Episode Details

Fifty years after Woodswoman introduced readers to a woman building an independent life in a remote Adirondack cabin, Anne LaBastille still captures the imagination. But the cabin on Twitchell Lake was only one part of her remarkable story.

We talk with seventh-generation Adirondacker and author Penny Harr about her new book, Anne LaBastille: A Biography of the Woodswoman, and the woman she discovered through years of interviews and archival research.

Anne was a wildlife ecologist, writer, licensed Adirondack guide, Adirondack Park Agency commissioner and international conservationist. She earned her Ph.D. from Cornell, conducted environmental work in Guatemala and elsewhere around the world, and built a career in fields where women were often expected to stay on the sidelines.

Penny takes us beyond the familiar legend to explore Anne’s fierce independence, complicated personality, relentless work ethic and lasting influence on the Adirondacks. We also visit the story behind her famous cabin, now preserved at Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake, and consider why her ideas about wilderness, silence, conservation and slowing down outdoors still feel so relevant 50 years later.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Anne LaBastille found her way to the Adirondacks.
• The reality behind building and living in her Twitchell Lake cabin.
• The scientist and conservationist behind the Woodswoman legend.
• How she broke barriers in male-dominated fields.
• Why Woodswoman became a symbol of independence for generations of women.
• How Anne’s cabin and conservation legacy are being preserved today.
• Why her message about wilderness, silence and protecting the Adirondacks still resonates.

Resources:

• Anne LaBastille: A Biography of the Woodswoman
• Anne LaBastille’s Cabin at Adirondack Experience 
• Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille
• Adirondack Center for Writing

Produced by NOVA