Local resident John Swift was in North Carolina on a golfing vacation when he unexpectedly stumbled upon a little piece of Bermuda tourism history.

"Every other year I take a group of Bermuda golfers up to the biennial Bermuda versus Lake Lure Challenge up in Lake Lure, North Carolina," said Mr. Swift, who owns the Pembroke Paint Company. "In June of this year I took up some 20 golfers, all members of Riddells Bay Golf Club.

"During the social activities in Lake Lure this year, two of the players, Joe and Mabel Satrape, came up to me and said they had recently found some interesting information about Bermuda as it was in 1935. I understand they had some relatives, Leroy and Constance Spangenberg, who came to Bermuda that year on the 'Monarch of Bermuda' on their honeymoon."

Mr. Swift asked to see the brochures and the Satrapes happily obliged. They had three mint condition brochures, including a menu for the 'Monarch of Bermuda', a general guide to Bermuda and a brochure about the Elbow Beach Hotel.

"The Spangenbergs came to Bermuda and had a good trip," said Mr. Swift. "Apparently the couple talked about it for days after they returned. They kept this little brochure with the different pieces."

Inside the brochure, the Spangenberg's travel agent stapled in some prices to the front cover. The cost of the steamer was $50 for a first class round trip, the Frascati Hotel was $12 and American and Bermudian taxes totalled $6.25 bringing the total cost of their trip was $69.25, a far cry from what it costs to visit Bermuda today.

Inside the general brochure of Bermuda, there was a pull-out of Bermuda hotels.

"There are something like 36 hotel properties depicted in the brochure in wonderful condition," said Mr. Swift.

Today, not many Bermudians remember hotel properties such as The Rowleys, Beau Sejour, Everest and The Argyle, among others. They are all shown in the brochure.

"Out of the 36 hotel structures in the brochure only six remain today as tourist accommodation including Elbow Beach, Horizons, Cambridge Beaches, Hamilton Princess, Waterloo House and Harmony Hall. Other hotels on the list, such as Westmeath, still exist but have changed function.

"It struck me as very interesting," said Mr. Swift. "From the point of view of youngsters who have no idea that these places existed as hotels or accommodation for tourists, I think it would be an interesting exercise to make people aware of it. And there is the comparison of what it was then and what it is today.

"Another brochure features Elbow Beach and shows you completely what Elbow Beach looked like in 1935. It is completely different to what it is today, because it had its own nine hole golf course. Rates at the Elbow Beach Hotel were surprisingly moderate. For two persons with meals included it was $14 to $16 per day ? all year. The rates weren't raised in the winter. With private bath it was $16 to $30 for two. The hotel could take 300 guests."

Mr. Swift said the brochure about Bermuda also contained some interesting statistics about Bermuda itself.

"The population was estimated to be 30,000 in 1935," he said, "and we produced 1,800,000 quarts of milk annually for local consumption. Bermuda bananas were referred to as delicate Chinese or Canary variety. Then it goes on to say increasing quantities of vegetables and other farm produce were sold locally at an estimated value of ?168,000 in 1933. In the same year the exports to Canada and the United States were ?24,800 and ?10,400 respectively. The principal vegetables exported to Canada were onions, cabbage, celery, potatoes and tomatoes, in that order. It also said that the quantities of export vegetables centrally graded and packed by the Department of Agriculture, the last four years (from 1935) were respectively 1,333, 13,698, 54,613 and 93,332 crates annually. Government packed vegetables were sold under the 'Colonial Mark' ? a pink oleander."

One of the brochures reads: "The best thing about Bermuda is that it will give you a rich measure in whatever you need. Rest and quiet in a haven, old world contentment, or a ceaseless round of gaiety and active sports.

"What you cannot get and will not miss is the speeding, the horn tooting, or the motorcycle or the frantic ride on the L or the subway. Bermuda is blissfully innocent of these advantages of the machine age and instead you will enjoy being driven around in a buggy by a spirited horse along flower bordered coral roadways, or you will recapture your childhood thrill of coasting down a hill on a bicycle."

Mr. Swift says: "When you compare that to what we have today ? how dramatically different things have changed within that short period since 1935."

Mr. Swift came to Bermuda in 1961 to work as a police officer.

"Even then it was quiet and blissful," he said. "Looking at these brochures made me remember the niceness of it. Bermuda is still nice, don't get me wrong."

He said that looking at the brochures made him understand how people can long for the good old days.

"When you read this literature it makes you understand that statement," he said. "You can never go back, but there are things in here that would teach our politicians, Department of Tourism, hotel workers and school children and all of us how to cater to visitors.

"When you consider the packed roads that we have today and the increase in offices and homes, it is wonderful to see an almost mint publication showing Bermuda in 1935. It is obvious looking at the brochures that in 1935 Bermuda was a tourist destination of the highest standard."

Mr. Swift said he was still considering what he wanted to do with the brochures.

"I thought maybe it would be nice to pass it on to someone else and show them what Bermuda was like in those days," he said. "It is nice to compare then to now."

He said it was also interesting to note how Bermudians in 1935 were proud of the way that their visitors were treated.

The Elbow Beach brochure reads: "Under the watchful management of the owner Mr. Harold Frith, every detail of service receives exacting care. The higher your standards and the fussier you are, you don't know how pleased you will be when you come to Elbow Beach. Maid and Valet service, beauty parlour, barber shop and gift shop will cater to your royal whims."

Mr. Swift said Bermudians should take inspiration from the sentiments expressed in these brochures.

"It is just the way Bermuda was and could still be in some respects," said Mr. Swift. He said that he tries to be an ambassador for Bermuda. His golf trips to North Carolina often lead to large groups of Americans visiting the island the following year.

"We have done this golf trip now for nine years and the people we meet out there come here every other year," he said. "Last year they came on a cruise ship and brought 40 guests to Bermuda. Next year they are coming back on the cruise boat and we hope to bring a similar number back, and some of them will be first time visitors to Bermuda.

"I enjoy doing it, but I thought it was nice to hear people sing the praises of Bermuda. That is always encouraging. I always try to sing the praises of the Island when I travel."

One of the visitors to the Island was the couple who gave Mr. Swift the brochures, the Satrapes. They like Bermuda as much as their relatives the Spangenbergs.

"This couple, Joe and Mabel Satrape, came on a trip last year and they loved it," said Mr. Swift. "They wanted these brochures to come back to Bermuda."