This Week’s “Our Towns”: An Alpaca Drive-Thru in Massachusetts, Hearty Maine Potato Soup, Mel Allen’s Letter from Dublin & More

Focus on All Things New England Having trouble viewing this email? [View this email on the web](. APRIL 24, 2020 Letter from Dublin From the young son of a Russian immigrant growing up in Philadelphia in 1918, to a toddler in New Hampshire who’s sitting in on Yankee’s video meetings today, editor Mel Allen takes a look at the world through the eyes of children in his latest weekly dispatch. [READ MORE]( Wish You Were Here Spotlighting a top regram of the week from the Yankee [Instagram feed](. A spring scene in the Historic Hill neighborhood of Newport, RI | Photo by Shannon Hammond/[@photobyshannon]( Quote of the Week “… it is a serious thing / just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.” —From [“Invitation,”]( a poem by Pulitzer winner and longtime Massachusetts resident Mary Oliver that calls on us to slow down, listen to songbirds, and find solace in the beauty of nature. Cooking at Home Two of the most reliable vegetables in your quarantine pantry are broccoli and potatoes, both good keepers that are typically easy to find in local markets. They star in one of our favorite comfort-food recipes, [Aroostook Potato and Broccoli Soup](. A hearty dish inspired by the potato farms of northern Maine, it coaxes a lot of flavor from just six ingredients, including salt and pepper. No fresh broccoli on hand? No problem: You can use frozen broccoli florets, cauliflower (fresh or frozen), or Brussels sprouts. [GET THE RECIPE]( Inspiration from the Archives Each week, we’re sharing a classic Yankee story whose power to lift readers’ spirits is as strong today as when it was first published. In a “Here in New England” column from 2007, Mel Allen visits [Spooky View Farm]( a small New Hampshire dairy farm that suffered a devastating fire but was kept alive by caring neighbors: “People just came to help from everywhere.” [READ MORE]( Checking In Blair Marvin, co-owner of Elmore Mountain Bread in Elmore, VT | Photo by Mark Fleming Yankee has shared the stories of so many amazing New England artists and entrepreneurs — and lately, we’ve been thinking about them a lot. So deputy editor Ian Aldrich is reconnecting with some folks we’ve met along the way to see how they’re doing. This week: a family-run Vermont bakery that’s giving back, a Massachusetts cider maker facing some tough math, and a Rhode Island textile designer finding her voice as an advocate for the most vulnerable among us. [READ MORE]( Downtime DIY If you’re tired of staring at all the things around your home that need fixing — or just need a project to keep your hands busy — why not grab your toolbox and tap into some Yankee ingenuity? This week, learn how to build a [no-frills, no-turn compost bin]( that will cook up rich, garden-ready humus in weeks, not months. [READ MORE]( Pick-Me-Ups Regalo the alpaca inspires a carload of grins at the Harvard Alpaca Ranch’s “drive-through” fund-raiser for a local food pantry in Harvard, MA, last weekend. | Photo by Matthew Varrell/[Harvard Alpaca Ranch]( In our good-news roundup this week: Cooped-up kids go on an [alpaca safari]( in Massachusetts … [Food donations for Ramadan]( help new Mainers prepare for the Muslim holy month … The c. 1741 Colony House in Newport, RI, has started [ringing its bells every Friday]( to remind residents “we’re all in this together” … In Quincy, MA, a mystery woman dubbed the [“Bar Pizza Bandit”]( is sending first responders hundreds of dollars’ worth of a beloved South Shore food … [Ski bums to the rescue!]( The New England–based organization [Goggles For Docs]( is collecting new and used snow goggles as eye protection for frontline healthcare workers … And The Boston Globe marks Marathon Monday with this [heart-tugging reminder]( “Boston Is Still Running.” [READ MORE]( Vermont’s own Kevin Pearce, former pro snowboarder and founder of the [Love Your Brain Foundation]( gets to work assembling donations for [Goggles For Docs](. | Photo courtesy of Kevin Pearce/Goggles For Docs Until Next Week… Whether it’s finding comfort in the words of a legendary New England poet, learning a delicious new way to use some pantry staples, or being inspired by stories of neighbors helping neighbors, we hope we’ve given you some reasons to linger in “Our Towns.” We’ll be back next week with another care package of news and notes, so until then — Take heart, be well, and happy reading. Your friends at Yankee PS: If you like this newsletter, please pass it on to anyone you know who could use a lift! [Unsubscribe]( [Forward to a Friend]( [Send Feedback]( [Facebook](   [Instagram](    [Pinterest](    [Twitter](   Help us be sure that this email newsletter gets to your inbox. Adding our return address [Today@NewEngland.com]( to your address book may "whitelist" us with your filter, helping future email newsletters get to your inbox. Did a friend send this to you? [Sign up to receive your own copy and a free guide](. At anytime you may [update your email preferences or change your email address](. Copyright © 2020 All Rights Reserved Yankee Publishing, Inc. - PO Box 520 Dublin, NH 03444 [Our Privacy Policy](