"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.
Submissions from 2004
"North by East" piece on Seattle-based Blethen Newspapers' sale of the Portland
"North by East" piece on student cast-offs from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, wh
"North by East" piece on students at Whitefield Elementary School, whose scores
"North by East" piece on Taiwanese student Huei-Ju "Lulu" Yen, who was finally a
"North by East" piece on the 33 percent rate of parking ticket payments in afflu
"North by East" piece on the Bangor-based 101st Air Refueling Wing of the Maine
"North by East" piece on the Belgrade Regional Health Center, which as part of a
"North by East" piece on the Black Bear license plate, dedicated exclusively to
"North by East" piece on the cargo transported by Casco Bay Lines in 2003, inclu
"North by East" piece on the city of Lewiston, which took over operations of its
"North by East" piece on the discovery of a letter written by C. F. Williams, t
"North by East" piece on the dispute between Biddeford and Saco over which town
"North by East" piece on the first mosque in the United States, and perhaps in N
"North by East" piece on the Forest Society of Maine's successful effort to rais
"North by East" piece on the increase in Mainers buying air conditioners, althou
"North by East" piece on the late, famous chef Julia Child, who made arrangement
"North by East" piece on the "Laura B," a former mailboat converted to carry pas
"North by East" piece on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's goal
"North by East" piece on the Maine Department of Transportation, which began usi
"North by East" piece on the Maine Marine Patrol, which uses a fleet of lobster
"North by East" piece on the most stolen vehicle models in Maine, including pick
"North by East" piece on the new Powerball lottery, recently adopted in Maine.
"North by East" piece on the New Sharon Congregational Church, which has been of
"North by East" piece on the new U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness
"North by East" piece on the Nickels-Sortwell House in Wiscasset, donated to the
"North by East" piece on the only slightly-worse-for-wear Twinkie that George St
"North by East" piece on the purchase by Robert Moore of Kingfield, in a state t
"North by East" piece on the sale of the Rockland-based schooner, "Stephen Taber
"North by East" piece on the ship model in the Oceanville Baptist Church on Deer
"North by East" piece on the sora, an elusive, marsh-dwelling bird that is hunte
"North by East" piece on the state's Web site, which was rated by the Center for
"North by East" piece on the tactics used by Maine State Police troopers patroll
"North by East" piece on the top ten libraries in Maine, ranked by number of vis
"North by East" piece on the twin cities of Lewiston/Auburn, which are run respe
"North by East" piece on the unintended benefits to Maine of the four hurricanes
"North by East" piece on the University of Maine at Machias' ranking by U.S. New
"North by East" piece on Tom Duym, a vocational teacher at Deer Isle-Stonington
"North by East" piece on Township 15 Range 15, across from St. Pamphile, Quebec,
"North by East" piece on two Greenville-area icons that are on the market: Ken a
"North by East" piece on Verizon Telephone's discontinuation in March of its onc
"North by East" piece on Walt Taggart's farm in North Bath, where he has some 60
"North by East" piece on Wood Elf, a Jonesport-based business run by Shona Monro
"North by East" piece on World Wide Language Resources in Rumford, which supervi
"North by East" piece reporting that the Camden Hills share their name with anot
"North by East" piece with a list of 15 Maine towns with the highest median home
"North by East" piece with an "unofficial Maine history" detailing some events f
"North by East" piece with observations from visitors to Baxter State Park on wi
"North by East" piece with opinions and observations on "who's a Mainer?," discu
Photo essay by Gorham photographer Melonie Bennett, showcasing the lives of her
Photographer Melonie Bennett of Gorham took a candid shot of her brother-in-law