The Adventures of Kootah

Mary Frances Damon, a pioneer woman, was born in 1886 and raised in the California gold mining town of Sheep Ranch. In 1911, after becoming a Registered Nurse, Mary met and married Julius Rude and the couple soon relocated to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Eventually Mary and Julius, and their two sons, Damon and Inslee, returned to Mary's roots in California and settled in the Sierra Nevada sawmill and lumber town of Tuolumne. For the next thirty years, Mary taught sixth grade at Summerville Elementary School, and wrote several manuscripts, including The Adventures of Kootah.