Dear Yankee

Speaking My Mind Quabbin’s Secret Your article “Secret Places” (March/April) shows the beauty of the Quabbin Reservation. Hidden beneath pictures and words lie the four doomed towns from which 2,500 inhabitants were forced to relocate and 7,561 bodies required reinterment in other cemeteries. My paternal grandparents lived in Greenwich (one of the flooded towns) and raised five children. The sacrifice of all the inhabitants will not be forgotten. This was an early act of eminent domain, which shows the power of law to devastate lives Virginia Hall, Boulder, CO Family Ties My heart was so touched by Thom Rock’s story, “Baby Boy #3331” (March/April). I’m still dabbing away the tears. My parents were my birth parents, and they were wonderful and loving. My dad died of cancer when I was young. Mr. Rock wrote so beautifully about his birth mom and his situation. I hope one day he finds Rosalie and the circle can be completed for both of them. Donna Skjeveland, Holbrook, NY The piece by Thom Rock (“Baby Boy #3331”) was pretty difficult for me to read. My mother gave up a baby for adoption in 1944. My half-brother, Joe, contacted me 15 years ago. He was on a search for his birth mother and birth family. The story has a very happy ending, thank God. I wish the best for the author. Corinne Roberts, Topsfield, MA Hitting It Big When I got the March/April issue, the thing that caught my eye immediately was “Red Sox Nation.” I live for the Sox, especially this time of year. I even take my radio and headphones to Bingo so that I don’t miss a game. One night when Papi did what he does so many times — hit a game-winning homer in the ninth — I got so excited that my arm went up and I let out a not-so-quiet “Yes!” They thought I’d hit Bingo and stopped the game. Oops! Dottie Lawruk, Nashua, NH Fits to a “T” It’s always a joy when your latest edition arrives at the house, and now more than ever! Not to worry: I can find Ms. Clark’s column wherever you choose to put it, and I like the new paper you’re using. Further, I think the new size is a stroke of genius. Being a male 78-year-old, I never did tuck away my copies in my purse, but they seemed to get lost among my stack of grown-up-size magazines. If Henry Ford had given up tinkering, we could all still be driving a Model T, so I say keep tinkering. If the old saying “if it ain’t broke …” were really true (if you can stand another “if”), we’d still be using carbon paper. Nice work, Yankee! Robin Bonneau, Manchester, NH Misguided Effort Mr. Allen, it appears you have lost the essence of Yankee. You must not be a true New Englander, for I believe what you have done to Yankee Magazine is terrible. It would have been kinder to lay Yankee to rest with a proper eulogy and rename your new publication The Interloper. Your “new” approach is akin to what invasive plant species are doing to the beautiful, diverse landscapes of New England. Marion Heft, Berwick, ME It’s a Keeper Instead of going out to dinner last night, we stayed home and “ate crow.” We had lambasted you for the new look practically before reading the January/February issue, and now the March/April issue has caused us to beg your forgiveness. Our previous note to you stated that the new look caused the magazine to no longer be a “keeper.” But we’re starting a new stack of Yankee keepers behind the smaller version. We congratulate you — go Yankee! Go Red Sox! Sally and Jack Orth, Jacksonville, FL Corrections In the January/February issue, we noted that Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont was the site of the first chairlift in the East. Other sources indicate that the first lift was at Belknap Recreation Area (now Gunstock Mountain Resort) in Gilford, New Hampshire.Also in the January/February issue, we failed to credit the maker of the hooked rug on page 61. It was Judy Vantine.