A tornado. In Harwich? Unbelievable as it seems, that's what National Weather Service officials say happened – in Harwich and in Yarmouth – Tuesday. Viewing the devastation in Harwich Center, it was easy to believe. Many mature trees were knocked to the ground, branches fell on vehicles and buildings, and the front lawn of Brooks Academy looked, well, as if a tornado had struck. Front end loaders had to be use...

Out on Sears Point yesterday I could hear the instructors of the Stage Harbor Yacht club announcing directions to the fleet of white Optis sailed by their students. A center console skiff cruised slowly out of the Oyster River as a breeze pulled in from the southwest, across Harding's Beach from Nantucket Sound, pushing out the last of the fog from earlier in the day. Out of the near-milky sky, as if on cue, a se...

Perhaps the most interesting finding of the recently released draft coastal resiliency and management assessment of Chatham's east-facing shoreline is how closely changes since the 1987 break in North Beach are following the historical barrier beach cycle described by Dr. Graham Giese and others back in 1978. “Historical inlets to Pleasant Bay have migrated in a generally cyclical pattern that can be reasonably p...

Living Is Good, But... Editor: Last week’s Letter “And The Living Is Good” brought on a sly chuckle, because five of the first six items listed (“temperatures rising” being the exception) are purely money focused and materialistic.  This leads me to believe that Mr. Fields profits from those activities, either as a business owner or absentee landlord who rents; i.e., to him “good” equals dollars.  I, on the...

Who was it that said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself?” Ah, yes, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Easy for him to say; they didn’t even have MRIs back then. Fears and phobias are funny creatures—some seem random and silly, but for the afflicted, life can be difficult. Recently, my husband, beset by the typical over 50 aches and pains, made his way to the ortho doc. We all know the drill; appointment…x-ray...

What is it about food trucks that frightens some downtown Chatham landlords and business owners? It's not like they are an unknown entity; food trucks have been present at First Night and other events for years. Never before has anyone complained. Until the Chatham Merchants Association thought it would be a good thing to have a food truck downtown during this summer's Mondays on Main music strolls. Suddenly, foo...

Keep The Connection Going Editor: Each week we anxiously await the arrival of The Cape Cod Chronicle, ready to devour what's happening in Chatham, Harwich and Orleans. And we are never disappointed, despite our living in New Jersey, 270-plus miles away. As returning vacation renters for the past 15 years throughout Chatham, we look forward each week to what transgresses, whether it be local politics, sch...

Today is the 243rd anniversary of the adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence. Each year the Fourth of July, and the days before and after, offer opportunities to celebrate that event. In addition, it marks the official start of the summer season, which means that for the next two months Cape Cod will be crowded with residents, vacationers, and tourists enjoying all that this uniqu...

There is no dispute about the general outline of what occurred at the June 18 Chatham Charter Review Committee meeting. After the session was adjourned, property owner George Myers stood at the podium to speak about Open Meeting Law violation complaints he filed against the committee. Committee members urged him to stop speaking, because if they continued to deliberate they would be violating the Open Meeting Law...

Working To Save Old Buildings Editor: We are an “alliance for combined action to save our antique buildings in Chatham,” the Cape and Islands and nationally. Meet Protect Our Past, LLC, a newly formed not-for-profit organization. Our purpose is to promote education and public awareness of the value of local architectural legacy; to preserve, protect and restore the visual quality and integrity of historic b...

Ivan Bassett has some amazing stories to tell. In this week's front-page interview with Alan Pollock, the World War II veteran details his experiences aboard the Navy's 673-foot heavy cruiser USS Boston, which saw significant action in the Pacific Theater, right up to anchoring in Tokyo Bay following the surrender of Japan. While life on the cruiser was better than on the battlefield, Bassett, a 93-year-old Ch...

Brooks Library Offers Thanks Editor: The staff and Trustees of Brooks Free Library are having an open house  on Saturday, June 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the completion of our restoration and preservation project, and would like to invite the people of Harwich as well as the community preservation committee to join us in this celebration as a thank you for all your support with this project.  Light re...