Summer Quests| Inside Yankee

The name of one of the bravest, most curious humans ever to live—or perhaps one of the most desperately hungry—is forever lost in time. Imagine being the first person to hold a lobster in your hand. Contemplate those crushing claws, that imposing hard ribbed shell. Those beady eyes, the twitching antennae. When, exactly, do you conclude: Hmm, this might be tasty. Where’s the melted butter?

Whoever that seafood hunter was, he or she would be astonished at how this—let’s be honest here—unpretty creature has become the most sought-after signature taste of New England. And especially of Maine, where the deep, cold sea delivers the freshest, sweetest crustaceans in the land. This issue celebrates our love affair with lobster, especially in Yankee food editor Amy Traverso’s tale of “The Great Lobster Roll Adventure.” With husband, child, and new puppy in tow, Amy (who has definite opinions on what ingredients should and should not grace one’s lobster roll) embarked on a weeklong trek in an RV up the Maine coast to find the best lobster roll in the state, and therefore the world. Her chosen winner will no doubt start one of those spirited debates that all magazines enjoy, so be sure to weigh in.

Amy’s quest is not the only one we feature in this issue. In fact, as I read over the pages this week, I see that nearly every story speaks to the human need to quest, to discover, to learn what is possible. Take photographer Barbara Peacock, for instance (“Hometown.”) For more than three decades she has dedicated herself to documenting the everyday comings and goings in a Massachusetts town of about 20,000, a town not much different from so many others except for one thing: It has Peacock and her watchful eye and camera.

In South Hadley, Massachusetts, Kornell Nash digs down through thousands of years at his family property to unearth one of the richest troves of dinosaur tracks anywhere (“Twilight in Dinosaur Land.”) He is keeping alive an idiosyncratic business founded by his father, Carlton, which through the decades has given countless visitors the chance to take home an artifact that carries echoes of an unimaginable New England landscape.

There is no more poignant quest than to find a companion, someone to care for. “‘Ain’t Doing Right’” is a story to share with someone close—and you may need a tissue in hand when you read it, even as you smile.

Here in our Dublin office, we have a simple goal: to give you an issue you’ll want to take with you wherever you go, whether it’s a lake, or the ocean, or a woodsy cabin, or just a porch where you can rest and watch the summer sky. That’s as good as the best lobster roll in the world for us.

Mel Allen 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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