And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails (Crown Publishing, $24), by longtime Yankee contributor Wayne Curtis, tells the story of the rise, fall, and return of America’s most reviled and defamed spirit. Rum began as a byproduct of the 17th-century Caribbean sugar industry but soon took on a […]
Rare is the American outdoors lover who does not have a pair of L.L. Bean’s rubber-bottomed, leather-topped shoes or boots. The boots were a eureka moment for Maine woodsman Leon Leonwood Bean. Legend has it that 90 of the first 100 pairs were returned. Bean’s business sense (and sense of honesty) had him return the […]
“The day they were announcing the Cy Young [last November], I started to think, What do I say if he doesn’t win? … It was our anniversary weekend, so we were leaving that night for the Woodstock Inn in Vermont no matter what. Win, lose, or whatever. I think it was 11:30 in the morning […]
We heard from many readers in response to our September story “The Maine Connection” about the Portland ticket agent who checked in two of the hijackers on September 11, 2001. These are excerpts from some of the letters we received. I just read your article on the man at the US Airways counter on 9/11. […]
If a single sound and a single scent can hold the essence of a New England summer, surely they’re the crash of the surf breaking on our shores and the salty tang that hangs in the breeze as you get ever closer to the sea. Nature and geography have bestowed many gifts on our New […]
Welcome to the July 2007 Edition of Jud’s New England Journal, the rather curious monthly musings of Judson Hale, editor-in-chief of Yankee Magazine, published for over 70 years in Dublin, New Hampshire.Sure, It’s Only 47 Miles Long, But…… don’t get Rhode Islanders started on the subject of their state. That is, unless you have plenty […]
Lynne Cox’s strange and wonderful relationship with the coldest waters on the planet began, naturally, as a youngster turning blue in the lakes and coastal beaches of Maine and New Hampshire. She went on to set world records for duration and distance in a variety of exotic cold water settings, first as a teen crossing […]
For efficient, comfortable, and clean-burning wood heat, a masonry heater is the answer. The concept’s not new — Romans heated their baths this way, and Scandinavians have been using this method for hundreds of years. It was Frieda’s husband, Alan, who really pushed for a masonry heater. They chose craftsman Rod Zander to design and […]
1. Effective Insulation [What you can do] Reduce heat loss through the roof by making sure you have 10-14 inches of insulation (fiberglass, rigid foam, or cellulose) in your attic. Distribute insulation evenly so there are no low spots along the eaves and floor joists are covered.Get Our FREE Yankee Best New England Vacations Guide! […]
This brand-new house in Vermont has everything — a spacious kitchen with soapstone counters, a great room with mountain views, an attached three-story barn, and a basement gym. Frieda Wimmelman and her husband, Alan Binnick, have built a dream house, but much of what makes this home stand out is actually hidden from the eye. […]
In 1879, the granddaughter-in-law of Revolutionary War hero Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790) donated “these memorials of the opening scene of the Revolutionary Drama” to Lexington. Now displayed in the Hancock-Clarke House of the Lexington Historical Society, these elite Scottish officer’s pistols originally belonged to Major John Pitcairn (1722-1775), a Scot who commanded the advance […]
If dining on deck, especially with kids, avoid snacks that will blow away or are oily: “Chips, pretzels, and crackers fly away with the slightest puff of wind, and the kids’ hands get covered in grease — which ends up on everything they touch on a boat, and that can be dangerous. Cut-up fruits and […]
