Rich, Louise Dickinson. We Took to the Woods. New York: Atlantic-Little Brown 1942. Print
During most of my adolescence -- specifically, between the time when I gave up wanting to be a brakeman on a freight train and the time when I definitely decided to become an English teacher -- I said, when asked what I was going to do with my life, that I was going to live alone in a cabin in the Maine woods and write. It seemed to me that this was a romantic notion, and I was insufferably smug over my own originality. Of course, I found out later that everybody is at one time or another going to do something of the sort. It's part of being young. The only difference in my case is that, grown to womanhood, I seem to be living in a cabin in the Maine woods, and I seem to be writing.
Description:
We Took to the Woods is Rich's account of her chosen life living in a ancient fishing lodge located in the Rangeley Lakes area of northwestern Maine. The lodge and cabins are surrounded by hundreds of square miles of forest preserve with only five miles of usable road and the nearest town two miles away.
Her memoir is composed of equal parts wild environment, unique people who enter these woods, daily adventures, and seasonal challenges and delights. It details life narrowed down to the essentials of food, shelter, warmth, family, and enjoyment of the surrounding environment.
Rich lives with her husband, Ralph; their four-year-old son Rufus "who, not to mince words, is often a pest" and daughter Sally.
And, of course, she has unique pets running around. Tim is their cat whose "idea of an average day is to get up at noon, trounce the dog for looking at him, go out and chase a deer away from the clearing and set out the two miles for Middle Dam, there to visit with his girl, the Millers' cat, after half murdering her other three suitors." Kyak, their "art dog" husky, is "completely non-functional." Rollo is their un-descented pet skunk.
We Took to the Woods divides Rich's life into chapters which focus on a frequently-asked question from people curious about her life. Chapters include "How do you make a living?" "But you don't live here all the year round?" "Aren't the children a problem?" "Don't you ever get bored" "Don't you get awfully out of touch?" etc. She recounts episode after episode in her daily life that clearly and humorously depict how she addresses each of these concerns.
Her daily work involves keeping the lodge operating and occasionally acting as a fishing guide for tourists. She tells wonderful stories of berry picking, fishing, rowing boats, house repairs, making ice cream, and preparing meals, including those makeshift ones when standard ingredients have run out (or were forgotten to have been purchased before winter shut down the only road). The allure of isolated living takes on a new image when there is no running to the local Kwik-E-Mart for milk, salt, butter, or flour.
This book is a gem. Each page shows the passion and love the author has for her wilderness life and all elements in it. When she describes the beauty found in their vegetable garden, the break-up of the ice, the loggers riding huge numbers of trees down the river, rowing around B Pond to watch loons, and her interactions with grizzled locals, fresh-faced tourists and various animals wild and tame, there is a contentment emanating from her words and depictions as if she is talking about a good meal in front of the fire. The book provides readers a similar satisfied feeling, knowing that here is a person and setting that are admirable, enticing, and just plain interesting to hear about.
It is a classic book in Maine, found in every bookstore there, and highly recommend for any age person interested in immersing himself into a real-life story of survival, family, laughter, and perseverance.
Happy reading.
If this book interests you, there are many other books available by Louise Dickinson Rich about her life and family in Maine as well as some children's books she authored.
Rich, Louise Dickinson. Happy the Land
Follow-up memoir to We Took to the Woods.
Hoover, Helen. Gift of the Deer.
A couple move to a primitive house in the backwoods of Minnesota to live a simpler life. Highly recommended
Beston, Henry. The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod.
Recollections and musings from the author who lived alone on a New England quiet beach for a year, studying nature and himself during this period. A classic.
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