My Life in the Maine Woods recounts Annette Jackson’s North Woods experiences during the 1930s when she, her husband and their children lived in a small cabin on the shore of Umsaskis Lake. Jackson, an avid sportswoman and nature lover, writes of hunting, fishing, campfire cooking, and the sounds of the wilderness through the seasons. She visits trappers and woodsmen, and tells what it’s like to sleep on a bed of pine boughs under the stars that shine on the legendary Allagash.
Being a game warden in Maine is not just a job, it’s a way of life. This honest and entertaining book by a twenty-two-year veteran of the service tells the story of America’s oldest game warden service. The stories told cover the risks wardens face dealing with poachers, rogue wildlife, and the elements, as well as the drama that surrounds every search and rescue operation.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own. “A meditation on solitude, wildness and survival.” —The Wall Street Journal In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.
In this critically acclaimed Maine classic, first published in 1945, Helen Hamlin writes of her adventures teaching school at a remote Maine lumber camp and then of living deep in the Maine wilderness with her game warden husband. Her experiences are a must-read for anyone who loves the untamed nature and wondrous beauty of Maine's north woods and the unique spirit of those who lived there. In the 1930s, in spite of being warned that remote Churchill Depot was 'no place for a woman', the remarkable Helen Hamlin set off at age twenty to teach school at the isolated lumber camp at the headwaters of the Allagash River. She eventually married a game warden and moved deeper into the wilderness. In her book, Hamlin captures that time in her life, complete with the trappers, foresters, lumbermen, woods folk, wild animals, and natural splendour that she found at Umsaskis Lake and then at Nine Mile Bridge on the St. John River.
A riveting account of one of Maine’s most notorious serial killers—includes a prison interview between the author and the unrepentant murderer. Jennie Cyr disappeared in 1977. Jerilyn Towers vanished in 1982. Lynn Willette never came home on a night in 1994. Each woman had a relationship with James Hicks, who in 2000 confessed to murdering them, dismembering their bodies and burying the remains alongside rural roads in Aroostook County. This is their story. Trudy Irene Scee follows Hicks from the North Woods to west Texas, detailing three decades of evasion, investigation and prosecution. She interviews police officers and victims’ families—and meets Hicks at the state prison in Thomaston, where he remains remorseless as he lives out his days behind bars. Thoroughly researched and carefully documented, Tragedy in the North Woods is the definitive history of one of Maine's most ruthless killers. Includes photos!
On an unseasonably hot October morning, Bowditch is called to the scene of a bizarre crime. The corpses of five moose have been found senselessly butchered on the estate of Elizabeth Morse, a wealthy animal rights activist who is buying up huge parcels of timberland to create a new national park.
From his phenomenal collection of over 22,000 articles and stories of the Maine Woods, Steve Pinkham has selected many of the most exciting and old hunting and fishing tales, as well as stories of animal encounters, lumbering, canoe trips, and even a few ghost stories for this book. Ranging from 1849 to 1913, the book covers the Maine Woods from Magalloway to Moosehead, and Mopang to Madawaska. Most people know that Thoreau went to Maine several times, wrote eloquently about his travels and coined the phrase "Maine Woods." Now for the first time the reader will get to read stories by many of the other known and unknown men and women who also travelled to northern Maine and wrote about their experiences or penned fictional stories set in the backwoods. Included are brief biographies and portraits of the known writers. For the many anonymous authors, Pinkham has included appropriate pictures of the region where the story took place and other pertinent information from his vast sources. Visit the website at: www.oldtalesofthemainewoods.com Steve Pinkham grew up in western Maine, hearing old stories of hunting and fishing, and has spent much of his life hiking, paddling and discovering the many wonderful places in the backwoods of Maine. Having spent the past ten years searching for articles and books, following up on clues, and spending a vast amount of hours in libraries and historical societies, he published his first book, Mountains of Maine in 2009. Selecting from his vast collection for this book, he now spends his time writing and publishing articles and books about the Maine Woods from his home in Quincy, Massachusetts.
