The black-and-white footage zooms in on an elderly woman, her white hair tied back and a soft smile on her face, as she prunes an explosion of flowers beside her […]
History
HISTORY
Scrimshaw Was the Whalemen’s Art
A pastime for the homeward voyage
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
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 […]
