Popularity can ruin a place, especially one that's environmentally sensitive. We've seen that happen at some national parks. Is Cape Cod in danger of it happening here? Some residents who live near conservation areas, trails and town landings in Orleans suspect that they are the “canaries in a coal mine” when it comes to overcrowding. One resident counted an astonishing 12,000 people crossing private property ...

It's A Balancing Act Editor: Summer is here and tourists have returned. Once again local residents are abuzz with complaints – not without reason – about the seasonal visitors. After all, they lengthen lines, increase traffic, and worse. Still, I would make a point in their favor: No tourist has ever called me "washashore." Joseph Auciello South Chatham   Neighbors Not So Neighborly Editor: Wh...

Several Cape towns now provide subsidies to families to cover the cost of preschool. For many parents, this is a major expense, running thousands of dollars a year. And it's a necessary one, since more often than not, both parents must work in order to meet the region's high cost of living. Last week, the Orleans School Committee heard details of Eastham's Family Support Program, which covers preschool costs f...

Back in September, after most of The Chronicle's staff had been working at home for several months and we had no idea when we'd be going back to the office, I decided, to help pass the time toiling away in my basement office, that I would listen to all of the songs in my digital music library. From start to finish. And so, beginning with “A Gospel” by the Style Council at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, I began listeni...

“Home, home on the range Where the deer and the antelope play Where seldom is heard a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day.”   “Home on the Range” is an old and popular cowboy song. The lyrics were written by Dr. Brewster Higley of Smith County, Kansas in about 1872, and have been altered somewhat over the years. A friend of Higley’s, Daniel Kelley, wrote the music and the song be...

Not Happy With Sticker Change  Editor: Is anyone else disappointed in the new Chatham beach/transfer sticker? Personally, I miss the traditional lighthouse logo!   Barbara Starkey Chatham Cape Cod People Are The Best! Editor: There is a young man walking around Harwich Port that I would love to put my arms around. He was in Cape Cod 5 on the afternoon of July 12, and he is my unknown hero. T...

We've all heard the stories about rude customers in restaurants and shops this summer. Some of the tales have reached far and wide, thanks to an article in the New York Times. The reaction to this treatment from what is certainly a small minority has shown the resilience and fortitude of local owners and workers. Because really, there is no excuse for swearing, yelling, threatening and berating employees to th...

If Marcellus Eldredge could have stood on the front lawn of the Eldredge Public Library Sunday, he would have no doubt been cheered by the crowd that gathered to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the historic building opening its doors to the public. He would have heard town officials and library staff praise his vision and legacy, and heard the words he spoke at the building's dedication on July 4, 1896 echoed ...

Spare A Few Trees Editor: A chainsaw reverberated through the treed neighborhood; again land is stripped of 100-year-old trees to make a home. An entire acre stripped and tossed into a a wood chipper's maw and carted off along with every living thing. All remains is a desert of sand. Everyone has the right to build the home of their dreams, but surely it is unnecessary to strip the land altogether. Oh we...

We've written extensively about the housing crisis faced by Chatham, Harwich and Orleans and the entire region. Frustratingly, there's no immediate solution on the horizon. While Orleans is in the midst of adding appreciable amounts of affordable housing, Harwich and Chatham have lagged behind. Some of this is market-driven and almost impossible to control, as the seemingly insatiable appetite for second homes in...

Support For Protecting Past Editor: Protect Our Past owes a great deal of gratitude to the Cape and Islands community for supporting the recently held “Raise Paddles for POP” auction.  The response was significant and financially productive.  As a result, Protect Our Past will be producing more “POP Clips” this summer.  In case you have not seen our recently completed ones, take a look at www.protectourpast...

The early modernist painter Marc Chagall said, “Great art picks up where nature ends.” Last year, when nature in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to social gatherings and in-person events and left many of us isolated in our homes, great art picked up in a big way. And we are grateful it did. As everyday necessities vanished from store shelves and people blew the dust off their sewing machines and lear...