Finding joy in history’s pages

What’s inside? Read on to see why this little bag brought me so much joy!

Last week, an American friend surprised me with an amazing gift: a collection of 12 vintage Canadian brochures and maps. They were used on trips by members of her family decades ago and tucked away in the attic of their Maine cottage.

It felt like Christmas in August!

As a travel writer who has spent much of her career exploring East Coast destinations — especially in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia — I’m having a ball flipping through the pages of these tourism gems. Folded corners and pencilled notes add intriguing hints of journeys long past. What a thrill!

Holding a few of the vintage treasures — tourism guides from a past generation of travellers.

Moncton memories

Among the items in the bundle is a 38-page reference booklet titled Moncton, N.B.: The Hub of the Maritimes, published in 1934 as an update to a 1923 edition. It chronicles the city’s rise from a small settlement once called The Bend (after the curve in the Petitcodiac River) into a flourishing community of about 22,000 people.

This Moncton resident already knew some of the historical info in the guide: that shipbuilding was the city’s first big industry, employing hundreds in the 1800s. (The image of the Petitcodiac River lined with ships still blows my mind!)

I also knew how Moncton reinvented itself as a railway town when shipbuilding declined, serving first as headquarters for the Intercolonial Railway and later the Canadian National Railways for the Atlantic Region.

But some quirky facts in the brochure were new to me. Case in point: on Dec. 1, 1922, New Brunswickers switched to driving on the right-hand side of the road from the left. How did I not know this remarkable nugget?

This learning led me down an online rabbit hole to discover more about life in the province at the time of the big switch. If you’re equally interested, check out this fascinating 2018 piece by the CBC’s Julia Wright.

Flipping through the 1934 “Moncton: Hub of the Maritimes” booklet gives me an overview of the city and a glimpse into a big driving change in 1922.

Selling the province

What strikes me most about the Depression-era guides in my goodie bag is their relentless optimism. Even in difficult times, Moncton is pitched as a place of opportunity, with Eaton’s Maritime distribution plant (then the largest of its kind in the British Empire) and Swift Canadian Ltd. held up as proof.

Meanwhile, the province as a whole is — much like today — portrayed as an outdoor paradise. A pictorial map shows salmon leaping from rivers, canoeists gliding on mirrored lakes. The Bay of Chaleur was clearly the hot ticket of its day, billed as “Canada’s New Vacationland.” I wish I could step back in time to this Utopia!

Above: A 1930s pictorial map of New Brunswick.
Below: A playful ad inviting visitors to “Investigate the vacationing opportunities.”

Saint John: A refreshing coastal escape

The port city of Saint John published its own promotional booklet in 1937, describing itself as “Nature’s Air-Cooled City by the Sea.” It promises scenic drives, bathing beaches, golf courses and day trips upriver via steamship.

Along with a city map of the day, one of my favourite parts of the booklet is a series of ads from Eastern Canada Coastal Steamships Ltd. They’re a peek into the dream vacations of the day — and the price listings are just as entertaining as the ads.

Nova Scotia: Where history meets romance

The Nova Scotia booklets lean heavily into history and more than a little romance. Historic Nova Scotia opens with John Cabot’s 1497 voyage and the arrival of the Acadians in 1632, but it doesn’t stop at the facts. The copy leans into the “romance of the sea,” painting explorers, settlers and even fishermen with a storybook glow. The province isn’t just sold as historic — it’s pitched as downright swoon-worthy!

Beyond the flowery descriptions, my eye catches one dog-eared page that highlights Louisbourg, with a checkmark in the margin, presumably a ‘gotta go here’ indicator.

As someone who grew up 30 minutes from the coastal town, I totally agree with the vivid description: “Bold, rocky, ocean scenery, where the Atlantic surges pound with ceaseless roar.”

What really catches my attention, as I read on, are the quirky specifics — including a note about good swordfishing at the time. That sends me down another rabbit hole of online research, where I discover that swordfishing was a big deal in the Louisbourg area during the 1930s, with the industry declining in the 1960s, likely due to overfishing. I’ll be ready to pull out that piece of trivia at my next family gathering!

Nova Scotia, as pitched in the early 20th century: heritage, pride and a touch of romance.

A page from Historic Nova Scotia, where I learn that Louisbourg once had “good swordfishing”. Who knew?

History, with a side of joy

Not everyone is going to get excited about a stack of old brochures, but this gift has me feeling like a kid in a candy store. I feel unexpectedly connected to them, maybe because they tell the story of the Atlantic region with the same pride I try to carry into my own work.

Do you have boxes tucked away from another generation? Take a peek — the past still has plenty of joy to share.