Downstairs in the farmhouse here, I have a small furnished apartment that I sometimes rent out. Last year I rented it to Santa. A portly man in his fifties, he was serious about this Santa business. No fake beard and rented suit for him. He had a full, bushy, pure-white beard that flowed to his […]
When the holidays descend, happiness sometimes may be muted by stress over gift-giving, food preparation, and questions that at the time seem so important: Where will all the relatives sit at the table? Will the turkey come out just right? This seems like a good time, then, to pause right here and take a look […]
I love to bike in the fall. Just last weekend, I spent a day in Vermont, and from atop my bike, from one rolling hill to another, I saw real life versions of Sabra Field’s prints. Imagine spending a couple days or more biking through Vermont, with overnight stays at lovely inns. Richard First, founder […]
These national holidays — Labor Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday — are an odd occurrence for a writer. For those who travel to their workplace each day and live by this other calendar that begins at 9 and ends at 5, these holidays are a respite from that schedule. Writers […]
In 2010, we asked Massachusetts native and Connecticut resident Carroll Spinney what it was like to be the voice of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since Sesame Street‘s debut in 1969.
Arthur Tauck Sr. started the whole leaf-peeping trade in 1925, when he first took paying passengers to see the beautiful colors of autumn. Eighty-five years later, Yankee follows Tauck’s “Classic New England” tour–and discovers some surprises along the way.
When Earl Proulx died in March 2002 at age 88, he’d written Yankee‘s “Plain Talk” advice column for 22 years. Jamie Trowbridge, Yankee Publishing’s president, wrote about him on his passing. Even then, Earl Proulx was able to offer advice to readers. “Earl taught me that you should never buy a piece of glass. There […]
I wanted to be early for my first day on the job at Yankee Magazine, so I came in at 7:30 a.m. Robb Sagendorph, founder, publisher, and editor, had already been there for an hour. It was Monday, September 15, 1958, nine days after my wedding. “Look at this, Jud,” said my Uncle Robb, holding […]
A thin breeze blew up off the lake as I parked in front of the old manse. It was late summer; most all the summer folk had left, but there were a few hangers-on who hadn’t, as yet, drained the pipes and cleared the pantry shelves for the winter. I let myself in, walked through […]
I came to Yankee 31 years ago this October, and even then the magazine was so ingrained in the life and culture of the region that it was hard at times to know whether New England was shaping Yankee or whether the magazine was somehow defining how people saw New England–probably a bit of both. […]
Iceland, when I was there, had no trees. None. A naked land. I was told that the reason there were no trees was because of the sheep, which ranged free all over the country at that time, and because of the wind, which I knew stunted the growth of trees on places such as Cape […]
Here’s a life list of 75 essential things for anyone who loves New England, native and visitor alike. How many have you done?
