My Golden Guide Collection

Starting around the mid-60s, before I was a teenager, I started collecting Golden Guide nature books. My collection has been complete for quite some time. By "complete", I'm not claiming that I have every Golden Guide book, just the ones with the subjects that I am interested in.

One very special book is the "Orchids" title. Indiana has 42 species of native orchids; Hawaii has only three. Anyway, for decades, I had the hardest time finding it. I even wrote the publisher, Western Publishing, before email was even a thing, inquiring about acquiring the book. They wrote back and said that it was out of print, and that they did not intend to publish it again. But then, once upon a time, Rita and I were in the gift store at Deep River County Park (southeast of Hobart, in Lake county). In their book section, there it was! Only one copy. 1970 edition. And for sale for its cover price ($2.75)! Of course, I bought it. My collection was complete.