Introduction "Come to the Aroostook vacationland" is the invitation carried to all its readers by In the Maine Woods -- appropriate title for a handbook of information for this long-renowned vacation country which boasts such incomparable attractions as majestic Moosehead Lake, Mt. Katahdin and the vast expanse of country which it dominates, the Allagash River and the other rivers famous for canoe cruises, the Fish River Chain of Lakes and many newly-famed waters -- names that are familiar and favorite with thousands of men and women who are already devotees of this country for which the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad is the entrance.

"In the Maine Woods again makes its bow to new readers and to all its old friends who always give it a cordial welcome. It continues to serve as a vacation handbook as well as an annual invitation to all to visit the great playground and recreation region for which the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad is the gateway. It's a vast vacation region for which the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad is the entrance because it includes not only the great area in the State of Maine but also the neighboring Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. There are many long famous vacation centers in this expanse."

Introduction "In the Maine Woods" is an invitation to all its readers to come to the famous vacation land for which the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad is the gateway. Thanks to the kind co-operation of enthusiasts who have written stories and contributed photographs, this annual publication makes it possible for newcomers to have a forecaste of the attractions awaiting them and for the oldtimers, always proclaiming the vacation delights of this great country of so many diverse allurements, it serves as a reminder of happy days in this territory so abundant in lakes and streams, mountains and forest areas.

Sample paragraph: That the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad serves a vast locality a glance at the map will reveal. From Moosehead Lake, one of the earliest vacation localities in this section of Maine and for more than half a century a foremost attraction, through the Katahdin Iron Works region, past Norcross and the waters abounding thereabouts, on and beyond famous Mt. Katahdin and the country around Patten, far up to the waters comprising the Fish River chain of lakes and streams, and over the New Brunswick boundary, into the Restigouche and other widely renowned Canadian fish and game centers -- for all these the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is the approach.

Sample paragraph: There is a constant growth in thenumber of vacationists coming to the Maine woods but despite this and the fact there is an increasing number of hotels and modernly equipped "camps" the early charm and unique features of a woods outing are still to be enjoyed. TheMaine woods "camp" continues to hold it unique place and while the Aroostook country takes pride in thefine hotels like the new Mt. Kineo House and Squaw Mountain Inn al Moosehead, it is the Maine woods camps that make this vacationland so distinctive. Camps generally are located on the shore of or close by lakes or rivers, some distance from settlements and are in themselves little communities. Supplies are kept stocked and many camps have gardens for vegetables and provide their own dairy products, eggs, and poultry. The central cabin is used for a common dining-room and assembly, and then apart are a series of smaller cabins.

Sample paragraph: Regardless of the choice of your vacation spot in the Aroostook Country -- whether you come for fishing, canoeing, climbing Mt. Katahdin, hunting, or whether it is the desire "just to loaf and loll" you'll find a woods vacation the best of all vacations which will be equally enjoyable and zestful in the realization and in thr retrospection, indeed, as any "old-timer" will tell you, looking back on a wood vacation is perhaps even more than half of the benefits which it give . For health and happiness and for longlasting, joyful recollections, decide that this year's "time-off" will he spent In the Maine Woods.

Sample paragraph: Wherever you go in the Maine woods you are sure to find satisfaction because life at a Maine woods camp is a continuous program of pleasure and contentment with the program of fishing parties, tramping expeditions, canoe picnics and many other forms of entertainment. At all Maine woods camps there are bills-of-fare to meet the appetites that invariably come from the heathful invigorating life in the open. Even the most jaded appetites become keen and the memory of luscious and satisfying offerings of the camp cooks outlasts the recollection of charms of scenery and the bountiful beauties of Nature.

Sample paragraph: On all sides will be found cordiality and the very evident wish to assist in making the "best time ever." It is this genuine, whole-hearted hospitality, no place more manifest than in the Maine Woods, that is making the State of Maine the favorite vacation spot for the millions who yearly come within its borders.

Sample paragraph: Getting to the Maine Woods in the old days meant travel by team and stagecoach, by slow steamboats and canoes, a journey calling for time and patience, while today, an overnight trip from Boston or New York with all the comforts of modern travel makes possible arrival in the woods the next morning. Despite their long-time popularity the Maine Woods show yearly increases in visitors. All the "original" vacation spots continue to attract and almost each season sees new places coming into favor, noteworthy among these being the marvelous country in the Mt. Katahdin region, which offers in great abundance many forms of vacation pleasures, anc climbing Mt. Katahdin, long one of the special attractions of the Maine Woods, has become a foremost vacation program.

Address from Governor Ralph Brewster: Some day after enough annual editions of the ever delightful booklet, "In the Maine Woods" have been published, the citizens of Maine and of other states will realize that Bangor is the gateway to 10,000,000 acres of teeming woodland dotted with lakes and streams and to one of the richest agricultural counties to be found in the United States. From Mount Katahdin this great empire can be surveyed reaching to the edge of the world on every side .

There is united effort on the part of the Bangor & Aroostook Bailroad, camp owners, guides, hotels, and out-fitting stores to give satisfaction and to make the vacation of all visitors, women, men and young people, a never-to-be-forgotten event. The Bangor & Aroostook Railroad's Vacation Bureau is always ready to give information and to supply detailed suggestions for vacations, canoe trips, hunting and fishing.

To the new readers of "In the Maine Woods," the vacation annual published by the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, which is the popular route to this great section so generally designated as the nation's playground," this book will serve not only as an information handbook but also as an invitation to come to enjoy for yourselves the many health-giving and zestful enjoyments which are to be found on all sides. Nowhere, the length or breadth of our land, can be found a region so teeming with allurements. Fishing, hunting, canoeing, camping, mountain-climbing, tramping–all these and other diversions are offered in this forest wonderland which abounds in scenic delights and gorgeous natural beauties and wonders. There are opportunities for all vacation varieties, whether the choice be a magnificent hotel like the New Mt. Kinco House, long a feature on majestic Moosehead Lake, or one of the many "sporting" camps which are a Maine Woods institution, or "roughing it," as is provided by a hike up Mt. Katahdin and camping out atop this most famous peak of the east; or yet again, the varied program which a canoe cruise holds out.

Sample paragraph: In the Maine Woods is more than an information manual. It is a yearly invitation to men and women who already know this vacation land to come again, and to others, not yet acquainted with the offerings of this peerless paradise, for them to partake of the bountiful program of varied pleasures that is provided for all who come to this wonderland for recreation, rest and rejuvenation.

“To All Lovers of the Out-of-Doors: Maine's rock-fringed coast, her rivers, lakes, forests and mountains are a standing invitation to all who seek health and recreation. Maine men and women are eager to supplement nature's appeal with the cordial grasp of a welcoming hand. Germaine hospitality is promised all who come within the bounds of our state, and no effort will be spared to make their visit worthy of remembrance. As Governor of Maine I open wide the door that all may share the joys and blessings of our great natural inheritance.” Percival P. Baxter, Governor of Maine.

Sample paragraph: Health, happiness and contentment are the inevitable possessions gained from a Maine woods vacation. The vast, wonderful country is redolent with balsam-laden breezes that bring rest and upbuilding, and the splendid forms of outdoor life open to the comers to the Maine woods are equally suited for men and women and boys and girls. To all who seek rest, relaxation and recreation in the "nation's playground" the whole state of Maine, synonymous with cordiality and hospitality, extends a hearty welcome.

Sample paragraph: When the early enthusiasts started for a trip to Moosehead Lake, one of the earliest places to become famous, it meant a long stage-coach journey over roads none too smooth from Bangor to Greenville. The early visitors to Mt. Katahdin made the trip from Bangor, up the Penobscot River, by canoes with Old Town Indians as guides. Now practically any point on the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad can he reached by an overnight trip from New York or Boston with arrival at the destination in the woods in time for mid-day dinner the following day. Pullman sleeping, parlor and dining cars, along with other up-to-the minute improvements, have taken all the discomforts from traveling between cities and the different centers in the Maine woods.

Sample paragraph: Once a vacation is enjoyed in the Maine woods it is easy to understand the rhapsodies which come from the many women and men who yearly make pilgrimage to this great country of natural charms and scenic delights. It is a marvelous combination that one gets in the woods, for here Nature seems most bountiful in the union of mountains, forest, magnificent lakes and swift-flowing rivers. On all sides there is the radiant and irresistible allurement that is found only in the woods which hold out a warmth of welcome that seems never to exist elsewhere for those who have come under the magic spell of the forest enchantment.

More than half a century back, Thoreau, famous naturalist and one of the earliest panegyrists of the Maine wood, thus wrote his impressions of the great Aroostook country which is now world-famous as the mecca for fishermen, hunters and the thousands of men and women who turn to the forest area for rest and relaxation when the vacation time arrives. When Thoreau made his excursions into the Maine woods, first to climb Katahdin, again to visit Moosehead and Chesuncook lakes and a third time to revel in the delights of a canoe trip in Allagash and East Branch waters, it meant primitive methods of traveling, undergoing difficulties and putting up with inconveniences which are unknown to present day devotees of the Maine woods.

In the Maine woods -- the country marvelously endowed by Nature and replete with never-ending delights for men and women for whom there are no joys equal to the allurements of the forest -- the unbroken forest of mystic murmurs, of winding streams and glistening basins, of rushing rapids, of tree-crested hills and mountains, or majestic rivers leading far away through primeval depths -- small wonder that the woods of Maine are the favorite recreation grounds for thousands that yearly make pilgrimage in answer to the magic call and a yearning for rest and relaxation away from the city's stress and strain.

In spite the craze for speed -- through water, on land and in the air -- never has the canoe, one of the most primitive of craft, been more popular than at the present time. This, it may be argued, is a good indication of returning sanity for there is no recreation more health-giving and stimulating than a canoe cruise through the woodland waters which are so numerous in Aroostook country. A decade or so ago it was regarded as a great novelty, the making of a canoe trip in the Maine woods, and as for women attempting one of these forest expeditions, she who did it was looked upon as an adventuress. Now, however, perhaps owing to the increasing strenuosity of city life and consequent craving for new scenes, different modes of living and the leaving behind of the stress and strain of the times, canoeing is the favorite form of vacation for hundreds of men and women.

Even in the old days, long before modem transportation methods had been dreamed of, the Maine woods attracted their annual visitors who were willing to withstand the discomforts of stage and wagon travel to reach their favorite spots. Small wonder, then, that today, when all travel conveniences are provided that the woods enthusiasts are increasing each season. Unlike the changes in modes of travel, there is no limitation or diminution in the allurements of the forest.. It stands today as in centuries agone -- magnificent., mysterious, and despite its vastness, ever wafting a welcome to those who seek repose and refreshment in its balmy depths.

This annual publication serves as an introduction to persons unacquainted with the vast Aroostook gameland and vacation country and for the hundreds who make yearly visits to this playground of the nation it is a reminder of happy clays in an expanse which nature has endowed with signal munificence. It does not pretend to be a complete compendium for it would require many volumes to adequately cover the many and diverse attractions of Aroostook -- the scenic charms of its mountains, lakes and streams; the delights of the forest retreats; the allurements which yearly call the angler and the mystic charm which draws the hunters to the wooded depths to follow the trail of moose and deer.

In the Maine woods one may play as moderately or as strenuously as he likes. If one does not care to "rough it" but desires the woods surroundings with all the comforts of home, his desires are easily met. Maine woods camps rival metropolitan hotels in the comforts they afford their guests. Some of the larger camps have gas or electric lighting plants, private baths and telephones, yet a short trip from camp takes one into the abode of all the finned and furred and feathered denizens of the forest.

Imagine if you can an immense forest playground over fifteen thousand square miles in extent; imagine this great tract to be intersected by more than a thousand connecting and contiguous waterways, in whose cool depths swim countless numbers of handsome game fish; imagine, too, the presence of thousands of hulky moose and bears, tens of thousands of graceful deer, and a veritable multitude of smaller forest denizens—and you have some idea of that wonderful recreation region known the world over as "the wilds of northern Maine.”