The road to Chatham's special town meeting this Saturday has been a particularly long and tortured one. The main item on the agenda—authorizing selectmen to purchase land in West Chatham for a new senior center—was the result of a process that goes back years and includes the rejection at last May's annual town meeting of $6.6 million to build a new senior center on town-owned land on Middle Road. The new site is...

If autumn is my favorite season on Cape Cod, winter is the least welcome. Fall offers much that makes summer special without the traffic and crowds. Some places close but their offerings are soon replaced by the holiday activities that culminate in First Night. Autumn transitions us from the busyness of summer to the celebrations that bring our year to an end. Before I moved to Harwich I knew little of life...

We've just passed the longest night of the year, and the days will soon begin to lengthen. It seems a natural time to remember those who will no longer be with us as the old year—and, indeed, the old decade—passes and new light comes into our lives. Benjamin Nickerson had an incredible knowledge of Chatham and its history, and was instrumental in creating the Nickerson Family Association compound which now ser...

Save Historic Home  Editor: I recently learned that the oldest surviving residence in Chatham has been slated for demolition. At first I thought it was a joke or a rumor but recently I learned that it is true. Chatham’s historical commission has done all it can within its power to save the structure by imposing an 18-month demolition delay on the structure. However over a year has past and unless somebody s...

Current Senior Center An Embarrassment Editor: I visited the Chatham Council on Aging yesterday for the first time ever. I’ve never been in the building but have read and listened to the discussions about building a new senior center. I am a full-time homeowner living year round in Chatham. I was appalled at the inadequate conditions the COA is operating under at their Stony Hill location. It’s totally a...

(Sung to the tune of “Winter Wonderland.”) Backup alarms ring, are you listening? In the lane, pavement's blistering. A frustrating sight, We'll be late tonight, Driving through a Cape Cod detour land. Flagmen freeze, just like stones. Halting traffic, on their iPhones. They're backing up cars, Gazing at stars, Driving through a Cape Cod detour land. On the detour we can see the back lanes. And pret...

It’s crunch time for elves—no, not the North Pole guys, I’m pretty sure they’re unionized and get paid living wages—I refer, rather, to the local elves who selflessly volunteer their efforts for the sheer joy of creating and making beautiful things happen. They are all around us, silent and stealthy, they stitch and paint and sing and build. They are “gramma” elves who knit socks and mittens, baby blankets and p...

We are proud and humbled this week to report that, since its inception in 2004, The Cape Cod Chronicle’s Helping Neighbors campaign has now raised more than $1 million for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. That’s a staggering achievement, and one that’s worth pausing to appreciate. But don’t be mistaken; we’re not being self-congratulatory. As a small, independent newspaper, The Chronicle simply doesn’t have the ...

Good News On Theater, Airport Editor: For me, the demise of the Monomoy Theater was a strong blow to my, as well as many other, theatrical experience on the Lower Cape, so it was a great delight to read that Greg Clark of the Chatham Production LLC had presented concrete plans for the redevelopment of the property with the intention of having it available for other theatrical productions beyond the summer t...

In announcing its plans to demolish a historic home on Route 28 in West Harwich, the Bishop of Fall River displayed spectacularly bad timing. Yesterday, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates was scheduled to vote on a district of critical planning concern designation for the corridor of Route 28 from the Dennis town line to Herring River, driven largely by the efforts of residents concerns about preservi...

Chatham Seniors Deserve Support Editor: As a community we have supported our police department with a new police station, our fire department with a new fire station, and our children through a new regional high school. It is time, actually beyond time, that we support our seniors! Chatham’s current senior center is outdated, cramped, inflexible and thoroughly inadequate to meet the needs of our town’s sen...

If you have your health, your family, friends, or even just fond memories, you’ve got reason to be thankful today. But if you’re looking for more reasons, just browse the pages of this newspaper. You can read about 12-year-old Cole Strzepek, who lives with intractable epilepsy and organized a collection of socks to help kids feel more comfortable while they are in the hospital. Inspired by his bravery, people ...