Two New England Dreams Operating an inn or country store seems to be the ultimate lifelong fantasy for many. But, beware, there are pitfalls… Over the years I’ve often talked with people who tell me their ultimate dream would be to “quit the rat race” and buy a country store or an historic old New […]
Judson D. Hale
Do You Think Grits Are a Southern Invention? Well, not really. Fact is, they originated in New England… When most people think of New England food, they think of lobsters, clam chowder, Boston baked beans, scrod, Indian pudding, cranberries, and apple pie. (Yes, we claim apple pie, too.) But how many of us today have […]
The last person to see Abraham Lincoln didn’t pass away until almost a hundred years after Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865.
There’s been a whole lot of talk about the weather lately—as always, around this time of year. Also as always, the weather has been weird and extreme in various parts of the country, and many of the old reliable “signs” have been a bit off—at least so far. In some places. I personally had a […]
Just when you think you’ve mastered the New England language, you soon discover more exceptions than examples…
New Englanders don’t necessarily need adjectives and adverbs to describe something. Here, we examine a few unusual New England phrases.
Maybe New Englanders aren’t so stuffy after all.
History
It’s Fun To Believe In Ghosts
Welcome to the October 2016 edition of Jud’s New England Journal, the rather curious monthly musings of Judson Hale, the Editor-in-Chief of Yankee Magazine, published in Dublin, New Hampshire since September 1935, and The Old Farmer’s Almanac published since 1792 in Massachusetts and then, since 1939, in Dublin. It’s Fun To Believe In Ghosts […]
History
Playing It Safe | Jud’s Journal
Superstitions are actually so deeply ingrained in New England character that we seldom recognize them — or, for sure, admit to them. And I guess I’d have to include myself in that category.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac is 225 years old this month. So maybe it’s time to reveal how we do our weather forecasting and how we do not. The amazing thing is that the Almanac has never missed a single year since it first appeared in the fall of 1792, when George Washington was still President. […]
History
About Boston and Bostonians
On the subject of Boston and Bostonians… Probably “snobby” is too harsh a description. “Proud” might be better.
Sure, It’s Only 47½ Miles Long, But… Don’t get Rhode Islanders started on the subject of their state. That is, unless you have plenty of time.