Beautiful, often perilous, but rewarding. 

That is how Arend Thibodeau describes the process of researching and photographing for his debut book, “Forgotten Industry and Institutions of Maine: Tales of Milkmen, Axe Murderers, and Ghost Trains.” The title weaves together facts, stories and personal anecdotes as Thibodeau uses his professional photography skills to offer a glimpse at Maine’s forgotten artifacts, from abandoned train cars to closed-down penitentiaries. The book comes out July 31.

Thibodeau discovered his interest in abandoned structures after stumbling, literally, on a house in the middle of the forest while doing wildlife shots. The living room was almost perfectly preserved as if someone from the ’50s had just turned off their TV, and never came back, according to Thibodeau. “I was just so enchanted by it.”

He took a photo and submitted it to the Maine Photography Show where it was displayed as part of the 2018 exhibit in Boothbay Harbor. This event validated his passion for the abandoned. He has since spent the last few years transversing, sometimes trespassing, deep into Maine’s north woods and asbestos-filled ruins.   

“I do not know what it is that compels me to try and find beauty in abandonment, but when I capture the photos, I try to create images that evoke an emotion or perhaps tell a story by themselves,” said Thibodeau. “I try to find their connections to humanity, or the human condition, which will always remain present, long after the humans have gone.”

Thibodeau inherited an interest in the old from his maternal grandfather, Boothbay’s Donald Hardwick, whose love of antique automobiles and career as a milkman appear in the book. Paired with a photo of a forest junkyard full of old milk trucks, Thibodeau discusses the transition from milkmen being a part of everyone’s morning routine to the modern days of DoorDash.

It is these transitional periods in technology, and the creativity of people to find ways to make life easier and stay connected, that Thibodeau hopes to highlight in his book. “I would like people to walk away with an understanding, and an appreciation of not where we are, but where we’ve come from and how we got to this point.”

Thibodeau recently underwent a transitional period in his own life, graduating summa cum laude from University of Maine in Orono with dual degrees in art and English literature in 2021. He also received membership in multiple honor societies including Sigma Tau Delta, and the International English Honor Society. Thibodeau graduated from Boothbay Region High School in 1984, describing himself as a low-performing student. 

Later in life, and with some outside encouragement about the strength of his writing abilities, Thibodeau decided to pursue higher education. The experience was incredibly fulfilling, and Thibodeau found that the more he learned, the more he wanted to produce his own work. “I got bit. I’m addicted. I just love to write.” 

Thibodeau said while he is excited for his work to finally be published, it will not feel real until he holds the first copy in his hands. “The excitement to see my vision actually come together and become a tangible real thing. The birth of something you create. It’s hard to put into words.” 

Thibodeau has another book, “Residential Ruins of Maine: Stories of Abandonment in Rural Maine” coming out Sept. 25, and has plans to release “Gothic Maine,” a deep dive into Maine cemeteries, early next year.