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Title
Down East Magazine: The Magazine of Maine
Description
Several years ago, an editor from this magazine was visiting the West Coast - truly terra incognita - when he happened to be introduced to one of those hyper-caffeinated marketing consultants whose wardrobe consists entirely of black. Asked where he worked, our editor happily announced, "Down East." The advertising wiz met this answer with a frown. "That's a terrible name for a magazine!" he replied. "The word down is so depressing. You need something more upbeat if you're going to have a successful product."
When Down East was founded in August of 1954, the name was commonly understood to be synonymous with the state of Maine. The term - we're often asked to explain - has its origins in the days of sail when ships, leaving Boston, sailed downwind to ports along the Maine coast and beyond. They sailed down wind to the east; hence the term down east. In days of yore Mainers were known as Downeasters the same way Indianans were known as Hoosiers and Oklahomans, Sooners. When Lillian Gish starred in a silent movie titled Way Down East, no hotshot advertising executive suggested the name be changed to Up With Mainers or else face a dismal box office.
While the term Down East hasn't fallen entirely out of usage over the past few decades - it's still in Merriam Webster's College Dictionary between downdraft and downer - the expression has definitely undergone a transformation. Outside the Pine Tree State, fewer and fewer people seem to recognize it. But inside Maine, too, there's been a change in the way the phrase is commonly understood.
Languages
English
Contact
Administrative:
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- Camden ME
- United States 04843
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- (207) 594-9191
Registrant:
- Down East Enterprise
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- Rockport ME
- United States 04856
Additional Information
Related Domains
External Links
- Alexa: DownEast.com
