For any reader who feels that traditions no longer matter, that anything our parents or grandparents cherished should be cast aside, well, it’s possible that this issue may not be for you. These pages are soaked with tradition, I won’t apologize about that — but here’s the thing: The beauty of traditions is that they […]
Mel Allen
Mystic Seaport, CT: Scale Model Version
Slide show: Mystic River Scale Model. Inside a modest white building on the northwestern edge of the green at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, you’ll find an homage to the human need to tinker, to our quest for unachievable perfection. In the early fall of 2005 on my first visit to the museum, I looked […]
Monadnock Region: New Hampshire
The secret to savoring New Hampshire’s Monadnock region is to drive slowly and stop often.
Inside Yankee: September/October
Imagine most people would say that love is the most potent four-letter word in our language. I agree. But home isn’t far behind. Home carries so many images for each of us. I didn’t realize until I saw this September/October issue spread across the walls of our conference room, where art director Lori Pedrick hangs […]
From childhood neighbor to lifelong friend and mentor, Andrew and Betsy Wyeth helped shape photographer Peter Ralston’s life and career, introducing him to the Maine coast that would become his home and inspiration. In this Yankee classic, Ralston reflects on their extraordinary friendship and the gifts that changed his life.
Making the Final Choice on Katahdin
In the frozen grips of a fierce storm on Mt. Katahdin, each man’s choice was his own. On Thursday evening, January 31, 1974, a fierce winter storm cut a swath of destruction across northern New England. It tore roofs off of mobile homes and tossed them into nearby trees, and sent tree limbs crashing into […]
The author learns the hard way how to drive a sled dog team.
Classic: Seasons of Ice
Yankee classic from January 1981 People who live along inland waters in northern New England know there are really only two seasons: ice-in and ice-out. All else is but prelude and aftermath. A frozen lake draws us: we dare it early and we dare it late, probing the limits of a most delicate balance — […]
The Gift of the Glaciers
During my childhood summers in Chester County, Pennsylvania I did many things: played baseball, rode my bike, caught fireflies, waited for the twilight jingle of the ice cream truck — but swimming in clear fresh water was not one of them. My town was too far south for the ice age glaciers to have reached […]
Write It and They Will Come
The July/August issue of Yankee features one of the most complex stories we have done during my nearly 30 years here at Yankee. We titled it “25 People You Must See This Summer.” We put this together many months ago when the editors got together repeatedly to toss out the names of New Englanders we […]
“How do I break into Yankee?” I hear that question over and over from hopeful writers. Through the years, I’ve spoken to hundreds of freelancers at writers’ conferences, as well as on the phone and through letters and e-mails. The earnestness and hope in that question are not to be taken lightly. The desire to […]
What Ever Happened to Daphne?
The smartest kid in Maine intended to win a Nobel Prize by the time she was 25. Life didn’t quite work out that way.