Ben Hewitt is a regular contributor to Yankee Magazine, former Eastern editor at SKIING magazine, and a devotee of winter sun, soft snow, and freshly groomed trails. Here are his picks for the best ski cruisers in New England, in no particular order. 1. Cannon, Vista Way Stunning views of Franconia Notch combine with a […]
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Expert Home Advice | December 2015
House care answers from the largest heritage organization in the country. My sister recently bought a home in western Massachusetts that was built around 1830. The most interesting discovery about the place was that the original location of the kitchen was in the basement. Was that typical of homes from that era? Why? Basement kitchens […]
Did you know snowy owls can live up to 32 years? Learn more tidbits and trivia about one of New England’s favorite owls. 560 snowy owls that Mass. Audubon’s Norman Smith has caught in the vicinity of Logan Airport over the past 32 years 10/22 earliest arrival of a snowy owl at Logan Airport 32 […]
Old School | Yankee Ingenuity
A New Hampshire cabinetmaker gave his new kitchen island the antique treatment. Rough handling and a unique hand-finishing technique gave this new piece the distressed, timeworn look that cabinetmaker Jack Kurilla was after. PROJECT: ANTIQUED KITCHEN ISLANDGet Our FREE Yankee Best New England Vacations Guide! Email(Required) Subscribe Jack Kurilla’s craftsmanship is about perfection. As a […]
The Trappist Monks of St. Josephs’s Abbey feed their souls with prayer and meditation while facing a future filled with questions without answers.
Did you know that Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has never been out of print? Learn more tidbits and Little Women trivia celebrating the classic book.
The Giving Tree | The Farmer’s Life
A red oak meets its end, but not the limit of what it can offer. A decade ago, when I first moved to an 1850s farmhouse set beside two huge red oaks, my new neighbor, Mrs. Atwood, heaved open her window and leaned out to announce, “Your leaves are on my lawn.” I stood by my […]
The Haunting Case Of Orville Gibson
Yankee Classic: December 1987 If an entire town can be said to share one ghost, then Newbury, Vermont, has held clear title to Orville Gibson ever since he disappeared 30 years ago this month. It wasn’t until 85 days after he vanished that the town, and then the nation, learned the grim fate of Newbury farmer […]
Finding Christmas | Inside Yankee
Once I believed that the holidays meant rituals of obligation: a Thanksgiving feast, and then with barely a breath in between, an almost obsessive need to bestow gifts. When my sons were young, I filled secret places with toys and gadgets, even making one final sweep on Christmas Eve for that “needed” stocking surprise. I […]
Victory Lap | Mary’s Farm
With winter coming, there was one more short drive to take. Putting the truck away for the winter is a ritual, just as is getting it out in the spring. I don’t use the truck in the winter, one way to extend its already long life. The truck is a 1997 Ford Ranger, white with […]
Life in the Kingdom | Stick Season
In northern Vermont, “stick season” is the time between the leaves’ dropping and the first snow that sticks— a time that brings its own stark beauty and rituals.
Doug Flutie, one of the most famous athletes to come from New England, has always credited his parents, Richard and Joan, with giving him the support and confidence to excel, no matter the obstacles. On Wednesday, November 18, 2015, Flutie’s father passed away from a heart attack after a period of poor health. An hour […]