Conversations with the Caverlys
By V. Paul Reynolds
The Caverly Brothers is not a new country music duo, although Tim, the more prolific writer of the two well-known Maine outdoorsmen, could no doubt write a hit country song if he had a mind to.
“Conversations” is Tim’s latest book, the 12th of the Allagash Tails series. Brothers Buzz and Tim Caverly have spent a lifetime working in the Maine outdoors. Both are,indeed, bonafide legends in their own time and both dedicated their working lives to public service and outdoor recreation, Buzz as a ranger and director in Baxter State Park and Tim as Supervisor of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway for 18 years.
Combined, the brothers spent 78 years as conservation officers overseeing Maine’s two premier wilderness sanctuaries. Face it, you just don’t do this amount of time managing and protecting beloved wilderness retreats without racking up real-life adventures and a repertoire of memorable outdoor stories.
“Conversations” is aptly named. Squeezed between its 254 pages and 25 chapters are stories that were generated when the Caverlys simply sat down with a cup of coffee and one of Susan’s cookies and chatted and reflected about their years on the job.
This book breezes along. It is an easy, enjoyable read that left me laughing in most of the chapters. Some of the stories are true. Some are those inventive, outlandish outdoor tales that got dreamed up around someone’s campfire and just kept growing with each telling.
My favorite chapter is titled, “How Smart Are Beavers?” It is a recounting of an original story told by Tim’s wife Susan’s grandfather, Bert Dumas. Bert lived, trapped, hunted, and spent most of his life living on a lake north of Millinocket. He also had a remote cabin that was situated on a small brook in the shadow of Mount Katahdin. Dumas returned to his cabin one spring day to find it flooded. Beavers had erected a dam near his cabin and created a virtual dead water around his woods domain. Hoping to outsmart the beavers, Dumas breached their dam only in the end to be outsmarted by his furry neighbors. I’ll not spoil it for you. You’ll have to get a copy of the book to find out just how smart a beaver can be!
Life in the outdoors generates humorous moments, but not always. Sometimes danger, and even untimely death can come calling. In “Conversations” there are also some sad, scary and poignant recollections about heroic rescues and acts of heroism that resulted in ultimate sacrifice.
The Caverlys have much to be proud of, not only two lives well lived, but for their outstanding service to Maine and our precious wilderness areas.
“Conversations,” with illustrations by Frank Manzo, is published by Leicester Bay Books. Autographed copies are available for $24.95 from the author by emailing him at tim.caverly7357@gmail.com.
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com.