The Peru Gazette

By John T Ryan (Please share)

Many North Country residents know James “Jim” Howard Jr. in many roles, as a longtime Peru Central School educator, Education Director at Mountain Lake PBS, and SUNY Plattsburgh professor. Soon, Jim Howard may be known as a successful, entertaining author. His book Reflections on a Father and His Son has been released and is on sale on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Champlain Centre’s Bookburgh.  

Howard’s book traces his personal and family history from Scottville, a small Hudson Valley community, to another small town, Rouses Point, NY, where his family settled after his father accepted a position at Ayerst Laboratories. Howard was ten years old when he arrived in Rouses Point. A rebellious kid in the Hudson Valley, he continued his adventures and misadventures in Rouses Point. His teens were characterized by poor school grades and resisting authority, especially his father’s authority. Fortunately, good people surrounded him, including his patient, loving parents and family, other Rouses Point residents, and Champlain Central School teachers. One of those teachers changed his life direction. 

Most boys growing up in the 1950s and 1960s undoubtedly share Howard’s memories, whether it be their first bike, a summer job, cap gun and cherry bomb escapades, fort-building, starting a fire that got out of control, wanting to wear engineer boots, and building a toboggan or raft. Police Chief Robert Maskell, Bud Moore, Mr. Niles, Fort Blunder, the D&H Railroad, Mrs. Papin, and The North Countryman are names engraved in Northern tier history and included in Howard’s life story. 

When asked who would enjoy reading his book, Jim Howard responded, “I think people who struggled with their parents.” 

Reading Reflections on a Father and His Son, your Peru Gazette editor laughed a lot and got tearful a few times when recalling my childhood experiences and friends. I realized how lucky I was to have grown up, like Jim Howard, with loving parents and a caring community. I’m grateful to Jim for having evoked those memories. Howard’s book offers something to almost everyone.