Down East magazine, has been publishing since August 1954, and continues as one of Maine's most prominent monthly magazines. Their web site's history page provides the following description:

"The goal of Down East has always been to hold a mirror up to Maine — its storied past and lively present — and to celebrate its flinty, independent character and unhurried way of life. As Maine has changed with the times, however, so has Down East. Today the state has come to embrace its future as well as its past. Accordingly, the magazine now focuses more on contemporary Maine life and what the future might bring and less on historical background and quaint rusticity. Booming circulation and advertising gains demonstrate the wisdom of this editorial shift."

Portland Public Library's collection of Down East is complete, and begins with the first issue, August 1954. The hard copies are available in the Portland Room.

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Submissions from 2005

"North by East" piece on the Rev. Arlene Tully of the Pleasant Street United Met

"North by East" piece on the Run of the River Committee in Skowhegan, which want

"North by East" piece on the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, w

"North by East" piece on the shifting and ambiguous boundary definitions given b

"North by East" piece on the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine's proposed amendment

"North by East" piece on the state's first commercial lobster hatchery in Stonin

"North by East" piece on the thoroughbred horse, Rockport Harbor, who is owned b

"North by East" piece on the town of Greenwood, which is noted for having unusua

"North by East" piece on the urban legend that Portland has more restaurants per

"North by East" piece on the Web site for the town of Franklin, created by Mike

"North by East" piece on this month's 21st annual Maine-Nebraska Friendship Seri

"North by East" piece on three sightings of mountain lions in Lincoln County in

"North by East" piece on Upper Kennebec Valley Memorial High School in Bingham,

"North by East" piece on Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Anim

"North by East" piece with a "helpful guide" for those who confuse Portland, Mai

"North by East" piece with some statistics on Portland, including population bre

"North by East" piece with statistics on automobiles in Maine in 1905--the year

"North by East" piece with statistics on the Scotia Prince, the seasonal ferry b

"North by East" piece with statistics on visits to Maine's ski slopes from 1984-

"North by East" statistic on Maine's teen pregnancy rate, which dropped from 14.

"North by East" statistic on the decline of the sardine industry in Maine, from

Olivia Cabot has fearlessly made over a sedate townhouse on Portland's West End, Virginia Wright

Painter Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) can be said to have "invented Monhegan" throug, John Hadley

Paramedic Kevin McGinnis of Hallowell has analyzed Maine's emergency medical ser, Andrew Vietze

Peaks Island, with a year-round population of 1,000 that triples in the summer,, Wayne Curtis

Portland dining guide and restaurant directory.

Profile of and interview with Maine native Eli Pariser, 24, who leads the online, Joshua F. Moore

Profile of ceramic artist Cathryn Schroeder Hammond, who lives with her husband, Edgar Allen Beem

Profile of Dennis and Martha "Marty" Gleason, owners of Gleason Fine Art in Boot, Edgar Allen Beem

Profile of Jill Hoy, one of the state's premier plein air painters, and her husb, Edgar Allen Beem

Profile of Lucinda Yates, of South Portland, who went from homelessness to headi, Virginia Wright

Profile of Marion Gray, 80, of Port Clyde, who has been conducting Handel's "Mes, Edgar Allen Beem

Profile of Michael Heath, 44, executive director of the Christian Civic League o, Jeff Clark

Profile of painter Alex Katz, 78, of Lincolnville, whose oil paintings, acclaime

Profile of Portland native, former lawyer, and director of planning and developm, Jeff Clark

Profile of Republican centrist and U.S. senator, Susan Collins of Bangor, who is, Jeff Clark

Profile of Roxanne Quimby, founder of Burt's Bees, resident of Palm Beach and Wi, Gerry Boyle

Profile of Sue Keating of Sweet Pea Gardens in Surry, a business that she owns w, Rebecca Martin Evarts

Profile of the Reverend Paul Plante, 62, pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Catholi, Monica Wood

Profile of "Tomato Lady" Amy LeBlanc, of Whitehill Farm in Wilton, who grows mor, Sally Noble

Profile of Vietnam vet, Bowdoin College graduate, lawyer, and executive director, Jeff Clark

Profile of wild-animal specialist Dave Sparks, 54, of Windham, who runs Sparks A, Ken Textor

Public school enrollment has dropped from a peak of 250,000 in 1975 and is predi, Jeff Clark

Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961) of Dexter, a two-time Republican governor of Mai, Edgar Allen Beem

Retired school superintendent Arthur Pierce, 79, of Belfast, is modest about the, Rebecca Martin Evarts

"Retiring & Relocating to Maine: A Down East Guide to Settling Down in the Pine

Round Pond, a village in Bristol on a protected harbor, has a legendary Fourth o, Elizabeth Peavey

Scarborough, a 54-square-mile area with six distinct villages, is the fastest-gr, Michaela Cavallaro

Thanks to a Right-of-Way Discovery grant from the Maine Coastal Program, the tow, Nancy Comiskey

The 1999 closing of Sherman Lumber Co. and the 2002 bankruptcy of Great Northern, Brian Fiske