Photo/Art by Roger Tory Peterson Tanagers Few people in their lifetimes achieve worldwide influence. Fewer still have an impact that will endure for generations yet to come. Roger Tory Peterson is one of that latter group—a true rara avis. Starting with his own love of birds and of the natural world in which they belong, […]
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Magazine
Dr. Seuss | New England’s Gifts
Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Dr. Seuss (also known as Theodor S. Geisel) wrote and illustrated children’s books that sold more than 200 million copies in some 20 languages. Probably no other American has been so totally subsumed by an alter ego as Theodor S. Geisel, born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. To the […]
Our guide to the best artisinal cheeses, chocolates, jams, cookies, pickles, and other worthy New England edibles.
New England
Peak Color Fading Throughout Most Of New England
On Tuesday evening, shortly after sunset, I watched the full Hunter’s Moon rise above a gently rolling field in northern New England. The trees along the forest edge had already been stripped of their leaves, and their silhouettes were strong and spooky against the moonlight. Considering that Halloween is somehow already upon us, the timing […]
Massachusetts
The Witches | History of the Salem Witch Trials
We’ve all heard the story of the Salem witch trials. When two young girls became ill and began throwing themselves about in fits of madness, they were diagnosed as having been bewitched. One accusation sparked another, neighbor turned on neighbor, and family bonds quickly unraveled, culminating in the unjust execution of 19 people who had […]
One day in 1948 a woman named Mary H. Sullivan became the very first Framingham Heart Study participant. More than 11,000 participants later, the people of Framingham, Massachusetts, 21 miles down the Mass. Turnpike from Boston, still troop along to the clinic to be studied. In all these years, the Heart Study has never treated […]
In April of this year, Charlotte’s Web was declared “the most popular children’s book ever” in a survey produced by BBC.com. E. B. White’s spartan boathouse, where much of the book was written, is still standing in a town in Midcoast Maine, although now the building has been prettied up by new owners. White’s granddaughter […]
Magazine
Bill Staines | New England’s Gifts
I first saw Bill Staines perform at The Folkway in Peterborough, New Hampshire. It was 1979, and my sister, Anita, had come from Boston to visit me in Dublin, where I had just moved. Bill Staines was tall and lean; he wore a cowboy hat with jeans and boots, and his songs were like short […]
In New England, Hollywood producers have found mountains, lakes, lighthouses, small towns and fishing villages, beaches, rockbound cliffs overlooking ocean, opulent mansions, Ivy League colleges, and iconic Colonial architecture all waiting in one compact region. New England has always been ready for its closeup. Imagine a darkened movie theater anywhere in the world. The movie […]
The change was abrupt. A cold front rushed through New England and temperatures dropped, as rain, and then snow, began to fall. After a generally warmer-than-normal autumn, it was rather shocking to be reminded that sometimes in New England, autumn means pulling out the winter hat and gloves! By Sunday morning, skies had cleared, but temperatures all across […]
Magazine
Expert Home Advice | Autumn 2015
Expert house care advice from the oldest and largest heritage organization in the country. The clapboards on our old Cape are in terrible shape. I’m considering replacing them with vinyl. Beyond the general aesthetic issues of having vinyl clapboards on an old Cape, are there other things I should consider before going this route? R.K., […]
More often than not, New England Flag & Banner flies under the radar, but this Watertown, Massachusetts, company, the country’s largest producer of custom, hand-sewn appliqué banners and flags, is responsible for some of New England’s most iconic sports imagery. Appliqué, a technique in which colored fabrics are layered, with sections cut away to reveal […]