Great Sand Fracas of Ames County

When the Alstage Mining Company proposes a frac sand mine in the small Ames County village of Link Lake, events quickly escalate to a crisis. Business leader Marilyn Jones of the Link Lake Economic Development Council heads the pro-mine forces, citing needed jobs and income for the county. Octogenarian Emily Higgins and other Link Lake Historical Society members are aghast at the proposed mine location in the community park, where a huge and ancient bur oak--the historic Trail Marker Oak--has stood since it pointed the way along an old Menominee trail. Reluctantly caught in the middle of the fray is Ambrose Adler, a reclusive, retired farmer with a secret.
Soon the fracas over frac sand attracts some national attention, including that of Stony Field, the pen name of a nationally syndicated columnist. Will the village board vote to solve their budget problems with a cut of the mining profits? Will the mine create real jobs for local folks? Will Stony Field come to the village to lead protests against the mine? And will defenders of the Trail Marker Oak literally draw a battle line in the sand?

Author: Jerry Apps
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: 01/01/1989
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780299300708

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 09/01/2014 pg. 44
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2014

About the Author
Jerry Apps was born and raised on a Wisconsin farm. A former agricultural extension agent, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His other novels in the Ames County series are The Travels of Increase Joseph, In a Pickle, Blue Shadows Farm, Cranberry Red, and Tamarack River Ghost. His many nonfiction books include The Quiet Season, Garden Wisdom, Barns of Wisconsin, Breweries of Wisconsin, Every Farm Tells a Story, Old Farm, and One-Room Country Schools. Apps received the 2007 Major Achievement Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers and the 2010 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.