April 17, 2025 Edition
By Emily Patrick
Walter H. Maynard was only a young boy when he ran away from home (if you could call the poor young boy’s group home existence homely) and, by chance or by fate, found his way to the Moosehead Lake Region of Maine. Though up until then, Walter had a hard life, the young man finally stumbled upon some luck when he met Mr. Wilson of Wilson’s Sporting Camps on Moosehead Lake.
Wilson taught young Walter how to make a living as a Maine Guide. The young man grabbed this opportunity by the horns and made a life for himself. In 1919 he would change the course of history by building 12 cabins and, eventually, a lodge, on some old farmland he purchased in Rockwood, Maine, on the heels of his own hard work and good name.
Walter successfully ran the camps and the lodge, originally called “The Firs,” for over three decades before he passed, leaving the land and the business to his son, Roger, who then passed it on to his only son, William, after 45 years. I sat down with William’s widow, Gail, and their son, Bill, to talk about the Maynard legacy as they begin to look towards the future, and their own hopes and dreams, for the first time.
“He was born into it,” Gail laughs, pointing at her son. “I married into it.” Gail married Bill Maynard in 1968, fresh out of high school. She continues, “Biggest mistake I made was to tell my father-in-law I knew how to type, and do a lot of other things,” she chuckles. Gail worked at Maynard’s for over 50 years, cooking, cleaning cabins, managing the office…doing whatever needed to be done. Gail even remembers waitressing with Bill on her hip, but says it didn’t help with tips one bit.
Maynard’s, of course, started off as a place one could go to fish, or hunt, or just experience some reprieve in the North Maine wilderness. Celebrities and sportsmen alike flocked to Maynard’s in its heyday. Gail and Bill proudly show me pictures of the various stars who stayed at the famous camps over the years: a Russian princess for whom was built a special sewing room and soaking tub, Colonel Walter Scott, an Indian chief, and even Bud Leavitt, whom Carolyn once mistook as a lazy employee and told the guest to “get off his [behind] and get to work!” though she didn’t use nearly as polite a word for “rear end.”
As Gail and Bill reminisce, I hear fantastical stories of hunting and fishing excursions, animal husbandry (which once included loading a calf into the family station wagon for Greenville’s Fourth of July parade), pet bear cubs, delectable meals at the main lodge that were made from scratch for decades, families who have come back to Maynard’s each summer for generations…it all makes my head spin! My mind is racing, trying to find an “angle” for this story, wondering how I will ever do Walter H. Maynard and the Maynard family justice…and then it comes to me.
The one common thread in all of these tales, the one thing that has stayed constant about Maynard’s over the years and has kept people coming back for more, is the strong bonds between family that extend outwards to anyone who has ever stayed, eaten, or even worked at Maynard’s. Over the years, almost everyone in the family has had a hand in running the business in one way or another, and it’s clear when Bill and Gail are talking about the Maynard’s family, they’re not just talking about blood.
When asked what she’d like people to remember about Maynard’s, Gail says, “Hopefully that we treated people the way we want to be treated. Most of our guests have become family.” At Maynard’s, everyone is family, and is treated accordingly, no better, no worse. The place is magical in that it’s an equalizer, a place where celebrities could go and be treated like everyone else, where even Bud Leavitt could rest in anonymity and, at any moment, be mistaken for a freeloading employee. At the same time, it was a place the everyday man could go and feel like a King, whether he just landed the biggest catch of his life thanks to the top-notch guide services Maynard’s offered, or eating like a king with a big, steaming, homecooked meal laid out before him.
Alas, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Running Maynard’s in Maine is no easy feat, a labor of love, heavy on the labor. For so many years, Gail and Bill and family happily did the work, but when the patriarch of the family passed away last year, Gail and her son realized it was time for them to move on and pursue their own dreams, something they didn’t have the heart to do while Bill Sr. was alive. They made the difficult decision to sell Maynard’s. Gail says they didn’t “vet” the potential buyers, per se, but they did listen to what they said to help make their decision. Gail says the people who bought Maynard’s are wonderful and they “couldn’t ask for a better fit.” So, don’t fret, Maynard’s isn’t going anywhere yet!
The Maynard family didn’t sell their legacy; in fact, by realizing it was time for them to move on and pursue their own individual interests, Gail planning to spend more time with her grandkids and to “straighten them out” as needed, Bill focusing on his own business and spending more time doing what he loves- hunting and fishing- they are not giving up the family legacy but rather…carrying it on.
I have a feeling Walter H. Maynard is proud of his family for all the hard work they’ve put in over the years, for unparalleled work ethic is a trait that’s certainly been passed down from Maynard to Maynard. His true legacy, though, is passing down the courage and the wisdom needed to take a chance, do something different, forge one’s own path through life…and that’s exactly what the modern-day Maynards are doing as they step into this next exciting chapter. Maynard’s in Maine helped shape who they are, so they can be who they were meant to be, and that’s something that can’t ever be bought or sold.
Let’s wish the Maynard family well and thank them for all of the memories as we eagerly await what’s next for “Maynard’s in Maine.”