Beginning at the age of 15 during the Great Depression, for 38 years Vivien Oswell of Harwich retouched black and white negatives of high school students for a professional photographer. “All those years, I was studying faces,” she says. Crossed eyes, acne and scars—she fixed all of these blemishes with a needle-point pencil that she sharpened on sandpaper. “I worked on thousands of faces—it helped me to...

Think teen vaping is just a passing fad? Think again. The trend, which involves the use of electronic cigarettes or nicotine vaporizers by kids as young as 11, is on the rise, and with it a host of health problems. Though the first tobacco vaporizer hit the market in 1963, their use soared after the mid-2000s when the market was saturated with products. The electronic or e-cigarettes are battery operated, hand...

'Phantom' Field Trip Many students may never have the opportunity to step into a majestic, historic theater and enjoy a live theatrical performance, which is just one of the reasons why Monomoy Regional Middle School administrators and teachers work tirelessly each year to plan a whole-school field trip to regional theaters to attend a professional musical production. Three years ago, the school traveled ...

Orleans Elementary School Orleans Elementary School hosted an evening of science fun at STEM night.  Over 200 members of the school community were in attendance to participate in more than a dozen hands-on activities to help students learn about Cape Cod’s waters and how to protect and understand this resource.  This was a program of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension in coordination with AmeriCorps Cape Cod a...

From 10-pound terriers to Newfoundlands that weigh well over 100 pounds, Hope Fraser of Orleans has walked them all. Fraser, 26, owns Walks & Wags Dog Walking Cape Cod, a small dog-walking business. The idea for the business came a few years ago when Fraser was living in Belmont and working as a nanny. Being out of the house all day, she was forced to put her own yellow lab, Mia, into day care all day, ...

“When I turned 80, I realized I needed to do something more than just face each day thinking about what I had accomplished in the past,” a senior worker at Oz clothing boutique in Barnstable says at the beginning of a nine-minute video featuring three employers given Age Forward Employer Awards last year. Nationwide, nearly one quarter of the labor workforce is age 55 or older. On Cape Cod, that number is high...

CHATHAM —  It’s almost impossible to reach adulthood without experiencing loss. Early on, maybe a grandparent has died, maybe a relationship has terminated. As we age, we lose many loved ones and grieve for them. Just as stress can affect the body by tightening your muscles, clenching your stomach, so can grief. So how do we cope with all this sadness and loss? Talking and sharing is one way to cope. Peggy...

Imagine this scenario: An elderly widow with chronic health problems, whose only child lives in Wisconsin, retires to a house at the end of a 200-yard lane in a rural area of the Outer Cape. Does this sound like an ideal scenario if that woman needs emergency services? If she can no longer drive, how will she obtain groceries, or go to a medical appointment, church or a movie? The point is, if you are going...

With this week’s spring-like temperatures, people are peeling off layers of clothing and venturing outdoors for some fresh air. And on the bike paths, in the yard and on conservation trails, they’re not alone. Unfazed by the deep freeze last week, ticks are once again active, looking for a mid-winter blood meal. “People think, with that cold freeze, it must be safe out there,” said county entomologist Larry Da...

Kindergarten Registration Registration for all children eligible to enter kindergarten in the fall of 2019 will be held at Harwich Elementary School and Chatham Elementary School on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6. Bring completed registration packet; visit Monomoy.edu for registration documents and requirements. All children who reach the age of 5 before Sept. 1 are eligible for enrollment in ki...

Monomoy Regional High School Congratulations to Jenna Beebe, whose poem, "Inside of Me" was chosen for publication in the American High School Poets anthology, published by the Live Poets Society of New Jersey. On Friday, Jan. 4, Monomoy AP and We the People government students went to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate in Boston to participate in a day-long Senate simulation field trip. Stude...

Of late a spotlight has been focused on whether or not it’s worthwhile to encourage young people to remain on the Cape — particularly if they grew up here. “A lot of young people hate it here and it makes me cry,” says Angela Thornton, owner and founder of Artisan Skin Care and Artisan Organics in Orleans and Chatham. Thornton, 38, who grew up in Yarmouth, offers a case in point. A successful entrepreneur, ...