Journeys | Inside Yankee

Fall brings visitors to New England by the tens of thousands. And no, I’m not speaking here about the leaf peepers who tour during the short, spectacular weeks of color, but the more than 60,000 foreign students who come to New England’s colleges each September. And, also, the thousands of other ethnically and economically diverse students from across the United States who arrive to attend colleges and prep schools whose doors, only a generation ago, once opened to only a very few. Today our colleges and private schools actively seek students with different life experiences, knowing that the only way to prepare young people for a complex, diverse world is to start right here, right now.  The leaders of these institutions know that as their campuses change, inevitably there will be bumps along the way, stumbles that will demand heartfelt, difficult conversations, student to student, faculty to student.

I mention this because I met a young man named Bill De La Rosa (“The Two Worlds of Bill De La Rosa,”). He graduated in May 2016 from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and during his four years there his story became part of the lives of his fellow students and teachers. His legacy is still being written, but the people whose lives he touched say that knowing Bill De La Rosa has changed them. While his story may inspire some readers, I know there may be others who will feel that he doesn’t deserve his honors, or maybe even empathy. After all, his mother crossed a border illegally. For me his story isn’t narrowed by politics or immigration laws. I was struck by how he embodied the tenacity that settled New England. When I visited the Bowdoin campus, everyone used the same words to describe Bill De La Rosa: “relentless, determined.” No matter where you travel in our region, you see the accomplishments of people who over the past 400 years have journeyed here, like Bill, from distant places. They too were relentless, no matter what hardships they found on these rocky shores.

From the northern reaches of New Hampshire to Long Island Sound, the Connecticut River spills over 400 miles through the heart of New England. The husband-and-wife team of Daniel Sullivan and Yankee managing editor Eileen Terrill followed the river’s path southward, watching fall unfold along the way (“30 Days of Wonder,”). What they saw and what photographer Carl Tremblay found makes for an odyssey of beauty, history, and discovery that defines why fall in New England is unlike anywhere else on earth. Come along on their journey. Create your own. Let us know what you find.

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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