Frequent Flyer :
Ann Hood
FROM EXCERPTS TO ESSAYS , THE ACCLAIMED LOCAL AUTHOR REFLECTS ON HER STORIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAGAZINE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS .
Ann Hood may be a celebrated New York Times best-selling author , but she ’ s also a born and bred Rhode Islander who adores the Ocean State . Fortunately , Rhode Island Monthly has had the pleasure of devoting many a glossy page to her captivating writing style over the years , ranging from personal essays on favorite local spots and traditions to excerpts from her latest novels .
When asked about her favorite magazine stories , Hood recalls a piece she wrote about her summer job as a cocktail waitress at the Dunes Club in Narragansett . It ’ s a special time capsule for her , chronicling encounters with the state ’ s elite , lasting friendships and private beach access . However , it also now holds a tie to her present .
When Hood and her husband , fellow writer Michael Ruhlman , first began dating , he naturally wanted to brush up on her oeuvre . “ He had already read most of my books but he wanted to read some of my essays , so he Googled my name and the Dunes Club story came up ,” she says .
“ He called me and said , ‘ You worked at the Dunes Club in 1977 ? Do you remember a guy named Thomas ?’”
It took Hood a moment , but she eventually remembered the man who was charged with cooking meals for the staff . The man also so happened to be Thomas Keller , owner of the famed French Laundry restaurant in California , and the subject of Ruhlman ’ s The French Laundry Cookbook .
“ So , when my husband first came to Rhode Island to meet my mom , I drove him to the Dunes Club and we took a picture to send to Thomas Keller ,” Hood says with a laugh . “ It ’ s just such a Rhode Island story and so kismet that I married the guy who wrote the cookbook for the guy who made my meals at work .”
A realization that may never have been made if Hood never chose to revisit that time in our June 2014 issue . But her fondness for Little Rhody ’ s magazine doesn ’ t end there .
“ I also always liked that [ former editor ] Sarah Francis would often ask me to write something around holidays in Rhode Island ,” she says . “ I spoke with a national magazine editor recently about writing a piece on the Feast of the Seven Fishes , and she was like , ‘ The feast of what ?’ I never have to worry about that with Rhode Island Monthly . It always feels like a homecoming .” — Kaitlyn Murray
A WomAn
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Throughout her writing career , Ann Hood has found critical acclaim and commercial success . But it ’ s her gift for exploring the human condition that inspires her devoted readers . by paul e . kandarian
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JANUARY 2017 59
35 Years of Rhode Island History
1988 : Workers begin to uncover the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket rivers in downtown Providence .
1991 : New governor Bruce Sundlun closes forty-five credit unions after the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corp . collapses .
1992 : The new Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge opens after seven years of construction .
1993 : Car insurance finally becomes mandatory in Rhode Island .
1994 : After 120 years , the last Navy ship leaves Newport Harbor .
1995 : Almacs , the state ’ s last locally owned grocery chain , files for bankruptcy for the second time .
1996 : Rocky Point Amusement Park ’ s assets are auctioned off .
1996 : T . F . Green Airport opens a $ 209 million terminal .
1997 : Ground is broken for Providence Place mall ( below ).
2000 : Brown University ’ s Ruth Simmons becomes the Ivy League ’ s first Black president .
2002 : Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci is convicted on a single count of federal racketeering conspiracy .
2003 : A fire at the Station nightclub kills 100 people and injures 230 .
2003 : A clash ensues when state police close down the Narragansett Tribe ’ s smoke shop .
2006 : A Rhode Island jury finds paint companies liable for creating a public nuisance by selling lead-based paints .
2007 : The Masonic Temple opens as the Renaissance Providence Hotel ( above ) after lying unfinished and abandoned for eighty-one years .
2010 : Historic floods cause major destruction , leaving Warwick Mall underwater .
2012 : Curt Schilling ’ s company , 38 Studios , goes bankrupt .
2013 : Rhode Island becomes the tenth state to legalize same-sex marriage .
2013 : Twin River Casino rolls out table games after voters approve local and statewide referendums .
2015 : Gina Raimondo is elected the state ’ s first female governor .
2016 : Buddy Cianci dies at the age of seventy-four .
2016 : The Block Island Wind Farm becomes the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States .
2017 : Viola Davis , who grew up in Central Falls , wins an Oscar for her role in Fences .
2020 : Rhode Islanders vote to remove “ and Providence Plantations ” from the state ’ s name .
2021 : Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee becomes governor after Gina Raimondo is confirmed as secretary of commerce .
2022 : The state legalizes the sale of recreational marijuana . Recreational sales begin at five marijuana compassion centers throughout the state .
2023 : The Providence Civic Center / Amica Mutual Pavilion turns fifty .
— Research assistance by Jenna Pelletier , Christine Pavao and Dana Laverty .
PHOTOGRAPHY ( OPPOSITE PAGE ) COURTESY OF PAUL KANDARIAN ; COURTESY OF BIG BLUE BUG SOLUTIONS ; ( THIS PAGE , TOP ) COURTESY OF GO PROVIDENCE ; ( BELOW ) POSTCARD COURTESY OF PROVIDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2023 45