Presently, hundreds of Christmas trees are flying sideways down the interstates of the east coast, zooming away from northcountry hayfields where they were raised, and barreling ever closer to your neighborhood. Case in point: Seth Johnson’s backed his trailer into the landing at Steve Moffatt’s Christmas Tree Farm in Craftsbury, VT. “Can you tell the […]
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The 5 Best Breweries in New England
What are the best breweries in New England? We asked beer, food & football expert Kerry J. Byrne to name the ones worth seeking out (and sampling!). New England’s beer culture is as rich and robust as a dark, toasty stout. Our region boasts more than 100 breweries, so picking the five best breweries in New […]
This year millions of words will be printed and spoken about the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. None will be as moving as When We Were the Kennedys, a memoir by Monica Wood. Seven months before the gunshots in Dallas, the author’s father, Albert Wood, a 57-year-old woodyard foreman at […]
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Edgar Allan Poe Romance | Nevermore
It all started at a Valentine’s Day party in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1848. Miss Lynch, a local socialite had invited literary guests to read valentines aloud. This was an exciting prospect to Sarah Helen Whitman, a poet of some esteem, for, she presumed, Edgar Allan Poe would be there. Helen had just read “The […]
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Flying Horse Carousel
In the Victorian-era seaside village of Watch Hill in Westerly Rhode Island, the Flying Horse Carousel claims to be one of the nation’s oldest (circa 1867). It differs from others of similar vintage because the carved wooden steeds are suspended by chains from a turning framework attached to the ceiling. As the carousel picks up […]
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When Does Snow Stop Being Fun?
Somehow it surprises me every year. Summer days melt away all thought of winter; so much so that when those first flakes appear, it’s like I’m seeing them for the first time. Winter arrived in Western Mass with a modest overnight dusting. Watching the shadows of precipitation flit through the beam of my headlights, I […]
Yankee Magazine March 1993 Jamie Huntsman never saw the avalanche that rumbled down Mount Washington, sweeping him and his climbing partner off the highest mountain in New England. But strangely, he could see himself falling, heading downward, and knew that if he didn’t get himself turned around, he was going to die. The afternoon of […]
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Angels Among Us 2014
Our annual celebration of ordinary New Englanders — the angels among us — who are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of others.
For more than 35 years, the popular Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, attracted prominent visitors, including actors (Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson), athletes (Rocky Marciano, Joe DiMaggio), singers (Ethel Merman), composers (Cole Porter), and politicians (Eleanor Roosevelt, JFK). But the inn’s famous legacy is tied to a single day in the mid-1930s, when diners there […]
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Twice as Cold as Zero | Lexicon
Before people used the term “windchill” to refer to the weather, there were numerous other descriptions of meteorological conditions. In Maine “Twice as Cold as Zero” (don’t bother doing the math) is an old saying that means it’s zero degrees with a high wind blowing. Excerpt from “The New England Sampler,” Yankee Magazine, January 1993.
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Yankee Frugality Contest Winners
After learning untold uses for dryer lint, worn-out panty hose, and used dental floss, we present the winners of the Yankee frugality contest. In our September 1990 issue of Yankee Magazine, our issue devoted to Yankee frugality, we asked for your own frugal tips and anecdotes. You responded with more than 200 letters, many of […]
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Earmuffs Invented in Maine
When Chester Greenwood of Farmington, Maine, received a new pair of ice skates on Christmas morning (quite an expensive gift in 1873), all he could think of was his ears. “They’ll start aching. They always ache when I’m out in the cold too long,” he complained. His mother suggested wrapping a scarf around his head, […]