Lou Ureneck, formerly of Spotswood, is the author of “Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly Fishing and a River Journey Through the Heart of Alaska,” published by St. Martin’s Press. SPOTSWOOD — Patrons of the borough’s library were treated last week to an appearance by a native son who went on to become an esteemed journalist and, more recently, an award-winning author.
Lou Ureneck last year released “Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly Fishing and a River Journey Through the Heart of Alaska.” Published by St. Martin’s Press, the memoir has received excellent reviews and was named winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. Ureneck read excerpts from the book and shared memories of his boyhood days in Spotswood.
“Backcast” describes a fishing trip Ureneck took with his 17-year-old son Adam, when the two battled bad weather, treacherous rapids and an angry mother bear. Ureneck, who was divorced from Adam’s mother, planned the trip as a way to reconnect with his son, who had become angry with him in the wake of the breakup.
“He was going away to college and I thought this might be my last chance. I was lucky because I have a son who loves to fish, and we had gone on plenty of fishing trips before.
“As I wrote about my son and our relationship on the trip, I felt this powerful undertow pulling me to explore my own life, my marriage and the divorce,” he said.
That force was too hard for Ureneck to resist, so the book, as he explains, became about two journeys: One about the trip to Alaska, the other back through his own life.
Ureneck lived in Spotswood until the sixth grade. His mother, Lynn, ran Lynn’s Beauty shop from 1948 to 1965 at three different locations on Main Street. Lynn was divorced and raising Lou and his brother Paul on her own.
“We had a lot of freedom. I led a Tom Sawyer kind of existence here,” he recalled fondly.
Ureneck learned to love nature from his adventures exploring local streams, fishing in Manalapan Brook, and swimming and ice-skating on the borough’s lake. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion.
As a journalist, he was the editor of the Portland Press Herald in Maine and deputy managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has frequently written about environmental issues. His work has appeared in Field & Stream as well as The New York Times. Today he is chairman of the journalism department at Boston University.
As he reminisced about his life in Spotswood, members of the audience added their own recollections about places like the Margaretta M. Birchall School, the Spotswood Hotel, the Devoe estate and the town’s practice bomb shelter. Dorothy Gwozdziewicz, a Spotswood resident who is distantly related to Ureneck through marriage, brought photos of his cousins to share with the author.
“I was really happy to meet him, because I read his book. I had been talking about it, and my daughter gave it to me as a Christmas present,” Gwozdziewicz said.
Pat McKenna, also of Spotswood, felt she could relate to much of what the author had to say, especially about his fishing adventures.
“I’m an avid reader and was recently up in Canada with my daughter and my son-inlaw on a fishing trip,” she said.
Pat Barabas of East Brunswick was also on hand for Ureneck’s presentation, which she said she found “fascinating.”
Ureneck said he, too, benefited from the visit to Spotswood.
“The trip back here has been very meaningful and powerful for me,” he said.
His brother Paul, who lives in Maine, accompanied him and the two spent much of their time driving around town, revisiting the places where they lived and
played. He commented on how diff erent places are from childhood memories. “I remember St. Peter’s Church seeming like a cathedral, and Spotswood Lake was huge, like Lake Superior, and the dam was just enormous,” he said. As for his relationship with his son, Ureneck was happy to say that the two are very close, though Adam now lives in Peru, where
he works with the poor and is in his third year studying to be a priest. Ureneck recalled that he gave a copy of the book to his son before it went to press.
“I told him, ‘You know this doesn’t make either of us look very good. I’d like you to read it before it gets published.’ ”
Adam did, and told his father he thought it was OK. His attitude surprised Ureneck.
“I thought, That was easy,” he said. When “Backcast” was published, he found his son studying it carefully. “He said, ‘I think I should have read it the first time you gave it to me,’ ” Ureneck related with a smile.
The author is already planning his next book, which will be about his mother.
“She was a divorced, single mother in a time when most women were married. She was a Greek immigrant and fiercely independent. She didn’t have 2 cents to rub together, but she had this joy in life,” he said.
Ureneck said he would like to hear from any residents who have memories of his mother, Lynn, of Lynn’s Beauty Shop, or of the family in general. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].
Ureneck’s Aug. 25 presentation was just one of many events the Spotswood Public Library has offered free of charge to residents throughout the summer. New programs are coming up in the fall. Contact the library at 732-251-1515 for more information.