It's one of the hallmarks of life in New England. Even the tiniest towns seem to have historical societies and museums, testifying to the value we place on our own heritage. Chatham, Harwich and Orleans are home to lots of preservationists and history buffs. A glimpse in the windows of the workshop at the Coast Guard station shows that finishing touches are being put on the Orleans Historical Society's CG36500...

A few weeks ago my rent was raised. While a financial setback for me, I realized after pondering it for a time that it would be, and is likely, a nightmare for others. It's no secret that Cape Cod has a housing problem, and it's time to fix it. But it starts in a place most might not have considered: the mind. For as long as I've lived on this beautiful but complex peninsula there has been a stigma attached to...

Try This To Flush With Success Editor: Regarding the May 18 article on extreme water use at Liberty Commons and Chatham Bars Inn due to toilet flushing, we would make the point that toilets are designed to use specific amounts of water per flush to get the job done. Toilet water use can vary significantly.  Older toilets can use three, 3.5, or even up to seven gallons of water for every flush.  Federal plu...

Affordable housing is emerging as the most serious issue facing Cape towns. It's the chief topic of the June 23 session of the Cape Cod Commission's One Cape Summit, where experts will weigh in on the impact the lack of housing is having, and will have, on the region's economy. Understanding the impact of the lack of housing that's affordable to workers in the Cape's dominant industries – retail, construction,...

Sick of all those pills you take to treat your blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety and heart disease? Struggling with depression, hostility or metabolic syndrome? There’s another way to go, and it’s free! Try Shinrin-yoku, the Art of Japanese Forest Bathing, no disrobing or soap required. How difficult is it? Like a walk in the park, or in this case, the woods. The Japanese have been wandering their fores...

We hear a lot of talk these days about mindfulness. Basically, mindfulness means being there, right where you are, in body, mind, and spirit. But there is something that often prevents people from actually being mindful and it's time to get real about it. That something is technology, more specifically, smartphones. I can't tell you the number of events I've been to, professional and personal, at which the maj...

Not The Town It One Was Editor: Chatham is not the Chatham of 15 or 20 years ago. The small fishing village with beautiful beaches is no more. It's lost its charm and affordability for the average family. A weekend visit averages $400 to $450 per night with a minimum of three nights. The Dolphin is gone. The Bradford Inn is gone. The Town House is gone. The Ridgevale Motel is gone. Chatham has demolis...

Recently overheard in a nearby store: Local man (with a tone of disgust): “Well – they’re here again. I saw them yesterday.” Store owner: “Who?” Local man: “Them. They had bicycles on the back of their car.” The local man: a retired resident of the Cape. Them: Visitors. Tourists. Early vacationers. People he was not terribly happy to see. Was he thinking as he spoke, “I wish they would close those bri...

Even climate change skeptics can't dispute the evidence which shows that regional sea level rose approximately one foot over the last century. That's the highest rate in 3,000 years, according to a recent study on sea level rise in Pleasant Bay conducted by the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown under the auspices of the Pleasant Bay Alliance. In another century we may be nostalgic for that historic sea l...

Hi I'm Kat and I was a Facebook addict. (All together now, “Hi Kat.”) Until recently when I did something that in this day and age is probably considered shocking. I disabled my Facebook page, at least for a while. The truth behind my decision is as simple as it is complex. I have depression. For those who aren't familiar, depression goes beyond feeling "meh" or "blah." It can mean difficulty just waking up in...

Changes to the off-shore fishery, most obviously the disappearance of harvestable quantities of cod, forced the Cape's commercial fishermen to alter the species they target. Dogfish and skate now constitute the vast majority of the more than 14 million pounds of fish landed by Chatham's dayboat fleet at the fish pier last year. Local culinary tastes, however, have yet to adapt. Most of the fish brought in over...

Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers both enjoyed success with the 1947 song “I Guess I’ll Get the Papers and Go Home.” It is a somewhat obscure song and I admit I had to reach to find it. I like to relate each of my columns to a song or a lyric. This song was written by writers completely unknown to me: Hughie Prince, Dick Rogers and Hal Kanner. In case you are wondering, it was not that Richard Rodgers, the p...