Five decades ago as a young man Charlie Williams noticed two historical markers honoring André Michaux along a hiking route in North Carolina. The markers said only that he was a “French botanist, pioneer in studying the flora of western North Carolina”, but viewed over and over again, they sparked a lifelong adventure. Always curious, Williams began learning about wildflowers and gathering what little information he could find about Michaux. Over time, his study led to writing and speaking about the botanist. The talks began in gardens and living rooms, but eventually included even the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. He took the lead in organizing events honoring Michaux, and even began performing in period costume as Michaux. It complemented his 35-year career as a librarian, and then provided him with a unique occupation in retirement. He partnered with two retired biology professors to prepare the very first complete annotated translation of the botanists’ surviving journals describing his travels in North America in the era when George Washington was our President. Their book, André Michaux in North America, published as both a hardcover and an e-book by the University of Alabama Press, received The 2022 Award for Excellence in History from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, an international organization of archives and libraries focused on plants and plant science. The e-book version is now found in hundreds of libraries and archives worldwide, while hardcover copies, a limited printing on archival quality paper, are likely to eventually become treasured heirlooms.