CHATHAM – No matter who ends up owning the Eldredge Garage, the oldest building on the property, built about 120 years ago as a stable, will likely have to be torn down. Although determined to be historically significant, the building is in such poor condition that it is not salvageable, several people told the historic business district commission during a hearing last Wednesday. The best that could be hoped ...

CHATHAM – A proposal to demolish a 150-year-old home on Stage Harbor Road has rekindled a push to have the historic street placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historical commission last week imposed an 18-month demolition delay on the Greek Revival house at 271 Stage Harbor Rd., and asked town staff to prepare documentation to submit to the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC), the fir...

CHATHAM – Well before the sale begins, there's a line of people in the rear foyer at the First Congregational Church of Chatham early Saturday morning, waiting for the annual Cookie Express to start. Inside the church hall, volunteers buzz around long tables set in a big square, adding more cookies to the dozens of plates already piled high with every sort of holiday cookie imaginable: gingerbread men, sugar c...

Frigid temperatures didn't deter crowds from attending Chatham's 38 th annual Christmas by the Sea celebration last weekend. After a process from the community center to Sears Park, the town Christmas tree was lit to a chorus of seasonal carols, with oversight from Santa and Buddy the Elf. The celebration continued throughout the weekend with open houses, music and the annual historic inn tour. CLICK HERE FO...

CHATHAM – Landscapers doing a fall cleanup at the Atwood House Museum made a surprising discovery last Friday: a human skull. Thought to be more than 100 years old, the skull was found in the brush behind the Stage Harbor Road museum, which is owned by the Chatham Historical Society. “It generated a lot of excitement,” said museum Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz. Workers from Luciano's Landscaping di...

CHATHAM – The town's problematic online mooring permit renewal system is being scrapped. Instituted more than three years ago, the system had low use by mooring permit holders as well as technical issues that did not produce the functionality or savings in staff time that were anticipated, said Director of Natural Resources Robert Duncanson. “We just didn't see the efficiency we thought we would,” he said. ...

CHATHAM — Though there seems to be plenty of common ground when it comes to the landscaping and lighting needs for the new West Chatham Route 28 corridor, deep divisions remain about the underlying traffic plan. The board of selectmen heard a report from the planning board and historic business district commission last Tuesday about proposed landscaping and lighting options for the roadway, which is slated for...

CHATHAM -- A human skull thought to be more than 100 years old was found by landscapers on the grounds of the Atwood House Museum Friday morning. Workers from Luciano's Landscaping were preparing the back lawn of the Stage Harbor Road museum, owned by the Chatham Historical Society, for the winter when they came across the partially buried skull, according to museum Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz. The ...

CHATHAM – In 1959, Morton Dean was a young reporter working for a radio station in Mount Kisco, N.Y. That summer, he decided to go someplace interesting on his vacation, someplace where news was happening so he could also file a report for his station. He flew to Miami and then got on a small plane for the short flight to Havana, Cuba. “You could still do that then,” said Dean, an Emmy Award-winning newsman wh...

Time-lapse images taken over a 30-year period by Landsat satellites, compiled by Google and released by Time Magazine, include a 10-second glimpse of three decades of evolution of Chatham's barrier beaches.  Chatham is among dozens of locations across the globe highlighted in the video, which was initially put together by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey and then cleaned up and assembled into one video monta...

SOUTH CHATHAM — For adolescents and teens who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs, functioning in a regular high school can be an insurmountable challenge. Though most people aren't aware of them, Massachusetts has five “recovery high schools” that help meet the special needs of youngsters struggling to break addiction. Local advocates are now asking whether it's time for the Cape to have its own recove...

CHATHAM – The town Christmas tree at Sears Park will light up Friday evening to kick off the 38 th annual Christmas by the Sea celebration. This marks the 38 th annual holiday celebration sponsored by the Chatham Merchants Association. “It's older than I am!” said merchants president Rebecca Voelkel. There are two new elements added to the festivities this year. The first commemorative “Chatham Christm...