Dan W. Deluca, author of The Old Leather Man, will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18 at Thornton Wilder Hall in the Miller Memorial Complex, 2901 Dixwell Ave.  Mr. DeLuca has researched the Leatherman story for more than two decades. His book, a compilation of newspaper accounts, first-person remembrances and rare photographs of the subject, was published by Wesleyan University Press in 2008.  Mr. DeLuca will discuss the history, the lore and the current battle over The Leatherman’s remains.  

For those not familiar with the story, The Leatherman, so named because he dressed in hand-sewn leather garb, travelled a 34-day,  365 mile route on foot through western Connecticut and eastern New York during the late 1800’s, becoming a familiar sight in the towns through which  he passed. He slept in a series of caves and lean-tos along his route, keeping his own gardens nearby.  He died at age 50 in 1889, his real name unknown. Since then, his legend and the desire to learn his identity has grown in both New York and Connecticut. Those following the latest developments in The Leatherman’s saga know there is currently a heated controversy concerning the possibility of exhuming The Leatherman’s body from it gravesite in Ossining, New York in hopes of using DNA testing to determine the true identity of The Leatherman. 

The Friends’ sponsored program is free and open to the public.