Rebecca Rule

May 22, 2024 | nhmagazine.com | Rebecca Rule |Peter Noonan

In the days of the one-room schoolhouse, each town needed several, spaced out so children could walk to school, since there were no buses and darned few roads. Woodstock had five schoolhouses, each built — by decree — in the exact center of their respective school districts. Except somebody messed up, and Park Mountain School ended up being built 471/2 rods* north of center.

Apr 12, 2024 | nhmagazine.com | Rebecca Rule |Peter Noonan

Yankees* have a reputation for being hard nuts to crack: cool, remote, unfriendly, blunt, even lacking in compassion. Hogwash. Hardcore Yankees may not fawn, gush, hug or chit-chat. They may not exude warmth. Some of us don’t smile. Ever. (No need of it.) But Yankees can be just as mushy as anybody else. Inside. Famously, Mark Twain (or maybe Will Rogers) regaled a North Country audience with his most hilarious stories only to be met with stone-faced silence.

Feb 22, 2024 | nhmagazine.com | Rebecca Rule |Peter Noonan

From our house, wedged between woods and wetlands, we don’t see much sky. Too many trees close together. Except in midwinter, when the leaves go. On a clear winter’s night, we can see the stars overhead and, sometimes, the moon across the swamp. Not exactly a vista, but enough to make us feel small, enough to fill us with wonder at the vastness of the universe. New Hampshire is not Big Sky Country, but it’s no slouch when it comes to stargazing.

Dec 26, 2023 | nhmagazine.com | Rebecca Rule |Peter Noonan

Denizens of the AYUH world, that is, Yankees (born, bred or just naturally inclined) can be skeptical. For example, two neighbors stand on the roadside looking across the way at the barn on the hill. One remarks to the other, “Looks like Mr. Staines has painted his barn.”“Ayuh,” the other replies, “the front of it anyways.”Maybe it’s not skepticism exactly, but an ingrained tendency to see possibilities. All of them.

Nov 17, 2023 | nhmagazine.com | Rebecca Rule

New Hampshire isn’t Vermont nor is it Maine. The three are as different as granite, maple syrup and buttered lobster in a hot dog bun. First off, New Hampshire and Vermont are geographically compact, whereas Maine sprawls. Compare Maine’s infinite coastline to New Hampshire’s 13 miles of seacoast and Vermont’s none at all. Once, at a Burlington restaurant, I noticed clams on the menu. Who on earth would order clams so far from the ocean? I wondered and orderedthe poutine.