Cars were sometimes stolen in Provincetown, reported missing, and spotted in Wellfleet, and chases ensued. They were very stimulating affairs. Speaking of a highspeed chase, Paul said, “If it’s a […]
Archives for 2023
History
POETRY
Tea Dance, Provincetown, 1982
2000
From ‘A Walk on Cape Cod’
Around the time of the millennium I lived on Cape Cod in Provincetown, in my girlfriend’s house, and I was glad to be back in my native state after twenty […]
HISTORY
An Online Archive of Provincetown’s Past — and Future
Stefan Anikewich’s Instagram account holds a trove of historical images
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
An Online Archive of Provincetown’s Past — and Future
Stefan Anikewich’s Instagram account holds a trove of historical images
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
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 […]
