Editor’s Letter to Readers

This issue of Yankee is filled with answers to questions you may not have known you wanted to ask. So we’ve asked them for you. For instance, where in New England will you discover the best Grape-Nut pudding? Or Yankee pot roast? Or quahog chowder?

Johnette Rodriguez wanted to know, so she set out on a quest to find out: “We ate in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, in Boston, on the Cape, the Vineyard, and Nantucket, and all around Rhode Island. We stopped at farm stands, bakeries, creemie stands, and lobster pounds. We hit food booths at local festivals, sandwich shops and cafés, old-fashioned inns, clam shacks, and roadside diners. Along the way, I asked everyone I met about their favorite places for real New England foods …”

Her report, “Eating New Englandy”, is sure to stir the pot in towns and cities across our region. If you want to argue (or agree!) with Yankee‘s choices, be sure to write us at “New England Foods,” Yankee Magazine, 1121 Main St., Dublin, NH 03444, or online at: Eating New Englandy

Here’s another question. If you’ve ever visited glorious Cape Cod National Seashore in the summer, surely you’ve wondered, “Where can I find solitude?” Jennifer Kain DeFoe wrote to us a few months back and said that her husband (who worked for the National Seashore’s trails division) had told her about the secret, hidden paths known to the park’s rangers but seldom discovered by visitors.

After she’d explored them, she wrote back: “The trails I’ve hiked in the last few days have led to the most exceptional beaches I’ve ever seen on the Cape.” When you see the stunning photos by Alison Shaw that accompany Jennifer’s story, “Hidden Trails of Cape Cod”, the only question you may ask is simply: “When do I go?”

One question Mainers ask these days is: “Who should own the Great North Woods?” The issue goes to the heart of that state’s identity. In “The Most Controversial Woman in Maine”, Edie Clark tells the story of Roxanne Quimby, who owns some 90,000 acres of Maine forestland. Her dream to help create a North Woods National Park troubles many Maine residents and visitors, who fear that generations of public use of private paper company lands will end. This is one story that will continue to unfold in the years ahead.

May you enjoy this March/April issue as much as we at Yankee have enjoyed putting it together.