Q & A with Author John Hafnor
Q. What is the "strange history" movement, and if it's really a movement why would I need to ask the question?
A. It's a movement in name only, started by a small group of Colorado teachers and local history advocates interested in making history more fun for students of all ages. Based on the premise that history enlightens only when it first entertains, the strange history gang collects and disseminates oddball history in the form of lesson plans and bibliographies. John Hafnor, a former teacher, is one of those contributing to the group's mission, which includes a speaker's bureau, free lesson plans, an informational website, and a telephone hotline.
Q. How might the new Hafnor book contribute to the sense of history among Americans?
A. That depends on how well the book sells. If it sells half a million copies, then perhaps we can say Strange But True, America made a small dent in the average American's awareness of their nation's rich and often loony history.
In the end, though, the true story-teller should seek only a campfire around which are gathered two or three good listeners. I end my preface to the book ends with these words:
"To paraphrase Lord Byron, 'Truth is always stranger than fiction.' See if you don't agree as you peruse these splinters of the American cross."
Q. What motivated you to seek out a "strange but true" tale for every state?
A. I sort of fell into the habit of collecting curious tales while working for the Rapid City (SD) Journal more than 25 years ago. The Black Hills gold rush was a source some wild stories, and the newspaper had a basement "morgue" containing yellowing bound volumes of frontier newspapers from as far back as the 1880s.
Q. Why is the Black Hills gold rush significant?
A. That event featured Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and a cast of other colorful characters, making it hard not to fall in love with history. It's also true a gold and silver rush or any get-rich-quick event is intrinsically a time of high drama and sometimes desperate individuals, all making for good story-telling.
Q. Have you always written about weird history?
A. Yes, that's my specialty. I've been told that my book Black Hills Believables, which begun in 1979 as a series of newspaper columns, was one of the first books to use the weird history format ? which is to say, brevity, "eye candy" in the form of a pen & ink drawing for each tale, and ideally a "twist" or ironic ending for each story. It's a formula that people seem to love.
Q. What are your methods for uncovering these weird tales?
A. Twenty five years ago I relied heavily on primary and secondary research methods ? interviews with old-timers, pouring over old copies of local newspapers, and visiting historic sites. But times have changed for historical research. Beginning with my Colorado book, most of my searching and documenting is done online. From my home office I can access the Library of Congress, and over a million books now digitized at sites such as Google Books.There are of course countless other Internet-based resources. Naturally, I still rely heavily on the unique sources of information and personal assistance available at our great brick-and-mortar libraries.
Q. How long did it take you to research and write Strange But True America?
A. About five years.
Q. What was your favorite part of compiling this book?
A. I probably enjoy the "discovery" or research phase the most. Next comes assembling the various facts in a rough outline leading to the finished story. That's not my favorite part because it requires me to ruthlessly cut out some highly entertaining but less vital content to reach the target length of 340 to 500 words. Next comes the joy of "wordsmithing" the tale into its final and most entertaining form. This involves a total of nine rewrites or edits per tale ? seven by me, one by an assistant, and one by the book editor for Strange But True, America, Mr. John Hughes.
Q. What state was the easiest to find a topic to write about?
A. I suppose South Dakota and Colorado were easiest. These are my "home" states, and the places where my contacts, resources and personal history are the strongest.
Beyond that, I would say North Dakota was easy, fun and serendipitous. I phoned up the state historian at the time, and he paused only for a moment before sharing the little-known and highly entertaining tale of Poker Jim. {Editors and reporters, more here on request. Email me at jhafnor@aol.com)
Q. What state was the hardest to find a topic to write about?
A. Alaska was hard, and that may seem ironic because it is such a vast territory with such a rich and rollicking history. I initially researched Alaska in 2006, and then put the Last Frontier state on the back burner until early 2009. That's when a dinner guest in my house, Severt McGinnis (the father of my brother-in-law's wife and a lifelong Alaskan) volunteered the wonderful tale about Porky Bicar. (Page 14 in Strange But True, America)
Q. Were you confident that Strange But True, America would sell well?
A. Reasonably so, yes. That's because Strange But True, Colorado was actually published first, and that title was the best-selling regional title in the year of it's publication. (Source Books West, Denver, CO). At that point I knew that a book using the same illustrator and the same format would surely find an audience.
Q. Okay, we get it: short tales, lots of illustrations. But who first called this the "bathroom book format?"
A. Clay Evans, book editor of the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera, came close to saying this when he first reviewed Strange But True, Colorado. In the December 11, 2005 edition of the Daily Camera, Evans wrote:
"Strange But True, Colorado is ? and I say this with the utmost respect ? a perfect bathroom book. That's because it contains short items ? Fun and fascinating, I like this book a lot."
Q. Has there been any demand for your tales from overseas?
A. The jury is out on that one. As I'm learning, there are many challenges to publishing and warehousing a book published in the U.S. but selling to Europeans.
In 2008, the translation company Rapid Translations approached me with the idea of translating my Western tales for the German speakers of the world. I liked the idea instantly ? having lived in Germany for one year, I was aware of the fascination many Germans have for the American West. The result was a book co-published by Rapid Translations and myself titled Wahres aud dem Wilden Westen. (True tales of the Wild West). About 1,000 of these books are in print, and we are closely watching sales at this time.
Q. Where will your writing take you from here?
A. It looks like I will attempt the daunting task of creating a "Strange" series book for each of the fifty states. Strange But True, America is now out, as are Strange But True, Colorado and Strange But True, South Dakota.
Also, for some time now I've been planning a historical novel set in South Dakota's badlands region, and featuring an unlikely friendship between a Nebraska cowboy and a Lakota Native American. This project is moving will soon demand more of my attention.
Q. How about regions? Which region of the U.S. has the most compelling true tales?
A. I started this project with a bias for tales of the frontier West, and regions with gold rush activity. I assumed that weird history might be hard to find on the eastern seaboard, but I was very happily mistaken ? America's colonial and post-colonial era proved to be a treasure trove of the arcane.
Q. Your book jacket promises readers "the oddball history left out of your high school textbooks." Does this mean your books can be substituted for traditional history books?
A. No. My books are more the cherries on top of the banana split. For example, a few school districts in Colorado use my Strange But True, Colorado as a tool to attract students to a deeper appreciation of regional history. Because the tales often focus on absurd or embarrassing events (see Vermont's bathroom humor involving Ethan Allen, or the District of Columbia's skinny-dipping president), young people respond favorably when they see that our national legends were, after all, just people. Where students once saw history as the study of "dead people," we try to humanize.
History can enlighten us about the past, a past that we may not want to repeat. But this only works if society is paying attention. Books like John Stephens' Weird History 101, Rick Beyer's The Greatest Stories Never Told, and Strange But True, America put entertainment first, but intrinsically remind readers of how the past continues to leech into the present ? and beyond.
Q. It's been nearly 30 years between the publication of your first book, and your latest book. How will tomorrow's books be different from yesterday's tomes?
A. I believe books of the future will look the same on the outside. That is, they will still mostly be printed on paper and not projected on screens ? people like the tactile experience of holding a book, and they love the extreme portability. But inside, I predict tomorrow's book pages will look more like a page from a web site, and by that I mean when opening up to any two pages, one will always find some "eye candy" ? a photo, a map, or a pen & ink drawing. This will be the case even for novels. And it's why I designed Strange But True, America so that it's impossible to open a two-page spread without seeing at least one image. Also, within the copy I look for every chance to direct readers to relevant web sites for more information on a topic.
Q. Also from the book jacket, there is the claim that more than one U.S. president was killed by their own physicians. Can you explain at least one of these events now?
A. Sure. In 1799 the retired George Washington caught a cold, or perhaps bronchitis, after spending a cold, rainy day touring his Mount Vernon estate on horseback. Next morning, Washington called on his aides to perform the then fashionable medical quackery of bloodletting. Afterwards a "revolving door" of distinguished doctors arrived, and each in turn prescribed a further bloodletting. A total of 80 ounces of blood was drained from his vains. Thus died the Father of America ? He who fought nearly one hundred battles without ever being wounded was bled to death by his own doctors. George Washington was 67.
The day after the apparent death of George Washington, eminent physician William Thornton arrived at Mount Vernon. Thornton hoped that Washington was in a suspended state, from which he could be reanimated and then treated. Washington's body had been packed in ice after his death.
Thornton proposed that the body be thawed gradually, first in cool water and then with warm blankets and rubbing of the skin, with a subsequent tracheotomy, artificial respiration at the tracheotomy site, and a transfusion of lamb's blood.
Martha Washington firmly vetoed Thornton's plans for a "resurrection." Interestingly, George Washington had once revived a slave presumed to be dead. Dr. Thornton was likely aware of this story.
Q. How would you describe the prototypical reader of your books?
A. Because of the format, our books have been described as "accessible," meaning that we reach a broader audience than just the voracious or frequent reader. Comments frequently heard go something like this: "I got this book for my father. He's not what you'd call a book reader, but he did read this book cover to cover." The "Associated Press" style of writing uses everyday language delivered conversationally.
Q. What are a few of the strangest historical curiosities you uncovered?
A. In bullet points, here are a few:
A woman warrior of the Cheyenne tribe may have killed George Custer.
If he hadn't died at the Little Big Horn, Custer likely would have died from arsenic poisoning associated with his favorite hobby of taxidermy.
An ex-slave from Alabama showed every sign of being one of the great geniuses of American history, but his illiteracy limited his impact.
The Wild West's famous "Hanging Judge" was ironically against the death penalty.
Ancient Americans built their greatest city in the most dangerous of places, apparently as an act of faith in the Great Spirit.
Florida joined the Union thanks to the bite of one mosquito.
The world's oldest living tree was inadvertently killed by a student lover of trees.
Editors, Reporters- For prompt additional information on these and other questions, please contact author John Hafnor at his business cell, 970-443-5211 or jhafnor@aol.com.
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