Two books to enhance hunting experience

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With hunting season fast approaching, the time for planning is nearly over. You likely already know where you’re going to go on opening day, and with whom you’ll hunt.

That’s good. You’re nearly ready.

Nearly … but not quite.

The time spent in the woods is only part of the hunting experience, after all. After the day’s hunt is done, and it’s time to find a comfortable old chair near the wood stove, there’s nothing like a good Maine book to pass the time … at least until the cards are dealt.

And I’ve got a couple of good options for you to consider.

First, notice I said “good Maine book.” When I’m in the Maine woods, absorbing a uniquely Maine experience, I’m one of those guys who enjoys reading a bit of local literature.

Sometimes it’s Stephen King, or his son, Joe Hill.

Other times, it’s a magazine full of local flavor.

And sometimes, it’s a book that blends an appreciation for the Maine tradition with useful information.

I found that combination in two books that have made their way to my desk recently.

The first, “Your Maine Lands, Reflections of a Maine Guide,” was written by Master Maine Guide Tom Hanrahan, and has just become available.

I had the opportunity to read the galley proofs of this 76-page edition a couple months back, and ended up breezing right through it.

In short, the book ended far too soon.

Hanrahan is a graduate of Princeton University and is an accomplished writer. Back in the 1980s, he spent some time at the University of Maine helping to educate a new generation of journalists, including many of my peers at the school.

Simply put, he knows how to tell a tale … and this book is full of them.

Hanrahan wrote the book at the behest of the Maine Department of Conservation, and the resulting product is impressive.

It’s not a guide book in the strictest sense, but you’ll find some guiding principles and plenty of ideas for future trips in its pages.

Instead of using a more antiseptic guidebook format, Hanrahan treats Maine’s public lands as his own personal playground, and invites the reader along for the ride.

Artist Kelly Thorndike, a combat-wounded Iraq War veteran, provides the illustrations.

Hanrahan offers a guide’s perspective on various outdoor pursuits, and preaches preparedness above all else.

With that said, he clearly loves the feeling of solitude and accomplishment that come when he heads into the woods alone, knowing that only his skills and that preparedness stand between him and disaster.

Hanrahan takes readers up north and Down East, and to all kinds of places in between.

And when you’re curled up in front of a roaring fire, planning your next day’s excursion, you couldn’t ask for better company than Hanrahan’s book.

The book is available for $10.95 through the Maine Department of Conservation. Call 287-2211 for more information.

The second book I’ve recently had the opportunity to read isn’t nearly as spicy, but is just as informative.

The book, “Penobscot County Conservation Association, A History of Public Service,” walks the reader through the rich history of the area sporting club. It was compiled by Paul D. Uttormark, and edited by Jerry R. Longcore.

The PCCA originated in 1928 and may be best known for its sponsorship of the Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show, which has become a March tradition in these parts.

If you want to know how that tradition began, you can do so here. If you want to see photos of meetings from long ago, you can find them here. And if you want to gain a fuller appreciation for the projects the club has tackled over the years, this is the perfect vehicle for doing so.

The book is a 164-page history project, with plenty of photos marking the passing years.

The club’s meeting minutes and newsletters are used as primary sources, and readers get to take a step back in time as club members made decisions that would chart the organization’s course for years to come.

Truthfully, not everybody in this newspaper’s readership area will likely find the book as interesting as I did.

But for those who grew up or reside in the Penobscot Valley, or who have attended or benefited from PCCA programs in the past, it’s a thoroughly interesting read.

You can get a copy of the book for $10 at the PCCA, or for $15 by mail. For more information, write to the PCCA at PO Box 605, Brewer, 04412 or send e-mail to jaymunson@conservationassociation.org.

Even more hunter’s meals …

With just two days remaining before the firearms season on deer begins, hunters are planning feverishly.

So, too, are organizers of the region’s hunter’s meals. Another batch of press releases showed up Tuesday and Wednesday as civic organizations tried to attract a few more hungry hunters.

Here are a few more options:

. In LaGrange, the LaGrange Veterans Association and the LaGrange Playground Fund will benefit from a breakfast at the Masonic Hall from 4:30-9 a.m. on Saturday. The cost is $6.

. In Old Town, the New Life Apostolic Church will hold a breakfast from 5-8 a.m. on Saturday. Adults pay $7 while children 12 and under pay $3.

. In Hampden, the Hampden Masonic Temple will host a breakfast from 5-9 a.m. on Nov. 8. The meal costs $6 and tickets for a Ruger Model 77 rifle are available for $10 apiece.

. In Holden, the Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club will hold a breakfast Nov. 8 from 4:30-8:30 a.m. at the clubhouse on Levenseller Road. The cost is $5.75 per person.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

990-8214