Stories of the Allagash

The Telos Cut

An excellent article on The Telos Cut was written by Elizabeth Bennett and published in the Memories of Maine Magazine Winter 2022 edition. Excerpt: In the 1840s, the need to drive logs down the Penobscot River and into Bangor was so strong it motivated wheeling and dealing, sparked violence, pushed innovation,...

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Paddlin’ On

After 44 years of dedicated service managing two of Maine’s most iconic rivers, I am calling it a career. I began my profession as an Assistant Ranger right out of the University of Maine as green as they come. As I move into retirement, I see myself as the mentor,...

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Best Job in the World

By: Kevin Brown, Chief Ranger of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway “You have the best job in the world,” the paddlers would tell me as we chatted on a flat calm Eagle Lake in the middle of August. “How do you get a job like this?” they would ask. As I motored slowly...

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You Won’t Believe the 1859 Supply List at Chamberlain Farm on the Allagash River

Even Henry David Thoreau stopped by in 1857 to buy four pounds of brown sugar About halfway up the eastern shore of Chamberlain Lake, nestled behind a point of land once called Apmoojenegamook Point (now Hog Point) sits an old farmhouse. The building is all that is left of a thriving...

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Dark Skies and the Milky Way Aren’t the Only Reasons to Paddle the Allagash

Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW) is a spectacular 92-mile long river and lake area like no other waterway in the eastern United States. To those who are willing to get off the beaten path and unplug from technology it offers remarkable natural beauty, an opportunity to experience solitude and escape from...

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Lessons from a Backwoods Kitchen

By Ruth LaRoche (wife of Matthew LaRoche, Superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway). I have had this reoccurring dream over my lifetime. In this dream, I need to figure out how I am going to feed 20 guests with one can of evaporated milk and a small package of venison. And I can’t...

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Milford and Dot Kidney Were Allagash Legends

When I first arrived for work in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway- at the ripe old age of 19 years, I had the privilege of meeting some very interesting people. People that I didn’t realize would become Allagash legends. Milford and Dorothy (Dot) Kidney were two remarkable people that made their...

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Edouard “King” Lacroix Was a Canadian Lumber Baron

Edouard “King” Lacroix, a Canadian lumber baron, who had huge operations in the Allagash Region- left a legacy that remains in the heart of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW). He was born to humble beginnings, in Sainte-Marie, Quebec in 1889. He had little schooling, but did attend college for six...

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A Good Hunting Dog is Hard to Beat

A good dog is certainly a pleasure to hunt with. I have had four dogs during my adult life and my fondest memories are of Chad, my first and best hunting dog. Chad could sniff out a grouse and put it up a tree like no other dog I have...

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I Went Fishing on My First Day at Umsaskis Lake

I can remember my first day at Umsaskis Lake back in May of 1977, like it was yesterday. I was so excited to be in a more remote section of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW). I had a new area to explore, new people to meet and potential new fishing...

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