Roger Pickenpaugh…Research is Key
Local educator and author, Roger Pickenpaugh of Caldwell, enjoys the challenge of discovering information about topics of interest so he can organize them into a book filled with accurate historical facts.
Roger graduated from Ohio State University and earned his Master’s Degree there as well. He retired from Shenandoah Middle School after teaching thirty years. Over the years, he has written 20 books filled with local and national history. Five of his books focus on the Civil War.
Roger has always been interested in history. Even as a child, he liked to read books with a historical touch. Although he does admit to also reading some comic books.
His interest in the Civil War stems back to the fact that his grandfather and uncle were both very interested in Civil War events so he became interested just by listening. He also had a relative who took part in the Vicksburg campaign.
His interest in writing began when a student at OSU where he did writing and research on term papers for college and found he enjoyed the exploration.
Since most of his books require accurate historical information, research has always been an important part of his life. He credits his late wife, Marion, for being the research organizer and the reason for his success in writing historical books.
Some of those early books required research before the advent of computers. Roger remember Marion’s patience and tenacity as she searched through books on the library shelf looking for that piece of missing information. Note cards were made with information gathered and then placed in order. Indexes in his books are an important part so he feels accuracy is extremely necessary.
Research over the years has been from interviews over the phone to personal visits at places he is researching. There he makes good use of their local libraries for old newspaper records. National Archives, State Historical Societies, and many universities or colleges have provided needed information through books or diaries. When you read his books, you clearly see how important this research was.
One of his favorite local places for research is the Muskingum University Library. They have been so helpful to him with use of equipment and finding the resources he needs. Roger said, “I never could do this writing without them.”
Friendships with members of the Noble County Writers Group have proved valuable over the years. Writers need to have other writers to talk with and share ideas. Other members of the group also are great at proofreading and giving ideas for improvement. They have even written some books together.
At this point in time, Roger has published 20 books. Eight of them were with traditional publishers, the first being Rescue by Rail: Troop Transfer and Civil War in the West, 1863, which was published in 1998 and took about three years to write. That book had a local touch as some of the trains ran through Guernsey County on the B&O.
Johnson’s Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers (Civil War in the North) was published in 2016 and won the Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections Local History Publication Award.
He also has twelve books of local nature that are self-published. A History of Noble County, Ohio 1887-1987 was his first self-published book back in 1988. He spent nearly eight years researching over 100 newspapers to get the accurate information he needed.
Roger feels local books can be self-published but if you are writing about a national event, it will best be received if going through a traditional publisher.
In their travels, Roger visited his sister Jill and her husband in Georgia, where they worked with President Jimmy Carter. They attended services at the Baptist Church where President Carter taught Sunday School. Today his sister is Superintendent of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia. Roger was pleased to have his picture taken with the president and President Carter left a review on Amazon for one of Roger’s books.
When Roger is not researching, he enjoys being active with daily walks and work in his garden. His walking goal was to have a thousand consecutive days with over 10,000 steps and he has probably reached it by now as had 900 consecutive days in mid-May.
He is putting the finishing touches on a book about John F. Kennedy’s sense of humor. The working title right now is John F. Kennedy: The Kennedy Wit.
Currently, Roger is also researching information about Ohio in the early days of the Civil War. This is being done in various newspaper archives and finds the ones at Ohio Historical Society very helpful.
His list of books is extensive but most can be found on Amazon or if you happen to see Roger at a book fair or local promotion. He often promotes his books at places like Art on the Square in Caldwell, Bookology in Cambridge, and Buckeye Book Fair.
If you enjoy history, you are certain to appreciate the research Roger Pickenpaugh has done to make his books accurate. His style of writing makes history interesting.
Gypsy Road Trip 