For much of Provincetown’s history, whales have been central to its economy and identity. The Wampanoag people used every part of the whale. The first entry made in Mourt’s Relation, […]
History
HISTORY
In the Lodge at Provincetown’s Oldest Boys’ Club
The Masons have been meeting here since 1795
PROVINCETOWN — It is not meant to be a secret that the world’s most ubiquitous secret society — or rather “society of secrets,” as described to the Independent by one […]
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
On Locust Road, a 17th-Century House Is Lived In, Gently
Lucy and Tom Ott receive the Abbott Award for the Atwood-Knowles house
EASTHAM — Situated in the “Old Town Centre” historic district, the Atwood-Knowles house is actually two distinct dwellings — the second much older than the first. The first, a one-and-a-half-story […]
GADGETRY
Local History, Told Through Tools
Cranberry rakes, asparagus bunchers, and ice tongs tell of a town’s practical past
EASTHAM — As shops and galleries all around scramble to greet the first wave of the summer season, volunteers inside the Chester Ranlett Tool Museum here are doing their part […]
RETROSPECTIVE
Truro’s Beach Back Then, Unveiled
Brush Hollow beachgoers remember the days of ‘raucous nudity’
TRURO — Fifty years ago, on a stretch of shore known as Brush Hollow, nestled between the ocean and a high dune just south of Ballston Beach, multigenerational throngs gathered […]
REVIVAL
Retracing the Road to Eastham’s Millennium Grove
No tents or tabernacles remain, but the spot off Campground Road once hosted thousands of revivalists
EASTHAM — A silverprint photograph in the collection of the Eastham Historical Society depicts a dirt road and a grove of trees. A tree in the foreground is blurred, capturing […]
BUILDING EASTHAM
This Old Eastham House: The Lobster Shanty
Research on a property’s past turns up a classic Cape Cod tale
EASTHAM — With its white wooden shingles, lobster traps, and sunny yellow awnings, the Lobster Shanty on Route 6 evokes the Cape Cod that Patti Page sang about in her […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
When Cranberry Fever Came to Provincetown
Thomas Lothrop was ridiculed — until his Shank Painter bogs became wildly successful
Like a favorite fishing hole or blueberry patch, one’s preferred swath of wild cranberries becomes a closely held secret. Most folks will be adding a bag or two of commercially […]
VETERANS DAY
Nearing 100, Army Nurse Dana Manoogian Remembers World War II
‘You didn’t have time to think about it being hard’
EASTHAM — The 48th Field Hospital Second Medical Unit of the U.S. Army landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 15, 1944, nine days after D-Day. Shadowing the Second […]
OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT
Rebuilding Thalassa
NAT BULL / BUILDER & SHACK WIZARD / THE PROVINCE LANDS
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 […]
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 […]
