Arlo Guthrie is a “Moose-ologist”

PITTSFIELD, MA – Arlo Guthrie is as well known as a singer/songwriter and a bit lesser known as a children’s book author, but he’s also a “famous moose-ologist” – at least that’s how the person who approached him a few years ago to write a preface to an article that was about to be reprinted viewed him. The original story by Walter Eaton around 1920 was titled “Odyssey of Old Bill – The Famous Berkshire Moose,” and it told of well-known moose that roamed Berkshire County in Massachusetts.

What triggered the call to Guthrie was his 2004 children’s book titled “Mooses Come Walking” and which was illustrated by Alice Brock, whom Guthrie had earlier made famous through his beloved song “Alice’s Restaurant.” “Mooses Come Walking” established his credentials. After hearing the pitch, Guthrie accepted the assignment.

“I wrote a little preface in the form of a poem,” he said. It wasn’t until recently that Guthrie deduced that with the 100th anniversary of Old Bill’s demise approaching a children’s book recalling Old Bill’s life might be warranted. Three months ago, “Old Bill: The Famous Berkshire Moose” was released.

Late last month, Gurthie rode his 2001 Indian motorcycle from his nearby home to The Berkshire Museum in downtown Pittsfield, Mass. for an afternoon book signing. Fans lined up to meet him and, seated at a table beneath the mounted head of Old Bill, he signed more than 80 copies in an hour or so. The crowd confirmed his judgment that a book about Old Bill was a good idea.

“I thought it would be really interesting to put out a book about it so some of the local kids who visit the museum would know something about him,” Guthrie said. He also figured it would help preserve the moose’s place in the museum as Old Bill wasn’t on display at the time. “We weren’t sure if he was to go back (on exhibit). I thought if you write a book about something they’ll put him back in the museum and, sure enough, there he is back in the museum all fixed up,” he said.

———-

Arlo Guthrie talks about motorcycles here.

———-

Guthrie’s side career as a children’s author “just came out of the blue” with “Mooses Come Walking.” “I just wrote it as a little poem, and I used to perform it in the shows that we were doing. When the book went out of print, which was some years ago now, I realized that when you’re not the publisher all of these decisions get made and you don’t have anything to say about it. It took us about 10 years to figure how to do our own publishing; to print these things ourselves so that they would never go out of print.”

In addition to “Mooses Come Walking” and “Old Bill: The Famous Berkshire Moose,” he’s also written “Whose Moose Am I?” and “Me And My Goose.” The latter is ominously described on Guthrie’s website as “The story of a boy and his goose which ends at the family table.”

“I write stuff that hopefully is a little more helpful to kids,” said Guthrie, expressing his displeasure for brightly colored children’s books that engage in fluffy storytelling. “It drives me crazy. I don’t want to read that to my grandkids. I want to read something that is interesting, a little thought-provoking, a little scary, or a little informative. I remember when I was a kid I didn’t want the silly little books. I wanted something to get into.”

Perhaps predictably, Guthrie’s tales are welcomed by fans but don’t always go down as easily with some parents. “We did these ourselves – for the folks who like my kind of humor. It’s a little dark at times but it’s fun,” he said.

“I got crazy letters from parents saying. ‘This book is totally inappropriate for this child. I’m never buying another book of yours.’ So, we put a warning on the books – not for the kids but for the parents – that says something like ‘Overly protective parents may find the contents disturbing.’ These are not parents that I would want to raise my grandkids.”

Guthrie’s books may be purchased online at risingsonrecords.com.

– Bud Wilkinson

(Originally published in “The Sunday Republican” on September 27, 2015).