The author, E. E. "Kirk" Nichols, was born in Aspen, Nova Scotia, in 1900 and is buried there. Though he spent his adult life in the United States, Nova Scotia was always "home." He wrote these stories in the early 1940s while living in California, not knowing if they would ever be enjoyed by others. Today they offer a precious bit of Nova Scotia history and life along the St. Mary's River between Sherbrooke and Antigonish 100 years ago.