Nat Bull is a master carpenter who learned the trades building custom houses in Chatham and then worked as the shop teacher in Provincetown until the high school graduated its […]
History
FORMER HUB
The French Cable Museum Offers a Snapshot of History
It’s one of just three such cable station museums in the world
ORLEANS — Inside a small white colonial house in Orleans is a telegraph cable station that once made this spot an international communications hub. Now it’s the French Cable Station […]
EASTHAM BY BIKE
A Guided Ride Through Local History
Learning on wheels from First Encounter to Nauset Light
EASTHAM — Sheri Cocchiola greeted me with a smile in the parking lot at First Encounter Beach on Saturday morning. She leaned against the split-rail fence in a faded yellow […]
DUNE SHACKING
Forty Hours in the Dunes
At Peg, a collective memory of the uncluttered life
TRURO — Mary DeAngelis had a few things to tell me as she drove me two miles into the Province Lands. She wanted me to know the story of a […]
SPEAKING OUT
Music and Calls to Action Mingle at This Block Party
Performance, poetry, and food made this year’s Juneteenth a celebration
PROVINCETOWN — “If we can’t undo the mistakes of the past, then we have a responsibility to acknowledge those mistakes,” said Ngina Lythcott of Provincetown, speaking to a crowd of […]
UNEARTHED
Nor’easters Reveal Remnants of Bygone Days at Ballston Beach
When the beachfront bustled with visitors to the Balls’ bungalows
TRURO — Last winter’s nor’easters, blasting the Outer Cape coastline with icy winds and churning surf, further carved away the dunes at Ballston Beach that had already been eroding at […]
RESTORATION
Preservation Hall’s Doors Have Come Home
‘Strange but magical,’ they embody stories of escape and renewal
WELLFLEET — As you walk down Main Street, past quaint shops with nautical-themed signs, you might be stopped in your tracks by the sight of the doors at Wellfleet Preservation […]
AT HOME
When Houses Floated Across Harbors
Moving was a statement of both permanence and adaptability
WELLFLEET — David Wright, the curator at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, has over the years compiled a list of houses in Wellfleet that had been moved from their […]
TOURISM
The Chamber and the Guild: The Way It Was
How Provincetown came to have two business groups
PROVINCETOWN — Eight LGBTQ business owners pooled their money in 1978 and started marketing Provincetown to gay tourists. They spent less than $1,000 on ads in New York theater magazines […]
MAYDAY
The Petterutis Remember Their ‘Nana Noon,’ a Titanic Survivor
April 14 marked the 110th anniversary of the maritime tragedy
PROVINCETOWN — Until her death at age 73, Bertha Mulvihill Noon had nightmares in which she heard the screams of those who went down with the luxury liner Titanic. Mark […]
FAMILY HISTORY
From Ukraine to Provincetown
Today’s news echoes a family’s century-old story of flight
The picture at right is a family photo. It was taken in 1898 in Kyiv, Ukraine and is the original cabinet card — a thin photograph mounted on a 4¼-by-6½-inch […]
ACTIVISM
Ella Josephine Baker
Drawing by Mary DeAngelis
Ella Baker grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about life under slavery. Her grandparents bought and farmed land that was part of a North Carolina plantation where they had […]
ACTIVISM
Fannie Lou Hamer
“Righteousness exalts a nation. Hate just makes people miserable,” was one of Fannie Lou Hamer’s mantras. She fought passionately against attempts to deny Black people the right to vote. Born […]
IN THE STACKS
A Family Portrait Lost and Then Found
The story behind a haunting trio at the Eastham library
The Eastham Room of the town’s library is brimming with archival records. But just outside the room hangs a trio of 19th-century portraits of residents whose lives were rich with […]
HOME/MAKING
Baker’s Belvernon Enters a New Era
Historic elements found in the basement and attic reappear in renovations
WELLFLEET — Jay and Allison Bombara love history. Jay is president of the historical society in Farmington, Conn., where the couple live most of the year in an antique house, […]
