Inside Yankee: September/October

Imagine most people would say that love is the most potent four-letter word in our language. I agree. But home isn’t far behind. Home carries so many images for each of us. I didn’t realize until I saw this September/October issue spread across the walls of our conference room, where art director Lori Pedrick hangs her completed layouts, that we’d put together an issue so rich in home themes.

To begin with, we’ve invited Yankee readers into our home country, New Hampshire’s beautiful Monadnock region, where we work and live. I’m often asked why Yankee editors stay put so long in an industry notorious for frequent job changes, and I always say, Look at where we live. I’ve seen foliage in nearly every corner of every New England state, and the combination of color, streams and lakes, orchards, preserved and gracious villages, and back roads that meander from lovely to lovelier is unsurpassed right here in our backyard.

On Nantucket, love of home takes on a whole different meaning. People who’ve bought or built their homes where they could enjoy breathtaking ocean views now find themselves breathless with worry as the Atlantic’s relentless surf threatens to sweep those houses away. They’ve come up with a controversial (and expensive) plan to save their homes, but it has run into opposition from their neighbors and fellow islanders. Ian Aldrich’s report, “A Disappearing Island“, may well make you appreciate your landlocked views more than ever.

Polly Bannister, our home and garden editor, takes readers on a journey into the world of New England-inspired hues in “Living Color“. “By reflecting New England’s broad palette in our homes,” she writes, “we do more than imitate nature—we bring it inside to nurture the heart and soul.” For her article, Polly spoke with experts on authentic regional colors, who also offer advice about choosing the right tones for your own New England-inspired home.

We have even more home themes in store for you in this issue. In “Well Rooted“, food editor Annie B. Copps invites you to share her love of fall’s hearty (and hardy) seasonal vegetables in your own kitchen. In “The Soul of Mystic”, you’ll discover Arthur Payne‘s lifetime passion to re-create the look and feel of a Connecticut seaport and its dwellings so that no one today can forget those who came before us.

With foliage color all around you soon, here’s hoping that our latest Yankee lets you savor a few hours at home, wherever that may be.

Mel Allen, Editor, editor@YankeeMagazine.com

Mel Allen

Now editor at large, Mel Allen's first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and led the staff as editor from 2006 to 2025. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long-form storytelling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel is author of Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All (Earth Sky + Water LLC, 2025).

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