Speaking of rivers
Conhocton River featured in book on rivers of the world
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

PHOTO BY ROB PRICE Writer Mary Hood enjoys a view of the Conhocton River, which is featured in her new book "River Time; Ecotravel on the World's Rivers."

BATH - What does the Conhocton River have in common with the Mississippi, the Danube and the Amazon?

Not a lot, actually, except all four rivers merit chapters in a new book by the writer Mary Hood, "River Time; Ecotravel on the World's Rivers."

Hood, a retired biology professor from the University of West Florida, began spending summers in the Southern Tier during the 1990s. Her trips to the area, which included a sabbatical at Cornell University, have led to an enduring fascination with the Conhocton River as a representative waterway of the region.

She even got the spelling right.

"I was told by a number of people in the Historical Society that it was not the Cohocton River, but the Conhocton," Hodd said in an interview with The Courier. "I was put straight on that right away."

Hood's descriptions of the Conhocton River connect the waterway solidly with the history and development of the Southern Tier. She also brings a lyrical grace to her writing, as in this memory of visiting the area and picking vegetables at a farm located alongside the water.

"The fields were wet from dew, and when the sun warmed them the sweet scent of pea vines filled the air. The swollen pods hung tightly to the tangled vines and required some dexterity to pull off, but we soon became proficient at selecting the plumper ones. With mud caked Like chocolate cement on our shoes and th twinge of well-worked backs, we hauled our baskets back to the shed and paid for our harvest."

Hood doesn't mind a little controversy, either. Noting how the river has created a valley of small towns and communities, she worries that windfarm developers will generate irreparable conflicts between neighbors. "Instead of community involvement and locally owned or controlled wind generating facilities that would serve the local energy needs, provide equitable profits to the community, or at least generate taxes, big corporations have moved in to acquire land for wind farms using divisive tactics."

She has a personal stake in the controversy. After summering in the area for years, Hood moved to Bath in 2007 and sank her roots. She is finishing her first winter in western New York.

"It was cold," she said.

Published by the State University Press of New York, "River Time" is the second book in a trilogy examining the idea of place. The first book, "The Strangler Fig and Other Tales: Field Notes of a Conservationist," was published by AltaMira Press. "Anybody writes by a sense of place, and the most powerful writing comes from places that people love," Hood said. "And I certainly love this part of the country."

The Barnes and Noble bookstore in Horseheads will host Hood in a booksigning visit from 2 to 4 p.m. May 10. Copies of "River Time" will be available at the bookstore.