Our island book group mostly reads recently published books, but occasionally we will revisit classic literature, especially by Maine women writers, such as Elisabeth Ogilvie and May Sarton. This month we read and discussed Louise Dickinson Rich’s classic, “We took to the woods,” which was written when Louise and her husband Ralph lived in the woods of Maine near Umbagog Lake in the Rangeley Lakes region, close to the New Hampshire border. The book is laid out in chapters that are answers to questions that were often posed to her, some of which us islanders can relate to, such as “What do you do out there?” and “Don’t you feel isolated?”
Although this book was written in the early 20th century, Rich’s readable style makes for an entertaining read, as well as giving us eye-witness accounts of lumber camps, and “life in the woods.” Sadly, Ralph died in 1945, leaving Louise with two children and a different kind of life than she imagined – moving “home” to Massachusetts for a bit, and having an ill-fated marriage. Eventually she found her bearings again, and lived for a time on the Gouldsboro peninsula down east Maine, and wrote “The peninsula,” a coastal equivalent, in some ways, to “We took to the woods.”
Louise Dickinson Rich wrote 24 books during her career, spanning autobiographies, novels, and historical and regional works. Many of her books took place in Maine, but she also wrote of her childhood in Massachusetts.
Louise also wrote many magazine articles and newspaper articles, including one that appeared in the Portland Sunday Telegram, as well as being recorded for “This I believe,” a five-minute program, hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955 on CBS Radio Network.
The words and writings of Louise Dickinson Rich have withstood the test of time, and she remains a voice to be reckoned with, and enjoyed.
For more about Louise Dickinson Rich, read Alice Arlen’s “She took to the woods: a biography and selected writings of Louise Dickinson Rich“
Special thanks to the Maine Women Writers Collection at the University of New England’s Westbrook College campus, and the Maine Historical Society for use of their collections for this article.
