Author to sign book about stepfather

MASON – Charles Ruckstuhl, author of “Andy As I Knew Him,” a biography of author-illustrator C.W. “Andy” Anderson, will be at the public library on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. to sign books and talk about Anderson, who was his stepfather.

Anderson, who was a longtime resident of Mason, died in 1970. He was the author of several popular children’s books and was well-known for his drawings of horses.

“It is a nice reminiscence of a stepson,” said Susan Wolpert, director of the library. “Most people think of Andy as the author of children’s books, but he did a lot more than that.”

Ruckstuhl portrays Anderson as an artist, a poet, a lover of music and an expert horseman. He includes some of Anderson’s poetry, some never-before-published pen-and-ink drawings, and cartoons from 1926-1934 that were published in The New Yorker.

Also included are a series of poems written for Anderson’s wife, Ruckstuhl’s mother, during her final weeks of life.

Ruckstuhl is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and MIT, and the author of “Forgotten Tales of Groton.”

He plays the piano, guitar and bass, and has written about 50 jazz pieces. He is also an amateur radio operator and astronomer.

For more information, call the library at 878-3867.