Another one of those brave, hearty young women who ventured into the northern Maine woods to carve out a living, Helen Hamlin had a story to tell, and she told it well.
In “Nine Mile Bridge: Three Years in the Maine Woods”, Helen Hamlin described how she wound up in the remote logging camp of Churchill Depot, along the Allagash River, to teach school to the young children of the camp’s workers. It was quite an adventure for a young lady, and it led her to meet her future husband Curly, who was a Maine State Game Warden stationed in the area. Helen left the teaching job, married Curly, and they began their life together in a cabin deep in the woods.
While it may not seem like an exciting life, Hamlin truly enjoyed those years in the woods and with her open mind, embraced wilderness activities that would have bored city dwellers. She wrote extremely well, and the stories included in “Nine Mile Bridge” are both interesting and entertaining.
Originally published in 1945, “Nine Mile Bridge” was a New York Times Bestseller in its day and continues to captivate readers of Maine woods stories today. The book is an important piece of Maine history, and a true literary gem.
Here is a list of chapters:
Churchill Depot
Everybody Swing!
Mademoiselle la Maitresse
French Canadians
Lumbering
Deacon’s Seat
Wilderness Airways
Halfway to Nowhere
River Drive
Warden’s Wife
Buck Fever
A Warden’s Work
Digging In
Snowbound
Long, Long Winter
Breaking Trail
Lac Frontiere
Spring Fever
Trout and Togue
Down-River
Nine Mile
St. Pamphile vs. Tourville
Province of Quebec
Woods Queer
Dogs
A Dog’s Life at Nine Mile
Nine Mile Winter
Neighbors
Canine First Aid
Backwoods Excitement
Dog Sense
The Ice Goes Out
Whitewater
River Trips
Old Times
The Snow Flies Again
Beaver Trappers
Breaking Camp
Another game warden wife – turned author, Annette Jackson, wrote a book about her life in the same area around the same time. Click here to read a review of Jackson’s “My Life in the Maine Woods”.
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