Magazine

The Smiley Face: More Famous Than Mona Lisa

Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, the late Harvey Ball, a self-employed commercial artist, drew the first smiley face in December 1963 for a local insurance company that wanted happy buttons to raise employee morale. He said he received about $45 for the sketch, drawn with black felt-tip pen on yellow paper. Before his death […]

New England

University Art Museums in New England

Massachusetts Harvard University Art Museums Three museums for the price of one: the Fogg Art Museum, which holds one of America’s finest collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist work; the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, famous for its unparalleled assortment of ancient, Islamic, Asian, and later Indian art; and the Busch-Reisinger Museum, the only museum in the […]

History

Sure, It’s Only 47 Miles Long, But…

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 […]

Magazine

Cold Water Swimmer

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 […]

New England

10 Best Beaches in New England

Where can you find the best beaches in New England? From best surfing to to most scenic, we break down the beaches that are the best in the region.

Massachusetts

Weekend: Sandwich, Massachusetts

I’m not a good one to tell you what to do in Sandwich, Massachusetts, especially if you have just a weekend. There’s so much to do and see, and on each of our annual visits, we add more to the list. My advice about Sandwich is “go early and often.” And by “early” I don’t […]

How To

Drafty Windows and Cooling Fans | Home Solutions

When I sit on the couch in the evening, it feels as if gale-force winds are blowing through my drafty windows. What can I do to take the chill off ? — J.F., Bridgton, ME It’s all about drafty windows — they’re responsible for up to one-third of total heat loss in a home. And […]

Gardens

Project Native: Growing Native Plants

“Nobody is a better landscaper than nature,” states Raina Weber, dirt-streaked and beaming, from her Housatonic, Massachusetts, native-plant nursery. It’s hard to believe that this hardworking young woman, executive director of the nonprofit Project Native, dropped out of high school and ran away to Hawaii, where she supported herself as a caretaker and by selling […]

History

New England Coast Trivia | New England By the Numbers

14 Maine communities boasting dog-friendly beaches: Bar Harbor, Biddeford, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Saco, Scarborough, South Portland, Stockton Springs, Wells, and York 6 number of the nation’s 28 most important estuaries that are located in New England 1,530 weight in pounds of a shortfin mako shark harpooned 13 miles off the […]

Magazine

Seaside Chic

Sea-glass jewelry is a New England summer fashion must. But which piece to choose? Look at Sonja Grondstra-Purcell’s collection. Unlike other beach-glass baubles, which are often funky and adorned with extraneous embellishments, Sonja’s work showcases the glass as if it were a precious stone or gem. Her contemporary bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, pins, and cuff […]

Magazine

Be-Jeweled

Designer Kati Enscoe is beginning to get quite a following, and we can see why. Most of her necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings are set with quartz, jade, crystal, or mother-of-pearl in a trendy yet timeless fashion. The chunky pieces are surprisingly lightweight and possess an overall boldness, as if to say, “Dare to stand […]