Editor's Note: this corrects the byline erroneously placed on the story initially.

During the fall of 2020, Leslie Tryon, author and illustrator of 20 children’s books, contacted Dick Shriver. He is the founder, editor and publisher of Estuary magazine. Tryon was attracted to Estuary magazine’s, “well-written articles and glorious photography.” According to Shriver, she was interested in doing something with the magazine.

Estuary is a magazine dedicated to the history, lifestyle and future of the Connecticut River valley. Its mission is to “provide a ‘voice’ for the river to all of its stakeholders,” Shriver stated. Shriver and his partner Ralph Wood believe that the more people who know about the river will lead to more people who care and will volunteer their time and efforts.

Tryon grew up in an artistic environment, as her father was an amateur painter.

“I wrote poems and stories accompanied with illustrations as a child, a perfectly natural pursuit for children; some, like me, never outgrew the urge,” explained Tryon. She continued to follow an artistic path and developed a passion for dance, training in classical ballet.

Tryon has written and illustrated for Simon & Schuster as well as The Los Angeles Times Book Review. She has illustrated stories for three magazines in the Cricket Magazine Group for 18 years.

Tryon descended from a long line of ferrymen who served the Connecticut River. Each generation of her family had a JJ, first and middle names beginning with the letter “J,” who became captain of the ferry between Saybrook and Lyme, now Old Saybrook and Old Lyme.

Dick Shriver, the publisher of Estuary magazine and the man who took Tryon’s call, loved hearing the adventures of the JJ’s and Leslie’s vivid storytelling. He invited Tryon to write a young adult series for Estuary.

Shriver hoped that Tryon’s series would “entice children to understand and care about the river — and listen to it too.”

Tryon’s series comes out seasonally with each edition of the Estuary. To date, there have been two issues, spring and summer of 2021. Her next issue comes out in the fall, where she looks forward to the feedback of her readers once they become acquainted with her characters.

“I’m fully enjoying creating the stories for Estuary,” Leslie said. “With the help of the wonderful people at the Old Saybrook Historical Society, I have been able to provide solid footing for the factual details in my stories.”

Leslie’s series provides details that are true to the 1800s and reflect the reality of life as a ferryman.

Beginning in 1859, Tryon’s series follows JJ’s life and the challenges that are posed when ferryboating. With the talk of the impending construction of the Baldwin Bridge, JJ doesn’t feel like ferryboating is a stable career. He feels pressured to become a ferryboater from his family but he yearns to do something different such as becoming a postal rider.

JJ and his cousin, Ray, follow Cap (JJ’s father) and learn about the challenges and dangers of ferryboating back in the 1800s. Weather, wind and flow rate of the river were all potential dangers to ferryboaters.

During winter, when the river froze, ferries weren’t able to run. Early, undeveloped ferries were unreliable and defenseless against the wind and tide. Not only did oarsmen have to be strong enough to power against the currents, they also had to calculate the angle of crossing to prevent from being swept aside.

Eventually in 1911, much to the protest of ferrymen, a low highway bridge was built across the Connecticut River. “The building of the Baldwin Bridge would mark the end of the Tryon ferry business,” states Tryon.

Along with Tryon’s series, Estuary hopes to rectify the damage caused to the environment through knowledge and dedication.

“We like to think we are listening to the river, giving it a voice,” notes Shriver.

Events such as the industrial revolution have brought more than 2,000 dams in the river valley along with mass amounts of waste.

“Habitats that were good for fish and birds and other wildlife were destroyed through ignorance of the consequences, and all have declined, disappeared or suffered,” explains Shriver. Over time, we are taking steps such as tearing down dams and building fish elevators to help fish “spawn naturally and recover in quantity.”

“Our purpose is to replace the ignorance of the past, without blame, with enough knowledgeable and dedicated people to constitute a force for a healthy future for the river valley, its land, water and wetlands,” states Shriver.

Shriver hopes that Tryon’s work with the Estuary will help young readers “develop positive attitudes toward the environment that they will carry with them, and add to, for the rest of their lives.”

Izzy Paggioli, a student at the Williams School in New London, is part of the Times' Young Journalists Initiative.

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