They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They by Patrick McManus: DratherB Reading Book Club #3

Patrick McManus is the ultimate teller of tall tales — at least to those that pertain to outdoor recreation. His many far-fetched stories come from his early boyhood adventures with a wide variety of interesting characters.

If you’re a fan of hunting, fishing, camping, and laughing, you’ll be an automatic fan of Patrick McManus.

This blog will introduce you to the outdoor humorist Patrick McManus and review his book, They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?

MY INTRODUCTION TO PATRICK MCMANUS

In junior high, fourth hour was homeroom, and the extra fifteen minutes added to this period was for reading. For me, and many of my close friends, fourth hour was orchestra. My fellow cellist friend, Royal Payne, and I would spend those fifteen minutes hunched over an Outdoor Life magazine doing our utmost to stifle our laughter. We weren’t always that successful. Our conductor, Mr. E. shouldn’t have glared so often, considering he’s the one who provided the magazines.

My sister (yes, Renae, the introducer of great authors) brought home “They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?” at about the same time. I can’t remember whether the book came first or the magazine articles — chicken or the egg situation. Regardless, Patrick McManus became a favorite.

WHO WAS PATRICK MCMANUS?

Birth and Family

Patrick Francis McManus was born on August 25, 1933 in Sandpoint, Idaho. His father, Edward Francis, who served in the 42nd (Rainbow) Division in World War I, was a logger and farmer, but passed away when Patrick was only 6 years old. He was raised primarily by his mother, Mabel Delana, and Grandmother, although his mom did remarry. His sister, Patricia, was lovingly referred to as “the Troll” in his books.

Patrick spent a great deal of his younger years truant from his mother’s one-room schoolhouse, exploring the outdoors. I’m sure as the teacher’s son, he was given plenty of schooling at home. The family lived on a small farm along the banks of Sand Creek. Along with hunting and fishing, they grew their own food — chickens, a milk cow, pigs. They even drew their water from the creek.

Patrick said, “Stories became my passion because we couldn’t afford anything else.” His meager upbringing followed him into his successful life, as he never could get used to spending money. Although he became a NYT bestselling author, he was never much impressed with success. I think this speaks loudly of his upbringing.

In 1995, he told the Sandpoint magazine, “I had a wonderful time as a child growing up. I was down by the creek all the time and had all this freedom, running around all these mountains. (His friend) Vern and I took off one time and wandered around those mountains for a week. That’s not a bad way to grow up.”

He married his wife, Darlene “Bun” M. Keough, on February 3, 1954, and they had four daughters: Kelly, Shannon, Peggy, and Erin. At his death he had 9 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

Education and Career

In 1952, Patrick McManus graduated from Sandpoint high school. He worked several construction and related jobs until he saved enough money to attend college at what is now Washington State University. He graduated with a major in journalism in 1956 and worked as a news reporter, but went back and earned his Masters Degree in 1959.

Patrick McManus became a professor and taught English, journalism, and creative writing at Eastern Washington State College (now Eastern Washington University) from 1960 until 1983. He also worked as a television reporter for a couple years.

He began writing for Field & Stream in 1977, where he also became and associate editor. In 1982 he made his move over to Outdoor Life where he had a monthly column called “Last Laugh” and the magazine’s editor-at-large. He also wrote articles for Reader’s Digest, Sports Illustrated, and the New York Times.

Works

In 1978 he began his book career by publishing the first collection of his columns in “A Fine and Pleasant Misery” and ending in 2012 with his last “A Horse in My Garage and Other Stories”. He released 15 magazine column collections. In 2006 he began his adventure into novels and wrote a series of six mystery novels: the Sherriff Bo Tully Mysteries. Three of his other works include a practical camping guidebook called “Kid Camping from Aaaaii! to Zip”, a cookbook with his sister “Watchagot Stew”, and an instructional writing book, “The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursion into the Writing of Humor”. You can find a full list of his works here.

Along with books and articles, he turned his writings into five plays. His longtime friend (and indentured actor), Tim Beherns, plays him and brings his stories to life in these one-man shows. Tim toured 21 states and two provinces, and performed 1600 shows.

He seemed to be incredibly private, as it has been hard to find information about him, and locate pictures of family, and him in his natural habitat – the outdoors. I found this interview when he was 80 and I loved it.

Patrick McManus’s Death

Patrick F. McManus passed away April 11, 2018 at the age of 84, surrounded by his wife and family. He was a beloved teacher and friend, “demanding, inspirational, and fun”. He found humor in everyday situations. Although he was a bestselling author with millions of copies sold, it did not change him. He was real.

THEY SHOOT CANOES, DON’T THEY?

“They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?” was published in 1981 and is the second compilation of his magazine columns. You can purchase it in hardcover, paperback, or Kindle. Find it on Amazon here. There’s plenty of used on ebay, or check out your library. You can also read it for free on Internet Archive.

I also found YouTube videos up of people reading it for their posterity. That’s how much he’s loved.

It contains 25 articles covering everything from fishing bates, to camp cooking, to other useful outdoor information. I love this book because you can skip around and read whatever you want in any order. Just don’t read it while you’re eating. Unless, of course, you’re fond of cleaning out your sinuses with broccoli.

Entertaining Characters

Patrick introduces us to his semi-fictional characters through meticulous and exaggerated descriptions of his outdoor childhood adventures. The names he comes up with are divine.

We meet Retch Sweeny, his sidekick. Strange is his real dog — more or less, mostly less. The town bully is named Buster, and his girlfriend Alvira Holstein’s dad is the sheriff. Patrick’s idol Rancid Crabtree is an old woodsman with an aversion to work.

When Pat does not get his long-anticipated rifle for his fourteenth birthday, he goes to Rancid to borrow one.

Rancid’s face erupted into that beautiful snaggle-toothed grin of his. “Thet’s a good-un,” he said. “Make it up yerself or somebody tell it to you?”
It’s no joke,” I said. “I need a deer rifle, and I don’t see why you can’t loan me your thirty-thirty.”
“Wall, Ah would loan it to you except fer one thang,” Rancid said. “An thet is, Ah don’t want to.”

The Rifle pg. 37, 38

When Patrick says he’ll just have to find a job so he can buy one, Rancid won’t hear of it and sends him to Pinto Jack. Pinto Jack loans him his father’s rifle that he brought back from the Great War — Little Big Horn.

Patrick takes the monstrous firearm to target practice. He gently squeezed the trigger.

Later, I heard that all the livestock within a mile radius sprang two feet into the air and went darting about in all directions at that altitude. . . . When my vision cleared, I knew I was in trouble. Not only would my folks be upset about my shooting one of their fence posts in half, but the neighbors would be mad at me for destroying their sandbank. Nevertheless, I decided to try one more shot, this one left-handed. . . . It was easier for me to keep my nose out of the way, too, because the first shot had moved it up into the vacant area above my right eyebrow where it would be safe. By the time I had finished sighting in the rifle, I figured I’d be the only kid in the school talent show who could applaud behind his back with his shoulder blades.

The Rifle, pg 39

Patrick didn’t end up getting a deer that year because by the time he’d grimaced enough to pull the trigger, the deer had wandered off. He returns the gun to Pinto Jack, who consoles him by offering to show him how he can applaud with his shoulder blades.

Helpful Tips from Patrick McManus

Another chapter I snorted and chuckled my way through was The Hunter’s Dictionary. Patrick McManus shares his vast knowledge, although he acknowledges it is not alphabetized because in his many years in 1st grade, he had not learned the alphabet, although he is fond of everything up to G. Here’s a sampling:

A BIT: A lot.

SOME: All. As in, “I ate some of those little cheese-flavored crackers you had hidden in the bottom of your pack.”

OOOOOOEEEE-AH-AH-AH!: If there’s one thing I hate, it’s putting on cold, wet pants in the morning!

A TRUE STORY: A collection of the most outrageous preposterous and unmitigated lies ever assembled.

So I guess you could say this book is a collection of true stories about Patrick’s childhood.

NATURAL CONNECTION to PATRICK MCMANUS

I seem to have a natural connection, somehow, to my favorite authors. And Pat is no exception. My brother, Rick, introduced me to the love of the outdoors. Patrick McManus’s descriptions of the outdoors are spot on and out in left field at the same time, making for hilarious reading. It is known that my Grandpa Gale was fond of the outdoors and tall tales, as well. Here’s one of his – rewritten/edited from a recollection of him:

“One time I was going on a trail which went along a ledge of rock for some distance. On this narrow trail, I met a large bear. The trail was so narrow the bear could not turn around and, furthermore, he did not want to. I knew I could not outrun the bear, so when it came after me with its mouth wide open, I had to think pretty fast. Well, I just rammed my arm down the bear’s throat and got him by the tail, gave a big pull, and turned the bear wrong-side-out. The bear was then headed the other way.”

As you can see, nature and humor run deep in my family.

YOUR TURN

Here’s how the Drather B Reading book club works. Read the book and leave your response to the discussion questions in the COMMENTS. Since there is no plot to give away, there shouldn’t be any spoilers in everyone’s comments. And if you’d like to check out more DratherB Reading book reviews, go here.

1. Did you read the book cover to cover or did you skip around the chapters?
2. What was your favorite chapter?
3. Since there are stories within chapters, did you have a favorite story?
4. With all the colorful characters, did you have a favorite? Why?
5. Since many of these stories came from his childhood, which do you think might have actually happened close to how he described?
6. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, tell us about an experience Pat describes that reminds you of one of yours.
7. Did you laugh out loud enough to make people look at you? Tell us about it.
8. What characters in your life mimic those in Patrick’s stories? best friend, old person, sibling, parent, etc.
9. Is there anything particularly interesting you found about him and his life?