When Luke Chapman, CEO and founder of Del Mar Vacations, was a teen, he had a summer job cleaning rental houses between renters. Chapman’s parents, Wes and Susan, were teachers who bought several small cottages in the 1990s to rent out in the summer. Susan Chapman also ran a B&B with three suites in Wellfleet, and Chapman, helping with those guests, observed up-close what it means to be gracious in the hos...

Chatham The following council on aging programs and events are scheduled in the coming weeks. Most require registration. For more information, to register for a program, to get help with Zoom or Teams or find out about transportation, contact the senior center at 508-945-5190. On Thursday, April 14 from noon to 1 p.m. celebrate spring’s arrival with a free Hello Spring drive-through luncheon at the Stony ...

A humorous staple of old TV shows is a character who, after he indicates he has a pain in his neck, is grabbed by a chiropractor who then cracks his neck and immediately relieves the pain. A more modern version of this are YouTube video compilations of “greatest cracks.” Chatham chiropractor Troy Niezgoda, who will celebrate the one-year anniversary of opening his practice at 60F Munson Meeting Way on May 1...

Going to sea for 50 years you get to experience some remarkable events. Of equal importance are the stories you hear of others. I was just starting commercial fishing in 1972 and listened a great deal to what was said around the dock. There were many middle aged and older fishermen who had come up in the 1940s and '50s. Some of the best were from Nova Scotia, Canada, and had come to the Cape for a better life fro...

Imagine this: You’re running a small business or non-profit and someone posts a devastating review online. What do you do? Your instinct might be to defend your business in front of the world, thus providing entertainment for anyone who reads that platform. Or do you keep quiet? Or is there a third way? As well as dealing with online complaints, you may find that branding your group and keeping up with toda...

Chatham Council On Aging The following council on aging programs and events are scheduled during March. Most require registration. For more information, to register for a program, get help with Zoom or find out about transportation, contact the senior center at 508-945-5190. AARP tax aide income tax preparation assistance is scheduling appointments through mid April. Free federal and state income tax pr...

HARWICH – The doors to the Cape Cod Tileworks shop are closed, but the tile and design work the company has performed from Main Street in Harwich Center for the past 27 years will continue. “ We bought this place with a handshake from Don Bates,” Lane Meehan said of the 1994 purchase of one of the Three Sisters historic Greek Revival structures in the village. Lane and Tom Meehan also purchased a...

It’s that time of year again—tax season. Need help filing your taxes? The Chatham, Harwich and Orleans Councils on Aging (COA) can help. For those who are ages 50 and over and of low and moderate income, appointments are available with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide services. The services are free. “This is very popular,” says Debbie Mayhew, Chatham COA department assistant. To be sure you are able to schedul...

We have all heard slogans such as “shop local” on Small Business Saturday, designated as the Saturday after Thanksgiving since 2010. Local businesses often hold sales on Small Business Saturday, or invite Santa in to greet shoppers. In 2021 shopping locally held an additional attraction: You could bring your purchases home with you, and not risk them not arriving by Christmas due to shipping backups. Many p...

Despite the ongoing pandemic and the cold of winter, seniors can still step forward to help people of all ages in our local communities by volunteering through the AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP of Cape and the Islands. The group is always looking for volunteers who must be over 55, says Stefanie Paventy, the local director of AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP, based in South Dennis. Currently, RSVP is collecting items that...

CHATHAM — Driven by the hyper-contagious Omicron variant, COVID-19 numbers are spiking across the Lower Cape, the state and the nation. And with many of those testing positive having already received two or three doses of the vaccine, public health officials are getting back to basics, encouraging or requiring the use of masks indoors. Following the lead of Harwich last week (see related story), the Chatham Bo...

When Norman Katz, 84, was a young man straight out of Northeastern University, he was chosen to work in a clandestine position in the White House Continuity of Government Special Operations Division. In that capacity he was present during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 and on the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963. “I’m the last one left in the world from this whole ...