Isaac Fitzgerald’s Journey in “American Rambler”

• Isaac Fitzgerald’s latest book, “American Rambler,” chronicles his journey to trace the path of Johnny Appleseed.
• The book reveals that the apples from Johnny Appleseed’s trees were primarily intended for hard cider, contrary to the healthful apples we typically associate with the name today.
• Fitzgerald concludes his journey with a heartfelt reflection on his mother, who passed away in February 2024.

Named after John Chapman, the legendary figure who introduced apple orchards across America in the early 1800s, the Johnny Appleseed Trail in north-central Massachusetts is actually a highway designed for tourists rather than a traditional trail.

In March 2023, Fitzgerald, in his late 30s, visited the Johnny Appleseed Visitor’s Center near the Lancaster-Leominster area. Donned in his father’s hiking boots and carrying borrowed camping gear, he aimed to blend literary exploration with family visits and personal challenges. He envisioned following Chapman’s journey from Leominster, his birthplace, westward through Massachusetts and eventually into Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

However, a friendly woman at the visitor center offered him some cider and advised him to rent a car instead.

So, he opted for a hot beverage, packed a children’s book about Appleseed for his niece and nephew, and, after finding a gap in the fence near the visitor center, set off west through the overgrown area behind the trash can.

This unexpected turn led to “American Rambler: On the Trail of Johnny Appleseed” (Knopf, May 12). It’s a story that serves as part pilgrimage, part elegy, and part humorous exploration of America’s myths and realities.

“In life, there are often no straightforward paths,” Fitzgerald expressed in an interview. “Things are seldom clear-cut, whether in this narrative, in history, or in America itself.”

The book reflects Fitzgerald’s experience of navigating the contradictions of myth versus reality, humor against harshness, and solitude coupled with connection, much like the stories of Chapman and Americana.

“I’ve always roamed like a wanderer, but this book isn’t an invitation for an endless adventure,” he shared. “It’s really about discovering what it means to have a home and to genuinely crave that sense of belonging.”

Fitzgerald’s childhood was marked by poverty in Boston’s Catholic Worker’s Asylum. His father captivated his imagination with fantastical tales about the Green Knight, heroic Minutemen, and, of course, Johnny Appleseed—though all were embellished tales.

Conversely, his mother, raised on a strict Massachusetts farm, countered fiction with encyclopedias and primary sources while insisting that John Chapman was born far from where they lived.

“My father was drawn to deeper truths hidden beneath fiction,” Fitzgerald noted. “My mother was all about confronting reality. But truly, life embodies both.”

The dynamics in Chapman’s journey encapsulate this struggle. One major revelation was the apples themselves. Chapman gathered seeds from cider-making leftovers, which meant the trees he planted were not for eating but rather for producing alcohol.

The fruits from these trees fulfilled settlers’ thirst for hard cider and applejack, while the innocent, healthful apples we recognize today emerged later.

“In that moment, I realized I had found the perfect historical figure to pursue,” he remarked.

As he traveled through Massachusetts, he rented camping gear, enjoyed clam chowder at a local fish restaurant, indulged a bit too much at a roadside bar, spent a cold night in what turned out to be a swamp rather than a field, and set off to find Chapman.

He later drove his Jeep through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

His journey culminated in Fort Wayne, where he found a 10-foot wooden statue of Chapman carved by Dean Butler in the 1970s, located in the H&M store beside discounted clothing racks. A plaque nearby offered a brief biography.

Fitzgerald bought an Orange Julius and pondered aloud about what he and the statue were doing there.

Apparently, Fort Wayne has grown fond of the statue, leading to its peculiar placement in a shopping mall. “It ends up next to racks of socks and cargo shorts,” Fitzgerald noted. “I doubt John Chapman would have appreciated modern fashion, but America’s malls are evolving into strange monuments.”

As winter set in, Fitzgerald lost another significant presence in his life. In February 2024, precisely a year after his journey began, his mother took her own life in the barn of her childhood.

“There won’t be a memorial for her, aside from the wall holding her ashes. That was already established,” Fitzgerald reflected.

His mother battled mental illness throughout her life. Fitzgerald recalls the image of her dancing in their farmhouse during the harsh winters, clad in a green bathing suit, throwing water on the stove while shouting promises that felt like prayers. The book closes with her poignant words: “Spring is coming.”