Yankee Magazine November/December 2019

NO. 213 LAKES & MOUNTAINS REGION

We slid off the lift and huddled together at the summit, ready to race to the bottom for hot chocolate. It’s a tradition. But first, the family photo. Also a tradition. Our cheeks were red. Our noses might have been a little runny. But it didn’t matter, and suddenly it felt like a first. We snapped the photo. Then we were off to the races, and I got my butt kicked. I blamed my goggles. But I still wondered, was there time for one more run? This is me.

JOURNEY

By Meg Lukens Noonan

By Annie Graves

By Jon Marcus

“Cougar truthers” believe the big cat is living and breeding again in New England. Wildlife experts say no. Not yet. But one day...

By Ben Hewitt

Photograph by Erin McGinn; greenery by Greenlion Design; styling by Abby Capalbo. Special thanks to the Newport (RI) Restoration Foundation, Elizabeth O’Shea, John Ward, and Kathy Ward.

home

32 /// First Christmas

Welcoming the season—and a new baby—into a classic New England cottage. By Krissy O’Shea

40 /// House for Sale

A New Hampshire property where James Michener found inspiration and Louisa May Alcott once performed is ready for its next chapter. By Joe Bills

food

45 /// The Sweet Life

A lesson on baking, and living well, with cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. By Amy Traverso

53 /// Editors’ Choice Food Awards

Celebrating New England’s best cheeses, charcuterie, chocolates, jams, and other gift-worthy edibles. By Amy

Traverso and Krissy O’Shea

63 /// Weekends with Yankee

Sweet potato fritters from New Hampshire’s Mayfair Farm, featured on the most recent season of our TV show. By Amy Traverso

travel

66 /// Could You Live Here?

A Vermont town that’s big on farmers, artisans, and academics comes gift-wrapped between mountains and lake. By Julia Clancy

79 /// The Best 5

With just a handful of rooms apiece, these tiny B&Bs offer a truly intimate escape. By Kim Knox Beckius

82 /// Out & About

From dancing toys to skiing Santas, we round up events that are worth the drive this season.

DEAR YANKEE, CONTRIBUTORS & POETRY BY D.A.W.

12

INSIDE YANKEE

14

FIRST PERSON

There is special meaning when friends and neighbors answer the call for help. By Tim Clark

16

LIFE IN THE KINGDOM

Finding meaning in the margins of a writer’s profession. By Ben Hewitt

22

FIRST LIGHT

Out of a fire that destroyed a Massachusetts city’s lone synagogue arose a symbol of community across different faiths. By Todd Balf

28

KNOWLEDGE & WISDOM

A look back at a certain Plymouth, Massachusetts, landmark shows the perils of being a rock star, and Captain America reflects on what home means to him. Plus, some illuminating facts about Yankee Candle, which turns 50 this year.

152

UP CLOSE

The New England maker of that singular holiday confection, ribbon candy, decides it’s time to bow out. By Joe Bills

(HOME); MARK WEINBERG (FOOD); COREY HENDRICKSON (TRAVEL)

EDITORIAL

Editor Mel Allen

Deputy Editor Ian Aldrich

Managing Editor Jenn Johnson

Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso

Home & Garden Editor Annie Graves

Associate Editor Joe Bills

Senior Digital Editor Aimee Tucker

Digital Assistant Editor Katherine Keenan

Contributing Editors Kim Knox Beckius, Ben Hewitt, Rowan Jacobsen, Krissy O’Shea, Julia Shipley

ART

Art Director Lori Pedrick

Photo Editor Heather Marcus

Publisher Brook Holmberg

ADVERTISING

Vice President Judson D. Hale Jr.

Media Account Managers Kelly Moores, Dean DeLuca , Steven Hall

Canada Account Manager Françoise Chalifour

Senior Production Coordinator Janet Selle

For advertising rates and information, call 800-736-1100, ext. 204, or email NewEngland.com/adinfo.

MARKETING

ADVERTISING

Director Kate Hathaway Weeks

Contributing

Photographers Adam DeTour, Megan Haley, Corey Hendrickson, Michael Piazza, Greta Rybus

PRODUCTION

Director David Ziarnowski

Manager Brian Johnson

Senior Artists Jennifer Freeman, Susan Shute

DIGITAL

Vice President Paul Belliveau Jr.

Designer Amy O’Brien

Marketing Specialist Holly Sanderson

CORPORATE STAFF

Maintenance Supervisor Mike Caron

Receptionist Linda Clukay

Staff Accountant Nancy Pfuntner

Credit Manager Bill Price

Accounting Coordinator Sabrina Salvage

Executive Assistant Christine Tourgee

YANKEE PUBLISHING INC.

ESTABLISHED 1935 | A N EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY

President Jamie Trowbridge

Editor Emeritus Judson D. Hale Sr.

Vice Presidents Paul Belliveau Jr., Jody Bugbee, Judson D. Hale Jr., Brook Holmberg, Sandra Lepple, Sherin Pierce

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman Judson D. Hale Sr.

Vice Chairman Tom Putnam

Directors Andrew Clurman, H. Hansell Germond, Daniel Hale, Judson D. Hale Jr., Joel Toner, Cor Trowbridge, Jamie Trowbridge

FOUNDERS

Robb and Beatrix Sagendorph

Manager Valerie Lithgow

Associate Holly Sloane

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Roslan & Campion, 212-966-4600

NEWSSTAND

Vice President Sherin Pierce

NEWSSTAND CONSULTING

Linda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, 603-924-4407

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ERIN MCGINN

A Rhode Island–based freelancer who has worked for the likes of Martha Stewart and The New York Times, McGinn is no stranger to photographing Newport in summer. But visiting the tourist-magnet town in winter [“Christmas in Newport,” p. 86] gave her a chance to see “the excitement of Newport locals truly enjoying as a community their inns, restaurants, and pop-ups around town—it made me so happy.”

MARK WEINBERG

Not only is Weinberg an in-demand food and interiors photographer (West Elm, Garnet Hill, etc.), he’s also a passionate home baker who’s made over 250 pies in his family’s tiny New York City kitchen. No surprise he was a little starry-eyed when photographing master baker Dorie Greenspan [“The Sweet Life,” p. 45]. “It was such a delight to meet her,” he says. “I wish I could work with her every day!”

MEG LUKENS NOONAN

A writer who has been published by Travel + Leisure, Outside, and many others, Noonan says she was struck by how perfectly suited Newport’s famously ornate mansions are to the holiday season [“Christmas in Newport,” p. 86]. “Visiting them in December felt like stepping into fabulous Christmas jewel boxes,” says Noonan, who is also the author of The Coat Route, a globe-trotting look at bespoke tailoring.

KRISSY O’SHEA

Getting her family’s recently renovated Somerville, Massachusetts, cottage decked for the holidays [“First Christmas,” p. 32] taught this freelance photographer and stylist a lesson: Dried orange slices may be pretty decorations, but they’re still a tasty snack, too. “My infant son devoured them, plucking each one off my perfectly wrapped presents,” says O’Shea (@cottagefarm on Instagram).

STEPH LARSEN

Meeting the next generation carrying on the work of etiquette icon Emily Post [“Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Please.” p. 108] struck a chord with this Massachusetts native, who’s eager to share what she learned about modern manners with her students at the New England School of Photography. Why? “Proper etiquette definitely sets you apart,” declares, “especially in the professional world.”

JON MARCUS

A former editor of Boston magazine, this veteran New England journalist was surprised when he first learned Emily Post’s descendants had followed in her footsteps [“Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Please.” p. 108]. “My first thought was how someone might possibly advocate for good manners in an era of singularly bad behavior,” he says. “The answer, I learned when I met them: one kind gesture at a time.”

Instant Replay

A family remembrance inspired by Yankee ’s article on Boston’s championship sports teams [“When Winning Never Stops,” September/October]:

My dad lived in Boston from age 8 until his death. He was a pastor and a dedicated if often disappointed Red Sox fan. In his last six months, a brain tumor took his short-term memory first. The bright spot was that he got to experience the Red Sox’s epic wins over and over again.

He’d ask, “So how are the Red Sox doing?”

“They won last night, Dad! And it looks like they could even get to the World Series!”

“No kidding!”

And he’d grin from ear to ear. Two hours later the same question, same answer, same joy. All the way to the Reverse of the Curse, Dad got to experience the thrill of a lifetime over and over again. It may not be good theology, but I believe the good Lord sent that win to cheer my dad through his passing.

David Beckwith Toledo, Ohio

Skipping School

I enjoyed the story on Simsbury, Connecticut [“Could You Live Here?” September/October], but noted that among the categories—“Shopping,” “Uniquely Simsbury,” et al.—a prominent part of Simsbury was not mentioned: Westminster School, an exceptional prep school with a long history, sitting atop Williams Hill. Just thought it might be “Uniquely Simsbury”–worthy! (And yes, I was a student there, so it does have a special place in my heart.)

David K. Johnson Gilford, New Hampshire

The Big Picture

There was a letter to the editor a few issues back that lamented Yankee ’s coverage of New England’s more

DECEMBER DECORATIONS

How long must Christmas lights remain A-blinking like they’ve gone insane?

At least till Independence Day, If certain people have their way!

—D.A.W.

unfortunate situations, such as poverty and other plights. While stories warranting celebration are indeed countless in New England, it is equally vital to uncover tales of struggle.

Stories about such things as the challenges facing refugees and the effects of rising seas help readers become more conscious, empathetic, and engaged, and therefore more likely to take action for positive change.

Please continue to strive for balanced journalism that incorporates all aspects of our region.

Jared Pendak Bradford, Vermont

Correction

Keen-eyed architecture fans will have noticed that the photo of the farmhouse at Vermont’s Hill Farmstead Brewery [“Shaun Hill and the Price of Perfection,” July/August] shows not a gambrel roof but a gabled one. It’s a crucial distinction, as we’re sure Nathaniel Hawthorne would agree.

Food: Thanksgiving Menu Planner

Tried-and-true recipes for roast turkey, pumpkin chiffon pie, and much more.

NEWENGLAND.COM/ THANKSGIVING-MENU

SPOTLIGHT

Events: Best Historic Yuletide Celebrations

Holiday happenings that revel in the joys of an old-fashioned Christmas.

NEWENGLAND.COM/ HISTORIC-CHRISTMAS

Travel: A Very Boston Christmas

A Beantown visitor’s guide to the season’s merriest things to see and do.

NEWENGLAND.COM/ BOSTON-CHRISTMAS-GUIDE

Home: Gorgeous Holiday House Tours

Come take a look inside our favorite festive abodes, from vintage to modern.

NEWENGLAND.COM/ HOLIDAY-HOUSES

Q&A WITH ABBY CAPALBO

Ever wonder what goes into the making of a magazine cover? Rhode Island’s Abby Capalbo, who helped our Newport holiday cover feel appropriately timeless and festive, tells us what it means to be an editorial stylist, how to create an unforgettable Instagram feed, and what “New England style” means to her. Read our Q&A at newengland.com/abbycapalbo.

A Most Unusual Gift of Love

A Most Unusual Gift of Love

THEPOEMREADS:

A Most Unusual Gift of Love

THEPOEMREADS:

THEPOEMREADS:

Dear Reader,

Dear Reader,

Dear Reader,

The drawing you see above is called “The Promise.” It is completely composed of dots of ink. After writing the poem, I worked with a quill pen and placed thousands of these dots, one at a time, to create this gift in honor of my youngest brother and his wife.

The drawing you see above is called The Promise It is completely composed of dots of ink. After writing the poem, I worked with a quill pen and placed thousands of these dots, one at a time, to create this gift in honor of my youngest brother and his wife.

Dear Reader,

The drawing you see above is called “The Promise.” It is completely composed of dots of ink. After writing the poem, I worked with a quill pen and placed thousands of these dots, one at a time, to create this gift in honor of my youngest brother and his wife.

Now, I have decided to offer The Promise to those who share and value its sentiment. Each litho is numbered and signed by hand and precisely captures the detail of the drawing. As a wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s gift or simply as a standard for your own home, I believe you will find it most appropriate.

Now, I have decided to offer “The Promise” to those who share and value its sentiment. Each litho is numbered and signed by hand and precisely captures the detail of the drawing. As a wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s gift or simply as a standard for your own home, I believe you will find it most appropriate.

Now, I have decided to offer “The Promise” to those who share and value its sentiment. Each litho is numbered and signed by hand and precisely captures the detail of the drawing. As a wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s gift or simply as a standard for your own home, I believe you will find it most appropriate.

The drawing you see above is called “The Promise.” It is completely composed of dots of ink. After writing the poem, I worked with a quill pen and placed thousands of these dots, one at a time, to create this gift in honor of my youngest brother and his wife.

Measuring 14" by 16", it is available either fully-framed in a subtle copper tone with hand-cut double mats of pewter and rust at $145*, or in the mats alone at $105*. Please add $18.95 for insured shipping. Returns/exchanges within 30 days.

My best wishes are with you.

Measuring 14" by 16", it is available either fully framed in a subtle copper tone with hand-cut mats of pewter and rust at $110, or in the mats alone at $95. Please add $14.50 for insured shipping and packaging. Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed.

Measuring 14" by 16", it is available either fully framed in a subtle copper tone with hand-cut mats of pewter and rust at $110, or in the mats alone at $95. Please add $14.50 for insured shipping and packaging. Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed.

My best wishes are with you.

Sextonart Inc.

Now, I have decided to offer “The Promise” to those who share and value its sentiment. Each litho is numbered and signed by hand and precisely captures the detail of the drawing. As a wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s gift or simply as a standard for your own home, I believe you will find it most appropriate.

Autumn Holiday Special!

My best wishes are with you.

The Art of Robert Sexton, 491 Greenwich St. (at Grant), San Francisco, CA 94133

P.O. Box 581 • Rutherford, CA 94573 • (415) 989-1630

The Art of Robert Sexton, 491 Greenwich St. (at Grant), San Francisco, CA 94133

Buy two or more pieces and receive free shipping with your order.

Measuring 14" by 16", it is available either fully framed in a subtle copper tone with hand-cut mats of pewter and rust at $110, or in the mats alone at $95. Please add $14.50 for insured shipping and packaging. Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed.

All major credit cards are welcomed.

MASTERCARD and VISA orders welcome. Please send card name, card number, address and expiration date, or phone (415) 989-1630 between noon-8 P.M.EST. Checks are also accepted. Please allow 3 weeks for delivery.

Please call between 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 7 days a week. Checks are also accepted. Please include a phone number.

MASTERCARD and VISA orders welcome. Please send card name, card number, address and expiration date, or phone (415) 989-1630 between noon-8 P M.EST. Checks are also accepted. Please allow 3 weeks for delivery.

*California residents please include 8.0% tax

“The Promise” is featured with many other recent works in my book, “Journeys of the Human Heart.” It, too, is available from the address above at $12.95 per copy postpaid. Please visit my Web site at www.robertsexton.com

My best wishes are with you. MASTERCARD and VISA orders welcome. Please send card name, card number, address and expira-

“The Promise” is featured with many other recent works in my book, “Journeys of the Human Heart.” It, too, is available from the address above at $12.95 per copy postpaid. Please visit my Web site at www.robertsexton.com

Art of Robert Sexton, 491 Greenwich St. (at Grant), San Francisco, CA 94133

Please visit our website at www.robertsexton.com

“Across the years I will walk with you— in deep, green forests; on shores of sand: and when our time on earth is through, in heaven, too, you will have my hand.”

“Across the years I will walk with you— in deep, green forests; on shores of sand: and when our time on earth is through, in heaven, too, you will have my hand.”

“Across the years I will walk with you— in deep, green forests; on shores of sand: and when our time on earth is through, in heaven, too, you will have my hand.”

Leaving Shore

here is a quote on a bulletin board outside my town’s Unitarian church that I see every morning on my walk: You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore. —William Faulkner. A few days ago, a book landed on my desk that led me to reflect on Faulkner’s words and how so many of us, in many ways and for many reasons, have sought new horizons.

Published this October, the book is titled Home Now . In it, author Cynthia Anderson follows refugees from Africa, more than 5,000 from Somalia, who fled civil war to settle in the town of Lewiston, Maine. While she was still reporting, we published her article “City of Hope,” which told the story of these “new Mainers” [March/April 2017]. Few things give an editor more pride than when a magazine story leaves its own shoreline and expands and deepens and becomes literature.

Similarly, Rachel Slade’s book Into the Raging Sea began in these pages as an article about the 2015 sinking of the container ship El Faro after it sailed into the path of Hurricane Joaquin, taking the lives of all 33 onboard [“A Fatal Mistake,” November/December 2016]. I will be onstage with Rachel at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on November 5. Through her words, the men and women on board that ship will never be forgotten.

Seeking new horizons can also mean casting off one identity and taking on a new one. What does not change is the need for courage and a belief in yourself. As you pore through our Editors’ Choice Food Awards [p. 53] and special gift guide [“Handmade for the Holidays,” p. 98], I hope you will enjoy discovering the stories just below the surface. Many of the artisans and crafters that are spotlighted in these pages found their success after starting over: a fashion designer becomes a confectioner, a PhD scientist becomes a fine woodworker.

Finally, for the past few years I have written here about Edie Clark, Yankee ’s longtime columnist, whose “Mary’s Farm” dispatches about her life in rural New Hampshire created the kind of loyal readership that writers dream about but seldom know. Today she lives in a single room in a rehabilitation center about 20 minutes from her former farm. Notes and cards boost her morale and give her sparks of happiness and even hope that the day will come when a new piece of creative writing will spill onto her paper. Keep Yankee , and we take them in little piles and read them to Edie, letting her remember how her special gift once entered our readers’ lives.

And thanks to all of you holding this issue for bringing us into your homes this holiday season. We will never lose sight of that connection.

Mel Allen

The Fall

There is special meaning when friends and neighbors answer the call for help.

fter my wife, May, fell down the 10 steps leading to the choir loft in our church, the first thing she wanted to know was if the choir, who were downstairs in the sanctuary, had heard her cry out. None of us could remember hearing a cry. What we heard was a rumbling sound, the kind you hear when a thick layer of snow slides off a roof during a thaw.

“May?” I called out. There was no answer. Our choir director was at the piano, closest to the bottom of the stairs, so he got there first.

May was crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, lying on her left side, her head almost in the sanctuary, her right foot and ankle still on the lowest stair. Her foot drooped down at an unnatural angle. Scattered around her were the Christmas carol books she had gone upstairs to collect for rehearsal. It was the first week of December.

Her first words were to our director: “I’m sorry to interrupt rehearsal.” Then she said, “Give me a minute, and I’ll be right there.”

He looked at her dangling foot and said, “I don’t think so.”

Our volunteer fire department’s ambulance crew arrived in a few minutes. These were our neighbors—the oldest was Brian, our former highway superintendent, whom we’ve known since we moved to this small New Hampshire town 40 years ago. The youngest, Corey, went to school with our youngest child. The fire chief, Tom, held May’s head perfectly still, and made a few jokes.

They went about their work swiftly and competently. After asking May where she felt pain (her right wrist and ankle, both of which were broken, and her neck), they cut off her new winter coat and her favorite flannel-lined jeans and carefully, tenderly, moved her onto a backboard. They had to maneuver down a short staircase to the front door and then into the rescue vehicle. There was a slow, almost sacramental quality to every motion; they might have been carrying the Ark of the Covenant. I followed them, clutching her ruined clothes. I had some notion that she might want to use the jeans to patch other clothes, but mostly I just didn’t want to let go of them.

I got into our car and followed them to our local hospital, where we found Eric, the emergency room doc, another neighbor. After pain medication and X-rays, May was taken away for CAT scans. She was clearly not leaving, so I went home and to bed, only to be awakened by a phone call from Eric. He had found a possible brain bleed in the scans, and sent her off to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where there were neurosurgeons available if necessary.

And that’s how your life changes—not with an anguished cry, but the sound of snow sliding off the roof during a thaw.

The fall was 10 weeks ago, and we celebrate each step back to normality: switching from a wheelchair to a walking boot, standing in the shower, sleeping in our own bed upstairs. She’ll start relearning how to drive next week. It could have been much worse. The brain bleed stopped, and her bones are healing. The scans found a blood clot in her lung, possibly from an earlier injury, and surgeons inserted a device in her chest that would protect her if the clot started to move. It’s possible that her tumble down the stairs saved her life.

And every time we see Brian, or Corey, or Tom, or Eric in the general store or the post office or at church, we share a special smile and remind ourselves: If we must have a life-threatening crisis, how grateful we are to do it among friends.

The Poet’s Son

Finding meaning in the margins of a writer’s profession.

hen I was a young boy and my family still lived in the northern Vermont cabin I’ve previously described here, my father built a small writing shack in the forest just a few hundred feet from the cabin. Like our two-room residence (three rooms if you include the upstairs loft), it had no electricity, plumbing, or even a telephone. From there, in pen and ink or by typewriter, my father plied his trade, which consisted of writing poetry, editing poetry anthologies, and making arrangements to teach workshops at various schools and uni-

I’m pretty sure it was the last one that provided the bulk of our family’s meager income, though perhaps there were poetry riches I was never privy to. But I rather doubt it. As Guy Clark wrote in his song “Cold Dog Soup”:

Coupled with the money that my mother brought in by milking cows, my father’s teaching gigs offered bounties greater than cold dog soup and rainbow pie, but not by much. Still, we got by, in no small part due to my parents’ well-honed ethos of thrift and high threshold for deprivation.

As I’ve written before, my parents eventually grew weary of their self-inflicted poverty. They’d had all the freedom they could stand, and we moved from the cabin to be nearer to the fulltime job that my father had taken in Montpelier. But although he was now gainfully employed in a legitimate, 40-hour-per-week desk job that looked suspiciously as if it might become something akin to a career, my father never stopped writing. He wrote poem after poem, many of which found their way into published collections. He sold books at readings and teaching engagements, and always carried a well-stocked box in the trunk of his car so he’d never miss a sale.

As far as I know, at 76 years of age, he still does this. I know he still writes every day. I know that his work is informed by his life in Vermont, by his love for gardening and piles of firewood and for the people in his life. For writing itself.

It’s not just poetry. My father has continued to teach writing many years after his official retirement. He teaches all ages, from elementary school students to elders at assistedcare facilities. He’s a huge fan of slam poetry, which turns poetry recitation into a trial by one’s peers; he loves nothing more than hosting events in which poets recite their work, and then audience members score the performance with brutal honesty on a scale of 1 to 10.

He writes plays and helps produce and direct them; conveniently enough, he’s usually granted himself a starring role, too. He also performs regularly at a small bar and music venue just a mile down the gravel road from my parents’ central Vermont home, reading his poems with some manner of musical accompaniment. I have seen him do this a number of

I might even go so far as to say he seeks to be the center of attention. Just about everywhere I go (and I go a fair number of places), people who hear my surname ask if I’m Geof Hewitt’s son. My favorite of these exchanges happened a half dozen or so years ago. My son Rye and I had stopped at our neighbor Melvin’s farm to help unload a wagon full of hay bales. Not long after we arrived, an old Ford pickup pulled into the barnyard and an older couple emerged. Not old, but older. Fifties, I guessed, though it did not look as if they’d led an easy life, and so their age was somewhat hard to figure. The man was barrel-chested and drinking a Mountain Dew. The woman was of modest height and a bit stocky; her defining feature was a prosthetic leg, which was particularly obvious since she was wearing shorts. She was smoking a cigarette.

Melvin introduced us, and immediately I saw the woman’s attention shift, just the slightest sharpening of her features.

“Hewitt?” she said. “Hewitt? Are you related to Geof Hewitt?” Almost an accusation, really.

Ben Hewitt with his father, Geof, who in addition to being a poet and playwright is an accomplished green thumb (the pair are shown in his garden in central Vermont).

“He’s my dad,” I said, entirely unsure where this line of inquiry was headed. And frankly a little unsettled by the possibilities.

She broke into a huge grin. “I love that guy,” she said, through a scrim of smoke. “He taught my writing class in prison.”

That was the first time I truly understood the impact of my father’s work. To me, it had always just been what my dad did—a central, constituent part of him, and so obviously something he needed almost as surely as water and oxygen. I’d never really considered what his writing and teaching meant to others.

I guess it should have come as no surprise that I’d end up much the same as my dad, as apples tend not to fall too far from the tree. Often, they fall directly under the tree, though I’d argue that my studied avoidance of poetry provides at least some measure of differentiation. While I’m grateful for whatever capacities I inherited from my father (and my mother, herself a fine writer—my father has always said she’s the better of the two of them), it’s also true that I sometimes feel as if the compulsion to write is a bit of a curse. The solitary and occasionally lonely nature of the craft is part of this curse; often, I want for something more social, some company beyond words on a page, a little camaraderie and shared purpose. And then there’s the incessant “stone-turning,” my term for the way a writer’s mind seems always to be working, always turning over and around, trying to find the least-muddled path between experience, idea, and paper. (I almost wrote “the clear path,” but I’m

Life in the Kingdom

glad I didn’t, because in my experience, “least-muddled” is about the best one can hope for.)

Over the years, many people have asked what it’s like to be a writer’s son, and I’ve never known how to answer. Because of course I’ve known nothing different; I have no context. My father is the only father I know. Like every parent I know, he’s made his share of mistakes, and like every parent I know, he’s passed along his share of admirable qualities, most of which don’t necessarily have anything to do with writing, even though writing and teaching are the vehicles by which he expresses many of these qualities.

In my middle years, I see more clearly how this is true of us all. I believe that each and every one of us has something of value to share, no matter the circumstances of our lives. And I think that’s a big piece of what I love about this region: The scale of New England still feels so accessible, so inclusive and human. It still provides us so much opportunity to connect with one another, to extend ourselves, and to offer what we have to offer, even if we don’t fully understand or recognize the value in our offerings. I doubt my father knew at the time how profoundly he’d impacted that woman’s life, that years later she’d hear his name and break into a smile.

Not long after meeting her, for no particular reason I can think of, I found myself wondering if she still wrote. Maybe she never wrote another thing in her life , I thought. And then: Maybe that doesn’t really matter. Because perhaps what really matters is that for a certain period of her life, during which she was compelled to live behind locked doors and razor wire, the hourlong writing class that my father taught offered her a temporary means of escape, an opportunity to imagine her circumstances differently. Maybe even a way to imagine herself differently. Which is a pretty amazing gift, if you think about it.

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First LIGHT

Religious tradition and maritime heritage come together in the lobster trap menorah of Temple Ahavat Achim, a synagogue in the heart of America’s oldest seaport.

A Menorah Shines in Gloucester

From the ashes of a fire that destroyed a Massachusetts city’s lone synagogue arose a symbol of community across different faiths.

BY TODD BALF

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOEL LAINO

December 14, 2007. Midnight.

Barry Pett repeats the date and time of the fire that burned Temple Ahavat Achim to the ground as if the memory perpetually hovers on the edge of his consciousness. The devastating, fast-moving blaze in Gloucester, Massachusetts, had started at an apartment building next door, where it took the life of one resident and left dozens more homeless. A Gloucester native, Pett had lived half a block from Temple Ahavat Achim on Middle Street for more than two decades. “I saw the fire,” he says of the billowing flames that rose several stories into a frigid night sky. “I was watching out my window.”

Pett is a semi-retired businessman and president of the community nonprofit Gloucester Fund. He is tall with angular shoulders and a wispy white goatee on a smooth, youthful face. When Pett graduated from Gloucester High School 50 years ago, he was the only Jewish boy in a class of nearly 350. There were just a few dozen Jewish families in the city then, about half in the downtown area near the temple. “There wasn’t even a Hebrew school,” he says.

As we talk, he’s looking transfixed, staring into the candlelight of a gorgeous silver menorah. It had once belonged to another Gloucesterite, Walworth Barbour, the late U.S. ambassador to Israel, who had received it as a personal gift from Prime Minister Golda Meir. The menorah was in turn bequeathed to Pett, who had been Barbour’s friend and driver, and beginning in the 1980s it was loaned to the temple. That it had escaped the 2007 fire seems to mirror the miracle of the season and the resilience of the congregation itself.

On this cold December night, I had come to the rebuilt Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester, the sole synagogue on Cape Ann, for none of this. It is the first night of Hanukkah and the fifth annual lighting of a whimsical menorah made from borrowed lobster pots.

Eight buoys sprout from the top of the 14-by-20-foot structure, their dowel ends wrapped with LED strings.

The concept behind the menorah is simple: to connect to the greater community through its fishing heritage. Years earlier, a towering Christmas tree built from lobster pots had drawn crowds to its Main Street location, at the police station. The idea to construct a complementary menorah is credited to a local schoolteacher, Michael Gerber, but the execution was left to others in the congregation. That group included the late writer and story teller Jim Dowd, who narrated the inaugural 2014 undertaking in a series of entertaining posts and videos. “We checked with the Conservative Council of Judaism if we could have lobster traps. Obviously lobsters are not kosher, but lobster traps, turn out, are just fine,” he says in one video, flashing an impish “go figure” grin.

The first year, the menorah builders borrowed the wrong pots, causing police to respond to the waterfront for the head-scratching case of 25 missing lobster traps. Once the mystery was cleared up, the pots’ owner told the organizers not to bother returning them and to go ahead with the project. As word about what was happening at Temple Ahavat Achim got out around town, people showed up in force. A time-lapse video of the construction got hits across the country. “We were trending,” says Rabbi Steven Lewis. “The publicizing of the mitzvah [good deed] went well beyond what any of us could have expected.”

During the lighting ceremony that first year, 2014, Lewis repeated two origin stories in front of a crowd of multifaith observers, that of the new lighted creation and of the ancient Jews. “The unique and innovative design [of the lobster trap menorah] is a statement about our aspiration to live creative, authentic, and deeply Jewish lives that are an organic part of this amazing city,” he said. He scarcely

needed to allude to the other thing on everyone’s mind: the rising of the new synagogue behind them. The only structural items to survive the 2007

Hampshire. It took most of the night to contain the blaze, which would continue to smolder for five days. The firefighters brought all the occupants to safety except one: They couldn’t reach Robert Taylor, a 70-year-old longtime resident on the third floor.

Next door, the temple was a total loss. The heat was so intense it had melted metal. At the time, the building was 179 years old, having served first as a church and then, beginning in 1951, as a synagogue.

fire were the large mahogany entry doors that responding firefighters had broken through and a few two-ton slabs of Cape Ann granite, now serving as outdoor benches.

The fire started at midnight in the four-story Lorraine Apartments building and grew to eight alarms, drawing firefighters from as far away as New

Saturday morning after the fire, the nearby Unitarian Universalist church invited the displaced members of Temple Ahavat Achim to share their place of worship. Dramatically, midservice, several firefighters walked into the sanctuary and delivered the Hebrew books and prayer shawls they had recovered.

Dowd recounted the tale in a 2015 open-mic storytelling night that was themed around heroes. “We were saying ... the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, for the man who lost his life in the apartment next door, when all of sudden

“This is a time when we need light in darkness, and Hanukkah is a festival of light in darkness,” Rabbi Lewis said.

Among the items salvaged from the ruins of the original Temple Ahavat Achim are this menorah and a pair of pages from a siddur, or prayer book (the latter were found and framed by a resident of the Lorraine Apartments, who lost his home in the same fire that destroyed the synagogue).

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the doors opened and streams of light come pouring in [with] the firefighters.” They were in their turnout coats, and “you smelled the smoke on them,” he said. They couldn’t save the temple’s five Torahs, but in this overwhelming emotional moment a Jewish member kissed his tallith, or prayer shawl, and in the absence of the Torah to touch, he touched one of the firefighters with it. Then another did the same.

At some point, Pett, who was also in attendance, noticed his silver menorah. It had been not in the burning temple but in the Unitarian Universalist church, where it had been used for a multifaith service a few days before. The menorah was supposed to have been returned to the temple on Friday; the oversight was its salvation. “I assumed that it had melted down like everything else,” Pett says. “At the time, I had no idea how it survived.”

From the start, the Temple Ahavat Achim congregation intended to rebuild, but where and how were real questions. Some members wanted to build away from the congested city center, so they could expand and provide parking. Ultimately, they decided to stay downtown, since being in the heart of Gloucester—even as part of a minority community—meant being neither symbolically nor geographically on the outskirts.

The fund-raising goal for the temple was reached quickly, with $2 million coming from one family alone. While the new structure was going up, the members were offered the use of area churches for Saturday services and Hebrew school. In 2011, the new temple was officially opened. The architectural details were stunning: a high-ceilinged sanctuary with gleaming wood floors, a handsome balcony, and an entryway garden terrace. Steel beams supported the 12,000-squarefoot structure. Viewed from a certain angle across the street, the roof line at twilight appeared like the jutting prow of a ship on a following sea. A pilot-

house, too, was easy to imagine, as the temple’s seamless bank of easternfacing windows projected light into the darkness.

For the lighting of the lobster trap menorah in 2018, two Gloucester police officers were requested. A big crowd was expected, and the security—the first ever for the ceremony— was an unfortunate reflection of the times. An increasing number of antiSemitic incidents were being reported across the country. Racist graffiti had been scrawled at a synagogue a few miles away, in Peabody. And just six weeks earlier, a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue had left 11 dead and six injured, not counting the gunman.

In response to the Pittsburgh massacre, Rabbi Lewis had called for an open community assembly—and the turnout was overwhelming. It was an affirmation, if anybody needed further proof, of the congregation’s decision to rebuild in the “shadow of City Hall”

and remain in the center of the community. There had been talk of not holding a public lighting of the menorah, Lewis says, but the consensus was to be visible and resolute. To stand as tall as ever. The ceremony would go on.

It wasn’t the longest night of the year, but the positioning of the moon meant it was the darkest. Lewis knew the crowd was eagerly awaiting the lighting and the blessing; however, first he needed to share an email he had received earlier that day, from a friend working in Baghdad for the U.S. State Department. “A woman on my team invited the few remaining Iraqi Jews to the embassy tonight and will light Hanukkah candles,” the friend wrote. “All of the Iraqi guests were very old, and one told me she had not been to a Hanukkah celebration outside her immediate circle for several decades.” So, said Lewis, from the Talmud written in Babylon to the Jews in Iraq at the U.S. embassy lighting Hanukkah candles for the first time in a public event, “this is a time where we need light in darkness, and Hanukkah is a festival of light in darkness.”

The rabbi led the singing of two blessings, and then the electric light show flashed on. There were eight candles and, in purple, a towering candelabra; outlined in white was a huge Star of David. The crowd cheered and lingered with children for pictures. Half an hour later, all were inside the synagogue for the lighting of family menorahs displayed on a long foillined table. A single match was used to light a communal candle, the shamash. It was exchanged from family to family until all the candles were burning.

Pett’s menorah was in the center. There are 190 member families now, and a roughly $1 million endowment has been amassed for the educational center and Hebrew school. Pett is still not sure why Barbour wanted him to have this special gift, but he never tires of seeing it lighted with all the others— the lobster trap menorah included.

Gabriel Boraks of Gloucester, age 6, helps celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah by lighting one of the family menorahs displayed inside the rebuilt Temple Ahavat Achim.

Chips Off the Old Block

Arguably the most famous boulder in the world, Plymouth Rock is a four-ton hunk of Dedham granite, roughly 608 million years old, that was upheaved and moved southward from the Boston area on a conveyor belt of ice. For the next 20,000 years it sat undisturbed but for the eroding effects of the tides and the wind. When it became the threshold to a new country—and the emblem of America—everyone wanted a piece of it. And nearly everyone got it. The Massachusetts landmark we know today is estimated to be about one-twentieth its original size, having been chipped away by souvenir hunters, rock hounds, and even town officials. Among the culprits:

■ In 1774, Plymouth townspeople decided to relocate their landmark, engaging 30 yoke of oxen for the job. The screws they installed to help move it served as wedges, splitting the rock in half as soon as the oxen pulled.

■ In an 1834 Independence Day parade, a Mayflower replica accompanied a two-wheeled cart transporting the upper

half of the rock from the town common to Pilgrim Hall. When a pin reportedly dislodged, causing the cart to tilt, the rock hit the ground and broke into pieces.

■ The lower half remained at the waterfront, vulnerable to the elements and part of a commercial wharf, across which iron-wheeled carts of fish, coal, and other goods rolled. A local merchant kept a hammer and chisel on hand for souvenir seekers.

■ In 1880 the halves were reunited, though by then the pieces no longer matched. Town officials chinked in the spaces with random (less historic) stones and chiseled in the date “1620.”

■ Places where pieces of Plymouth Rock have come to rest: the Plymouth Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York; the Conoco refinery in Hull, Massachusetts; the Smithsonian; and museums in California and Nevada.

■ In the 1920s, the Antiquarian Society of Plymouth sold pieces as paperweights. Other known uses: tie tacks, cuff links, pendants, earrings, a 400-pound doorstop, and a weight for a barrel of corned beef.

—Adapted from “A Piece of the Rock” by Jeff Baker, November 2000

UNCOMMON SENSE

—Chris Evans (born June 13, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts). Raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where his family still lives, the Avengers’ Captain America has been turning up in his home state quite a bit over the past year: in Boston to shoot the movie premiering Nov. 27, and in Newton, Leominster, and other towns for the Apple TV series Defending Jacob. Most notably, this star of the highest-grossing film of all time was at Lincoln-Sudbury High School in May for his 20th class reunion, wearing a name tag that read, simply, “Chris.”

“To me, Boston is friends, family, and home.... I’ve thought a lot about what ‘home’ means. For me, it’s where the brain stops asking so many questions.”

bor, Massachusetts welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year to the northerly side of Vineyard Sound. Established in 1828, this lighthouse serves to protect boats and ships in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. Today, most people view this lighthouse from a passing ferry boat as they travel between Martha’s Vineyard and Woods Hole.

“Red Right Returning” reminds boaters when returning to port that the red buoy is always on the right or starboard side of the vessel. This beautiful limited-edition print of an original oil painting, individually numbered and signed by the artist, Forrest Pirovano, captures the

white-on-white double mat, measuring 11x14 inches. Framed in either a black or white 1½ inch deep wood frame, this limited edition print measures 12¼ X 15¼ inches and is priced at only $149. Matted but unframed the price for this print is $109. Prices include shipping and packaging.

Forrest Pirovano is a Cape Cod artist. His paintings capture the picturesque landscape and seascapes of the Cape which have a universal appeal. His paintings often include the many antique wooden sailboats and picturesque lighthouses that are home to Cape Cod.

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Even a simple color palette can be rich in tone and texture, from rustic metal bells and beeswax candles to pine cones and bits of blue spruce. opposite : The author and her son, Ruairí, at their home in Somerville, Massachusetts.

CHRISTMAS FIRST

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KRISSY O’SHEA

right : From left, a 5-foot Fraser fir and a pile of presents wrapped in brown paper, all waiting to be decorated; a wreath of bay and olive leaves just needs the finishing touch, a velvet ribbon; sturdy lanterns allow candlelight to glow almost anywhere in the home.

below : Krissy adds wooden bead garland to the Christmas tree, decked in white lights and simple straw ornaments.

Admittedly, I am something of a holiday decorating devotee. I find it a wonderful way to encourage cheer and make home a more inviting place on the season’s long nights. I want to fill dark corners with as much light and life as possible.

This year feels especially joyful as we prepare to spend Christmas together in our new city home, as a family of three. Welcoming our first child, a son named Ruairí, has made us keen to create holiday traditions all our own—and what better place to cement these traditions than our newly remodeled house? After extensive renovations, our modest 119-year-old cottage in Somerville, Massachusetts, is finally ready, and we are delighted to begin adding our own family story to its history.

Seasonal hues of greens, whites, and coppery browns serve as my guide when I’m choosing materials for decorating. The colors of winter are sometimes thought of as dull and dreary, but I find such beauty in their paleness, in the understated tranquility of the season’s palette.

There is great appeal to the “simple” when it comes to decor. I work with a few select colors and materials, this year choosing velvet ribbons in two shades of green and a beautifully rich but understated claret, as well as greenery such as bay, blue spruce, and olive, and other organics like tallow berry, dried fern, and pine cones. These are repeated in different iterations: on the tree, on the table, in wreaths and garlands, and tucked into holiday wrapping, for a cohesive and

Christmas in New England is as magical as it is transformative: Homes shrug off their everydayness in favor of festive attire complete with lashings of evergreens and (hopefully) just the right dusting of snow.

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right : From left, wiring blue spruce branches onto an iron wreath; a gift-wrapping project in progress; two finished iron wreaths with their candles, plus a third made of tiny pine cones.

below : Ruairí and his dad reading The Polar Express together on Christmas morning.

opposite : The dining table, adorned for the holiday meal with a garland of olive and bay leaves interspersed with white tallow berries, pine cones, and asparagus ferns.

modern effect. Manipulating the foliage as little as possible, I let the graceful natural lines and colors be my guide, adding embellishment with a featherlight touch. I love the warm organic elegance that mixed-foliage wreaths and garlands, along with the tree, bring to our home.

As a child I would often ask if we could leave the tree without ornaments, dressed only in its coat of white lights. Even now, I have the same inclination. So this year I’ve indulged by decorating our little tree (sourced from the winsome Mistletoe Tree Farm, in Stow, Massachusetts) in delicate straw ornaments, a nod to my Scandinavian family holiday traditions. It is a way to keep the decor classic and understated.

On a more practical note, a simplified decor scheme is more achievable with baby, and I want as much time to enjoy the decorations as to create them. Candles on our table, preferably beeswax (as much for their heady sweet smell as their beautiful color), are a must. I always look to add candles to any shadowy recess of the house. Mixing high and low candlesticks on the table provides visual interest, and glass lanterns tucked into various nooks around the cottage add sparkle and warmth.

My husband (Irish by birth) and I bring our own very different traditions to the holiday. His family revels in time spent around the tree on Christmas morning, followed by an elaborate meal, while mine does most of our celebrating on Christmas Eve. Our Christmas Day passes slowly, with a long walk or two, punctuated by the nibbling of leftovers and the retrieval of more firewood.

But at the core, our traditions are about family. Holidays for both of us were spent visiting friends and family in the days leading up to Christmas and a quiet Christmas Day at home. This connectedness and love is what we hope Ruairí will sense on his first Christmas.

Our life moves a little slower over the holidays, and for this we are grateful. And while I will be the first to admit how much I enjoy celebrating against a backdrop that includes beautiful decorations and lots of flickering candlelight, these are not the necessities of the holiday. Rather, the satisfying nature of our first Christmas together will undoubtedly be just that: the small moments that make up the day. Remembering to keep our eyes open to that magic in the mundane.

Krissy’s Tips for Decking the Halls

Recurring Roles: “I like to choose a few colors and materials to carry through decorating for cohesive organic elegance. This year I was smitten with the combination of dried white tallow berry, feathery fern fronds painted a coppery color, and pine cones. I used these three elements together on my table and in garlands around the house. I also used them separately: pine cones adorned the tree, and a bundle of tallow berry was tucked into a vase in the entry.”

Great Garlands: “For the price of a good floral arrangement, garlands make a truly lush addition to the table, a banister, or a shelf. Embellish them with items collected in nature, such as dried seedpods or stalks, pine cones, and sprigs of winterberry or holly, and mix in other small clippings of evergreen foliage for a layered look.”

Color Coordination: “Toneon-tone color adds depth without distraction. Tied simply around a wreath, a green velvet ribbon that’s a shade or two different from the color of the fresh greens is a striking touch. Using various tones of the same color also works wonderfully when selecting table linens, napkins, and dishes.”

A Better Base: “Instead of using a tree skirt, try placing your tree in a basket or bucket—just be sure the tree stand sits flat on the bottom for stability. You can tuck a bit of cloth in around the base of the basket to hide any of the stand that might be showing.”

New England HOLIDAY HOME

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“RACING IN WEST BAY” “CAPE COD LIGHT”

From Original Oil Paintings by Cape Cod artist, Forrest Pirovano

These two beautiful prints by Forrest Pirovano will be perfect holiday gifts. The sailboats are famous Crosby Wianno Juniors, built in Osterville on Cape Cod, and the lighthouse is Cape Cod Light in Truro. The lighthouse guards the treacherous shores of the outer Cape. It is also known as Highland Light and is the first lighthouse on Cape Cod.

Each exquisite print is bordered by a museumquality white-on-white double mat, measuring 11x14 inches. Framed in either a black or white 1 ½ inch deep wood frame, each limited-edition print measures 12 ¼ X 15 ¼ inches and is priced at only $149. Matted, but unframed, the price for each print is $109. Prices include shipping and packaging.

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PO Box 1011, Mashpee, MA 02649

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Holiday Magic

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n 1974, John and Barbara Fraunfelder were young doctors with a 2-year-old daughter when John was recruited by Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. “We had been living in Philadelphia, and we came to explore the area,” Barbara recalls. “The Realtor showed us everything within a 25-mile radius, and nothing felt right.” Then they were brought to 50 Elm Street, on the town common in nearby Walpole.

“We looked at it and laughed,” she says. “It was much bigger than what we thought we were looking for, and it needed a lot of work. But we fell in love with it.”

The 1811 Federal-style home was built by David Stone, who had made his money in the fur business. A local doctor named Jesseniah Kittredge bought the house in 1830 and raised his family there. Then in 1868, the property became Mrs. Wright’s Boarding House, which would evolve into the Elmwood Inn. After it changed hands yet again in 1930, it became the Old Colony Inn.

Today there are reminders throughout the house of its past as an inn, not least of which are the nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms. “It was great as our family grew, and fantastic for gatherings,” Barbara says with a laugh, “but my kids never learned to share a bathroom.”

As I explore the house, I’m most eager to see the third floor, where some imagination is required to envision how the space would

Yankee likes to mosey around and see, out of editorial curiosity, what you can turn up when you go house hunting. We have no stake in the sale whatsoever and would decline it if offered.

A New Hampshire house where novelist James Michener found inspiration and where Louisa May Alcott once performed is ready for its next chapter.

WALPOLE

A private residence when the Alcotts lived nearby, and a country inn when James Michener visited, this Federal-style mansion sits in the heart of Walpole, New Hampshire, the town that filmmaker Ken Burns calls home.

WINTER IN NEW ENGLAND

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have looked before it was divvied up into bedrooms. But these wide pine floorboards are likely the same ones that Louisa May Alcott trod back in 1855, when she delighted townspeople with a cavalcade of malapropisms in a production of Richard Sheridan’s comedy of manners The Rivals

The Alcott family spent three years in the 1850s in Walpole, where Louisa’s father, Bronson, had been offered a place to stay by his brother-inlaw, Benjamin Willis. (Willis had been married to Louisa’s aunt Eliza, who passed away in 1822.)

When Louisa moved to Walpole, she was 23 and had already published her first book, Flower Fables . She and her three sisters quickly became involved with the Walpole Amateur Dramatic Company. That summer, Kittredge offered the company his unfinished attic as a rehearsal and performance space.

The troupe performed The Rivals here, with Louisa in the role of Mrs. Malaprops, and the performance was so well received by the capacity audience (somewhere between 100 and 200, depending on the account, although both numbers are hard to conceive as I imagine the wall-less space) that work immediately began on The Jacobite and The Two Bonneycastles , which were presented as a double bill that September.

Fictionalized versions of events from the Alcotts’ time in Walpole would figure prominently in Louisa’s classic 1868 novel, Little Women . During the winter of 1856, Louisa would venture to Boston, where she could get work and make connections to advance her career. But her family stayed on in Walpole, and local resident Dr. Henry Bellows loaned Louisa’s younger sister Lizzie a piano to use, inspiring a

pivotal life event for Little Women ’s Beth. (Today the piano is on display in the Main Street headquarters of the Walpole Historical Society.) That same winter was when both of the youngest sisters, Lizzie and May, contracted scarlet fever. May soon recovered, but Lizzie’s illness lingered and eventually proved fatal, just as Beth’s did in Little Women

About 100 years after those summers of third-floor performances, the house had another brush with literary greatness, one that inspires me to stop at a second-floor window and admire the view. In his best-selling 1959 novel, Hawaii , James Michener sets several scenes in Walpole, which he uses as the hometown for one of his central families. Michener had come to stay

in the Old Colony Inn back in the 1930s. In a 1969 letter to Walpole librarian Anita Aldrich, Michener described Walpole as “one of the most beautiful villages in the United States” and remembered that it was the view of the parsonage across the square from this window that inspired the residence of Michener’s Bromley clan.

Also on the second floor, where five bedrooms and four baths surround the center hall and staircase, is an expansive but comfortable screened porch that peeks at the common from behind a pair of spruces.

My descent to the first floor brings me back to the grand entry hall, which gives way to a formal living room with an inviting fireplace, original Indian

shutters, and an original wall mural. Painted by local artist Dutchie Perron in the style of Rufus Porter, the mural depicts a scene of the house that is personal to the Fraunfelders, whose daughter Kate rode to the house in a horse-drawn carriage for her wedding reception.

“We understand that the painting won’t have the same meaning for new owners that it has for us,” Barbara admits, “but we’d love to think that they might keep it.”

After nearly half a century here, the Fraunfelders see memories everywhere.

While leaving is difficult, with their three children grown, the house now is too large. Family gatherings are among their fondest recollections. “Christmases have been wonderful, with the whole house decorated and every room filled,” Barbara says. “Our grandkids refer to this as the Christmas house.”

Theirs is a house of many tales, but the Fraunfelders hope that the new owners will value it for its future, not just its past. “It has been such a beautiful place to live,” Barbara says. “My hope is that the new owner will be someone who really loves it, whose heart is really in it. This is a house that should be used and loved.” —Joe

Bills

The house is listed at $924,900. Contact Sheila Lennon at 603-903-3320

(slennon@remax-keene-nh.com) or Norma Couture at 603-209-4918

(norma@normacouture.com) at RE/MAX Town & Country.

For three generations, the builders, blacksmiths and craftsmen at Country Carpenters have put their hands and hearts into designing and building the finest New England Style buildings available, using hand-selected materials, hand-forged hardware, hand-built and hand-finished by real people. You can feel the difference in your heart.

Louisa May Alcott in her mid-20s. The famed New England author will be in the spotlight again this December, with the release of the eighth movie version of Little Women.

The Sweet Life

A lesson on baking, and living well, with cookbook author Dorie Greenspan.

BY AMY TRAVERSO

Photographs by Mark Weinberg • Food styling by Maggie Ruggiero • Prop styling by Caroline Woodward

Dorie Greenspan at home in Connecticut. “I often say the only thing I collect is recipes,” she says, ”but somehow my husband and I became the keepers of many chickens and roosters”—including these feathered friends from Texas, Connecticut, and Paris, France.

Who wouldn’t want to be Dorie Greenspan? The headline version of her life reads like a Nancy Meyers movie script: the time-dividing between Paris, Connecticut, and New York; the critical acclaim (her cookbooks have won awards from all the culinary greats, including multiple James Beard nods); the magic touch with cream puffs and tarts. Then there’s the passionate fan base that’s built “Tuesdays with Dorie” Instagram feeds and blogs devoted to her recipes. In person, she’s warm and humble, and her recipes have the voice of an understanding friend who has made all the mistakes in baking (and probably in life, too) and isn’t afraid to share them.

Even Dorie Greenspan probably wants to be Dorie Greenspan.

But on this day, at the coastal Connecticut home where she does most of her writing and recipe testing, she’s juggling multiple deadlines (“I’ve never missed one—I’m too nervous”), fretting over having her picture taken, and working on a flan recipe for The New York Times. She has just come off one trip and will soon be heading out on another. She’s become famous for showing up at just about every conference, sitting through every session and making herself available to every newcomer asking for advice on how to get exactly where she is today.

That’s a tough question for her to answer, in part because the publishing world has changed so drastically and in part because her own start was so unconventional. Back in 1979, she was one thesis short of a doctorate in gerontology when her son, Joshua, was born. “I wanted to work. I needed to work. And I couldn’t face going back to the work I’d been doing,” Dorie recalls. “My husband, Michael, said, ‘Why don’t you bake?’” Up to that point, baking had been just a passionate hobby. “But as soon as he said it, I thought yes.”

She landed at a restaurant in Manhattan but was soon fired for “creative

insubordination,” as she puts it. “My job was to make 100 of their signature chocolate cakes and I got bored, so I substituted pecans, Armagnac, and prunes for the almonds, whiskey, and raisins. With any recipe, I’d always think, Oh, wouldn’t the cake be better if we frosted it, or if we added blueberries.... And when you’re doing production, you can’t do that.”

After a stint at Sarabeth’s—then an upstart bakery and now a New York institution—that only confirmed that she was too restless for commercial baking, she met an editor at Food & Wine who invited her to submit ideas. “I didn’t know how to write a proposal,” Dorie recalls. “I baked all the things that I thought would make a good article and put them in a basket with all the recipes. A few hours later, the editor called and said, ‘Can you do this for the Christmas issue?’

“I was unqualified for everything in the beginning,” Dorie says. “But I came to baking because I loved it. I wanted to work in it, to create things. It gave me the courage to put myself in positions where I wasn’t comfortable but where I would get comfortable.”

She began publishing more broadly and wrote a few small cookbooks. Then, in 1994, she was asked to write

Baking with Julia , a companion cookbook to Julia Child’s final PBS series. This is when Dorie’s career reached critical mass—and when she heard something that still inspires her to this day.

“When I was working with Julia Child, we were out one afternoon together, and out of nowhere she said, ‘We’re so lucky because we work in food and we’ll never stop learning,’” Dorie says. “I think about that all the time. I still get so excited about stuff. I still love new recipes, learning new techniques, new ingredients. Thinking about new ways to write something. It’s an extraordinary field. It’s an ongoing flow of new possibility.”

Now, 20-odd years later, she is running between the kitchen and the desk that sits just beyond the counters, with a 14th book in the works (Baking with Dorie, due out in 2021) and more deadlines to meet. Beyond the desk, past the dining room table, windows overlook a dam where geese are wading at the lip of the falls. Dorie watches them for a minute. “I’m a city girl, but....” She pauses. Since Michael retired, they’ve come to consider Connecticut their primary home. And that has shaped her cooking, particularly her most recent book, Everyday Dorie

“It’s about an hour to the Big Y [supermarket] and back here,” she says. “If I’ve forgotten something, that’s a commitment. So I open the pantry and fridge and see what I can use. Maybe I can add this or replace that. Living here has made me a more practical cook, and maybe even a nimbler one.”

The same holds true in her baking life. She’s learned that when the holidays come around, it pays to be organized and flexible. “I’m not superhuman,” she says. “I bake ahead. I love that cookie dough can be rolled out or rolled into balls and put in the freezer. It tastes

fresher when it’s baked as close to serving time as possible. And I’m not someone who will decorate a lot of things. I love cookies with jam because they decorate themselves in the way they’re constructed. And I love how molassesginger cookies smell like the holidays.”

The following recipes (four sweet, one savory) include her favorite seasonal treats, each prefaced by a note from Dorie herself. “The only reason to write a cookbook is to share something that you love,” she says. “And I want home cooks to have the feeling of satisfaction that you get when you make

something and it’s right … and the pleasure of being able to share it.”

LITTLE RASCALS

“Essentially jam-filled sandwich cookies, these are made with walnuts and very little flavoring. Mostly the flavor is butter, sugar, and nuts. They seem a lot like Linzer cookies’ simpler cousins, don’t they? ”

2 ⁄ 3 cup (134 grams) granulated sugar

2 ⁄ 3 cup (80 grams) walnuts (whole or pieces)

¼ teaspoon table salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1¼ cups (170 grams) all-purpose flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Thick jam, such as raspberry, strawberry, cherry, or apricot

Put the sugar, walnuts, salt, cinnamon, and zest into a food processor and pulse just until the nuts are ground. Add the flour and process to incorporate. Scatter the butter over all and pulse until the mixture forms crumbs and resembles streusel. Add the egg a little at a time, pulsing as you go. Then pulse a few more times until you have a soft dough. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface, divide it into halves, and shape each into a disk.

Working with one disk at a time, roll it to ¼ inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Slide the dough, still sandwiched in paper, onto a baking sheet (you can stack the slabs) and freeze for at least 1 hour, although longer is better. This dough remains soft even when frozen, so it’s best to get it as cold as you can before cutting it.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Have two cookie cutters at the ready: one 1½ inches in diameter (plain or scalloped) and the other a little less than 1 inch in diameter

Little Rascals

(plain, scalloped, or a bit fancy, like a star shape).

Take a slab of dough from the freezer and peel away the parchment. Working quickly, cut out as many 1½-inch rounds as you can, spacing them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Use the smaller cutter to remove the centers of half the cookies. If the dough breaks while you’re cutting out the centers, patch it; if the dough is really soft and you’re not having fun cutting it, slide the baking sheet into the freezer and give it a 10-minute chill. (Be sure to reserve the scraps, which you can combine with scraps from the second piece of dough, and shape into a disk, roll, freeze, cut, and bake.)

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the sheet after 10 minutes or until the cookies are a pale golden brown. Transfer the sheet to a rack and allow to cool completely.

Repeat process with the remaining dough, always being sure to use a cool baking sheet.

To finish the cookies, dust the cutout ones with confectioners’ sugar. Turn the whole cookies over, bottoms up, and place about ½ teaspoon jam in the center of each. Top with the cutout cookies, pressing down lightly to push the jam toward the edges. Yields about 28 sandwich cookies.

WALNUT-MUSTARD GOUGÈRES

“Gougères are French cheese puffs based on a classic dough called pâté à choux— the dough that’s used for cream puffs— and it’s a testament to their goodness that I’m still crazy about them after all these years.”

½ cup whole milk

½ cup water

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into quarters

1¼ teaspoons table salt

1 cup (136 grams) all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg white, at room temperature

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 cups (170 grams) coarsely grated cheese, such as Comté, Gruyère, or sharp cheddar

2 ⁄ 3 cup (80 grams) walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 425°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the milk, water, butter, and salt to a boil. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat, and begin stirring briskly with a heavy spoon. The dough will form a ball, and there’ll be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another 2 minutes or so to dry the dough (dry dough means puffier puffs).

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attach-

ment (or work by hand with a wooden spoon and elbow grease). Let the dough sit for a minute before adding the eggs, one by one, and then the white, beating to incorporate each before adding the next. The dough may look as though it’s separating, but just keep working. Beat in the mustard, followed by the cheese and the walnuts. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.

Scoop out the dough with a small cookie scoop. (If you’d like to make larger puffs, use a tablespoon or medium-size cookie scoop.) Drop the dough balls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°.

Walnut-Mustard Gougères

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ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING & CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

NOVEMBER 30, 2019 | 4:00 – 7:00 PM

The Tree Lighting Ceremony is an open-to-the-public event to celebrate the holiday season with Ocean House on the beautiful Rhode Island Atlantic Coast. Children will help to light the outdoor Christmas tree and watch as Santa Claus makes his big arrival on a fi re truck! Children will have the opportunity to visit with Santa while New England purveyors sell festive items in the holiday village. Guests are asked to bring one unwrapped toy to donate.

FEAST OF FISHES WORKSHOP

December 19, 2019

3:30 – 5:30 pm

Ever wondered about how to create the traditional feast of fishes? Learn the history of this traditional meal and how to prepare this feast for the holiday season. Enjoy this special experience in Ocean House’s Center for Wine & Culinary Arts.

$75 per person (plus tax & gratuity)

CHRISTMAS IN SONG

December 20, 2019

5:00 – 6:30 pm

Ring in the holiday season with a night of traditional song, bell ringers, readings and other special holiday cheer, all in the charming setting of the Watch Hill Chapel, across the street from Ocean House. Warm up with hot cocoa and cookies after this festive event.

Open to the public

NEW YEAR’S EVE

GALA: HAVANA NIGHTS

December 31, 2019

7:30 pm – 1:00 am

What better way to ring in the New Year than with celebration at the AAA Five-Diamond Ocean House? Enjoy a HavanaCaribbean inspired celebration, complete with a delicious buffet, live band, and open bar. An elegant, festive and whimsical evening.

$185 per person (plus tax & gratuity)

Your Most Magical Holiday Celebration or Getaway is a Short Distance Away

Experience Season By The Sea

the most magical time of the year is even more special at the award-winning Ocean House and Weekapaug Inn on Rhode Island’s majestic Atlantic Coast. The Season by the Sea holiday series has more than 25 special events and activities for all ages. Relax and celebrate. Stay overnight with special rates, or come for the day. Unforgettable experiences are infused with whimsy, lasting tradition and attention to detail. Memories created will last a lifetime.

See all of our events at OceanHouseEvents.com Reserve accommodations at OceanHouseRI.com or WeekapaugInn.com, or please call 855.893.1602

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CELEBRATING NEW ENGLAND’S BEST CHEESES, CHOCOLATES, JAMS, CHARCUTERIE, AND OTHER GIFT-WORTHY EDIBLES.

BY AMY TRAVERSO + KRISSY O’SHEA

we noticed that something was missing from our coverage of the New England food scene. For all the “Best of New England” accolades we were awarding to restaurants and chefs, we didn’t have any equivalent honors for the “makers,” those skilled artisans whose products were changing the way we ate, and for the better. And so in 2013, the Yankee Editors’ Choice Food Awards were born.   As editors and writers, we were already spending a good deal of time on the road, but now we had a new mission: to seek out farmers’ markets, gourmet shops, festivals, and grocery stores in search of the best locally made foods.

From the beginning, we chose to present awards of excellence rather than best-in-category winners. Choosing just one best berry jam or goat cheese would lock up these categories into the future, preventing us from bringing other, equally worthy products to light. Frankly, there’s too much delicious food out there to paint ourselves into that corner.

In that spirit, we hope you’ll enjoy these 10 treats, representing the entire region. All products are available by mail, and all are chosen with the holidays in mind. Serve them at a party or give them as gifts (or better yet, enjoy them yourself). Happy holidays!

Saucisson au Fromage

Babette’s Table

Waitsfield, VT

On American party platters, cheese and charcuterie are generally confined to separate zones. In France, however, there’s a whole category of sausages made with cheeses such as chèvre and Roquefort. So after Babette’s Table founder Erika Lynch went to Gascony to study the art of charcuterie, she returned home to Vermont and developed a saucisson sec (a traditional French salami) made with shavings of Shelburne Farms’ two-year-old cheddar. The cheese lends a brothy umami flavor and brings a deeper richness to the pork, which Lynch gets from two local farms. “From our inception, Babette’s Table has been committed to the local agriculture community in Vermont,” Lynch says. In

fact, the artisanal charcuterie company is so local that its full line is available only in Vermont (luckily, you can buy this sausage online from Shelburne Farms). babettestable.com

Rockweed Cheese

Lakin’s Gorges Cheese

Waldoboro, ME

It’s not unusual to hear farmstead cheese makers describe how their products reflect terroir, a catch-all term for the soil, landscape, and climate of a food-producing region. But Allison Lakin created her Rockweed cheese to reflect the flavors of both her Waldoboro farm and the nearby Maine coast, making it the first New England cheese to beautifully express ... meroir ?

Inspired by Morbier, a semisoft French cheese with a layer of vegetable ash in the center, Lakin takes cow’s milk from her own herd at East Forty

Farm and layers it with dehydrated rockweed powder from Maine Coast Sea Vegetables in Hancock. The powder lends a mineral brininess that enhances the rich Jersey milk. “I’ve been looking for a way to create a cheese that is of this place,” she says. “When I eat [Rockweed], it makes me think of oyster stew, with the creaminess blending with the brininess.” lakinsgorgescheese.com

Aged Bloomsday Cheese

Cato Corner Farm

Colchester, CT

Aged Bloomsday is “something of a happy accident,” says Mark Gillman, who with his mother, Liz McAlister, runs a 35-acre dairy farm halfway between Hartford and New London. One fateful June 16, when the cheese making wasn’t going according to plan, “we changed the recipe on the fly,” Gillman

says. Then they waited. Six months later, they knew they had something special. With another six months of aging, it was perfect, and Aged Bloomsday was born. (The name is a nod to a more famous June 16 event, the annual celebration of novelist James Joyce.)

Reminiscent of an Englishstyle cheddar yet with the nutty notes of Gouda, this is a golden-hued cheese, mature and complex, with a native mold rind and herb and caramel flavors. Credit the cheese making but also the cows: McAlister has been carefully shaping the herd of 40-odd Jerseys (plus one Brown Swiss) for a few decades. She and her son have a hand in everything, from pasture management to selling the cheese, which they bring to farmers’ markets in New York and Connecticut (it’s also sold online). While Aged Bloomsday would be right at home on any cheese board, we also love it with chocolate stout or apple pie, or in the ultimate mac and cheese. catocornerfarm.com

Several years ago,

1. Rockweed Cheese by Lakin’s Gorges Cheese. $12 per half pound at lakinsgorgescheese.com

2. Aged Bloomsday Cheese by Cato Corner Farm. $18 per half pound at catocornerfarm.com

3. Saucisson au Fromage by Babette’s Table. $19 per one-third pound at store.shelburne farms.org

Everyday Matzoh Patchwork Farm & Bakery

East Hardwick, VT

Wednesday is matzoh baking day for Charlie Emers. An unleavened bread dating back to biblical times, matzoh is often thought of as bland wafers—which Emers’s oblong crackers, beautifully irregular and flecked with sesame and flax seeds, are anything but. For the past 18 years, he has been baking breads and crackers in a converted outbuilding on his farm, but matzoh didn’t arrive on the scene until he was asked to bring some storebought matzoh to a Passover seder and found that it was sold out. He improvised a passable approximation—mostly flour, water, and some olive oil—and his interest was piqued. Further research resulted in a speltbased cracker with just a hint of rye that is light and crisp and has an irresistibly nutty flavor. “It’s such a simple thing in

some ways,” Emers says, who received such overwhelmingly positive feedback at the farmers’ market that he put his matzoh into regular production. (Note: While the ingredients are kosher, the bakery is not kosher certified.) Recently, Emers has been dabbling again in farming, with the hopes of growing and milling his own flours to use for his breads, pastries, and, of course, matzoh. patchworkfarmbakery.com

Spiced Plums with Port and Star Anise

Blake Hill Preserves

Windsor, VT

Although Vicky Allard comes from a long line of British jam-making hobbyists, she hadn’t planned to make it her career. But after leaving their corporate life in Manhattan for the green acres of Vermont, she and husband Joe Hanglin began turning their farm’s

bumper crop of berries into preserves. Friends raved, a local grocer offered to testmarket their product, and in 2009, they launched Blake Hill Preserves. This particular offering was created in 2016 in partnership with famed cheese maker Jasper Hill Farm (another Editors’ Choice Food Awards winner): It’s the perfect match for Jasper Hill’s Bayley Hazen Blue cheese. But the combination of plums, warm spices, and port also make it uniquely food-friendly. Try it with yogurt or oatmeal, with ice cream, or baked into cookies (like Dorie Greenspan’s jam sandwich cookies on p. 48). blakehillpreserves.com

Maple Walnut

Ghee-nut Butter

Farmtrue

North Stonington, CT

This may be the most delicious nut butter on the market. It’s like cookie dough, only

good for you, and it’s terrific in baked goods and sauces, slathered on toast or roasted sweet potatoes, or eaten right from the jar. Farmtrue founders Kim Welch and Lynn Goodwin first connected through Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old Indian mindbody health system that treats food as a form of medicine. Ghee, a clarified butter of sorts, is a foundational ingredient in Indian cooking, but the two were unable to find locally made organic ghee for their own kitchens—so they decided to create one together. Farmtrue’s ghee-based organic foods and beauty products try to keep things as close to home as possible, including using local grass-fed butter. Every Farmtrue product is made in their 3,200-squarefoot facility, which also serves as a gathering space for yoga workshops, cooking classes, and holiday popups. farmtrue.com

Mulling Syrup Wood Stove Kitchen

Mount Vernon, NH

It was while working as a researcher and adviser for the United Nations that Steve Zyck became smitten with the culinary traditions of Europe

Spiced Plums with Port and Star Anise by Blake Hill Preserves 9.8 oz. jar, $7.99, at blakehillpreserves.com

Everyday Matzoh by Patchwork Farm & Bakery. 11 oz. package, $8, at patchworkfarmbakery.com

1. Cider Honey Farmstead Caramels by Big Picture Farm. 2 oz. bag, $8; 3.2 oz. box, $12; at bigpicturefarm.com

2. Fruit Lollipops by Popette of Pendulum. Canister of five, $14.95, at popetteofpendulum.com

3. Esmeraldas 70% Chocolate Bar by Goodnow Farms Chocolate. $10 at goodnowfarms.com

4. Maple Walnut Ghee-nut Butter by Farmtrue. 9 oz. jar, $18, at farmtrue.com

5. Mulling Syrup by Wood Stove Kitchen. 8 oz. bottle, $9.99; 16 oz. bottle, $14.99; at woodstovekitchen.com

and the Middle East. On a wintery trip to Copenhagen, he tasted his first mug of mulled wine, ladled out from a giant copper cauldron by a pushcart vendor. “It wasn’t just about the spices,” Zyck recalls, “but the hint of fruit.” So when he returned to the States to launch a line of cocktail syrups and mixers, he made sure his mulling syrup was true to that memory, only with the addition of Cape Cod cranberry juice to the familiar flavors of clove, allspice, cinnamon, and orange. The result is bright and fresh and with just the right amount of sweetness, thanks to a bit of brown sugar. Beyond creating your own mulled wine with the syrup, Zyck suggests adding a few teaspoons to apple pies, marinades, pancake mixes, and even, as a wink to its Scandinavian roots, your favorite Swedish meatball recipe. woodstovekitchen.com

Cider Honey Farmstead Caramels Big Picture Farm

Townshend, VT

Louisa Conrad and Lucas Farrell bring their artistic sensibilities to everything they do. She’s an illustrator and photographer by training, and he’s a poet, which means that their farm’s products have some of the best-designed, most lyrically annotated packaging in the business. But it’s what’s inside that matters most, and here they also excel. Using milk from their herd of Saanen goats, they produce ultracreamy, dashof-salty caramels in flavors such as brown butter bourbon,

chai, and our favorite, cider honey. The goat’s milk is subtle but pleasantly tangy. Or as Conrad says, “Our milk’s unique makeup of amino acids imparts complex notes of savory goodness.” The added cider (really a pommeau) from nearby Putney Mountain Winery brings a layer of fruitiness that feels seasonal and festive. And because the goats “drop everything the minute they hear the sounds of the apples falling and evade all fences in order to eat them,” according to Conrad, the caramels are a true taste of life on the farm. bigpicturefarm.com

Fruit Lollipops

Popette of Pendulum

Pawtucket, RI

Brenda Swift spent 20 years as a fashion designer before she began making candy, which explains why her lollipops are so visually striking—floral swirls, paisley patterns, holiday motifs. “I was taking a break from fashion, but I found that I couldn’t not be creative,” she says. “I had these little lollipops in my

head and thought I’d love to be able to sketch on candy.” Staying true to her own healthier food preferences, she fiddled with her recipe for more than a year, using brown rice syrup (instead of corn), natural dyes and flavors, and all-organic ingredients. “I realized the pops were really tasty and I could make them cute because of my design background, so I started doing farmers’ markets.” Our favorite varieties are the fruit lollipops, which come in flavors such as strawberry cream, mango tangerine, and raspberry. Today Swift’s creations are in 35 states, with a goal of hitting all 50 via a new distribution deal with Bloomingdale’s. popetteof pendulum.com

Esmeraldas 70% Chocolate Bar

Goodnow Farms Chocolate

Sudbury, MA

Tom and Monica Rogan believe great chocolate begins at the source, so for the past five years they’ve traveled to the equatorial

cacao-producing regions of Central and South America in search of the best raw materials. “All beans have a personality,” Tom says. “Our bars are not a rubberstamp product, and it takes a lot of creativity to craft them.” After the beans are fermented and dried at or near the source, they’re brought back to the Rogans’ backyard chocolate kitchen in Sudbury. There, the couple choose the proper roasting profile for each variety and press their own cocoa butter on the way to making exquisite single-origin chocolate bars. We especially love the earthy cocoa intensity and jammy fruit flavors of the Esmeraldas bar, whose beans are sourced from the Salazar family farm in Ecuador. The flavors are “very present, like a good cabernet, and long on the finish,” Tom says. A simple bar, pressed with the Goodnow Farms logo—you’ll feel like Charlie Bucket unwrapping his first Wonka Bar when you crack this one open. goodnowfarms.com

Esmeraldas 70% Chocolate Bar by Goodnow Farms Chocolate. $10 at goodnowfarms.com

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In the Kitchen at Mayfair Farm

A behind-the-scenes look at a New Hampshire highlight from season three of Weekends with Yankee.

BY AMY TRAVERSO

used to say I was the only Jewish vegetarian pig farmer in my neighborhood,” Sarah Heffron tells me with a laugh. “But I think I hold that title in a wider area.” We’re standing in her kitchen, breading thinly sliced green tomatoes that I’ve just picked from the hoop house on her family’s property, Mayfair Farm, in Harrisville, New Hampshire. It’s late in the season, which means the tomatoes wouldn’t have ripened on the vine before the first frost, but a quick turn in a hot skillet will make them crisp and delicious. There’s a ham in the oven, also from the farm, and right outside the kitchen door, a small staff is preparing for a harvest feast in the barnlike event space that Sarah and her partner, Craig Thompson, built to diversify Mayfair’s offerings.

Today I’m helping Sarah get ready for the dinner, but we’re also filming an episode of Weekends with Yankee that highlights the beauty of this sylvan corner of southwestern New Hampshire. It’s a place of hilly pastures, lakes, and forests lined with old stone walls. Mayfair Farm sits just up the road from Harrisville Pond, and, like many successful family farms in New England, it’s an amalgam of businesses: an orchard, a vegetable garden, an Airbnb cottage, and a farm store that sells maple products, prepared meals, and baked goods (their almond cake won a 2017 Yankee Editors’ Choice Food Award). There are pigs in pens, and lambs up on the hill. And there’s this Instagram-ready event space, where Sarah and Craig host wed-

Amy Traverso is Yankee’s senior food editor and cohost of our TV show, Weekends with Yankee (weekendswithyankee.com).

MAYFAIR FARM’S SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

dings and community farm dinners spring through fall.

“My mom is a chef, so I grew up around her different food businesses,” Sarah says. “I tried to do different things. I rode horses for a long time; I got a master’s degree in school counseling. But my first love was really food, and I just kept coming back to it.”

Sarah made the following recipe as part of our harvest dinner. Inspired by Indian vegetable pakoras, these fritters are sweet and deeply savory, with just enough warming spices to make them an excellent appetizer as the weather turns cold.

SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

1 cup chickpea flour

1⁄ 3 cup rice flour

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

1⁄ 8 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup minced cilantro leaves

2–3 teaspoons minced green chili

1½ teaspoons ground cumin

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1¼ cups water, plus more as needed

3 cups coarsely grated sweet potatoes

Vegetable oil, for frying

Cilantro-mint sauce, for serving

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, cilantro, green chili, cumin, ginger, and cayenne. Add 1¼ cups water, and blend using an immersion or standing blender. The mixture should be thick, but loose enough to coat the potatoes. Add more water as needed. Let stand for 25 minutes. Stir in the grated sweet potato, and let the mixture sit while you heat an inch of oil in a large skillet to 375° over high heat.

Drop fritters by the tablespoonful into the oil, leaving plenty of room between pieces. Cook until golden brown, turning midway through, about 2 minutes for the first side and 1 minute for the second. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in a low oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve right away with cilantro-mint sauce. Yields about 3 dozen fritters.

CILANTRO-MINT SAUCE

2

⁄ 3 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1–2 tablespoons minced green chilies

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

In a blender jar, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Yields 1½ cups.

ELECTRIC GRILLS

Mayfair Farm owners Sarah Heffron and Craig Thompson with their children, Fiona and Cal. Getting in on the family portrait are Belle, left, and a Maremma sheepdog named Thelma.

of young families and farmers as it is a destination for academics and wintersports seekers. I thaw my fingers on a paper cup of cocoa and watch the line grow at the hut: a trio of professors; cheese makers on a delivery run to a local kitchen; a family of four suiting up, toddlers in tow, for a few runs at the nearby Middlebury Snow Bowl. The cocoa is good— really good. Isn’t this just Swiss Miss? “It’s probably the milk,” says the smiling hut tender. It’s from Monument Farms Dairy on Weybridge Street, located a block to my left.

The Setting

Flanked by the Green Mountains to the east and Lake Champlain to the west, Middlebury sits in the valley of Addison County, the largest chunk of agricultural land in the state. The location is as much a boon to hikers, skiers, and sailors as it is to the area food scene, where you’re as likely to find local dairy

at the Court Street gas station as you are at the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op. Perhaps you’ll wander past cows huddled in snowy pastures as you snowshoe along the Middlebury Land Trust’s 18-mile trail system, the TAM (Trail Around Middlebury). Route 7 cleaves Vermont north to south, from Connecticut to Canada, cutting through Middlebury toward the buzzy hub of Burlington 50 minutes away. Enter town where Seymour Street meets Pulp Mill Bridge Road for a route that’s quintessentially New England: through an 1820s covered bridge.

Don’t-Miss Attractions

About 20 minutes’ drive from downtown via a mountain pass once meant for cows, Rikert Nordic Center offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat biking in a nook of the Green Mountain National Forest. The 35 miles of trails fringe Middlebury’s

Bread Loaf campus, a series of cottages painted the soft yellow hue of Christmas lights. It hosts an annual writers’ conference, one of the country’s oldest gatherings of laureates and emerging writers since Robert Frost first helped set up shop in 1926.

Middlebury Snow Bowl, a fully decked-out ski mountain owned by the college since 1934, claims 110 acres of terrain along the nearby Long Trail, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the country. A tiny lodge offers rentals, lunch, and cocoa and hot local cider for

above : A Main Street institution for 70 years, the Vermont Book Shop is today run by Becky Dayton, who bought it in 2005 from the original owners. right : Frog Hollow Bikes co-owner Chas Lyons riding at the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton.

a post-run warm-up. For an in-town family stroll, Middlebury College’s campus is the ideal self-guided walking tour. The windows of Old Chapel are decorated with holiday candles and fronted by an enormous Christmas tree in the courtyard. I poke my head into Starr Library to get a glimpse of what studying looked like when Alexander Twilight, Class of 1823 and the first African American to graduate from a U.S. college, hunkered down here with his studies.

Eating Out

Sitting on the bank above churning Otter Creek, the Arcadian offers everything from draft negronis to squid ink orecchiette heated with Calabrian chilies to a showstopping bowl of bucatini all’Amatriciana I would happily curl up in. The hardest part of the evening? Choosing which of chef Matt Corrente’s regional house-made pastas to

explore first. Come morning, Arcadian co-owner Caroline Corrente turns her attention to Haymaker Bun Co., a sundrenched spot as beloved for its mugs of locally roasted Brio coffee as it is for its pastry counter: chubby doughnuts, salted chocolate chip cookies, and revelatory sweet and savory brioche buns.

At American Flatbread, the everchanging roster of Vermont beers has me elbowed up to the bar with a woodfired pie, which I polish off down to its craggy crust. And for a perfect lunch stop, there’s Costello’s Market, with its homemade mozzarella, fat olives, imported prosciutto, and stuffed-toorder cannoli. Don’t miss the dried pasta selection, either—or the wifeand-husband owners, who are contenders, I think, for “World’s Kindest.”

Shopping

You would, actually, have to live here to visit the entire cast of artisans, mak-

ers, and farmers packed into a town of less than 40 square miles. Alternatively, you can go to the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, a bustling grocery stocked with all things local. The Vermont Book Shop offers a range of titles, from cookbooks and literary journals to darlings of the best-seller list. Sweet Cecily has area gems such as aged cheese, eco-friendly cotton socks, maple syrup, and glazed cutting boards (fudge samples are ample, and worth it). Mendy’s Clothing merges a trendy space with quality fashion brands and plenty of cashmere. Kiss the Cook holds everyday cookware

Haymaker Bun Co. owner Caroline Corrente at work on her signature pastry, whose iterations include “the Truffle Pig”( right): bacon, Grafton Farm truffled cheddar, and sautéed leeks.

Maine Blueberry Stone

This is a hoot! It’s fun, playful, and such a surprise

Maine is the wild blueberry capital of the world So when we discovered this new stone we knew we just had to have it It’s a salt and pepper granite with little blue azurite spheres nestled within Set in sterling silver with 18" chain Every piece is different Choose on-line or visit our store

Necklaces $195.00 - $650.00 depending on size & blueberry distribution

Earrings $450.00 - $650.00

High Tide, Low Tide Cuff

World’s Most Beautiful Scallop Shell

sterling silver 18" chain X3116 $145.00

see entire collection on-line

Compass Rose

The compass rose is a reminder …we are not merely travelers but are the navigators of our destiny

The compass rose has appeared beautifully illustrated on maps since the 1300’s. The term “rose” comes from the layered compass points resembling the petals of the well-known flower

A Small, all gold, 18" gold chain X2446 $575 00

B. Small, all gold, 4 diamonds, 18" chain ..................X2447 ............$875.00

C Large gold, 4 diamonds and 28 small diamonds, 18" chain X2449 $2,075.00

D Small gold, silver rim and chain X2445 $235 00

E Small, all silver, 18" chain X2444 $75.00

and last-minute holiday splurges, from madeleine pans to a burnt-orange enamel French press.

Uniquely Middlebury

To be in Middlebury—well, to be in Vermont—is to drink like the locals. Tea guru John Wetzel of Stone Leaf Teahouse imports loose-leaf teas from small farms across the globe; the oolong is roasted in-house over coals, while the made-to-order chai comes as spicy as you’d like. Vermont Coffee Company roasts organic beans at its café on Exchange Street, while Stonecutter Spirits offers a bright tasting room and a bourbon barrel–aged gin so nuanced that I relish it straight and slow over ice. Nearby Otter Creek Brewing kegged its first beer in 1991, long before craft beer was Craft Beer. At Drop-In Brewing, brew master Steve Parkes turns out British-style ales, satisfying hops junkies and dark-mild lovers alike as

they listen to the Clash. (Note: Foley Brothers Brewing and Red Clover Ale are off-the-beaten-path gems worth the 20-minute jaunt down Route 7: farmhouse-style brews backed with locally grown inputs at the former, and inventive ales with an eye for classic styles at the latter.)

Where to Stay

Built in 1814, the 20-room Swift House Inn blends farmhouse comfort with old-school elegance. Fires crackle in a sitting room outfitted with plush armchairs and a local fir tree winking with lights. A walnut-hued bar edged with high-backed seats has a quartet of local beers on draft and a nationally lauded wine list. Breakfast is served at the in-house restaurant, Jessica’s, where a spread of coffee, local yogurt, homemade granola, and farm eggs cooked to order are on offer each morning. Homemade cookies beckon from their

jar—oatmeal chip one day, peanut butter the next. It’s an easy walk to town, but I find myself spending an afternoon holed up by the fireplace in my room, watching snow fall as the bath fills and wondering where I can buy the sheets.

If You Could Live Here

A lovely valley between lake and mountains, naturally, has its share of milliondollar stunners, like the renovated 1850s farmhouse on 160 acres in Cornwall. Still, there’s ample range in the local housing scene, from a $320,000 four-bedroom colonial with valley views to a $174,000 three-bedroom A-frame with a three-season porch and wood-burning stove.

A view down Main Street toward the 1809 Congregational Church of Middlebury, topped with a rare five-tiered spire.

9-Day Tour $1295

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Spot Exotic Birds, Monkeys, Sloths, and more

Day 1– San José, Costa Rica

Welcome to the “rich coast”, friendly land of democracy and rare natural beauty. Hotel transfers provided.

Day 2–Sarchi, Coffee Plantation

Visit the artisan village of Sarchi, nestled on the slopes of the Central Mountain Range. Shop for colorful handicrafts and see traditional oxcart painting. Enjoy a guided tour at a coffee plantation.

Day 3–Wildlife Rescue Center, Fortuna

Visit a wildlife rescue center where injured animals are rehabilitated for release back into the wild. You stay two nights at the Arenal Volcano town of Fortuna.

Day 4–Cruise, Hot Springs

Cruise on the Rio Frio, gateway to the world famous Caño Negro wildlife refuge. Soak in the volcanic hot springs.

Day 5–Hanging Bridges, Beach Resort

Hike on the Hanging Bridges. Continue to Costa Rica’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Enjoy a relaxing two night stay at your Guanacaste beach resort.

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Visit to the Leatherback Turtle National Park. Relax at your magnificent world class beach resort.

“Brilliant, Affordable Pricing”—Arthur Frommer, Travel Editor Keel-billed Toucan

Day 7–Tarcoles River, Manuel Antonio Cruise on the Tarcoles River. Stay next to Manuel Antonio National Park.

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Visit world famous Manuel Antonio Park. Hike the rainforest and beach coves.

Day 9– San José

Tour ends after breakfast at your hotel. Thanks for vacationing with us. Airport transfers provided.

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MORE MOUNTAINS TO CONQUER

New England’s Coziest B&Bs

With just a handful of rooms, these tiny inns offer an intimate respite from the world.

BY KIM KNOX BECKIUS

hile it’s true that inns with three or fewer guest rooms might not be structurally tiny, their limited capacity and marketing budgets do tend to keep them something of a secret. But give any of the following diminutive bed-andbreakfasts a try, and you’ll discover how caring for a select number of guests is something their on-site owners take seriously. You’re in for custom-cooked breakfasts, personalized local advice, and as much conversation—or privacy—as you could desire.

Shaker Hill B&B Enfield, NH

A Revolutionary War colonel raised his family in this 1793 dwelling, now a three-room inn set against a forest backdrop in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley. Visitors come to hike and ski, and to admire the Hood Museum’s art collection at Dartmouth College and the Enfield Shaker Museum’s homage to simplicity. And when they come here to stay in an antiques-furnished guest room with wide-plank floors and a private bath, they’re greeted by a pair of loyal Vizsla dogs, Bo and Gertie, and treated to afternoon tea and a breakfast of homemade delicacies ranging from shirred eggs and stuffed pears to tender scones and pumpkin bread. For more than 20 years, innkeeping has been a lifestyle that’s enabled owner Nancy Smith to caretake this white-painted, wide-porch early-American treasure. 603-632-4519; shakerhill.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL SEAMANS

Bell Tower B&B Wallingford, CT

For Steven Lazarus and Celeste Yanni, converting the 1910 home where they had raised three children into a B&B presented a quandary: How could three guest rooms share a single bathroom without anyone feeling uncomfortable? Leave it to an architect and a retired nursing professor to devise a solution. First, they made the bathroom perfect, with a soaking tub, heat lamp, and hightech wall-mounted toilet. Then, they instituted a unique policy: Whether you book one, two, or all three of the pastel-painted, soothingly appointed guest rooms, the entire inn is yours exclusively. Yanni tailors organicfocused breakfasts to your group’s preferences, and you’re half a block from the Choate Rosemary Hall campus, where future luminaries

such as JFK and Nicholas Negroponte spent their formative days. 203-2654035; belltowerbandb.com

Thimble Islands B&B Stony Creek, CT

onions, shiitake mushrooms, and gorgonzola—are the sort you remember for a lifetime. 203-488-3693; thimbleislandsbb.com

“The YANKEE Getaway PACKAGE”

-A

Binge-watching at this seaside inn doesn’t means you’ll be parked in front of the lone communal television set, but rather glued to the picture windows, where a live-action nature movie starring dramatic shorebirds and mesmerizing lighting effects is constantly playing. Even from the deep whirlpool tub in the Egret Room, one of two luxurious nests for guests, you can watch gulls and cormorants swoop and wispy skies catch fire at sunset. Encouraged by friends to become innkeepers, Julie and Tony Broom have fallen in love with the role. His breakfast inventions—including the Thimble Islands omelet, rich with caramelized

occupancy

Not available holiday weekends

Beech Tree B&B Rockport, MA

Proud Recipients of Top 500 Hotels in the World, T+L 2010

Top 100 Hotels in the U.S., Conde Nast, 2011

Best Maine Inn, Downeast Magazine, 2012

The Harraseeket Inn Freeport

Top 45 Hotels in the Northeast, Conde Nast 2013 AAA 4 Diamond for over 25 years

Maine’s Premier Hotel

162 Main Street, Freeport, ME 04032 t: 800.342.6423

Www.harraseeketinn.com email: harraseeke@aol.com

MEETINGS WEDDINGS OCCASIONS TO 250 PEOPLE OPEN ALL YEAR

Even the living room’s fireplace can’t warm the spirit the way sunlight does when it pours through the windows of this c. 1862 Greek Revival after the mighty beech out front has shed its leaves. With just three spacious rooms with private baths, the tiniest of the 20 “Inns of Rockport” enfolds its guests in comfort and contemporary style when they return from a day of exploring a coastal village known for music, art, shopping, and a holiday season that culminates with a heartwarmingly inclusive small-town New Year’s Eve. Retired French teacher Helene Duffy, who cooks up treats such as pineapple upside-down French toast while leaving the granola baking to husband Dan, used to tell students that she’d open a bed-and-breakfast in Provence one day. “I found this,” she says, “and this is close enough.” 978-546-2864; beechtreebb.com

Black Lantern B&B Topsham, ME

This family-owned, 93-room luxury inn features two great restaurants, 23 replaces, an indoor heated pool and is fully handicapped accessible. Select pet-friendly rooms available. Walk to the best shopping on the Maine coast and the Amtrak Downeaster train station.

Ask about our Yankee Getaway Package.

Book direct for complimentary breakfast and afternoon tea.

162 Main Street • Freeport, ME 04032 800-342-6423 • www.harraseeketinn.com

MEETINGS WEDDINGS OCCASIONS TO 250 PEOPLE OPEN ALL YEAR

Particularly in Maine’s long offseason, the rates are an incredible value at this mid-19th-century inn near Bowdoin College. Icicle lights sparkle on the front porch year-round as a festive welcome to Judy and Tom Connelie’s home, where two of the guest rooms look out at the Androscoggin River, the third has a toasty gas fireplace, and all have private baths. Judy’s sweet-and-savorycombo breakfasts are alone worth a stop-off on your way to Acadia or other far-flung places, but even the sweet scent of double-chocolate-chip muffins might not immediately lure you out from underneath your comfy bed’s handmade quilt. 207-725-4165; blacklanternbandb.com

The Clipper Ship Journals

Keith arrived in our store one winter day in 2014. Stephen, my son, met with him.

Keith said, “I make jewelry and my greatgreat-grandfather was a clipper ship sea captain from Maine.” Keith’s great-great-grandfather was Captain John Drew of Hallowell, Maine. Captain Drew of the clipper ship The Franklin, carried ice to the Far East and brought back sugar and rice. Captain Drew, in addition to the traditional ship’s logs, kept a personal journal that still survives today, Keith loaned us Captain Drew’s journals and we have posted the original pages with our transcriptions on our website.

Do visit our Clipper Ship Trade Wind Jewelry Collection at www.CrossJewelers.com/journals for a first-hand account of life on board The Franklin

Keith follows a path similar to his great-great-grandfather. Traveling to the Far East every two years to buy gems: rubies, emeralds, and sapphires; then returning home to design and make his jewelry.

Cross

Out About

Ditching a sleigh in favor of a quad lift, Santas of every stripe mount to the sky at Maine’s Sunday River ski resort.

Yankee ’s favorite events this season

CONNECTICUT STAMFORD

DOWNTOWN PARADE SPECTACULAR

NOV. 24

One of the largest helium balloon parades in the country, this yearly tradition features giant inflatable versions of favorite characters, award-winning marching bands, and fabulous floats. Stamford, CT. stamford-downtown.com

MASSACHUSETTS STOCKBRIDGE MAIN STREET

AT CHRISTMAS

DEC. 6–8

The town made famous by a Norman Rockwell holiday painting hosts a weekend of festivities, including holiday readings, house tours, caroling, and concerts starting on Friday evening and leading up to Sunday’s re-creation of Rockwell’s timeless painting Main Street at Christmas. Stockbridge, MA. 413-298-5200; stockbridgechamber.org

MAINE

SANTA SUNDAY

AT SUNDAY RIVER

DEC. 8

Some 300 skiers and snowboarders are expected to turn out in full Kris Kringle regalia—white beard and all—as part of Sunday River’s whimsical community fund-raiser. Check the website to learn how to join their ranks, or just show up to enjoy the spectacle of schussing Santas. Newry, ME. 207-8243000; sundayriver.com

RHODE ISLAND

THE NUTCRACKER

DEC. 13–15

Continuing a local tradition of more than 40 years, Festival Ballet Providence brings Tchaikovsky’s famous holiday ballet to the PPAC stage. Beautiful sets, elegant choreography, and world-class dancers converge to tell the beloved story of a young girl named Clara and her magical prince. Providence, RI. 401-421-2787; ppacri.org

VERMONT WINTER WASSAIL WEEKEND

DEC. 13–15

Postcard-perfect Woodstock plays host to a jam-packed weekend that includes concerts, a breakfast with Santa, historic house tours, and lots of activities for children, but the don’t-miss highlight is the parade of more than 50 horses and riders dressed in holiday costumes and period dress. Woodstock, VT. 802457-3555; woodstockvt.com

NEW

HAMPSHIRE CAPITAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA HOLIDAY POPS

DEC. 22

At the Capitol Center for the Arts’ historic Chubb Theatre, the Capital Jazz Orchestra makes merry with special guests Laura Daigle and C.J. Poole, as well as NHPR’s Laura Knoy, who will recite “The Night Before Christmas.” An audience singalong helps everyone get into the spirit. Concord, NH. 603-2251111; ccanh.com

For more best bets around New England, see p. 84

MARINA FRENCH/SUNDAY RIVER

YOUR KEY TO LUXURY AWAITS.

CONNECTICUT

NOV. 2–3: RIDGEFIELD, American Craftsmen Show . This fund-raiser for the historical Lounsbury House, which also hosts the show, puts the spotlight on nationally acclaimed and award-winning artists. Featured works include pottery, wood carvings, painted furniture, textiles, and holiday folk art. 203-4386962; lounsburyhouse.org

GUESTROOMS

THE A W ARD- W I NN I N G HOTEL VIKI N G OFFERS 08

GUESTROOMS SUITES

BOTH ROMA N TIC A N D LUXURIOUS.

NOV. 9–10: WESTPORT, CraftWestport . Held at Staples High School, the state’s longestrunning indoor fine craft event draws 200 talented artists and crafters from across the country and includes a pop-up marketplace devoted to Connecticut wares. artrider.com

NOV. 23–DEC. 8: SALISBURY, Sea Festival of Trees. A maze of sparkling holiday trees, stage and ice skating performances, visits with Santa, a giant gingerbread house, and more highlight this winter wonderland at the Blue Ocean Event Center on Salisbury Beach. 978-462-2512; seafestivaloftrees.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 8: HARTFORD, Festival of Trees and Traditions. Find decorating inspiration— or just buy some impeccable examples to take home—at this Wadsworth Athenaeum fundraising event. One-of-a-kind decorated trees and wreaths are displayed in the galleries, and all are for sale; music, kids’ activities, and visits from Santa keep things lively. 860-2782670; thewadsworth.org

secure the perfect Christmas-card postmark. At festival time, the town green is transformed with 70-plus vendors offering fine crafts and good food, live music, kids’ activities, hayrides, and photos with Santa. 203266-7510; christmastownfestival.com

DEC. 7: WOODBURY, Open House and Holiday Boutique . Tour the charming c. 1750 Glebe House while it’s beautifully decorated for the holidays with wreaths, holiday lighting, and garlands—all for sale. A shopping bazaar offers many original gift ideas, too. 203-2632855; glebehousemuseum.org

DEC. 14–15: NEW LONDON, “The Nutcracker.” The venerable holiday ballet gets a Nutmeg State twist in this Eastern Connecticut Ballet production at the Garde Arts Center. Set in New London in the 1850s, the story plays out against a backdrop of tall ships, lighthouses, and other whaling-era icons. 860-444-7373, ext. 1; easternctballet.org

DEC. 14–FEB. 9: SALISBURY, “Wonders of Winter.” Spotlighting more than 20 prominent artists from the U.S. and overseas, this exhibit of winter sports art spans four venues in town, including the Salisbury Association’s Main Street headquarters. The show kicks off with an art walk 4–7 p.m. on Dec. 14. A portion of sale proceeds will benefit the Salisbury Winter Sports Association. 860-435-0566; salisburyassociation.org

CUISINE

CULINARY DELIGHTS AWAIT

YOU AT HOTEL VIKING S

RESTAURANTS. FLAVOR AND

FRESHNESS DEFINE THE THREE ONSITE DINING O TIONS TO CHOOSE FROM.

EXPERIENCE

BRIMMI N G W ITH STORIES OF FAMOUS DIG N ITARIES

A N D CELEBRITIES THE HOTEL VIKI N G HAS OFFERED

GRACIOUS HOS ITALITY FOR OVER 0 YEARS.

NOV. 29–DEC. 21: SOUTH WINDSOR, Gingerbread House Festival Extravaganza . Follow the spicy aroma of gingerbread to the Wood Memorial Library and Museum and discover magnificent candy-covered creations brought to life by local artisans and bakers. Many are for sale, along with other holidaythemed gifts and treats. 860-289-1783; woodmemoriallibrary.org

NOV. 29–DEC. 22: MYSTIC, Lantern Light Tours Mystic Seaport’s popular holiday offering combines a walking tour with an original holiday play that unfolds at various stops along the way. Each performance lasts approximately 70 minutes and covers roughly half a mile of uneven terrain. Note: Audience members walk or stand for the majority of the show, so comfortable footwear is a must. Offered on Friday, Saturday, and select Sunday evenings; see website for details. mysticseaport.org

NOV. 29–DEC. 29: EAST WINDSOR, Winterfest and the Tunnel of Lights. Friday through Sunday, ride the rails at the Connecticut Trolley Museum and join the motormen in singing traditional carols as you glide through the “Tunnel of Lights” display. Afterward, warm up with some cocoa in the visitor center, where you can get a photo op with Santa. 860-6276540; ct-trolley.org

DEC. 4–28: CHESTER, ”A Connecticut Christmas Carol.” Mark Twain, P.T. Barnum, and other local legends have roles to play in this version of Dickens’s classic tale, created especially for Goodspeed Musicals and staged at the Terris Theatre. 860-873-8668; goodspeed.org

DEC. 6–7: BETHLEHEM, Christmas Town Festival . O little town of Bethlehem … where thousands make an annual pilgrimage to

DEC. 19: NEW HAVEN, Holiday Extravaganza: A Classical Christmas . Join the New Haven Symphony for a celebration sure to lift the spirits as it performs seasonal favorites like “White Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland” and leads a Christmas carol sing-along. 203-865-0831; newhavensymphony.org

DEC. 22: MYSTIC, Community Carol Sing. At this Mystic Seaport tradition for more than seven decades, music lovers from near and far gather for a holiday concert in the Greenmanville Church followed by an everybody-join-in carol sing at McGraw Quadrangle. Admission is a nonperishable food item to help feed the hungry. 860-572-0711; mysticseaport.org

DEC. 31: HARTFORD, First Night. This familyfriendly fete marks its 30th year of giving revelers a reason to head to downtown Hartford to ring in the new year. This year’s schedule is still being finalized, but past iterations have featured such activities as carriage rides, ice skating, improv shows, jazz concerts, kids’ craft sessions, and fireworks over Bushnell Park. firstnighthartford.org

MAINE

NOV. 2–3: PORTLAND, Maine Yiddish Culture Festival . The Maine Jewish Film Festival presents this first-ever Yiddish cultural celebration. On Saturday, enjoy the sounds of klezmer music during an evening concert at One Longfellow Square; on Sunday, head to the Jewish Community Alliance for a music and storytelling program for children, lectures, and a screening of Chewdaism, a film by YidLife Crisis. 207-523-3422; mjff.org

NOV. 2–3: WELLS, League of Maine Craft Show Sixty crafters and artists will gather at Wells

Junior High School to exhibit, demonstrate, and sell handcrafted items ranging from stained glass to pottery to jewelry. 207-6465172; summersolsticecraftshows.com

NOV. 14–DEC. 31: BOOTHBAY, Gardens Aglow. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens presents the largest light display in Maine, with some 650,000 LEDs woven through 14 acres of gardens, plus a s’mores pit and special art exhibits. 207-633-8000; mainegardens.org

NOV. 16: PORTLAND, Kids Con . New England’s largest comic-con for kids comes to the DoubleTree Portland, with appearances by comic and children’s book authors and artists, creative workshops, gaming, costume contests, and special guest Jim Lawson of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame. kidsconne.com

NOV. 23–24: BANGOR, Maine Harvest Festival. At the Cross Insurance Center, celebrate all that is local and farm-fresh with tastings and cooking demonstrations led by Maine chefs and cookbook authors, plus live music, wine and beer samples, and a signature twocrusted apple pie competition. 207-561-8300; maineharvestfestival.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 1: ROCKLAND, Festival of Lights . Santa arrives by boat to kick off festivities highlighted by the illumination of a lobster-trap Christmas tree billed as the world’s largest. Among the other entice -

ments are horse-drawn wagon rides, a parade, a bonfire, and caroling. 207-593-6093; rocklandmainstreet.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 8: PORTLAND, “The Nutcracker.” Maine State Ballet brings the beauty and joy of the season with its classic production at Merrill Auditorium. 207-842-0800; mainestateballet.org

NOV. 29–JAN. 5: PORTLAND, Christmas at Victoria Mansion . Built in 1860 as a summer house for hotel magnate Ruggles Sylvester Morse, Victoria Mansion in all its holiday glory is a highlight of Portland’s seasonal happenings. Step back into the Victorian era and enjoy the lavish decorations and guided tour. 207-772-4841; victoriamansion.org

NOV. 30: YORK, Lighting of the Nubble . Come see the iconic lighthouse illuminated for the holidays. There will be music, hot cocoa, and cookies, and word has it that Santa himself will make an appearance as well. Shuttles will run between York High School and Sohier Park. 207-363-1040; yorkparksandrec.org

DEC. 6–8: FREEPORT, Sparkle Weekend. From the Parade of Lights on Main Street to the L.L. Bean Northern Lights Celebration, this has become one of Maine’s most popular seasonal events. Free activities abound, including visits with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, holiday movies, rides aboard the Amtrak

Downeaster, and a tuba Christmas concert. sparklecelebration.com

DEC. 7: FARMINGTON, Chester Greenwood Day. Don your earmuffs in honor of their inventor, Farmington’s own Chester Greenwood, and head downtown for the big parade, gingerbread house contest, buggy rides, caroling, food and crafts, and historical open houses. 207-778-4215; franklincountymaine.org

DEC. 7: NEW GLOUCESTER, Shaker Christmas

Fair. Experience nostalgic holiday traditions at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the country’s only active Shaker community. You can get some shopping done, too, since gift items such as baked goods, knit items, ornaments, balsam wreaths, woodenware, candy, and jams are available for purchase. 207-926-4597; maineshakers.com

DEC. 7–8: PORTLAND, United Maine Craftsmen Holiday Arts & Crafts Show. Discover handcrafted presents and stocking stuffers from the wares of some 100 local artisans at the USM Sullivan Gym. 207-621-2818; unitedmainecraftsmen.com

DEC. 12–15, 20–22: PORTLAND, Magic of Christmas Concert. The Portland Symphony Orchestra fills Merrill Auditorium with cherished sounds of the season. 207-8420800; portlandsymphony.org

(Continued on p. 122)

Founded in 1639, Newport, Rhode Island, blends maritime romance with high-society glitter. Among the images on this spread are the entrance and an interior of the Elms, a Vanderbilt family mansion; a harborside deck at Gurney’s Resort; and a holiday lantern walking tour led by a Newport Historical Society guide.

By Meg Lukens Noonan

Photographs by Erin McGinn

right : A wintry day hasn’t dimmed the appeal of the Black Pearl, a popular dining spot on Bannister’s Wharf. left : Built more than 100 years before the American Revolution, the White Horse Tavern is known today for upscale farm-to-table fare.

Iam working my way through a bowl of clam chowder under the low, agedarkened beams of the White Horse Tav ern. I have shopping bags at my feet, my Christmas list on the table. A fire warms the room. Every stool at the bar is taken. I’m tempted to linger in this snug, nearly 350-yearold pub, and to mark my last day here in Newport, Rhode Island, with a Dark ’n’ Stormy as a nod to the town’s rum-running roots. But that would make me late for an afternoon screening of Wonderful Life . And the fact is I’m already way overdue; I’ve never seen the classic holiday film.

Wind sweeps up from the harbor and rattles the boughs of bare elms as I cross Washington Square, the trapezoidal centerpiece of down town Newport, to the Jane Pickens Theater. The restored Greek Revival movie house, built as a church in 1834 and converted into a theater in the silent-film era, has a vintage marquee, an old-school glassed-in ticket booth, and—what’s this?—a cocktail bar behind the lobby candy counter. I bring a drink into the packed house, find a seat, and wait for the lights to dim.

I’d spent a mid-December weekend bouncing around this historic seaport town so deeply associated with summer pleasures—boats, beaches, opulent oceanfront “cottages”— and discovered that it throws itself into the holiday season with equal gusto. The monthlong Christmas in Newport festival, produced by more than 1,500 volunteers, jams the calendar with tours, concerts, craft fairs, and other events that are either free or raise money for local charities. Since its inception in 1971, organizers have also created, to great effect, a kind of dress code for the community by asking that only clear bulbs be used in holiday displays. When those lights come on in the blue-violet twilight, outlining everything from windowpanes to wharf posts, Newport feels twinkly and enchanted—like one of those ceramic tabletop holiday villages come to life.

I felt that magic as I walked on Bannister’s and Bowen’s wharves, where chowder houses, bars, shops, and galleries—all aglow, all busy—occupy what were once colonialera chandleries and sail lofts. And I felt it when I left that

bustle behind and went alone to the end of a long dock where a single lit tree sent its simple good tidings out across the harbor chop.

I’d missed the season-opening illuminated boat parade and the roving retail block party that is the Holiday Stroll, but I’d checked in at the Francis Malbone House—a cream-colored brick mansion built in 1760 for a wealthy shipping merchant on harbor-hugging Thames Street—just in time to hear the results of the townwide doorway decoration contest.

“We won,” said Will Dewey, the inn’s soft-spoken owner, as he helped me bring my bags through a front entrance framed with long-needle pine garlands and berry-and-conegarnished swag. “Just found out. The grand prize.”

T he interiors seemed equally award-worthy. In the elegant, wainscoted parlors off the broad central hall, Dewey and his staff had decked the mantels, tables, and sills with umbrella pine boughs, gilded magnolia leaves, poinsettias, wrapped boxes, candles, and fruit-studded miniature trees. Afternoon tea was under way in one of the common rooms. The spread—chicken velouté, grilled pizza, artichoke crab dip, cheddar scones, maple chocolate chip Bundt cake, Linzer cookies, apricot biscotti, and more—covered a large dining table.

“I tell guests to make late dinner reservations,” Dewey said with a laugh when I commented on the abundance of food. “I think some people don’t go out to dinner at all.”

I would have filled a plate and parked myself in a wing chair by one of the blazing fireplaces, but I’d made plans to join a group walking tour that was setting off soon from the Museum of Newport History at the foot of Washington Square.

In the chilly dusk, I followed our guide, Pat—petite, gray-haired, toting a lantern—away from the town center and down narrow streets lined with wreath-hung gas lamps and antique clapboard houses. On the corner of Farewell and Marlborough, we paused. On one side was the gambrel-roofed White Horse Tavern, dating back to 1673; on the other, the expansive, austere Great Friends Meeting House, built in 1699. The air smelled of wood smoke. Overhead, black birds swirled in fluid murmurations. A church bell began tolling the hour. For a moment, centuries dropped away.

Christmas came and went with little acknowledgment in those days, Pat said. Throughout New England, early settlers rejected the carousing and high jinks (what influential Puritan ministers of the day decried as “mad mirth”) that had been standard yuletide behavior back in England. For a time, Christmas was even outlawed.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that the holiday gained widespread acceptance and morphed into a season associated less with debauchery and more with domesticity, gift-giving, and goodwill. That attitude shift, it turns out, was thanks in part to a seasonal resident of Newport, Clement Clarke Moore. Moore was a New York City classics professor when he wrote “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” also known as “The Night Before Christmas,” in 1822 for his children. By 1850, when he began spending summers in a rambling Victorian house on Newport’s Catherine Street, his widely published poem had become the national blueprint for a happy, and Santa-centric, Christmas.

After the tour, I headed back toward the harbor. In the hopping Midtown Oyster Bar, over a platter of local oysters—briny Dutchies, buttery Sakonnets, and creamy Sea Cups— and a pint of Rhode Island–brewed Whalers Rise pale ale, I studied my Christmas in Newport calendar and plotted my next days. There would be visits to the famed Gilded Age mansions, for sure, and perhaps a stroll on the 3½-mile seaside Cliff Walk. And there would most certainly be shopping.

In the morning, I drove down Bellevue Avenue, where turn-of-the-20th-century tycoons with now-familiar names like Vanderbilt, Astor, and Morgan built grand summer palaces and filled them with precious art and furnishings.

NEWPORT HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

HOLIDAY LANTERN TOURS

Nov. 22–Dec. 28

The savvy guides of the Newport Historical Society light the way during this stroll through Newport’s Christmas past. Offered Friday and Saturday afternoons. 401-841-8770; newporthistorytours.org

CHRISTMAS AT THE NEWPORT MANSIONS

Nov. 23–Jan. 1

Like grand dames dripping with jewels, three famed Newport mansions—the Breakers, the Elms, and Marble House—are dressed to dazzle in 30 Christmas trees and a constellation of ornaments. 401-847-1000; newportmansions.org

THE NEWPORT NUTCRACKER

Nov. 27, 29, and 30; Dec. 1 and 3–6

This nearly two-decade local tradition immerses ballet fans in the story of Clara and her Nutcracker Prince as it unfolds throughout the historic Rosecliff mansion. 401-847-4470; islandmovingco.org

BOWEN’S WHARF HOLIDAY BLOCK PARTY AND BOAT PARADE

Nov. 29

The waterfront becomes a winter wonderland filled with live music, special deals at local shops, and boats glittering with lights from stem to stern. bowenswharf.com/events

CHRISTMAS IN NEWPORT

Dec. 1–31

From concerts and craft fairs to New England’s largest gingerbread lighthouse, it’s nonstop merrymaking all month long with a slate of 70-plus holiday activities that are free or benefit a charity. christmasinnewport.org

BOWEN’S WHARF TREE LIGHTING

Dec. 7

Frosty the Snowman and a Christmas carol sing-along set the stage for Mayor Jamie Bova’s lighting the wharf’s 30-foot tree, immediately followed by the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus by boat. bowenswharf.com/events

An elegantly restored colonial mansion, the Francis Malbone House is an award-winning Newport B&B that decks its halls in style.

Among the nine lighthouses in the Newport area, the 1842 Newport Harbor Light on Goat Island stands out for its green beacon—which looks especially appropriate during the run-up to Christmas.

With its many local shops and eateries, Bowen’s Wharf is a magnet for visitors year-round, but during the holidays it also hosts a number of Christmas in Newport events, including the annual tree lighting.

ONLINE EXTRA

Find holiday fun all along the Rhode Island coast with our guide to local festivities: newengland.com/ merry-coastal-RI

Three of the most lavish estates are museums that stay open year-round: the Elms, modeled after a mid-18th-century French château ; Marble House, i nspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles; and the Breakers, Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s gonzo 70-room Italian Renaissance palazzo. At Christmastime, hundreds of volunteers pitch in to deck them out for the holidays.

I spent the day drifting up grand marble stairways and in and out of gold boudoirs and crimson parlors, listening to audio tours that spilled tales of extravagance and bad behavior. The trimmed trees, set banquet tables, and draped mantels perfectly matched the mood and style of each room—as if Martha Stewart and Marie Antoinette had co-captained the fantasy league decorating team. And it was pure fantasy; the mansions’ owners never

actually spent Christmas there.

I found a more historically accurate view of what Christmas was like for Newport’s elite at Rough Point, the summer home of heiress, art collector, and philanthropist Doris Duke. Though a few of the rooms in the sprawling, waterfront English manor house had been spruced up for the holidays, most were shown as they were when Duke was traveling: shrouded in ghostly white dust covers, awaiting her return. I lingered in the airy, oceanview solarium, imagining Duke gazing out at the moody surf and her two beloved pet Bactrian camels, Princess and Baby, who roamed the grounds from 1988 to 1992. (It’s said she brought the camels, now immortalized in two life-sized topiaries on the front lawn, into the solarium to ride out a hurricane.) Duke’s eccentricities—she pursued belly dancing, longboard surfing, and gospel singing—were legendary, but she was also a generous and passionate preservationist. In 1968, she started the Newport Restoration Foundation, which in the past five decades has invested in and restored more than 70 early-American houses in town.

Though it was starting to rain and the wind had picked up, I decided to set off on the Cliff Walk. I was dressed for the weather and figured I’d brave it for a mile, maybe two. And how nice to have the famed coastal footpath and those extraordinary ocean and mansion views to myself. After 10 minutes, the showers had become a deluge; the wind, a bitter, head-turning gale. I turned back. Some things, I had to admit as I dove for the shelter of my car, were best left for pleasant days— and walking by the sea was one of them.

After a day of rococo and drama, I was ready for a glass of wine and the clean lines of TSK (Thames Street Kitchen), a downtown restaurant that reopened in the summer of 2018 after a three-year hiatus. With its concrete tables, modern leather chairs, and hip-hop soundtrack, TSK is the antithesis of Vanderbiltian overkill. That was by design, according to Julia Jenkins-Hoffer, a fifth-generation Newporter who owns the restaurant (and two other casual eateries) with her twin sister, Anna, and their chef husbands, Chad Hoffer and Tyler Burnley, all in their 30s.

“A lot of people think Newport is this stuffy town, with all this wealth. There is some of that, but that’s not who we are, and it’s not who most of the people who live here are,” Jenkins-Hoffer told me. “We wanted to give off a fun, cool vibe— while offering food that is refined.”

A 25-foot live tree greets visitors outside Marble House, one of the over-the-top homes featured in Christmas at the Newport Mansions. below : Santa welcomes some fans at the Elms.

’Tis the Season to Go to Town

FIVE VERY MERRY NEW ENGLAND CITIES TO VISIT FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

BOSTON, MA

n Big kickoff: Lighting of the city’s official tree, an annual gift from the people of Nova Scotia, Dec. 5 on Boston Common.

n Seasonal sounds: Holiday Pops at Symphony Hall, starring Keith Lockhart and company (and Santa himself), Dec. 6–24. bso.org

n Gift-hunting spot: SoWa Winter Festival, a trove of handmade treasures in the city’s arts and design district, Dec. 6–8. sowaboston.com

n Yuletide flavor: The Feast of the Seven Fishes, offered on or near Christmas Eve by Italian eateries across the Hub (e.g., Bar Mezzana, Posto, Grotto).

n Hot ticket: The Boston Ballet’s “granddaddy of them all” production of The Nutcracker, Nov. 29–Dec. 29. bostonballet.org

n Bright spot: Blink!, a state-of-the-art holiday light and sound show at Faneuil Hall, Nov. 27–Jan. 1. faneuilhallmarketplace.com

n Uniquely Boston: Candlelight carols at Trinity Church, a 110-year-old tradition at an American architectural masterpiece, Dec. 14 and 15. trinitychurchboston.org

BURLINGTON, VT

n Big kickoff: Downtown parade and Christmas tree lighting, plus the illumination of 250,000 LCDs, Nov. 29. churchstmarketplace.com

n Seasonal sounds: Holiday concert by Solaris Vocal Ensemble, a singing group packed with Burlington-area choral directors, Dec. 15. solarisensemble.org

n Gift-hunting spot: Craft Vermont, a showcase of

one-of-a-kind art, jewelry, and more from 100-plus creative types, Nov. 22–24. vermonthandcrafters.com

n Yuletide flavor: Sampling seasonal brews at Festivus, a night of “casting aside holiday grievances,” Dec. 20 at the Farmhouse Tap & Grill. farmhousetg.com

n Hot ticket: A Charlie Brown Christmas Live Onstage, the only Vermont stop on this national tour, Dec. 8. flynncenter.org

n Family fun: Getting up close with real-life Dancers and Prancers from the Vermont Reindeer Farm, Dec. 28. echovermont.org

n Uniquely Burlington: Two holiday-themed rides on Green Mountain Railroad trains: the Polar Express (Dec. 14, 15) and the Jingle Bell Express (Nov. 30, Dec. 1). vtchildrenstrust.org; rmhcvt.org/events

NEW HAVEN, CT

n Big kickoff: Tree lighting on the New Haven Green, with a Ferris wheel, live music, and an appearance by Old Saint Nick himself, Dec. 5

n Seasonal sounds: Messiah Sing-Along, an annual collaboration of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Yale Glee Club, and audience members, Dec. 8. gleeclub.yalecollege.yale.edu

n Gift-hunting spot: The Shops at Yale, offering big names, local indies, and university one-offs (don’t miss the Museum Shop at the Yale Center for British Art). theshopsatyale.com

n Hot ticket: Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer: The Musical at the historic Shubert Theatre, Nov. 29 and 30. shubert.com

n Family fun: Riding an oldtimey trolley through a

magical tunnel of lights at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, weekends Nov. 29–Dec. 15. Cocoa, cookies, and Santa photo ops sweeten the deal. shorelinetrolley.org

n Bright spot: Fantasy of Lights at Lighthouse Point Park, a mile-long drive-through light display with merry tunes available on the radio, Nov. 15–Dec. 31. Facebook

n Uniquely New Haven: Exhibit of 70-plus crèches from around the world at the Knights of Columbus Museum. kofcmuseum.org

PORTLAND, ME

n Big kickoff: Tree lighting in Monument Square with live music and a visit from Santa (plus free eggnog samples), Nov. 29. portlandmaine.com

n Seasonal sounds: Portland Symphony Orchestra’s “Magic of Christmas,” now in its 40th year, Dec. 12–22. portlandsymphony.org

n Gift-hunting spot: The Old Port waterfront district for locally flavored wares, from recycled-sailcloth totes at Sea Bags to Maine-made togs at Portland Trading Co.

n Hot ticket: Where better to see the Dec. 14 lighted boat parade and fireworks in Portland Harbor than from a ferry? Tickets go on sale just a few weeks before the big night. cascobaylines.com

n Family fun: Free horsedrawn wagon rides through downtown, Fridays and weekends from Thanksgiving to right before Christmas. portlandmaine.com

n Bright spot: More than 150 lighted metal sculptures by artist Pandora LaCasse along Congress and Commercial streets and in Longfellow Square, Tommy’s Park,

and Boothbay Square. pandoralacassedesign.com

n Uniquely Portland: A Victorian Nutcracker by Portland Ballet, with characters and sets inspired by a stunning 19th-century local landmark, Victoria Mansion, Dec. 17, 21, and 22. portlandballet.org

PORTSMOUTH, NH

n Big kickoff: Tree lighting in Market Square and a parade through downtown, Dec. 7.

n Seasonal sounds: Con Tutti, a choral group made up of more than 100 local singers, at the intimate South Church, Dec. 7. contutti.org

n Gift-hunting spot: Pickwick’s Mercantile, a Victorian-inspired shopping experience with eclectic merchandise that spans classic and modern eras. pickwicksmercantile.com

n Yuletide flavor: Authentic bûche de Noël specialordered from Portsmouth’s nonpareil French pastry shop, La Maison Navarre. mnpastry.com

n Hot ticket: Sally Struthers as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Music Hall (Nov. 27–Dec. 22), a highlight of the citywide Vintage Christmas celebration. vintagechristmasnh.org

n Family fun: Ice skating at Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, which opens every year after Thanksgiving. strawberybanke.org

n Uniquely Portsmouth: 40th annual Candlelight Stroll through 350 years of seasonal traditions at the 10-acre outdoor museum Strawbery Banke, weekends Dec. 7–22. strawberybanke.org

Filled with 18th-century British portraiture, 16th-century Flemish tapestries, and other collected treasures, Rough Point has been left in much the same condition as when Doris Duke lived there.

It’s a mash-up that works. My dinner was terrific, from the single, doorknob-size raviolo topped with bits of serrano ham and filled with ricotta and a runny egg, to the duck breast with cocoa nibs and pear puree, to the hazelnut tuile cookie topped with a swirl of sweet potato mousse.

In the morning, I put my folded gift list into my pocket and headed to the shops along the wharves and beyond. I considered a sea urchin–shaped platter in the Newport Mansions Store, nautical cord bracelets in Kiel James Patrick, a Breton striped sweater in Monelle. Maybe I would come back for those later. I was humming carols by the time I committed to wooden cocktail muddlers and locally harvested sea salt at the Museum of Newport History gift shop, and dark chocolate lobsters in the Newport Sweet Shoppe. In Farmaesthetics, a serene organic skin-care boutique, I pondered an orange-and-clove-scented scrub called Hot Toddy for the Body, and in Kristen Coates, an eclectic gallery and home decor shop, I waffled between mini versions of Grace Windsor’s striking oyster shell paintings and Ashley Provencher’s vibrant linear seascapes.

Coates herself was behind the counter of her namesake store, which she opened in her hometown after returning from stints in the fashion and art worlds in Los Angeles and New York. In 2016, she cofounded the Holiday Stroll to promote local shopping—and to help get the word out that Newport is a town for all seasons.

“This is absolutely my favorite time of year here,” Coates said. “It’s so festive and has this old-timey feeling. I think people come here and say, ‘This is it. This is the quintessential New England town, and I have to be here at Christmas.’”

I had to agree.

I hoisted my shopping bags. I wanted to see the inside of the old White Horse Tavern and I was ready for lunch. As

I passed the Jane Pickens Theater, I noticed It’s a Wonderful Life was showing later that day. I knew how my visit would end.

The credits roll. The house lights come up. Clarence has earned his angel wings; human kindness has prevailed. I move with the happy, teary crowd to the theater exit, half expecting to see film-set snowflakes, fat as cotton balls, falling from the sky. Instead, a weighty mist scented with brine and balsam has settled on the town. I take the long way back, poking around in a few more shops, reading posted menus and historical markers, smiling at a group of women who come out of a bar singing jubilantly off-key.

I cut down one quiet cobbled lane, then another. From somewhere on the water’s edge, a foghorn is sounding its low trumpet. It’s dark by the time I get back to the inn, and up and down Thames Street the damp air, like an impressionist’s deft brush, has created coronas around each street lamp, as ethereal and as lovely as halos.

right : Kristen Coates, who runs a downtown gallery and lifestyle shop bearing her name, helped get Newport’s Holiday Stroll launched back in 2016. below : On the lawn of Rough Point, topiary versions of Doris Duke’s pet camels sport jaunty Santa Claus hats for the yuletide season.

HAND

NEW ENGLAND’S ARTISANS AND ENTREPRENEURS CAPTURE OUR REGION’S ESSENCE WITH WIT AND STYLE. OFFERING SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, HERE ARE THE GIFTS THAT BRING US ALL HOME.

BY ANNIE GRAVES

MADE HOLIDAYS FOR THE

An assortment of hand-blown glass trees by Vermont’s Simon Pearce, in styles and sizes ranging from $70 to $375 (LED bases sold separately).

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LORI PEDRICK

• STYLING BY LIZ NEILY

FOR THE KIDS

While Rocy and Melissa Pillsbury’s Hobbit Holes have multiple uses (shed, chicken coop, guest cottage), their three playhouses are what caught our eye: Big Merry, Little Merry, and Bag End (sod roof–ready). Shipped ready to assemble. From $2,000. Unity, ME. wooden-wonders.com

Alicia Monks’s wool is “grown from happy sheep” in Maine, and though the architect-byday offers woolly blankets, scarves, and hats, it’s her fluffy sheep on wheels (or without) that can be custom-ordered in any color, from white to peach to dreamy sky blue. $18 each. Waltham, MA. englishmanbay tradingco.com

Crayons are always at the ready with Patricia Wilson’s Crayolabright one-of-a-kind aprons. Cobalt blue with a Spider-Man motif? Purple with unicorns? Wilson will tailor an apron to fit your child’s imagination. $35. Haydenville, MA. patricia wilson534@ yahoo.com

Cereal is more fun when an alien spaceship lurks beneath the frosted flakes. Lars and Connie Turin create porcelain bowls with rollicking designs: aliens, sea adventures, townand-country. The colorful sgraffito motifs feel like instant kid classics. $65 each. York, ME. turinclayworks.com

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, this Vermont institution is doing its part for literacy with a set of 28 wooden ABC blocks featuring upper- and lowercase letters, cursive script, and bright pictures. All are crafted from sustainably harvested local maple. $61.40. Middlebury, VT. maplelandmark.com

5. ABC BLOCKS Maple Landmark

3. CRAYON APRON iSew Patricia Wilson Designs

WOODEN WONDERS (PLAYHOUSE)

1. HOBBIT HOLE PLAYHOUSE Wooden Wonders

2. SHEEP ON WHEELS Englishman Bay Trading Co.

4. STORY BOWLS Turin & Turin Clayworks

FOR THE FOUR-LEGGED

On some level, your pet might appreciate seeing his face on a ceramic plate, but frankly this one is really about you. Send illustrator Jennie Connor a high-res photo of your favorite pooch (or other critter), and you’ll have them under foot and in hand long after the holidays. From $150. Belfast, ME. jennieblue.com

Catnip is a gift to both felines and their owners (so much entertainment for so little money). Dr. Pussums uses mint that is pure and “curiously strong,” but its Hope Cat sack (in easy-to-spot shades like hot pink) does good, too: Two dollars from every sale is donated to the Dempsey Centers, established in Maine by actor Patrick Dempsey to provide no-cost services to those affected by cancer. $8.49 each. Turner, ME drpussums.com

Mrs. Beasley’s Dog Treats

This is what dogs really want: opposable thumbs and full access to a kitchen cabinet stuffed with Beasley treats. Handmade by Maydene Koppel since 2007 (she had a picky German shepherd), the all-natural snacks use local ingredients, including eggs from Koppel’s own chickens. From $3.50. Weare, NH. beasleytreats.com

The ruff life needn’t be hard. One imagines only stylish dogs strolling the streets of Jamestown, Rhode Island, home to the nautical dog leashes and collars handmade by Jessica Wurzbacher, marine scientist and sailor. Go “Classic” (marine-grade New England rope) or “Calypso” (colorful Novabraid rope). Collars $36; leashes $60–$70. Jamestown, RI. thefairlead.com

The Landlocked Dog

Who says pet ID tags can’t be as pretty (or quirky) as your pet? Rickie Colonna’s custom hand-stamped tags feature hearts, flowers, mountain ranges, lighthouses, and humor. From $8. Springfield, MA. landlockeddog.com

3. DOG TREATS

4. NAUTICAL DOG ACCESSORIES Fair Leads

5. TAILOR-MADE DOG TAGS

2. HOPE CAT CATNIP SACKS The Pussums Cat Co.

1. CUSTOM DOG PORTRAIT Jennie Blue Ceramics

FOR THE COOKS

Designs

An avid cook, John Welch began carving spoons as a way to relax. Now he conveys some of that ease to other kitchen aficionados with his black walnut sauté spoons, pecan salad servers, and walnut grain scoops. From $55. Lowell, MA johnfrancisdesigns.com

Is it possible to have too many tea towels? We know the answer (no), so thank you, Eliza Jane Curtis, for scrambling our senses with your vibrant silkscreens of roosters and lobsters and folk art design, making all our kitchens a bit brighter. $16 each. Cornish, ME. morrisessex.com

Each of Michele Michael’s linen-textured bowls, plates, and platters is a little pool of intensity, often reflecting her penchant for the color blue. These are ceramics that sing. From $95. Dresden, ME. elephantceramics.com

When considering a skillet, beauty isn’t the first thing that springs to mind, but Matt Cavallaro’s cast-iron version has the rugged good looks of cookware forged by ingenious gnomes. Handles are made to look like tree branches, and burnished surfaces glow like the sun. From $77. Providence, RI. nesthomeware.com

1. WOODEN SPOONS John Francis

2. TEA TOWELS Morris + Essex

3. CERAMIC WARE Elephant Ceramics

JOHN FRANCIS DESIGNS (SPOONS); RUE SAKAYANA (COOKWARE); PHILIP FICKS (DISHES); COPPER PIG WOODWORKING (PORTRAIT, BOARD)

4. CAST-IRON COOKWARE Nest Homeware

PAUL JASPER Copper Pig Woodworking

reativity may seem like an impossible thing to contain, but somehow Paul Jasper manages to put it in a box. Or on a board. Quite possibly it involves hammered brass or East Indian rosewood, fluttering

The full-time scientist (PhD in immunology) began woodworking in 2005 and, after some mentorship by an 80-year-old neighbor, eventually moved on to some of Boston’s finest schools for furniture making. Certainly something was unleashed along the way, because much of what dances out of Jasper’s Boston atelier defies categorization. These wooden creations might be loosely described as tea boxes, sushi boards, serving boards, except…

Lift a tea box lid and you’ll discover plaids and checkerboards, or rainbows crafted from upcycled skateboards streaking through a box of tiger oak. Sushi boards are lit with strips of metal; “Starry Night” incorporates a handmade ceramic moon into a base of bloodwood and cherry. Materials span wood from a century-old Hudson River shipwreck to live-edge maple with

Jasper says the idea for sushi boards came to him about two years ago, when “I became very interested in pursuing my own original art-inspired designs.” They seemed to meet all of his requirements: one-of-a-kind, functional, reasonable turnaround time, and something people

The result? Functional works of art that inspire the beholder to make food that’s as memorable as the space Sushi boards

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Decades after her greatgreat-grandmother helped teach American society to mind its manners, Lizzie Post believes “there’s still a place for etiquette in the world.”

A N EW GENERATION IS CARRYING ON E MILY P OST’S CRUSADE TO TEACH P OLITENESS AND M ANNERS, AT A TIME WHEN B OTH SEEM TO BE S ORELY L ACKING.

IT’S INTIMIDATING MEETING LIZZIE POST.

Descended from America’s most prominent authority on etiquette, Post has inherited the nearly century-old family business of teaching others how to be considerate and cour teous, which she co-runs mostly from a desk in the front room of her house in Burlington, Vermont, that has a desig nated drawer for stationery and note cards.

Arranging a visit with her entails worrying about and toiling over the appropriate number and placements of “please”s and “thank you”s. There is angst about arriving on time. The handshake must be firm; the gaze, met. Is it dis respectful to decline a cup of the tea that’s steeping in a pot in the kitchen? Navigating this experience feels perilous, so all-consuming seem the expectations.

“Try being me,” says Post.

Upon Post and a cousin, Daniel Post Senning, has fallen the responsibility for continuing the considerable legacy of their great-great-grandmother Emily Post, whose 1922 book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home made her the nation’s arbiter of good behavior.

It’s a heavy burden in an era of unprecedented incivility and singularly awful manners at the highest levels of leadership, at a time when people cloister themselves behind earbuds and screens and natter loudly on their phones at restaurants and checkout counters. When the #MeToo movement has exposed the breadth of classless conduct, and cable news debates the candor of apologies and the prospects for forgiveness. When ghosting is a thing, deferential driving has swerved into road rage, the rudest confrontations on reality TV get the highest ratings, and swiping left is an evasive substitute—anonymous and without consequence—for saying “No, thank you.”

“People wear pajamas on airplanes,” Post says, clearing a space on a couch

without disturbing the cat perched on an armrest. On the shelf across the room is an ancient edition of her ances tor’s seminal work, which she and Sen ning reverentially call The Book People “don’t wear black even to funerals, never mind for long periods of mourning.”

She isn’t judging these things, nec essarily. Post is nothing if not diplo matic. “I have to be,” she says of this age when seemingly anyone with an opinion risks attack. “You know what happens when I’m not? My inbox blows up.” This despite the fact that, as Emily Post herself said, “Etiquette requires the presumption of good until the contrary is proved.”

Instead, Post and Senning preach that etiquette is not a list of rules. It’s about being aware of how behavior is affecting other people. “If you have that awareness,” Emily Post proclaimed, “you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”

At a time when the word “etiquette” seems old-fashioned—some other experts avoid it altogether, preferring euphemisms like “relational capital” or

“interpersonal skills”—this is a message that today’s Posts share in new ways.

Among their jobs is to continually revise The Book, now in its 19th edition (a 20th is planned for the 100th anniversary, three years from now). They’ve updated it to address such topics as texting (the same guidelines should apply as for a spoken conversation, meaning that it’s rude to ghost), friend requests (those, it’s OK to ignore), and online dating (give up and move on after two messages in a row go unreturned).

They host a podcast, Awesome Etiquette , and a Twitter feed, and teach business etiquette online using

Power Point presentations with an updated logo incorporating Emily Post’s distinctive signature. It’s still a powerful brand. “There are true believers,” Lizzie Post says. “But there are also tons of people who stumble across us and they have no idea that we’ve been around for 100 years. They just want some help.”

Post and Senning’s Emily Post Institute has spun off new how-to books, including Manners in a Digital World by Senning . The newest, just out: Post’s Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, from Dispensaries to Dinner Parties.

The duo also personally dispel the stereotype exemplified by the blackand-white photograph that hangs on the exposed-brick wall of their shared office in a converted schoolhouse downtown: Emily Post speaking on a radio program in a hat and pearls.

“People definitely picture a matronly, maternal, grandmotherly figure dispensing this advice,” says Senning, a fashionably dressed and youthful 41-year-old former dancer with a degree in molecular biology. His cousin, 36, favors denim and sunglasses pushed up over her long blond hair, grows marijuana in her house (it’s legal in Ver-

Lizzie Post (whose most recent book on manners deals with marijuana dos and don’ts) poses with her cousin and fellow etiquette adviser, Daniel Post Senning, as 30-something models of modern decorum.

mont), and turns out to be less intimidating than feared, except when she bristles at overly broad questions (“Is the social compact broken?”) that she says aren’t for her to answer. Her Jeep needs a wash, and as she prepares to lead the way to the downtown office, she apologizes for the pile of cardboard in the driveway awaiting the recycling pickup.

“We are exactly what you see here: an average family,” Post says. “None of my friends wear pearls.” And Burlington, she says, “is not Park Avenue.” Adds Senning: “I’d be hard-pressed to find a black-tie event in Vermont that’s not a wedding. Although don’t get me wrong, I love an excuse to put on my tux.”

That this dressed-down New England town became the home to an institute identified with honesty, respect, and consideration—the underlying principles of their work, the Posts say, to which they sometimes add kindness—is mostly a coincidence; several members of the past few generations moved here from New York. But Emily Post was descended on her mother’s side from John and Priscilla Alden, who arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower, and beginning in her girlhood she summered in Bar Harbor, Newport, the Berkshires, and Martha’s Vineyard. She had deep New England roots. And so does etiquette.

Part of that is due to the area’s long history and close ties to the European cultures that colonized it. Though she lived mostly in New York while working as a writer, Emily Post observed that New Yorkers’ manners “are often condemned and often very deservedly,” while Boston society “preserved a quality of unmistakable cultivation.”

Meanwhile, the small size and challenging climates of communities such as Burlington demand that neighbors help each other out. It’s the kind of place where a local at a restaurant slides a menu over to a new arrival with a nod but not a conversation or, for that matter, a “hello.” Where other drivers gesture for Post’s Jeep to pull in when construction narrows a road to one lane. Where Post notices during a phone conversation that a neighbor has come, unasked, to plow her driveway. “Oh, I’ll have to bake him something,” she thinks out loud.

This city, where she was born and raised, says Post, “certainly fits our brand because it fits our family. People

in this area are really nice.” When she writes about etiquette, she says, “I want it to feel like Burlington. I want it to feel friendly and welcoming and like a space you want to be in.”

Appearances notwithstanding, Americans do want to be in this kind of a space, say Post and Senning. The etiquette industry nationwide is booming, driven largely by a recognition that success in business in particular and life in general depends on practicing those principles of honesty, consideration, and respect—even if some politicians and celebrities seem to have rejected them. “People are saying, ‘I don’t want that. That’s not OK,’” says Post. “You get people saying, ‘We need to be nicer to each other. We have to take care of each other.’ And that’s why there’s hope.”

There was worry that such cuttingedge advances as radio and the widespread adoption of the telephone would cut people off from one another, for example, and from the rules that governed how to act in public. “You heard back in Emily’s day, once telephones started to appear in people’s homes, that this was the end of family life as we know it—nobody is ever again going to sit down to a family dinner,” Senning says. Even Emily Post wondered “whether etiquette may not soon be a subject for an obituary rather than a guide-book.” Jazz Age decadence and the frenzy of finance threatened to drown out the quiet decorum of the formal dinner party.

“We do live in a complicated time; that’s straight-up true,” Lizzie Post says, testy after being pressed a few times too many on this point. “But every generation has had complicated times. Every single generation thinks the generations before were more polite.”

If there’s one thing Americans can agree about in a divisive time, it’s that the country is suffering a civility deficit. That’s the consensus of 93 percent of people surveyed by the Boston PR firm Weber Shandwick. Nearly seven in 10 consider incivility a major problem, and eight in 10 experience it personally—most commonly while driving (39 percent), shopping (39 percent), and on social media (38 percent). The frequency of rude encounters, in person or online, has nearly doubled since 2016, from six times a week to about 11.

What contemporary critics sometimes overlook, the Post descendants and others point out, is that something similar was happening when Emily Post sat down to write The Book. “In the 1920s, there was sort of a simmering, quiet war between new and old money,” Senning says. “It’s not an issue that’s unique to our time.”

Born to an architect father who designed, among other things, New England summer “cottages” of the elite, Emily Post went to finishing school in the Manhattan of the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Divorced from her philandering banker husband, and with her own sons grown, she took up writing. She had produced five novels when Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield of the blue-blooded Boston Crowninshields suggested at a dinner party that she write about etiquette. She spread out on her late father’s drafting table and set to work.

The result, with its distinctive blue cover, joined a crowded field of books on the same topic. But none “left any more than a thumbprint on American behavior until Emily Post came along,” gushed culinary historian Esther Bradford Aresty. It was an instant hit, as much for the glimpse that it provided behind the damask curtains of the wealthy and wellborn as for the advice about luncheons, teas, formal

dinners, balls, when a chaperone was needed, how to write a letter of recommendation for a servant, how much to tip the steward on a transatlantic steamer, and what to wear when riding.

“Do not attract attention to yourself in public. This is one of the fundamental rules of good breeding,” Emily Post wrote. When shaking hands, “there should be a feeling of strength and warmth in the clasp.” “The bride who is happy in receiving a great number of presents spends every spare moment in writing her notes of thanks, which must always be written by her personally.”

Jodi R.R. Smith, president of the etiquette consulting firm Mannersmith, on Boston’s North Shore, has Emily Post’s book on her shelf, too, alongside similar works by Amy Vanderbilt, Letitia Baldridge, and Judith Martin. Their influence was vast, says Smith—and holds another timeless lesson. “What these women did, and it was almost exclusively women, was they were looking for a way to equalize our very divided society. And one of the ways we equalize a divided society is by treating people well.”

It was Emily Post’s name that became the most synonymous with good behavior. That led to an even larger role for her as a radio personality and syndicated columnist. She wrote a cookbook featuring such dishes as mint jelly and wet hash (Lizzie Post has her great-great-grandmother’s personal copy, taped together at the binding and with a curt warning handwritten by its author on the inside front cover: “This book is not to be taken away”). And she incorporated what was originally called the Emily Post Institute for the Study of Gracious Living so her descendants could continue her crusade.

They also have had to live up to her standards—not because the family required it, but because everybody else did. “It wasn’t put on us by our family at all,” says Post. “I felt going to the other side of my family, I needed to be more careful than with my Post side.” At only 12, at a sleepover, she was admonished for sipping from her glass of milk before saying grace.

“My friend’s dad said, ‘What are you doing? You’re Emily Post’s great-great-

granddaughter!’ I was shattered.” Even now, she’s held to higher expectations. When she missed a business meeting, Post says, “the first words out of the person’s mouth were, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe Emily Post’s great-greatgranddaughter ghosted me!’” (Such remarks are impolite, Post notes.)

Born and raised in Burlington, Post studied art education at the University of Vermont—some of the colorful acrylic collages she makes hang in her house—and after graduation she worked selling men’s suits before going into the family business. “It was never something we had to do,” she says. “But when you’re wondering what you’re going to do and someone offers for you to be an author, you say yes.” Senning joined her after trying

(Continued on p. 144)

“COUGAR TRUTHERS” ARE CERTAIN THAT THE BIG IN NEW ENGLAND. WILDLIFE EXPERTS SAY NO.

THE

BY BEN HEWITT

CAT IS LIVING AND BREEDING AGAIN NOT YET. BUT ONE DAY…

GREAT | 115

HE LAST CATAMOUNT KILLED IN VERMONT STANDS UNDER GLASS just inside the doors to the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier, a hop, skip, and a jump down the block from the statehouse. The animal was shot in the town of Barnard on Thanksgiving Day 1881 by a man named Alexander Crowell. Responding to complaints about a predator eating a local farmer’s sheep, Crowell and a small group of fellow hunters had tracked the big cat through the snow. “[The catamount’s] movements were so noiseless that Mr. Crowell found himself in this dangerous proximity before he was aware of it, and it was only by great coolness and daring that he severely wounded the animal and perhaps saved his own life,” reads a placard attached to the display case.

It was his great coolness and daring (either that, or fear) that enabled Crowell to shoot the animal at a distance of “one rod only” (roughly 16½ feet), first hitting it in the leg with his shotgun, then dispatching it with a bullet to the head from a borrowed rifle.

There, too, is Crowell’s photograph, grainy and old: the hunter leaning against a tree stump, his head propped casually on his left hand, elbow to stump, shotgun cradled in the crook of his right arm. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. The big cat on the ground before him, motionless, yet somehow still embodying that particular feline litheness, as if, with the flick of its tail, it might bound to its feet and disappear into the woods. But no. The cat is dead. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead.

The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. Its distinctive feature—the one that sets it apart from other North American wild cats—is its tail, which is thick and often as long as its body. The catamount is a creature of stealth and concealment; it stalks its prey, which on the Eastern Seaboard would likely

be deer, moose, porcupines, beavers, and domestic livestock. It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. It is what wildlife biologists call an “apex carnivore,” which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environment—with the exception of an armed human. All of which is to say that if Alexander Crowell wasn’t afraid on that long-ago Thanksgiving Day, he probably should have been.

When I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea

what I was agreeing to. Growing up in northern Vermont, I’d heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the teller—somebody’s cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry?), or someone’s coworker’s

above : The 1881 death of this catamount officially marked the end of cougars in Vermont; however, the very last Eastern cougar is thought to be an animal that was killed in Somerset County, Maine, in 1938. top right : Some might mistake the bobcat, which still lives in New England, for a cougar— even though its tail is about 6 inches long and the bigger cat’s is 3 feet or more.

JOHNSON/VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY; ILLUSTRATION BY MATT PATTERSON; PREVIOUS SPREAD, LEIGH LOVE/STOCKSY

mother had seen one from the back porch of a summer camp back in ’07 or maybe ’08, and she’d tried to get a picture but this was before she got her first iPhone, and by the time she’d retrieved her camera from the living room, the cat was long gone. I was aware, too, of how a certain mythology surrounding the animal had taken root in Vermont’s culture and even its identity: The University of Vermont’s athletic teams, for instance, are known as the Vermont Catamounts, and their logo features a snarling cat lunging through the cleft of a “V.”

I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. In the first, there are those such as myself, who’ve maybe heard a few second- or third- or fourth-hand stories as well as official denials from state agencies or professional biologists, and therefore find themselves betwixt and between, neither believing nor disbelieving.

In the second camp, there are those issuing the denials, pointing to the lack of photographic evidence, or the absence of tracks, or the simple truth that many people don’t seem to know the difference between a cougar and a bobcat and a lynx and even, in some cases, a golden retriever.

Finally, in the third camp, there are the true believers—the “cougar

truthers,” if you will—the men and women for whom the only logical conclusion (often reached after a significant investment of time, thought, and sometimes money) is that right here, right now, cougars live among us, feeding and breeding and rearing their young, and that suggesting otherwise is sheer ignorance, willful denial, or part of a mosaic of conspiracy. The reasons for this conspiracy vary depending upon whom you talk to, but they coalesce around the idea that wildlife agencies would be inconvenienced by the cougars’ presence, as they’d be forced to respond in ways that would tax their resources. And consider, for a moment, the concern and outright fear an official acknowledgment of such a carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke.

It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. And it was this curiosity that led me to the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury, Connecticut, at a time of day (11:30 a.m.) that does not normally find me ensconced in the dim confines of a drinking establishment. And yet there I was, on a Saturday in early November, crammed into a booth with Bo Ottmann, 48, and Bill Betty, 72, of Cougars of the Valley, the organization that Ottmann founded in 2007 to gather evidence of and alert the public to the big cats living among us.

There was a tin of American Spirit tobacco on the table (Ottmann’s), a laptop (Betty’s), a notebook (mine), and a tumbler of Bacardi and Coke (Ottmann’s again). The tavern was quiet except for some hard-rock music playing on the radio, the murmur of a handful of men at the bar, and us. Ottmann grew up and still lives just minutes from the tavern; his familiarity with the establishment was obvious (after we met in the parking lot, he led me into the building through the kitchen, greeting each of the staff by name). Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. Having retired from a career at General Dynamics, he devotes many of his waking hours to cougar research, a passion he’s cultivated for nearly two decades.

“What set it off was a National Geographic special on mountain lions in California, right after my daughter and I had two encounters in my driveway,” Betty told me. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Of course.

“Within six weeks,” he continued, “I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. I started asking a lot of questions, and realized there’s only

“COUGAR TRUTHERS” ARE THOSE FOR WHOM DOUBT DOES NOT EXIST: RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, COUGARS LIVE AMONG US.

one explanation for the answers I was getting: They are here.”

“How many?” I asked.

“You could have 30 in Connecticut alone. You could have 50—”

“There’s probably 100 in Connecticut,” Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke.

“A hundred?” I exclaimed.

Betty was quiet, and I wondered if even he, a man who does not doubt the presence of these cats in our midst and who himself claims multiple sightings,

eye. “You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. But right now you’re dealing with top-notch guys. Bill and I are fullthrottle. Spatz and Sue don’t want to go where we’re going.”

Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing.

The “Spatz and Sue” Ottmann referred to are Christopher Spatz and Sue Morse, two of the better-known and arguably most experienced cougar skeptics in

the Northeast. Morse is a Vermontbased naturalist and the founder of Keeping Track, a nonprofit that trains people in the scientific protocols needed to detect, interpret, record, and monitor wildlife tracks and signs. Morse founded Keeping Track in the belief that getting citizens interested and engaged in wildlife will have the knock-on effect of getting them interested and engaged in how land-use decisions affect wild populations—and might provide the impetus for conservation efforts. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and in Quebec.

I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. There were caribou antlers mounted above the front doors, and the interior walls were covered in row upon row of books; a long table was piled high with still more books in seemingly random arrangements. There were pine cones on window sills, a well-used hatchet and a variety of animal figurines on display, and, near the television, a stack of videos including Life of a Predator and The African Lion . Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her “portable puma.” Then she fetched me a beer.

Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. “You wouldn’t shake hands with a man like that,” she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious.

Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. Earlier in the year, I’d attended one of these presentations, and even in the tiny village of Woodbury, Vermont, on a stiflingly hot summer evening, nearly 100 peo -

ple showed up to hear her speak and see her photographs (Morse is a magnificent wildlife photographer).

Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. This isn’t to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. Indeed, in 2011, a male cougar was hit and killed by a car in Milford, Connecticut; through its DNA, wildlife biologists were able to trace the cat back to South Dakota’s Black Hills, some 2,000 miles distant.

But other hard evidence of the big cat’s presence is elusive. In 1994, scat collected after a sighting in Craftsbury, Vermont, was found to contain cougar hair (the animals are prone to ingesting their hair while grooming), and the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department circulated a memo with the following line: It is possible that cougars of unknown origin may be breeding to a limited extent in Vermont. A few years later, though, the scat was retested with DNA analysis and found to be

canid, rather than feline, in origin. Still more confusion ensued when a lab technician said she might have gotten some samples confused, and thus the canid result was thrown into doubt. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers.

The key to Morse’s assertion can be found in the term “breeding population.” Although the fact that cougars have traveled through New England is irrefutable (a DNA-confirmed roadkill is hard to deny), Morse believes it’s unlikely that they have settled here and created a self-sustaining population. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, “hardwired” to remain close to their mother’s home range.

“The females are where it’s at,” she said. “If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.”

left : Unlike male cougars, the females—like this Montana cat with her cub—don’t tend to strike out for new territory, which makes it unlikely that a breeding population would establish itself far from the cougars’ current habitats—but not impossible. opposite : Vermont-based naturalist Sue Morse has spent decades studying, tracking, and photographing cougars out west (including the mother and cub at left).

Clearly, Puma concolor once inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although it’s difficult to say in what numbers. Records suggest that cash bounties for cougar kills were relatively common in the late 1700s and early 1800s; in the Adirondacks, a trapper named Thomas Meacham was credited with 77 cougar kills. As livestock farming came to dominate the landscape, pressure on the big cats slowly mounted on two fronts: The number of farmers wanting them dead was increasing, while the rapid transition from forest to farmland meant their habitat was shrinking. By mid-19th century, forests made up only about 30 percent of New England (it’s notable that today that number stands at approximately 80 percent, nearer to what it was when cougars thrived here).

In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. Still, sightings are common. Kim Royar, a biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, told me she receives 40 to 50 reports annually, and although

“I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY,” SAYS JOURNALIST JOHN HARRIGAN. “IT’S NOT MY CALL. IF THESE PEOPLE SAY THEY SAW [A COUGAR], I’M GOING TO LISTEN.”

she believes that few, if any, are actual cougar sightings, she doesn’t dismiss the possibility that someday someone will happen upon the real deal. “I have learned one thing in my career, and that’s to never say never,” she said. “In the 37 years I’ve been working, things have changed in ways I’d never have predicted. Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.”

And it’s not just Vermont. The debate rages in Maine, where the last confirmed cougar kill occurred in 1938, and in New Hampshire, where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. It

upstate New York. “People clearly aren’t lying when they say they saw a cougar; [the sighting] has a profound effect on them.”

Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. “I’ve seen more field evidence in a couple of hours tracking out west than I’ve seen in 100 years on the East Coast,” he said. “One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. When a cat’s around, it’s not hard to find evidence. You don’t even have to go out and look for it.”

And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Onsented here by Sue Morse, Kim Royar, and Christopher Spatz, along with a number of others I spoke with) whodence is proof that the animals are not here. On the other side, there are those (as represented here by Bill Betty and Bo Ottmann, along with a number of others I spoke with) who say the overwhelming quantity of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Betty, for instance, has presented on Eastern -

ing many hundreds of sighting reports in the process. Can they really all be cases of false identification?

To Betty and Ottmann, the dominant narrative of the occasional itinerant cougar from the West is not particularly relevant to the facts on the ground. In their estimation, the presence of a breeding cougar population in New England would likely stem from our proximity to Canada, where, as they rightly point out, DNA analysis has resulted in 19 positive identifications across Quebec and New Brunswick since 2001 (although some of these were shown to be of South American lineage, suggesting escaped pets). Given the long, shared border between these provinces and New England, along with plentiful evidence that other species cross this border regularly, it seems entirely possible that cougars would also engage in international travel.

“We think they’re coming in from Canada,” Betty told me.

“I think they never left,” Ottmann piped in.

“Well, there’s no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway,” said Betty. “If they’re in one, they’re in the other.”

If there’s a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. Harrigan is 72 and lives just outside the northern New Hampshire town of Colebrook; he has a long, craggy face that seems almost to have molded itself after the mountainous landscape of his home state.

We met for lunch on a Sunday morning in early March, and it didn’t take long for me to understand why Harrigan is such a popular columnist. He is a consummate storyteller, and he wears on his sleeve his affection for the region and the hard-working, commonsense people who inhabit it. He’s also unafraid to take unpopular positions when he deems it necessary: Shortly before our meeting, he’d signed a petition in favor of keeping ATVs off public roads. “I’m gonna get hammered for it,” he sighed.

Newspaperman John Harrigan has long covered the New England outdoors, including writing the New Hampshire Sunday News column “Woods, Water & Wildlife,” which ran for almost 40 years.

Harrigan’s interest in cougars was sparked in the late ’70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. “At least once a year there’d be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best,” he told me. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? What time of day was it? How big was the animal? What color was it? And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? By now, I knew the answer to that one. “The tail,” I said. Harrigan nodded. “The tail’s gotta be there. If it’s not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.”

Forty years of reporting on New Hampshire cougar sightings has convinced Harrigan that the state is home to at least a handful of breeding animals. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. But perhaps an even larger portion is the product of his enduring faith in the men and woman—loggers, hunters, trappers—whose vocations and avocations have instilled in them a deep familiarity with wild places and the creatures who inhabit them. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. And so when they come to him with a sighting, he’s prepared to believe. So long as the tail’s there, that is.

“I have no choice but to take this seriously,” he told me. “It’s not my call. If these people say they saw something, I’m going to listen.”

If there’s one thing people on all sides of the debate can agree on, it’s that a breeding population of cougars is essential to the overall health of New England’s ecosystems, which currently lack an apex predator. The region’s top predator, the coyote, is classified by biologists as a mesopredator (a type that in New England includes skunks and raccoons), which feeds primarily on smaller animals. “We need [an apex] predator back on the land,” Sue Morse told me. “If these animals are not in the habitat, what we see is an overabundance of herbivores.”

The ecologist John Laundre, who has spent 35 years studying cougars, concurs. He coined the term “landscape of fear” to describe the relationship between predator and prey in the wild. “We’re arrogant if we think we’re the only species that makes decisions based on fear,” he told me when I called him at his home in Oregon. “Fear is actually one of the most powerful ecological forces we know, and it’s a really important management tool.”

According to Laundre, the problems caused by a relatively fear-free ecosystem are not always obvious, in part because they can take decades to fully manifest. “For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. [An overabundance of deer] means our forests are getting older and older and not being replaced.” He also points to the influx of invasive plant species in New England as evidence of an out-of-control deer population. “The deer don’t eat the exotics, but they eat the competitors. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology,” he said. “We need cougars and we need wolves back in the Northeast, because a landscape of fear is a well-balanced landscape.”

Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isn’t whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here . And that’s a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. For who but we humans can look across the landscape and not acknowledge our role in the diminishment of cougars and the myriad ways in which we have knocked the landscape out of balance?

Before I departed the Old Well Tavern, Bo Ottmann offered to lead me on a walk into an adjacent stretch of woods, where, he assured me, cougars might be found. I must have looked doubtful—we were within spitting distance of a heavily trafficked road and only 12 miles from downtown Hartford—but both Ottmann and Betty told me that cougars actually prefer more populated

areas, since that’s where deer tend to congregate.

We strolled across the tavern parking lot and ducked into the forest, where Ottmann maintains a portion of his $15,000 worth of wildlife recording equipment (he’s had no luck capturing a cougar on camera, though, despite more than a decade of trying). I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharpthorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmann’s right hand. “It’s OK,” he told me. “This is part of the cougar business. [Betty] and the other guys don’t do this shit. I do this shit.”

The truth is, I was by this point dubious. Much as I liked Ottmann and Betty, and much as I found some of their evidence compelling, I was struggling to reconcile their more provocative claims with the restraint expressed by the many other experts I’d spoken with. I appreciated Ottmann and Betty’s confidence and commitment, but here I was, poking through thorny thickets behind a bar, trailing a bleeding man whose devotion to proving the presence of cougars was beginning to seem like a quixotic quest with no end.

Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. “If you don’t think cougars are coming to the East, think again,” she said, leaning forward for emphasis. “Because they are.”

Ottmann and I walked farther. He’d encouraged me to keep my eyes open for deer carcasses cached in the trees (according to Ottmann, cougars are fantastic climbers and are known to stash their kills high in trees), but I saw only leaf-bare branches. Besides, Ottmann had revealed that he’d been charged by a bear in this same piece of woods, and I felt conflicted about diverting my gaze from the underbrush.

After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. We hadn’t seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann knew they were out there. He knew it was only a matter of time.

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DEC. 13–15: OGUNQUIT, Christmas by the Sea Celebration . Ogunquit’s village center provides an idyllic background for an annual celebration that includes a parade, storytellers, musicians, wine tastings, a craft fair, and visits to Santa’s village, as well as the lighting of the town Christmas tree. 207646-2939; visitogunquit.org

DEC. 14: ORONO, Maine Indian Basketmakers Holiday Market. The University of Maine’s Hudson Museum plays host to the largest holiday gathering of Maine Indian artists in New England. Purchase exquisite crafts directly from the makers and enjoy a day of demonstrations, storytelling, traditional music, drumming, and dancing. 207-5811904; umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum

DEC. 14–15: BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Gingerbread Spectacular. The deliciously competitive gingerbread contest returns to the Opera House, where a confectioner’s dream lineup of castles, cabins, and other creations will be on display. The accompanying holiday bake sale is sure to delight your sweet tooth. boothbayoperahouse.com

DEC. 17, 21, 22: PORTLAND & WESTBROOK, “A Victorian Nutcracker.” Set in Portland in the late 1800s and with characters inspired by city residents of yore, this Portland Ballet production has become a can’t-miss family show. More than 80 children from the community will join the company dancers onstage. Dec. 17 at Merrill Auditorium; Dec. 21–22 at Westbrook Performing Arts Center. 207-772-9671; portlandballet.org

DEC. 23: PORTLAND, Christmas with Kennerley. James Kennerley, Portland’s official municipal organist, performs Christmas favorites on the c. 1911 Kotzschmar Organ at Merrill Auditorium. Joining in are special guests soprano Malinda Hasslett, the Kotzschmar Festival Brass, and the ChoralArt singers. 207-553-4363; foko.org

DEC. 31: BATH, Paul Revere Bell Ringing. Sing out the old and ring in the new—it’s a New Year’s Eve noontime tradition as folks gather at the Hallett’s Drug Store clock across from City Hall to sing “Auld Land Syne of Bath” as a lead-in to the ringing of Bath’s 1802 Paul Revere bell. 207-4427291; visitbath.com

MASSACHUSETTS

NOV. 1–3: FRANKLIN COUNTY, CiderDays

Celebrate all things apples with a weekend of orchard tours, cider-making demonstrations and tastings, workshops, and more. Events take place all over Franklin County, from Shelburne Falls and Greenfield down to Deerfield, so check the website for details. 413-773-5463; ciderdays.org

NOV. 2–28: STURBRIDGE, A New England Thanksgiving. Offered on weekends and on Thanksgiving Day, this program lets you experience the traditions of an early 19thcentury New England Thanksgiving while learning about 1830s dining etiquette and

watching villagers compete in a post-dinner target shoot. Smell the scents of roasted turkey and pies warming by the fire, learn about Native American food traditions and customs, and more. 800-733-1830; osv.org

NOV. 8–9: REHOBOTH, Folk Art and Artisans Show . This annual event at Francis Farm draws 70 exhibitors displaying their finely crafted wares just in time for holiday shopping. 508-252-3031; carpentermuseum.org

NOV. 8–10: BOSTON, Christmas Festival . Come for the shopping opportunities—crafts, clothing, specialty foods, etc.—at the 350plus pop-up boutiques at the Seaport World Trade Center, but stick around to ogle the gingerbread gems created by top Boston pastry chefs vying for “Best in Show” honors. 561-465-3676; bostonchristmasfestival.com

NOV. 9–10: COLRAIN, Crafts of Colrain: An Open Studio Art Tour. Begin at Pine Hill Orchards and continue through hill and dale in this picturesque area, whose artists and artisans open their studios to visitors. Celebrate the diversity of their work, see demonstrations of what they do, and perhaps find a treasure to take home. craftsofcolrain.com

NOV. 13: BOSTON, Stephen Greenblatt. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Swerve , Greenblatt recently published Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics . He appears at the New England Historic Genealogical Society as

part of its “American Inspiration” series. 617-226-1215; americanancestors.org

NOV. 16–17: WEST SPRINGFIELD, Old Deerfield Holiday Sampler Craft Fair. This annual tradition brings some 200 artisans to the Eastern State Expo’s Better Living Center, where a wide range of crafts, collectibles, clothing, decorations, and jewelry will be on display. 413-774-7476; deerfield-craft.org

NOV. 22–24: MARLBOROUGH, Paradise City Arts Festival . Shop the distinctive works offered by 175 of the country’s most notable craft designers and artisans at Royal Plaza Trade Center—free parking, live jazz, and tasty dining options as well. 800-511-9725; paradisecityarts.com

NOV. 22–24: PLYMOUTH, America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Festival. See the history of Thanksgiving brought to life as Pilgrims, Native Americans, soldiers, patriots, and pioneers take to the streets of Plymouth. The weekend’s highlights include a parade, a harvest farmers’ market, a “portal to the past” historical village, a food festival, and concerts. 508-746-1818; usathanksgiving.com

NOV. 26–DEC. 22: LOWELL, “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley.” The familiar characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice come to life on the Merrimack Repertory Theatre stage. Pemberley is in an uproar as an unwelcome visitor stumbles into the

kitchen in the middle of the night: Mr. Darcy’s nemesis, Mr. Wickham. 978-6544678; mrt.org

NOV. 27–JAN. 5: SPRINGFIELD, Bright Nights at Forest Park . One of the region’s largest holiday light shows offers the chance to drive a magical three-mile route through displays sparkling with over 650,000 bulbs. To get the full effect, tune your radio to the “Elf Radio” musical simulcast as you drive past the holiday scenes. 413-733-3800; brightnights.org

NOV. 28–29: PLYMOUTH, “The Story of Thanksgiving” Dinner. Make your plans early if you want to participate in this popular feast at Plimoth Plantation, where Pilgrim roleplayers and native interpreters will greet you and your family. Other dining options, including a Thanksgiving buffet, are offered throughout the day. 508-746-1622; plimoth.org

NOV. 29–30: WEST TISBURY, Vineyard Artisans Thanksgiving Festival . This shopping extravaganza at Agricultural Hall is the largest annual art show by islanders. Meet the artisans and buy one-of-a-kind and handmade items including sweaters, soaps, leather and vintage material bags, and wooden cutting boards. vineyardartisans.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 1: BOSTON, Handel’s Messiah Come join the Handel & Haydn Society at

Symphony Hall for this treasured holiday tradition. With critically acclaimed Baroque master Masaaki Suzuki on the podium, audiences will enjoy this masterpiece the way the composer intended, with dazzling vocal solos, spine-tingling instrumental fireworks, and some of the most glorious choral writing of all time. 617-266-3605; handelandhaydn.org

NOV. 29–DEC. 29: SANDWICH, Gardens

Aglow. Fridays through Sundays during the holiday season, head to the historic Heritage Museums and Gardens to experience beautiful light displays and holiday décor, seasonal family fun, and a visit with Santa Claus in a 1913 Model T. 508-888-3300; heritagemuseumsandgardens.org

DEC. 5: COHASSET, Yuletide House Tour. Take a peek inside five delightful seaside homes decorated for the holidays during this Community Garden Club of Cohasset fundraiser. communitygardenclubofcohasset.org

DEC. 6–8: FALMOUTH, Holidays by the Sea Embrace the season with Friday-night caroling at Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole, followed by a weekend that includes a pancake breakfast and raffle, the arrival of Santa by brightly painted trawler, a 5K Jingle Jog, a stroll of Main Street shops, amusements and entertainment for kids, and a tree lighting on the village green. 508-548-8500; falmouthchamber.com

DEC. 6–8: IPSWICH, An Old-Fashioned Christmas at Castle Hill . Every room in the 1920s mansion on the Crane Estate dons its holiday best for three festive days that include tours, live music, a kids’ treasure hunt, and a visit with Santa. 978-356-4351, ext. 4015; thetrustees.org

DEC. 6–8: PROVINCETOWN, Holly Folly. From the Speedo run down Commercial Street to the antics of Drag Bingo, it’s joyfully obvious that this is no run-of-the-mill holiday celebration. Enjoy performances by the Gay Men’s Chorus, a chance to win prizes at the Shop Hop, and an open house of local inns decked out for the season and offering treats and libations. ptown.org/holly-folly

DEC. 6–29: STURBRIDGE, Christmas by Candlelight . Fridays through Sundays, historic Old Sturbridge Village invites you to experience the magic of a candlelit New England township while learning about the real history behind today’s Christmas traditions. Take a horse-drawn sleigh ride and indulge in warm gingerbread, hot cider, and roasted chestnuts while listening to stories, carols, and holiday music. Note: Also offered Monday, Dec. 23. 800-7331830; osv.org

DEC. 7–8, 13–15, 19–22: CAMBRIDGE, Harvard Square Holiday Fair. Held in the lower hall at St. Paul’s Church on Mount Auburn Street, this juried fair features many wonderful gift items, and admission is free. 413625-9779; harvardsquareholidayfair.com

DEC. 12–15: EDGARTOWN, Christmas in Edgartown . Enjoy the charms of Martha’s Vineyard in the winter with activities including a chowder contest, the lighting

of the Edgartown Lighthouse, a Christmas parade, visits and photos with Santa, and other holiday-themed events. edgartownboardoftrade.com

DEC. 13–15: BOSTON, CraftBoston Holiday. Held at the Hynes Convention Center and packed with more than 175 exhibitors, CraftBoston Holiday is a must-attend event for artists, collectors, and craft enthusiasts. Among the handiwork on offer will be leather goods, furniture, glassware, and jewelry. 617-266-1810; societyofcrafts.org

DEC. 13–15, 19–23, 26–29: CAMBRIDGE, Christmas Revels . A tradition for nearly five decades, the Christmas Revels is a joyful theatrical celebration of the winter solstice showcasing world music, dance, folktales, and rituals. This year’s theme: the roots of American music. 617-496-2222; revels.org

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NOV. 2–3: STATEWIDE, Open Doors. Download the tour map and plan your path, meeting area artists and crafters in their studios, sampling local products, and overnighting at one of the state’s historic inns. nhopendoors.com

NOV. 23–24: BELMONT, Lakes Region Holiday Craft Fair. Gift buying is easy with 75 exhibitors presenting a wide selection of items, including jewelry, gourmet treats, décor,

quilts, handbags, and photography at the Belknap Mall. Live music, good food, and a raffle benefiting animal rescue round out the fun. joycescraftshows.com

NOV. 23–24, 29–30, DEC. 1: MOULTONBOROUGH, Christmas at the Castle. Though its regular season ends in October, the Lakes Region estate known as Castle in the Clouds reopens for this popular event, which sees the Arts and Crafts manor decorated to the nines. 603-476-5900; castleintheclouds.org

NOV. 24: GREENLAND, Pie Festival and Craft Fair. This women’s club fund-raiser has grown into a pastry spectacular, now serving up some 550 delicious pies at the Greenland Central School. Enjoy the luncheon café (with pie, of course), more than 100 crafters and artisans, music, and a raffle. greenlandwomensclub.org

NOV. 29–DEC. 29: NORTH CONWAY AND LINCOLN, Journey to the North Pole. A fund-raiser for the Believe in Books Literacy Foundation, this two-hour train adventure in the White Mountains departs from either North Conway or Lincoln and takes families to visit Santa in his workshop. Departure schedules vary by location; see website for details. 603356-9980; journeytothenorthpole.org

NOV. 29–DEC. 31: LOUDON, Gift of Lights Hundreds of displays of lights—glowing with some 2 million LEDs—deck the halls

at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which hosts this annual illumintaed drive. Proceeds benefit local charities. Closed Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, and 25. 603-783-4931; nhms.com

NOV. 30: NASHUA, Winter Holiday Stroll . This much-anticipated day of merriment includes a candlelit procession down Main Street, the lighting of the city tree, tasty offerings from food vendors, an appareance by Santa and Mrs. Claus, and other diverse entertainment. downtownnashua.org

NOV. 30–DEC. 22: JACKSON, Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour. Get your tickets early for this weekends-only event, as it sells out earlier and earlier each year. Participants enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh through Jackson, sampling chocolate treats at stops along the way. jacksonnh.com

DEC. 7: EXETER , Holiday Parade . For more than 50 years, this parade has been bringing seasonal magic to the streets of downtown Exeter, with illuminated floats, horse-drawn wagons, marching bands, and a visit from jolly ol’ Saint Nick. exeterholidayparade.org

DEC. 7: MANCHESTER, Santa Claus Shuffle Road Race & Christmas Parade . It’s a sight to see as runners decked out in Santa gear sprint, walk, or shuffle their way to the finish line near Veterans Park. Afterward, you can head over to the city’s big holiday parade. millenniumrunning.com

and perhaps even a visit from Santa. See website for full schedule. 401-253-2707; blithewold.org

DEC. 1: CRANSTON, Holiday Open Houses . The Governor Sprague Mansion and the Joy Homestead will be decorated for the season, with Victorian ornaments at the mansion, and in the simple style of an 1800s family farm at the homestead. Enjoy music, homemade cookies, and holiday beverages, too. Admission is free. 401-944-9226; cranstonhistoricalsociety.org

DEC. 5–8: WICKFORD VILLAGE, Festival of Lights . Stroll the historic village amid holiday light displays as the shops stay open late. See Santa arrive at the town dock, then move on to the tree lighting, caroling, and hayrides. 401-295-5566; southcountyri.com

DEC. 5–8, 13–15: PAWTUCKET, Holiday Show . A co-op of over 60 artists comes together to present the Foundry Artists Association’s holiday show over two weekends at the Pawtucket Armory. Featured items include everything from ceramics to handmade books, fine fiber art, hats, handbags, food, and jewelry. foundryshow.com

DEC. 7: EXETER, Nikommo Winter Moon Celebration . Bring a gift to donate to someone in need, and the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum will welcome you with free admission to its day of storytelling, music,

and crafts by native artisans. 401-491-9063; tomaquagmuseum.org

DEC. 7–8: NORTH KINGSTOWN, Christmas at the Castle. Stroll through the c. 1678 Smith’s Castle when it’s all decked out for a celebration of Christmas past and partake in homebaked treats and mulled cider . 401-294-3521; smithscastle.org

DEC. 8, 14, 15, 28, 29: LINCOLN, Old-Fashioned Christmas/Home for the Holidays Tours

The Victorian era comes alive at the Federal-style mansion known as Hearthside, where volunteers in period garb will guide you through rooms elaborately decorated with ornaments of lace and gold, garlands, and poinsettias. On December 28 and 29, the Home for the Holidays candlelight tours are not to be missed. 401-726-0597; hearthsidehouse.org

DEC. 21–22: WESTERLY, Christmas Pops. The 200-member Chorus of Westerly joins the Pops Festival Orchestra for its annual salute to the season, with three scheduled performances at Kent Hall featuring favorites such as “Sleigh Ride” and “White Christmas.” 401-596-8663; chorusofwesterly.org

VERMONT

NOV. 22–24: BURLINGTON, Craft Vermont. The premier juried show of fine Vermont crafts

brings one-of-a-kind pieces to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, including basketry, ceramics, woodworking, paintings, furniture, glass, jewelry, and photography. 802872-8600; vermonthandcrafters.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 1: PUTNEY, Craft Tour. Take part in the oldest continuous craft tour in the country as you make your way to the studios of more than 20 of the area’s most talented artists—and at some you can even witness demonstrations of how their creations are made. 802-387-4032; putneycrafts.com

NOV. 29–DEC. 1: WOODSTOCK, Thanksgiving Weekend on the Farm . Turkey Day takes on a 19th-century flavor at Billings Farm & Museum, as it hosts traditional cooking demonstrations and “History of Thanksgiving” programs. 802-457-2355; billingsfarm.org

NOV. 30–DEC. 1: BARRE, Winter Festival of Vermont Crafters . Some 120 artisans and crafters gather at Barre Municipal Auditorium, offering handmade items and creative crafts just in time for the gift-giving season. From journals and pottery to beeswax candles and specialty foods—if it’s better when made by hand, you’ll likely find it here. greaterbarrecraftguild.com

NOV. 30–DEC. 1: KILLINGTON, Audi FIS Ski World Cup. Killington Resort plays host to this top Alpine racing event. The weekend includes women’s giant slalom and slalom

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DEC. 6–8: ESSEX JUNCTION, Vermont International Festival. Join the fun at this annual celebration of cultures from around the world, which brings crafts, foods, music, and dance to the Champlain Valley Expo. 802863-6713; vermontinternationalfestival.com

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DEC. 6–8: STOWE, A Traditional Christmas in Stowe. Welcome the holiday season with tree lightings, a lantern parade, wagon rides, Santa and reindeer visits, and carolers. Experience candy cane pulling and wreath making, try gingerbread and cookie decorating, and enjoy performances, ice skating, and more. 802-503-5771; stowevibrancy.com

DEC. 6–JAN. 1: MANCHESTER, Hildene Holidays. Tour the beautiful country estate that was once home to Mary and Robert Todd Lincoln to see how it looks while decorated for Christmas c. 1912. Sights, sounds, and scents of the season abound. Musicians will play the Lincolns’ 1908 Aeolian organ and Steinway piano. 802-362-1788; hildene.org

DEC. 7: BURLINGTON, Winter’s Eve Celebration. Come calling on Ethan and Fanny Allen at their homestead for an evening of fun. First visit the 18th-century tavern to take part in period group dances, hear live music, and see historical demonstrations and participate in hands-on crafts. Then enjoy a lantern-lit tour of the Allen House complete with historical reenactors. 802865-4556; ethanallenhomestead.org

DEC. 7: PLYMOUTH NOTCH, Coolidge Holiday Open House. Historic Plymouth Notch is the backdrop for this Christmas tradition, featuring the bedecked birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge, old-time music, sleigh rides, craft demonstrations, and kids’ activities. 802-672-3773; historicsites.vermont.gov

DEC. 7: WESTON, Christmas in Weston . A day of fun for all ages is in store during this townwide annual event. Visit with Santa at the Vermont Country Store before climbing aboard a horse-drawn wagon for a ride. Stop by the Weston Playhouse for puppet and magic shows or visit Old Parish Church for a reading of A Christmas Carol , then spend the day reveling in food tastings, greenhouse tours, and craft demonstrations, accompanied by music and caroling. Stick around for the lighting of the town tree at dusk. westonvt.com

DEC. 14: MONTPELIER, Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market. You’ll find the perfect gift for everyone on your list this season as more than 45 Vermont makers and artisans present their wares at City Hall. touchofvt.org

DEC. 31: LUDLOW, Family New Year’s Eve At Okemo Mountain Resort, enjoy earlyevening ice skating, snowtubing, snowshoeing, mountain coaster rides, a magic show, bingo games, and fireworks. Families can ring in the New Year with a DJ dance party and still get the kids to bed early enough so that they’ll be awake and ready to hit the slopes bright and early on January 1. 802228-1600; okemo.com

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Sol LeWitt

A Life of Ideas

Lary Bloom

A fascinating, detailed, and moving account on the life and work of a truly genius artist. A must read for anyone interested in Art.”

João Leonardo

Forever Seeing

New Beauties

Eve M. Kahn

“From a forgotten box of letters Kahn stiches together the life of Mary Rogers Williams.”

—Marcia Ely, Brooklyn Historical Society

Frog Hollow

Susan Campbell

“With a journalist’s keen eye and nose for storytelling, Campbell peels back the layers of one gritty New England city neighborhood.”

Elizabeth J. Normen, Connecticut Explored

Connecticut Architecture

Christopher Wigren

“A journey through Connecticut history and architecture, Wigren illuminates these places with stories enlivening the world around us.”

Duo Dickinson, author of A Home Called New England

This Holiday Season Delve into the Past via Non-Fiction Historical Narrative DENIZENS: A Narrative of Captain George Denison and His New England Contemporaries

Enjoy Opening Doors to 17th Century Adventures

Time travel to 17th Century England & New England is possible via DENIZENS. Find out if life in the 1600s would suit you and whether you would stay in England or choose a new life in New England. One of your literary adventures might take you to Bishop’s Stortford, England in December 1620 where the baptism of George Denison takes place in St. Michael’s Church & a 12th century font was used (which can still be seen today). You can then travel with George to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later into battle during the English Civil War. Will you choose to side with the Parliamentarians or the Royalists during this war? Maybe you will decide to establish a farm and an orchard which will have Roxbury Russet apples near your mansion house. What 17th Century adventures might come to light from the pages of DENIZENS?

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The Sweet Life

(Continued from p. 49)

Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the baking pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately. (If you want to keep baked puffs, freeze them and then reheat them in a 350° oven for a few minutes.) Yields about 60 gougères.

DOUBLE-GINGER CHOCOLATE MOLASSES COOKIES

molasses cookie family but have so many surprises: crystallized ginger, lots of dark chocolate, and an optional bit of instant espresso. I like molding them in muffin tins, which turn out thicker, more uniformly shaped cookies.”

2¼ cups (306 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1–2 teaspoons instant espresso, to taste (optional)

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon baking soda

cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

1⁄ 3 cup (67 grams) packed light brown sugar

1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

½ cup unsulfured molasses

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1⁄ 3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

7 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Granulated sugar, for rolling

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso (if using), spices, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer with a large bowl), beat the butter and sugars together on medium-low speed until fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. Add the yolk and beat for 1 minute, then add the molasses and vanilla, beating until smooth. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once, and pulse until the risk of flying flour passes. Working on low speed, mix the dough until the flour is almost but not completely incorporated. Add the crystallized ginger and chocolate chips and mix until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough and the ginger and chocolate are evenly distributed. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it, and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350°. Butter or spray regular muffin tins.

Have a medium cookie scoop at hand. (Alternatively, you can use a rounded tablespoonful of dough for each cookie.) Find a glass with a bottom measuring about 2 inches in diameter that you can use to flatten the dough; cover the bottom in plastic wrap. Spoon some sugar into a wide shallow bowl.

For each cookie, mold a scoop of dough into a ball between your palms, then turn it in the sugar to coat and put it into a muffin cup. Use the glass to flatten each ball until it almost reaches the sides of the cup.

Bake for about 13 minutes, rotating the tins from top to bottom

Double-Ginger Chocolate Molasses Cookies

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and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be lightly set around the edges and softer in the center. Transfer to racks and let rest for 15 minutes before unmolding the cookies and placing them on racks to cool completely (if you’re baking in batches, make sure the tins are cool before reusing). The cookies can be kept in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Yields about 36 cookies.

SWEDISH VISITING CAKE

“My friend Ingela Helgesson’s mother used to claim that you could start making this when you saw guests coming up the road and have it ready by the

time they were settling down for coffee. It’s thin and light with a golden sugar crust and an interior that is soft, chewy, and moist.”

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

(optional)

½ teaspoon pure almond extract

(optional)

1 cup (136 grams) all-purpose flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

¼ cup sliced almonds

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°. Butter a seasoned 9-inch castiron skillet, a 9-inch round cake pan, or even a pie pan.

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the lemon zest and blend with your fingers until moist and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and the extracts, if you’re using them. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the skillet and smooth the top with the spatula. Scatter the sliced almonds over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar. If you’re using a cake or pie pan, place it on a baking sheet.

Bake until the cake is golden and a little crisp on the outside, 25 to 30 minutes; the inside will remain moist. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides to loosen it. You can serve the cake, warm or cool, directly from the skillet or turn it out onto a plate, then flip it right-side up onto a serving plate. Well wrapped, it will keep for about 5 days at room temperature or up to 2 months in the freezer. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

NOT-JUST-FOR-THANKSGIVING CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD CAKE

“Part cake, part torte, and even part bar cookie, this dessert has two basic elements: a double layer of shortbread and a filling of fresh homemade cranberry and orange jam.”

FOR THE FILLING

1 large navel orange

1 12-ounce bag cranberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar, plus more as needed

FOR THE CAKE

2½ cups (340 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (208 grams) granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

Swedish Visiting Cake

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1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

First, make the filling: Grate the zest of the orange into a medium heavybottomed saucepan. Slice off the peel, remove the cottony white pith, and slice between the membranes to release the orange segments (be sure to reserve the membranes). Cut the segments into ¼-inch-wide pieces and toss into the pan.

Squeeze the juice from the membranes into a measuring cup until you get ¼ cup (if you come up short, add water to make ¼ cup). Add this to the saucepan.

Add the cranberries, stir in ¾ cup sugar, set the pan over medium heat and, bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the cranberries pop and your spoon leaves tracks, about 5 minutes. Scrape the jam into a bowl and taste it—if it’s too tart, add sugar. Cool to room temperature. (The filling can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Then, make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer in a large bowl), beat the butter on medium

speed until soft and smooth. Add 1 cup sugar and continue to beat until it dissolves into the butter. Reduce mixing speed to low and add the egg and yolk, beating until absorbed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, mixing it in by hand only until incorporated. The dough will be thick but quite malleable.

Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface and gather it into a ball, then divide it into halves and pat each into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated overnight; set it out at room temperature for about 20 minutes before proceeding.)

When you are ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan (preferably nonstick) and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

To create the bottom layer of the cake, put one piece of dough into the pan and press it lightly and evenly across the bottom with your fingertips. Spread the cranberry filling over the dough.

Unwrap the second piece of dough, but leave it sitting on the plastic. Press or roll out the dough until it is the same diameter as the pan. Carefully lift it and invert onto the filling; peel away the plastic and use your fingers to even out this dough layer as necessary to cover the filling. Brush the top of the cake very lightly with water and sprinkle with the remaining granulated sugar.

Bake until the top is lightly golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for about 20 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the cake, remove the sides of the pan, and let cool to room temperature.

To finish, dust with confectioners’ sugar (we used a circle stencil to make a festive pattern). Serve as is or with a big scoop of ice cream. Tightly wrapped, the cake will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature or up to 2 months in the freezer. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

Not-Just-for-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

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New Englanders still follow this distinctive set of rules, says Smith, the author of The Etiquette Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Manners . “Live and let live. Don’t tread on me. You do what you want to do in your house, and I’ll do what I want to do in my house. We’re so polite we don’t want to be in anybody else’s business.”

It’s in business that the Posts and the rest of the etiquette industry are finding new importance and their next frontier.

Among the other topics that invite a chill from Lizzie Post is how Americans have come to lose their manners. It’s a question based on too broad of an assumption, she says. Everyone is not unmannered always . Senning agrees. “Etiquette becomes much less useful when you’re using it to judge other people,” he says.

But some explanations for the state of incivility emerge from conversations with the Posts and others. Reality TV. Technology. “It’s very easy for our communication to become inconsiderate,” says Post, whose own pet peeve is when someone stops responding to a chain of texts. Online, “people think that that illusion of anonymity frees them from social constraint,” says Senning.

Life has also sped up. Helicopter parents overschedule their children, who linger in extended adolescence. “There was a time when people learned manners and etiquette and proper behavior and values, and they learned these things at home,” says Lydia Ramsey, an etiquette coach and author of Lydia Ramsey’s Little Book of Table Manners. “Now you have both parents working and no time for everybody to sit down and eat together. The last thing they’re paying attention to is manners.”

It’s also true that sensitivities are heightened. Thanks in part to #MeToo, “people are just now becoming aware that hugging isn’t something everybody likes,” says Post. Her professional advice? “I would tell that person, ‘Please don’t. You really could make someone very uncomfortable.’”

(Here Emily Post seems prescient.

“‘Keep your hands to yourself!’ might almost be put at the head of the first chapter of every book on etiquette,” she wrote.) But polarized politics also makes the way that people talk to one another now about such things as rights and race “incredibly fraught,” says Lizzie Post.

Role models, too, have gotten scarce. Nearly 70 percent of Americans of both parties, in an Associated Press poll during the 2016 presidential race, said the candidates were not examples of the highest standards of diplomacy or tact, but in fact outdid the general public in their levels of vulgarity and rudeness. “What we’re living in now is just so shrill,” says Crystal Rockwood, who builds and repairs reputations as a specialist in crisis public relations after having taken the Emily Post Institute’s business training course. (“Talk about being intimidated! But after I did it, I realized these are the kinds of people who make you feel so comfortable.”)

Americans’ perceptions of their own politeness are extraordinarily subjective, however. Other polls have shown that most people say they always wave when other drivers let them into traffic, for example, but hardly anybody waves to them when they do it—a mathematical impossibility. It’s what Post refers to as the RSVP conundrum: A guest is as unhurried about returning that RSVP as the host is desperate to receive it. (Her advice in this case: It’s OK for the host to call with a reminder.)

Even she laughs, Post says, when she remembers instances when someone has been rude to her. “I try to think, have I done the same thing to them?”

On the whole, however, Americans still hugely value the standards that etiquette defines. Eight in 10 believe civility is good for the country and helps narrow divisions, according to the Weber Shandwick poll. More than 70 percent are optimistic that the future will be more collegial. And more than 40 percent agree on one way to achieve that: by teaching civility at work.

Afew blocks from the institute, at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, faculty began to notice earlier this decade that arriving students struggled to connect with others. “They have the technical skills and know how to interact in a classroom setting but not how to introduce themselves to someone, how to act at a networking event, how to act at a cocktail party, what to wear to a job interview,” says Barbara Arel, associate dean. “They’re so inside their screens that to actually communicate with someone—they’ve never learned that.”

So the business school debuted a required course in professional development. Then it added two more. They cover topics such as how to dress for success, talk to a recruiter, get a job— even how to shake hands. (Emily Post: “Who does not dislike a ‘boneless’ hand extended as though it were a spray of sea-weed?”)

“We’ve seen the need for these skills to be taught,” says Arel. “We know our students won’t succeed professionally without them.” When students in other majors come to business school events, she cringes at the hoodies they wear and the mad dashes for the free food. “They don’t realize how important these things are to them until they get out.”

That’s a major reason etiquette is back: because it offers a competitive advantage. “Good manners are a differentiator,” Smith says. Or as Emily Post put it, “A fundamental knowledge of etiquette is no less an asset in business or public life, or in any other contact with people, than it is in society.”

Business types don’t actually call this etiquette . They call it customer service, civility, or communication skills. Whatever it’s called, there’s more demand for it than ever. The Posts have conducted business etiquette seminars for companies including Emirates Airline, Le Méridien Hotels, Barclays Financial, UBS, and Geico. “People in the business world understand how much the way their employees act translates to the bottom line,” says Post. “Imagine those mixers, those let’sgrab-a-drink-after-work events—all of those are places where you can mess up and lose the business.”

for information, prices, and personal attention.

It’s not just in the business world that growing awareness of the lack of good behavior seems to be creating a demand for more of it. Some 1.3 million videos were uploaded to YouTube in the past year alone with “etiquette” in their titles. One of the most debated questions on the Awesome Etiquette podcast was about an incident in which a group of friends spent three hours agreeing on the toppings for a pizza. (It’s not helpful to say, “I don’t care,” which just prolongs the indecision, the Posts advised.) There is a lot of interest these days in apologies (“How about ‘I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable’—not ‘ if I made you,’” Lizzie Post says) and forgiveness (“We so need to recognize that we’re all human”). The new book about cannabis etiquette exposes a demand for advice about how to handle entirely new kinds of social situations (ask before lighting up whether anybody minds the smoke, wipe the mouthpiece before passing the vape pen).

It’s much like karma, Smith says. “If you’re polite to the postal worker and the bus driver and you make eye contact with the person handing you your cup of coffee, you’re going to find that that’s reflected back to you. If you start yelling at the car that cut you off in traffic, you’re going to go down the vicious cycle.”

Smith is optimistic. “We do have lots of opportunities to be nicer and more polite to each other. But look more closely: For every person who double-parks, you see another person holding the door open for somebody with a stroller.”

Post thinks so too. “I’m hopeful, because every single day somebody does something nice,” she says, before saying good-bye in the parking lot of the institute’s office with a firm handshake and steady eye contact. “Good things happen every day. Be grateful for them. Write them down. That’s a really good way to see that there’s still a place for etiquette in the world.”

After all, as Emily Post said: “Consideration for the rights and feelings of others is not merely a rule for behavior in public but the very foundation upon which social life is built.”

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Available in:

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90-day money-back guarantee — 12-month warranty.To order: Send cost for unit(s) plus $10.00 each for shipping and handling (in Mass. add 6.25% tax) by check, money order, MasterCard, Visa, or Discover number and expiration date to Micron Corp. Call

responsible for errors once proof has been signed— or if not returned by the above date. that color proof/pdf is to show color break only. Colors do not accurately actual printed advertisement as it will appear in the publication.

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Statement of Ownership

(Required under Act of August 12, 1970, Sect 3685, Title 39, United States Code.)

September 23, 2019: Yankee-Bi-monthly, published at Dublin, Cheshire County, New Hampshire 03444. Published by Yankee Publishing Incorporated. Publisher: Brook E. Holmberg., Dublin, NH. Editor: Mel Allen, Dublin, NH. Owners: Christina G. Bell, Dublin, NH: H. Hansel Germond, Dublin, NH: Melanie G. Germond, Dublin NH: Rachel T. Germond, Dublin, NH: Judson D. Hale Jr., Dublin, NH: Beatrix T. Sanders, Dublin, NH: Cornelia T. Trowbridge, Dublin, NH: James R. Trowbridge, Dublin, NH; Philip R. Trowbridge, Dublin, NH; Daniel Hale, Dublin, NH; Christopher Briggs-Hale; Yankee Publishing Inc. Employee Ownership Trust, 1121 Main St., Dublin, NH 03444.

Average preceding 12 months: Press run: 323,402. Paid sales through dealers: 16,490. Paid/req. subscriptions: 250,559. Total paid: 267,049. Office use, etc: 6,983. Total distribution: 274,032. Returns from news agents: 49,370. Total: 323,402. September/October

2019: Press run: 313,855. Paid sales through dealers: 15,725. Paid/req. subscriptions: 252,288. Total paid: 268,013. Office use, etc.: 5,153. Total Distribution: 273,148. Returns from news agents: 40,707. Total: 313,855.

I certify that the above statements made by me are correct and complete.

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Island Dreams Necklace

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18-inch sterling silver chain X4126 ... $195

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That’s a Wrap

The Massachusetts maker of that singular holiday confection, ribbon candy, decides it’s time to bow out.

You probably have an opinion about ribbon candy— definitely an acquired taste, but also one of the most delicate and beautiful of holiday treats. “It’s a nostalgia item for a lot of people,” says Jim Gilson, president of F.B. Washburn Candy in Brockton, Massachusetts. “Ribbon candy is like one of those Christmas songs they play every year: We might not always want to admit it, but when the season comes around, we’re looking for it.”

Many New Englanders have never experienced a Christmas season without those corrugated creations that are one part candy, one part decoration. But this summer brought the ribbon-cutting word that Gilson’s company was discontinuing production and putting the ribbon candy portion of its business up for sale.

America’s oldest family-owned candy company, F.B. Washburn has been making confections of various sorts since 1856, when Franklin Pierce was president. Christmas wouldn’t even be declared a national holiday until 1870.

The exact origins of ribbon candy have been lost to history. F.B. Washburn didn’t get into the ribbon candy business until the 1960s. But since 1986, when it bought out Sevigny’s, the Massachusetts company that was its chief competitor, F.B. Washburn has not only supplied the treats to large retailers like Walmart under the Sevigny’s brand name but also served as the under-the-radar maker of ribbon candy sold by Russell Stover, Fannie Farmer, and other familiar brands.

The production season for F.B. Washburn’s ribbon candy stretched from March through Thanksgiving, during which time the company would churn out 400 pounds of ribbon candy an hour, 10 hours

a day, four days a week. “I grew up learning how to make candy,” says Gilson, who, along with his cousin Doug, represents the third generation of his family to run the company. “I’ve made ribbon candy for the last 44 Christmases. There’s a rhythm to a seasonal business, almost like a harvest. Watching inventory build is like watching crops grow.”

But now, with no fourth generation champing at the bit to take over, the Gilsons say, “it is time for us to pass the torch to someone who appreciates the tradition and can build on it.” —Joe

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