This Issue | What’s Old Is New Again

It’s about a three-second walk from my office to the room where we keep the Yankee archives. Whoo, that place can be a time-suck. Many a time I’ve ventured into the room to look up an old article only to emerge, half an hour later, with a new appreciation for bean hole suppers, Stephen King’s early career, or the low price of coastal real estate in 1955. That room—it’s a joy and a curse.

Most recently it was the former. For this issue, we went back to the archives to unearth five of our favorite Christmas-themed Yankee stories. Among them are Jud Hale’s hilarious discovery that Santa is not who he thinks he is, and Donald Hall’s wonderful remembrance of playing you-know-who in his small New Hampshire town. They’re all holiday stories, but they’re also all Yankee stories: rooted in place, whimsical and poignant.

We’re proud of those stories. And we’re proud of this issue. Happy holidays.

Ian Aldrich Deputy Editor @ialdrich

Ian Aldrich

Ian Aldrich is the executive editor at Yankee, where he has worked for more for two decades. As the magazine’s staff feature writer, he writes stories that delve deep into issues facing communities throughout New England. In 2019 he received gold in the reporting category at the annual City-Regional Magazine conference for his story on New England’s opioid crisis. Ian’s work has been recognized by both the Best American Sports and Best American Travel Writing anthologies. He lives with his family in Dublin, New Hampshire.

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