Eugene Shepard was perhaps Wisconsin’s greatest prankster. His most famous accomplishment, the 1896 capture of the Hodag, created a legacy in and around Rhinelander, Wisconsin that has endured for over a century. Although other publications offer brief discussions of Shepard and his Hodag, Long Live the Hodag! is the only study dedicated to a detailed investigation of the Hodag and the Life and Legacy of Eugene Simeon Shepard. This revised and updated edition incorporates previously unpublished historic photographs and new archival research, including a 1963 interview with Eugene Shepard’s son Layton, into the original 1996 version. In addition, this edition highlights Shepard’s talents as a humorist through the inclusion of more of his cartoons, hand-written photo captions, and an appendix of three of his lengthy writings.

"…thousands of people came to view the Hodag...and not one of them went away without having learned a little more about north Wisconsin and it is safe to guess that each one of those thousands told others what they had seen and heard and in this way the beauties, opportunities and resources of north Wisconsin spread, and many who came out of curiosity only, have come to make their home with us, either permanently or for a few weeks or months out of the year. Long live the Hodag!"

                                                                                                                                       –Eugene Simeon Shepard

"All told 'Gene Shepard was in a class by himself and his memory will linger long. Woodsman, artist, nature lover, story teller, and entertainer, he was undoubtedly one of the most unique personages to be found anywhere in the country."

                                                                                                                                        –The New North