Dear Yankee | July 2018
Below the Surface In “The Many Worlds of Winnipesaukee” [May/June], the photo of the vintage speedboat gets a 10. The text, however, ignores the Great Spirit weeping in despair. Winnipesaukee and its shoreline are victims of avarice, bloated egos, ostentation, and ignorance…. Sounds of songbirds and the slap of a fish jumping are lost in […]
Below the Surface
In “The Many Worlds of Winnipesaukee” [May/June], the photo of the vintage speedboat gets a 10. The text, however, ignores the Great Spirit weeping in despair. Winnipesaukee and its shoreline are victims of avarice, bloated egos, ostentation, and ignorance…. Sounds of songbirds and the slap of a fish jumping are lost in the racket of seaplanes, helicopters, and buzzy little Jet Skis. The shorefront forests have been replaced by chemical green lawns that bleed algae-nourishing nitrogen into the water. Architecturally abhorrent condos and McMansions litter this artificial landscape.
I am thankful that my most enduring experiences are different. I saw my father assisting my mother, in her “New Look” frock and high heels, into the cockpit of our prewar inboard before they drove off into the twilight to dance at the Weirs Pavilion to Benny Goodman or the Glenn Miller Band. And I watched the loons dance as the early-morning mist rose from the water in the narrow channel around Hermit Island.
Ruth Smith Wilton, New Hampshire
Editors’ note: Though our article focused on Winnipesaukee as a summer travel destination, your point about the environmental challenges it faces is especially timely—see “Luke and the Lake,” p. 104.
Waiting for Weekends
As a Connecticut expat, I’ve lived vicariously through Yankee for years, especially in the photographs. I’m stuck in a landlocked state with no trees to speak of, no ocean, and no mountains. While the Great Plains prairies have their own beauty, it’s no New England, I promise.
Here’s my issue, though: It’s not nice to tease readers like me with Weekends with Yankee, which not all public TV stations carry. Every time I open my new issue—which, incidentally, I set aside a whole afternoon to read—there’s a reference to Weekends with Yankee, and it’s making me crazy!
Thanks for many years of wonderful reading. (My issue is, of course, tongue in cheek.)
Belinda Garey Wilton, North Dakota
Editors’ note: Belinda, don’t despair! You can watch three full episodes from season 1 of Weekends with Yankee at weekendswithyankee.com. Plus, seasons 1 and 2 will be available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon starting in August.
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