrupulously correct." A number of years ago,I had the pleasure of meeting WalterO'Meara and reading several of his historical novels,includingThe Trees Went Forth.I was impressed with the historical ac-curacy of his books.When the Forest History Center at GrandRapids,Minnesota began its development and the decision toreconstruct a 1900 period Minnesota logging camp was made,we sought help and advice from Walter O'Meara.It was mostfortunate that O'Meara donated his original notes and accuratesketches on logging camps and their furnishings to the Minneso-ta Historical Society for use in reconstructing the camp whichnow exists at the Center. The Minnesota Historical Society,the Forest History Center,and the readers of this book will be deeply indebted to O'Mearafor his important contribution to the history of a dramatic peri-od in American History.Robert C.Wheeler COPYRIGHT,1947,by wALTER O′MEARA PRINTED IN THE U NITED STATEs OF AMERICABY J.J.LITTLE IVEs coMPANY,NEW YORK To My Father and to all the vanished race of shanty boysand rivermen,and to their women who,like my mother,kept lone care of theirhomes and children through the long winters,th

FAQs

Who wrote The Trees Went Forth and what is the focus of the introduction?

Walter O'Meara wrote The Trees Went Forth. The introduction to the 1982 printing explains the novel’s origins, purpose, and the historical accuracy behind its depiction of logging camps.

How did O'Meara develop the material for the novel?

He drew on personal experience after spending a winter in a northern Minnesota logging camp at nineteen and later compared his observations with his father’s detailed memory of camp life and logging.

Are the characters and locations in the book based on real people and places?

The introduction states that the characters and the story are imaginary and that the places are fictional as well, even though the logging details are intended to be historically correct.

Sep 21, 2026

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