A year ago, back when the idea of global isolation due to a pandemic was still just the stuff of sci-fi, or so we thought, most of us weren’t too concerned with having to constantly adapt to new situations. And then, March 2020 came along and changed everything. Most of us have had to adapt to all sorts of things we couldn’t have imagined. As time goes on, some of those adaptations have become our norm. Watchi...

Sixty-nine years later, to the day, more than 80 people tuned in online to hear the story of the Feb. 18, 1952 loss of the tankers Pendleton and Fort Mercer off the coast of Chatham. The session was sponsored by the Chatham historic preservation group Protect our Past (POP). Joseph Smith, an author and professor of humanities at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, was on hand to recount what happened on that stormy...

As we approach the anniversary of COVID-19's arrival on Cape Cod and the beginning of its devastating effect on local businesses and gathering places, the inventive ways that arts venues adapted to health and safety protocols remain impressive. Do any of them intend to keep a remote component even when in-person gathering gets the green light? Determined to continue offering access to films, performances, exhibi...

There’s a Carolina wren hollering outside my window on this bright, sunny but freezing cold morning. For such small birds they sure make a lot of noise. Cardinals have been starting to call and a few chickadees have been trying out their “fee-beeeee” songs, usually reserved for later in the year. The sun and the light seem to be making everyone feel a little giddy, in spite of the frigid temperatures. It may be o...

Beginning with the closures of the Chatham and Harwich High Schools and the opening of Monomoy Regional High School, the Lower Cape has experienced many changes over the years. However, the more some things change, the more others stay the same. Among the organizations that have survived the test of time is Monomoy’s Dollars for Scholars program, which is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year. Like mos...

HARWICH — Author Katie O’Sullivan of Harwich has published prolifically across several genres including romance and young adult. “I started out writing romance, but began a young adult series when my fourth grader complained she wanted to read one of my books,” O’Sullivan said in a recent email interview. Her latest novel is “Ghost in the Machine” (Windmill Point Press, 2020). If you enjoy fiction se...

CHATHAMPORT – Is the innovative technology displayed in Star Trek within our reach? On the contrary, according to author and science consultant Ira Brodsky. Except for the transporter, "Star Trek is already behind what we can do." With cellphones now playing an ever more essential role in our lives, what can we expect for the future? Wireless technology has come a long way, primarily through a series of crea...

The Chatham Orpheum Theater and an enthusiastic group of local leaders in all areas of the arts have come together virtually to create a new advisory group. The Orpheum Cultural Council will guide the theater's programming and foster an even more comprehensive approach to cultural events and issues in the community, including the expansion of event offerings throughout the entire year and a more focused outrea...

 It seems like it has been quite a while since we have read a new mystery set in Chatham, and that is what we have with “Roger Sherman III and the Seal Murder Mystery” (2020), a debut novel by Chatham summer resident John Beneville. Beneville, a 2016 graduate of Dartmouth College who grew up in Cos Cob, Conn., has been coming to Chatham with his parents and grandparents since he was very young. “My parents ...

It seems that winter has finally found us. For a while, it only flirted with us from the outside; a little frost here, a bit of nasty wind there, some flash black ice for some extra fun and a thin coating of snow that lasted about 10 minutes. All through these little wintry games, the temperatures hovered around or above freezing, which has been downright tolerable, for winter. Even the birds got a little lazy wi...

Amy Hinesley wants to leave Monomoy Regional High School in better shape than she found it. The senior from Chatham has made a concentrated effort to make a positive impact on her school and she’s fully immersed herself in the high school experience — excelling not only in academics, but musical theater, band and athletics, too. And then there’s the laundry list of extracurricular activities Hinesley has be...

When you find something you like, you stick with it. That may be part of the rationale behind “The Ivan Variations,” a new full-length album by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic which consists of not one, not two, not nine, but 12 distinct versions of the same song. Now I know what you're thinking. Who wants to listen to the same song over and over 12 times? You do. Because this is not your average everyday album...