On the Banks of the River: A Family and a Wisconsin Town Grow up Together - Paperback

by R. S. Oatman (Author)

The birth of a child. The death of one man. No one involved at the time could have fathomed that those two events would create a family divide of such depth it snowballed through generations. Heirs are left with questions of loyalty and truth. Secrets and lies seldom have good outcomes when left unattended or, in this case, buried on the bank of a river. The setting is Eau Claire, Wisconsin, from its start as a lumber town in the mid 1800's, on through decade after decade of changes until it enters the twenty-first century. When logging depleted the pine forests, a point when similar villages died, Eau Claire found new ways to thrive. As it evolved, so did the family, maybe intact... or not.

Author Biography

R. S. Oatman was born and raised in Eau Claire. This is her ninth book, all of them, in differing ways, on the mysteries of human drives and interactions. "My first book tackled the reason for life itself and followed characters through millenniums. Simple subject...! The next narrowed to the true life of one extraordinary individual and her rise to ambitious heights. From there I went on to follow a group as they aged and overcame everyday problems, and now broader again with this, an overview of an entire city, of the struggles and hope that created it. Looking at things from a big picture angle seems to give a clearer view." Her interest in Eau Claire as a community is longstanding. She once operated a monthly questionnaire addressing issues of local interest, and was the editor of its offshoot, the Spoke, a periodical that posed issues, ran back stories of local businesses, and featured city residents to better know each other. Also an artist, her most well-known work is Unity & Spirit, a depiction of rescue efforts after the collapse of the I-880 during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. It has been reproduced and used for commemorative ceremonies, and hangs in Oakland to honor the city of the actual site. Showing human nature at its best in a time of horrendous tragedy, she says, it stands as a reminder of who we all are at our core.