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a glazed brioche doughnut from Lovebirds, in Kittery on the March 2025 cover of Down East magazine

Our Towns

George H. W. Bush and family

In Memoriam: George H. W. Bush, of Walker’s Point, 1924–2018

In 2015, Down East conducted the following written interview with then 91-year-old George H. W. Bush, discussing the former president’s love of Maine and the role that the family’s Kennebunkport home at Walker’s Point has played in the Bushes’ public and private lives. The interview never ran in the magazine. We present it here, alongside photographs of the Bushes at Walker’s Point, courtesy of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Camp Ellis

Sweet, Fleeting Season in Camp Ellis

In summer, Camp Ellis moves at its own carefree pace. But beneath the sultry calm, the beach enclave is waging a desperate battle with rising seas.
Richmond, Maine

River Town

Off the beaten path, Richmond’s old-fashioned downtown is way ahead of the "shop local" trend.
Portland, Exchange Street, 1970s

Once More to the City

To paraphrase Thomas Wolfe, you can’t go to the Old Port again. Or can you? Author Suzanne Strempek Shea revisits the Portland she once knew.
Penobscot Valley

How We Do It:
Penobscot Valley Spotlight

It’s long been known as “the heart of Maine,” and it only takes a quick spin through the Penobscot Valley to see why. From the mighty Penobscot River, which once carried timber from the great North Woods, to the University of Maine, to the home of Stephen King, the region is as authentically Maine as they come.
Dancers in the Bossov Ballet Theatre at Maine Central Institute.

Pittsfield Is a Place of Grace

It’s not in the mountains. It’s not on the coast. But something about friendly little Pittsfield perfectly evokes the Maine community ethic. (Also, ballerinas!)
Tara Regan

At the Helm

Tara Regan is the first woman to run both MDI boatyards for the Hinckley Company — which counts Martha Stewart among its fans.
Life Flight Healers in the Sky

Healers in the Sky

Suit up for a ride-along with LifeFlight of Maine, one of the country’s most elite air medical teams — and one of Maine’s most critical nonprofit enterprises.
Man Ice Fishing

Jackman is a Cold Frontier

Hard by the Canadian border, the winters are long, the woods are impenetrable, and the roads are lonely. And that’s the way folks in the flinty little town of Jackman like it.

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a glazed brioche doughnut from Lovebirds, in Kittery on the March 2025 cover of Down East magazine