William J. "Jay" O'Hern (1944–2026) was all about the Adirondacks.

It started more than 60 years ago, when his family camped each summer around Eighth Lake and Brown's Tract.

His love affair with the mountains accelerated in his 20s, when he began backpacking through the wilderness. He indeed walked the walk, and he also talked the talk, producing numerous books about the Adirondacks and the people who live there, with a special emphasis on the famed hermit, Noah John Rondeau and his friends.

"I'm definitely interested in the social history," said O'Hern, a Camillus native and retired Camden schools social studies, English and reading teacher. "It's not just about someone like Noah John Rondeau, but so many of the original Adirondack families that I met. I feel privileged that they have shared information with me. I feel a real obligation to the history of the mountains. It's going to disappear if we don't record it."

And record it he did.

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Adirondack Author – William J. "Jay" O'Hern

Books

• The Adirondacks' Moose River Plains Vol. 1: Life Around the Indian Clearing (2021)
• Adirondack Timber Cruising (2020)
• Life in a North Woods Lumber Camp, Expanded Edition (2018, View Book Image) - Memoirs of O'Hern's grandfather, Thomas C. O'Donnell
• Adirondack Camp Stories: A Treasury of True Tales, Lore, History, Recreation, and Colorful Characters of the Mountains (2017, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Logging: Stories, Memories, and Cookhouse Chronicles from Adirondack and Tug Hill Lumber Camps: Life and Times in the Early Years of Logging Mechanization (2016, View Book Image)
• Spring Trout & Strawberry Pancakes (2015, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Memories and Campfire Stories (2014, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Wilds: Exploring the Haunts of Noah John Rondeau (2014, View Book Image)
• The Hermit and Us: Our Adirondack Adventures with Noah John Rondeau (2014, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Kaleidoscope and North Country Characters (2013, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Adventures: Bob Gillespie and Harvey Dunham on French Louie's Trail (2012, View Book Image) - Co-authored with Roy E. Reehil; introduction by Neal Burdick
• Life in a North Woods Lumber Camp (2012, View Book Image) - Memoirs of O'Hern's grandfather, Thomas C. O'Donnell
• Noah John Rondeau's Adirondack Wilderness Days (2009, View Book Image)
• Under An Adirondack Influence: The Life of A. L. Byron-Curtiss, 1871–1959 (2008, View Book Image) - Co-authored with Roy E. Reehil
• Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns: Early Settlers and Their Traditions (2005, View Book Image)
• Adirondack Stories of the Black River Country (2003, View Book Image)
• Anyplace Wild in the Adirondacks (2000, View Book Image) - Collectable Postcard Book
• Life with Noah: Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith with Noah John Rondeau (1997, View Book Image)