Dear Yankee | July/August 2026

I just wanted to write a thank you to Yankee in regards to the article by Wayne Curtis. His story brought back fond memories of a trip I took in the mid 1970s to the Wheaton Fishing Camp. I met Lance Wheaton and his family that operated this camp at Forest City, Maine. Those canoes and the spectacular fishing on the lakes have never been forgotten. Thanks again.

—James Finegan, Norwich, Connecticut

There are many reasons Massachusetts’ North and South shores differ. The Separatists (not Pilgrims, please) settled Plymouth Bay Colony in 1620 as a somewhat socialist community where labor, money, and goods were shared amongst the settlers. Making a profit and increased wealth was not their priority. Not long after, Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by prosperous British known as Puritans, which centered around Boston and land north of it. Their goal was to capitalize on their investments, including the slave trade. Religion also factored into the Mass Bay and Plymouth Bay colonies dichotomy, but is far too complex for this letter. Another reason is geographic: Plymouth Harbor did not work out as a commercial or later, whaling port, as did Boston, Salem, Gloucester, and Newburyport. Eventually the wealth centered north of Boston, with its stunning architecture and public buildings.

—Jerry Elsden, Scituate, Massachusetts

Thank you to Bruce Irving and photographer Adam Detour for the article on triple-decker houses. My ancestors were Dorchester Irish who had moved out of these houses when I was a child, but I remember visiting grandmothers in one. I still subscribe to Yankee, but live on the West Coast. The housing demand in Seattle is very high, so there are hundreds of three-story townhouses (but for one family) being built in my neighborhood and I wonder if they will ever be celebrated similarly for having a kind of nostalgic cache as the triple-deckers.

—Kathleen Braden, Seattle, Washington

What a treat to read “Three’s Company“ in your July/August 2026 issue! I grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts, but my mom grew up in Southie on the first level of a triple-decker, and her mom still lived there during my childhood. Your article had me reminiscing about hours spent at Grandma’s house, speeding down the single straight hallway, past family photos of her kids and grandkids, to the kitchen at the back, where Grandma would have set out well-cleaned styrofoam meat trays alongside pushpins for us to punch designs into them … my Grandma, having grown up during the depression, let nothing go to waste! Thank you for the history lesson and the trip down memory lane!

—Julia Gonzalez, San Mateo, California

Our perception of history is painted with a broad—often misleading—brush strokes. Your article “A Darker Shade of Pale” painted the correct picture of New England meeting houses with many different colors. The historic browns of the now white Hancock Congregational Church (divided between sanctuary nice and meeting house below) can still be seen inside an unfinished closet. Thanks again!

—John Wengler, Nelson, New Hampshire

I am so disappointed in the July/August Yankee. I was expecting a “special” edition celebrating America’s 250, and am in amazement that no one on the Editorial staff thought to [have articles] about New England’s contribution to the founding of our country. There is so much history here in New England; why not use Yankee to share what is truly unique about our region? In my opinion, the July/August edition missed the mark as to what Jenn Johnson wrote: “Because in New England, and in the nation, connecting to both history and people matters.”

—Tessa Gutowski, Willington, Connecticut

I celebrated in 1976, and the country was alive and proud to celebrate. This year, as I look around my neighborhood, there are no flags and very few decorations. I am 74 and have been reading Yankee ever since my father got a subscription. A small but thoroughly interesting magazine that captured the average American citizen, the people who built this part of the country. Over the years, Yankee has changed; something I am sure it had to do to stay relevant. To not talk about past accomplishments of New Englanders [in this issue] does a great disservice to the people who were not born here; to children and students who know nothing about our past because it is not taught. So you took the safe elitist route, ignoring veterans, heroes, ship captains, past New England cooks, and inventors, to make a sly and unpatriotic point. You do not care for the division in this country and you do not want to celebrate because it does not align with your “principles,” I suspect. You let an opportunity of a lifetime slip away.

—Patricia A. Powers, Peabody, Massachusetts

In 1976, I was living in Lenox, Massachusetts. I and my family hosted a neighborhood backyard BBQ celebration of our 200th birthday. Yankee has been with me on and off throughout my adult life even as I moved and lived in many different states. And I get my copy today and see that Yankee decided not to celebrate my 250th birthday! I am very old now… but the little girl in me would answer “big deal” to the egoistic blather in your piece. But this 91-year-old woman says, “Shame on you!”

—Merle Hazard, Macon, Georgia

Send your comments to: editors@yankeepub.com. Please include where you live (town, state). Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Yankee Editors

More by Yankee Editors