AUBURN - In his 70 years, Chuck Kruger has worn many hats.

It would be nearly impossible to find one single word to sum him up, save perhaps for Auburnian.

While his life has taken him all over the world, Kruger has never forgotten his Auburn roots, he said during a presentation Thursday in the library at Bluefield Manor.

“I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be,” Kruger said. “I've seen myself referred to as a poet, a storyteller. But I will tell you I did grow up right here in Auburn and I spent every summer for the first 20 years right on Owasco Lake and being back here now has filled me with memories.”

Kruger said that growing up he attended local schools, going to Central High before transferring to East High. He had the opportunity to go to school in Pennsylvania on scholarship, before going on to Hamilton College.

By 1966, Kruger was married to his wife, Nell, and the couple found themselves displeased with the Vietnam War and the political situation in America.

“I was working as a teacher then,” Kruger said. “And I didn't want a dime of what I was making going to the war in Vietnam. So we decided to move outside the country and see what this country looked like from the outside.”

This decision took Kruger and his family to Switzerland, where they remained for 26 years, while Kruger worked as a teacher.

After nearly three decades in Switzerland, Kruger and his wife decided that it was time for a change, which led them to a small island off of Ireland called Clear Cape.

Kruger explained that the island is only about three miles long by about one mile wide with a population of around 130 people. It is about eight miles from mainland Ireland.

This move has proved as fruitful for Kruger as his time spent growing up on Owasco Lake.

“I'm sure of it,” Kruger said. “I'm sure that all those summer on Long Point on Owasco Lake prepared me for my life on Cape Clear.”

His life there has also proven to be fertile for his creativity.

Over the years on the island, Kruger has been on National Public Radio's “Weather Notebook” and Ireland's “Sunday Miscellany.”

Kruger said that writing has long been one of his passions and that over the years he has published short pieces and poems.

In his years on Cape Clear, Kruger has published a novel, “The Man Who Talks to Himself,” as well as short story collections “Between a Rock” and “Island Magic” in addition to a collection of poetry, “Sourcing.”

While visiting Bluefield Manor, Kruger read selections from these works, including a short story from “Between a Rock” titled “Click, Click.”

This story, like many in the volume reflect Kruger's love for his adopted homeland, telling the story of what native islanders call a “blown in” or someone that is not originally from the island, a female photographer who is trying to capture pictures of island life.

“It gives you a glimpse of island life,” Kruger said. “But it also shows you what it is like for me as a 'blow in' living on the island.”

Kruger also read selections from “Sourcing,” including a poem that encompasses both his adopted home and his native home, while standing in the island fog, mourning the passing of his mother, reflecting on both subjects.

Kruger also read another piece titled “Quiet,” speaking of the peace and serenity he found as a boy fishing on Owasco Lake.

A peace that Kruger has also found half a world away.

“It wasn't until recently that anyone even started locking their doors on the island unless they left for more than a day,” Kruger said. “And still half the people leave their keys in the car and if you knock on the door and no one answers you can walk right in. It is a very peaceful relaxed way of living.”