This 162 page book of photographs primarily from private collections focuses on the early history of Harrisville, Lincoln, Curtis Township, Alcona Township and Baseball Hall of Famer Hazen (Ki Ki) Cuyler.

The book is $26.45 (including tax) and can be shipped anywhere in the continental U.S. for an additional $5.00.

Contact the Alcona County Review to purchase the book and, if necessary, make arrangements for shipping.

"We don't really consider ourselves authors, we're compilers." That's the contention of the creative team behind the recently published "Alcona County, A Pictorial History." Still, if an author is someone who has created a book, all three members of this team qualify for the title. When Cheryl Peterson and John Boufford first conceived of the book a year ago, they were hoping that local residents would be willing to contribute their photos and stories to its creation. They didn't expect to gain a third author, Janet Higgins in the process.

Higgins saw the advertisements in the Alcona County Review and called to ask if they would like her services. "Research is my specialty," she said, "and I have lived here all my life. I know quite a few of the old-timers and I kind of knew where to go for the photos."

In just a few months, all three agree that the response from the community turned out to be larger than expected. "It really started as an overwhelming task," Peterson said. "It was kind of chaotic for many months just collecting everything we could and talking to as many people as we could. The afternoon we (first) sat down and just looked at everything we had, that was really overwhelming."

It soon became obvious to the team that what they'd envisioned as a single book would become volume one in a series. Although they had compiled a great deal of information and many, many photos, "That same afternoon, we realized we were going to have to do a second book," Peterson said. "We had the most information for Alcona Township. But we had nothing on Greenbush, Barton City, or Curran and very little on Hubbard Lake." Volume I, 162 pages in length, contains chapters on Alcona Township, Curtis Township, the Village of Lincoln, Mikado Township, Harrisville Township, and a special chapter on baseball Hall-Of-Famer Hazen (KiKi) Cuyler. It covers the period from the 1800s and early 1900s to the 1960s.

Higgins researched much of the information that accompanies the photos from the back issues of the Alcona County Review and Alcona County Herald, from booklets published by local historian Doris Gauthier and from oral histories.

"There's a lot of history that's being lost every day," Peterson said. "We wanted to try to preserve that and make it accessible to everyone."

"What makes this book unique," Boufford, who provided the majority of the production work in reproducing the old photos, said, "is that a lot of these photos have never been published before." "It's also unique because people have ownership in it." Peterson added, "The photos are their photos and their history is the county's history."

Each of the three authors brought unique skills to the project. Peterson and Boufford are husband and wife business partners who own and publish The Alcona County Review.

Peterson "grew up ink-stained" in her father's printing business, attended Northern Michigan University, attaining a degree in broadcasting with a minor in journalism. She edited the school's newspaper, and then worked for the Cheboygan Daily Tribune and the Ionia Sentinel-Standard before purchasing the Review in April of 1995.

Boufford served as head of the camera (production) department at the Ionia Sentinel-Standard for 10 years prior to taking over that end of the Review process. The couple is history buffs, and Boufford, an avid baseball fan, was particularly intrigued by the book's section on KiKi Cuyler.

Higgins grew up in Haynes Township, married a member of the U.S. Air Force and moved briefly to Iosco County "before I talked him into coming back here." She worked in civil service at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in the administrative department for 13 years, "I'm kind of a detail person," she said, "and (in her job) you went by the book."

"Alcona County, A Pictorial History" is dedicated to Doris Gauthier who as a historian and the county's register of deeds for many years has been "the keeper of records officially and unofficially, for a long time," the dedication reads in part. "Her knowledge and dedication to the history of Alcona County is unparalleled."

All three individuals agree that they set out to do the historical books "because it hadn't been done" and all three are clearly dedicated to preserving the history of the county.

The book, which came out on December 14 of this year has been extremely well received. Only a few hundred copies remain and it will not be reprinted in this decade. Those interested in purchasing a copy may contact the Alcona County Review.

And while the team doesn't consider themselves "authors" there is obvious pride in their efforts. "I'll tell you," Boufford said, "there's nothing like the rush of opening that first box of books."

"Next week," Higgins said, "I start book two. I'll be out and about…to people's homes getting photographs and making contacts."