TRURO — In June 1872, John Fairfield Rich, a journalist living in Ware, in central Mass., realized the fulfillment of a dream he had had a decade earlier, when he […]
History
OLD BUSINESS
A Campground for Camaraderie
After 71 years, Maurice’s is still a family tradition in Wellfleet
WELLFLEET — Back in 1949, Maurice and Ann Gauthier of New Bedford were in search of a better lifestyle for their growing family. They eventually found it in the woods […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
John Y. Newcomb, Wellfleet’s Most Famous Oysterman
Thoreau’s visit with the Rabelaisian resident of Williams Pond
Even before there was a written Wellfleet history, there were Wellfleet oysters. We know that indigenous peoples savored them raw, smoked, roasted, steamed, and dried, because of the massive shell […]
PAST PERFORMANCES
Discovering Thelma Given, Provincetown’s Paganini
A rare recording is a window into another era
It begins with the crackling sound of vinyl. The violin strums its highest strings, then tunes to the piano. An audience member coughs. These are the opening sounds of a […]
PEOPLE OF THE FIRST LIGHT
Eastham Looks to Set the Record Straight at 400th
Campfire series invites Indigenous historians to shift the storytelling
EASTHAM — Since 1620, the English side of the story of the Pilgrims’ landing at First Encounter Beach, and then Plymouth, has been the version most people learn in these […]
CANDY
The Chocolate Sparrow Flies Away
A beloved store is now a sweet memory
WELLFLEET –– On Main Street, there isn’t much to do if you’re under 10 years old. Sure, there are art galleries, coffee shops, and clothing stores, but those are pretty […]
LOCAL LORE
On Outer Cape Cod, Legends Buzz
A review of three of the most enduring tales
From pirate ships to alien sightings, folklore is part of life on the Outer Cape. The tales have long traveled from person to person, and it’s a tradition to bring […]
HISTORY UNMUDDLED
Before 1620: Who Was Here?
Wellfleet Historical Society will reopen with new Wampanoag exhibit
WELLFLEET — On the official seal of the town of Wellfleet, a party of pilgrims rows ashore in a dinghy as a crowd of indigenous people wait on the beach. […]
TRURO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Highland House Serves Up History on a Plate
Designs tell a Truro story from many points of view
TRURO — A new virtual exhibition opening Friday, July 17, at the Highland House Museum celebrates Truro’s history through paintings on a surprising kind of canvas: ceramic plates. “Looking Back, […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
The Lost Crew: A Truro Mystery
Secluded Pine Grove Cemetery and its haunting secrets
Residents of and longtime visitors to Truro are surely familiar with a grisly, dark chapter of the town’s recent past involving Pine Grove Cemetery. Even now, decades later, just reading […]
THE BANANA MAGNATE
Wellfleet’s Most Famous Son and a Fateful Partnership
How Lorenzo Baker’s United Fruit Co. became ‘the octopus’
On a July day precisely 150 years ago, a Wellfleet sea captain unloaded a cargo that would shape the course of history. By bringing the first bananas into the U.S., […]
PORTUGUESE FESTIVAL 2020
The Women Behind Cookie’s Tap: Valentina and Her Nana
Massa sovada, squid stew, and the ingredients of home, reimagined
TRURO — Valentina Cook-Wheeler isn’t one to talk about herself. But she does have some stories to tell. Although she lives in Truro now, she is not only a third-generation […]
HISTORY
PMPM Exhibit Revises Story of First Encounters
The new ‘Our Story’ at the Provincetown Museum offers Wampanoag perspective
PROVINCETOWN — This year marks the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ landing in Provincetown and the first encounters between the newly arrived Europeans and the indigenous people who lived here. […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Dissent, Disorder, and a Whiff of Witchcraft in Wellfleet
A secluded cemetery holds relics of an ancient drama
WELLFLEET — In a pretty little corner of town, there is a small, ancient burial ground, its scattering of headstones nestled amid the scrub oak leaves and pine needles. In […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
The Mysterious Cape Cod Epidemic of 1816
Eastham, the epicenter, lost 10 percent of its people
If town records offer little detail about the “fearful and fatal sickness” on Cape Cod during the late winter and early spring of 1816, the cemeteries are a melancholy testament […]
