Aug 24, 2011 — A new book offers a slightly different view of life in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. What started as a hobby collecting old photographs for Tom French has grown into a fascination with historic stereographs--antique 3-D photographs--and a passion for preserving Thousand Islands history. French was raised on Thousand Island Park. He teaches English in Massena and splits his time between the St. Lawrence River and his home in Potsdam.

The amateur historian has compiled and edited a book of old stereographs of the region. River Views: A History of the Thousand Islands in 3-D, includes more than 100 sepia-toned stereograph cards that illustrate the history of the Thousand Islands. But he told Todd Moe that it was also the stories behind the old photos that intrigued him.