Dear Yankee | Our Readers Respond
Our favorite letters, Facebook posts, Instagram comments, and tweets from readers like you.
‘The Storm That Will Never Be Forgotten’
I’ve just finished reading the story of Hurricane Irene’s affects on Wilmington, Vermont [July/August, p. 120]. My husband’s family is from Brattleboro, and we travel Route 9 quite frequently. Many a time while stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 100, we’ve seen the water level recorded from 1938. We’ve often spoken of how hard it was to imagine water that high. During recent trips we’ve seen the new recording of the water level from 2011 and still can’t fathom water that high.
Your story highlights the resilience and sense of community of the people in Wilmington, especially in a situation so severe. To overcome such tragedy with a willingness to rebuild and not abandon certainly proves the recent state motto of “Vermont Strong.”
Nancy & Michael Majdak Forestport, New York
‘Is Connecticut Really New England?’
You bet your arse we’re New England [July/August, p. 112]. We’ve been here from the beginning of our country. Heck, BEFORE the beginning. While even here in Connecticut we deride the “New Yorkers” from the “Gold Coast,” even THEY live in NEW ENGLAND. I always have and will continue to identify myself as a Yankee.
Cathy Harbeson Rocky Hill, Connecticut
As a Connecticut native, 12 generations removed from when ancestors on both sides settled in the New Haven/Milford/Fairfield/Westport area, I read Richard Conniff’s story with special interest. I grew up in Roxbury, and if there’s a more quintessential New England town, I have yet to see it, and I can say that, having traveled for a dozen years as a salesman to most of the nooks and crannies of our six-state region.
Connecticut is a border state, and border states and countries naturally take on some characteristics of their neighbors; in my state’s case, that would be New York City. I grew up a Yankees fan, as they were the closest team (two miles closer than the Giants), so I “boo” the Red Sox throughout the baseball season. Regardless, I think of myself as a New Englander. One needs to leave the I-91 and I-95 corridors and travel the winding two-lane roads to experience the charm that is Connecticut.
John Botsford Coleman Scarborough, Maine
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