Keith Herkalo was born in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1948 and raised in Philadelphia and Plattsburgh (the family summered in Plattsburgh every year). After more than a decade in the military and an additional decade working for military equipment development firms in the Washington, D.C. area, he returned with his family to Plattsburgh (the proverbial return to Woebegon). It was then that he became more interested in Plattsburgh's history and specifically Plattsburgh's involvement in the War of 1812. He is an amateur historian who is the research catalyst behind the archaeological rediscovery of the 1812 camp known as Pike's Cantonment, the editor of The Journal of H.K. Averill, Sr.: An account of the Battle of Plattsburgh and Early North Country Community, has authored numerous local history articles and has been a frequent speaker in local history venues for many years. He is the city clerk of Plattsburgh; a founding member and current president of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association; a musician, theater buff, boat builder, sailor, diver, woodworker, plaster restorer and an 1812-era reenactor. With his wife, Dr. Joy Demarse, Keith is currently building their energy-efficient, solar-powered retirement home.