Living In The New England States Birthplace Of A Nation

[Music] in these six states both tradition and progress are strong influences on the lives of the people [Music] these are the people who think of themselves as yankees there are a lot of old buildings here that date back to the early days of our country history is an important influence on the lives of new englanders and so is the sea these two influences together have shaped the lives of a boy and his father who fished for lobsters and continue a family tradition for three generations now my family has been in the lobster business back to my grandfather my father taught lobstering to me i'm teaching my son [Music] hmm each fisherman sets 150 to 300 traps we haul them or try to haul them every day and put fresh bait in them business is very poor the whole business is over fish too many traps and too many lobster catches [Applause] the catch is way off from other years and many of the lapses we're getting now are too small the only thing that's saving the lobster fishermen is the price increase which i guess all the consumers know about the price is three four times about what it used to be and still going up [Music] but there's not too many lobsters i don't know what we'll do but we'll have to do something soon [Music] the sea and new england's history link up in the mayflower this replica was built to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the pilgrims in america in 1620 when new england's history began [Music] plymouth plantation has been reconstructed too to help others share with new englanders in the celebration of their history under the costumes are modern yankees who share some of the qualities of the early settlers their caution conservatism self-reliance ingenuity that helped lay a strong foundation for a new country the rocky hilly and forested land of new england that made life difficult for the early settlers makes life pleasant for modern tourists and means jobs for people in the tourist industry that's my motel oh well it's not mine i mean i manage it we're full here about every night in the summer they come here from all over the united states really keep me busy i'm sure the tourists see more of new england than i'll ever see [Music] in the winter of course they come up here to ski winters are cold with lots of snow but it's the scenery that brings people here in the summer and fall too we have a lot of scenery i think the new england scenery is beautiful the best in the united states people come to see the old man in the mountain stone walls separating the fields from the woods many freshwater lakes [Music] the dunes on cape cod title flats for waiting the flume at franconia notch of course many tourists are interested in history you notice our motel has a colonial style even though our guests expect modern conveniences here i know they enjoy the old historic parts of new england very much the history of the united states as a nation begins in new england stand your ground a call to the minutemen on lexington green in massachusetts buckman tavern in lexington headquarters of the minutemen inside it's still 1773. so new england honors its minutemen of lexington green and the minutemen who fought at concord and tourists there can walk across the historic north bridge to the first real battlefield of the revolutionary war the bunker hill monument in charlestown massachusetts honors the patriots who fought here patriot paul revere his home is the oldest standing house in boston [Music] the old north church of paul revere's legendary midnight ride you remember one if by land two if by sea the old state house near it the boston massacre took place later from its balcony came announcements of important news the signing of the declaration of independence the repeal of the stamp act and the declaration of peace with england in fennel hall in boston sam adams and other patriots held historic meetings smaller massachusetts towns had their meeting houses too this one is in sturbridge another place where new england's history is brought to life for tourists old sturbridge village is a recreation of a farming community of the revolutionary war period nearly everyone farmed in those days eventually farming gave way to a new kind of work manufacturing that used new england's abundant water power do [Music] america's industrial development had its beginnings in the old mills and factories on the river banks that put the water to work but today they've given way to automation and mass production in new england i got my start in the shoemaking business about 35 years ago we're the leading producer of leather goods here in new england i'm what you call a soul man my job is getting that soul on the shoe the soul is cemented the machine presses the soul down in a matter of seconds and the soul is stuck on there you'll wear the shoe out before the soul falls off yes i've been working with shoes for 35 years my family's been in manufacturing since my grandfather come off the farm but the last few years things have been changing traditional industries aren't as important leather still is of course but we've seen textiles move south and the shoe factory where i started has moved to spain but i'm still in shoes new england's industries produce mostly small articles that are easily shipped to other parts of the united states in the world austin is tied more to new england's future than to its past this is route 128 many electronics plants and research laboratories lie along this highway that curves around boston [Music] the plant where i work is one of those buildings down there this is it we manufacture computers here lots of plants here making cameras electronic equipment parts for space suits and space vehicles radar computers i helped develop test facilities for checking out the computers and peripheral devices i went to vocational school in fall river no college not many college men here most of us arrived as technicians and advanced up through the company there is a chance for someone who comes from vocational school to get a good job in industry but you know some of the best brain power in our business has come out of our technical institutes like mit or lowell tech or worcester polytechnic institute new england's heavy on the research end of industry new england's also seen big developments in other fields these buildings are part of a large insurance complex new england has become a center for insurance and medicine too new things are taking shape but tradition hasn't been forgotten old and new stand together in new england new england has changed from a region where fishing and agriculture were most important to one where industry and technology now dominate new england's people are ingenious inventive with a reputation for quality workmanship they claim the nation's best scenery and they live amid reminders of american tradition and history these are the yankees the new englanders [Music] you