Five generations of Marnie O. Mamminga’s family have been rejuvenated by times together in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. In a series of evocative remembrances accompanied by a treasure trove of vintage family photos, Mamminga takes us to Wake Robin, the cabin her grandparents built in 1929 on Big Spider Lake near Hayward, on land adjacent to Moody’s Camp. Along the way she preserves the spirit and cultural heritage of a vanishing era, conveying the heart of a place and the community that gathered there. Bookended by the close of the logging era and the 1970s shift to modern lake homes, condos, and Jet Skis, the 1920s to 1960s period covered in these essays represents the golden age of Northwoods camps and cabins—a time when retreats such as Wake Robin were the essence of simplicity. In Return to Wake Robin, Mamminga describes the familiar cadre of fishing guides casting their charm, the camaraderie and friendships among resort workers and vacationers, the call of the weekly square dance, the splash announcing a perfectly executed cannonball, the lodge as gathering place. By tracing the history of one resort and cabin, she recalls a time and experience that will resonate with anyone who spent their summers Up North—or wishes they had.

This promotional pamphlet provides brief descriptions of popular tourist destinations along the Upper Midwestern route of the Chicago and North-Western Railway in 1884. The Michigan communities of Escabana, Gogebic, Marquette, and Menominee are included, as are the Minnesota towns of Stillwater, Lake Madison, and Waseca. The information in the entries is not always consistent, but usually includes sites of interest, hotels and rooming houses (with occasional prices), and commentary on the health-restoring properties of the local air and water. A "How To Get There" section accompanying each entry alerts the reader to the number of trains going to a particular place as well as the best routes to travel. Engravings and a map accompany the text, as do a few tables analyzing the chemical properties of water. The pamphlet also includes brief descriptions of Yellowstone and other resorts further west, and an advertisement for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway itself.