Island Falls hosts author

    Island Falls Historical Society will host Author/Baxter Park Ranger Andrew Vietze at a discussion/book signing on Tuesday July 31 at the Fish and Game Club on Brooks Road, Island Falls. Light refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. followed by the program. Andrew’s book “Becoming Teddy Roosevelt: How a Maine Guide Inspired America’s 26th President” is the story of Theodore Roosevelts visits to Island Falls, his interaction with pioneer settler William W. Sewall and it’s influence on his adulthood and presidency.
    A registered Maine Guide , Vietze was intrigued when he stumbled on the story of the rough hewn hunting guide who became a mentor to Theodore Roosevelt. “In the innumerable biographies of the twenty-sixth president, William Wingate Sewall takes up only a page or two or a handful at the best,” he explains. “Something told me that there was more to the story, that this was a uniquely formative relationship for the young Teddy Roosevelt.”
    In researching the book, author Vietze spent time in Island Falls. He has maintained a connection with the town and the remaining relatives of the Sewall family.