With March Madness in full swing, basketball fever is in the air.
It’s no different for Cliff Buchan, formerly The Forest Lake Times’ longtime sports editor and editor in chief, who’s approaching the one-year anniversary of his first book, entitled “Henning’s Orange and Black.”
Buchan’s book features 100 years of basketball history in his hometown of Henning, Minnesota, from its beginning in 1914-15 through the next six decades of Orange and Black basketball.
The former Forest Lake Times editor began work on his first published book in 2011 after some prompting from friends and contacts in his hometown. Once Buchan stepped down from his full-time position as editor of the Forest Lake Times, he devoted his weekends to interviewing residents back in Henning. During the week, he traveled to the Minnesota Historical Center to scour nearly every area newspaper clipping from 1891-1969.
“From 2011-2012, I conducted a lot of interviews with people, so weekends were spent away from home, and I took vacation time from work to get the time I needed to finish those interviews,” the writer said.
One reason for the urgency was to publish “Henning’s Orange and Black” in time to commemorate both the 100th anniversary of the program, as well as the 50th anniversary of the school’s state tournament team from the 1965-66 season. Buchan named the book after the school’s nickname, as Henning didn’t have a mascot until 1938 when the Henning football program prompted a student and staff competition. From then on, the Orange and Black were known as the Hornets.
The book contains more than just a town’s history of basketball, however. Buchan’s research uncovered a rich history of the development of Henning as a community.
“It’s as much a history of the town as it is of the basketball program,” Buchan said.
As a result, Buchan has sold about 430 copies out of 500 of “Henning’s Orange and Black,” primarily in Otter Tail County, the northwest Minnesota county where Henning is located. He is stlll attending book signings, with the latest one occurring last Friday at the Fergus Falls Historical Society.
“I’d say the book was received very well,” Buchan said. “I think the people of Henning appreciated a compilation of history from one location.”
For information about obtaining a copy of the book, call 651-675-9430 or email cjbuchan@msn.com.