If you’ve lost track of time and space, stumbling about in a calendar-less COVID-19 coma, the recent explosion of fireworks, sending shuddering dogs into under-the-bed mode, might have alerted you to the sudden appearance of the Fourth of July. As so many traditional Independence Day activities and formal fireworks displays have been canceled due to the virus, let us be illuminated by some little-known July Fo...

One needn’t look far beyond the daily headlines for reminders that the United States of America remains an imperfect union, a grand experiment in self-governance that has seen both triumphs and failures. But there are still plenty of reasons to fly the American flag with pride. We strongly object to the notion that those who fly Old Glory automatically subscribe to a set of beliefs or ideals, support a particu...

One-third. That's the approximate number of mail-in ballots received in last week's annual town election in Chatham. Orleans also received a hefty number of mail-in ballots in its election last week, so many that it briefly delayed the determination of the outcome. These were local elections, where the turn-out is minuscule compared to what is likely to be a heavy show by voters in the November presidential co...

U.S. History Good But Imperfect Story Editor: The original protests over George Floyd’s death have been appropriated and co-opted by various political groups. The tie that binds is a commitment to mob chaos and violence as either a paid or recreational enterprise. Their common goal seems to be to tear down every symbol of our American history, including statues, public buildings, and businesses, on the prem...

In an unprecedented event that almost did not happen, and despite COVID-19 restrictions, an estimated 1,000 people gathered in Harwich Center’s Brooks Park on a June Saturday afternoon to demonstrate. Initially proposed as a march from Route 28 and Bank Street to the Harwich Community Center by Susannah Brown and Hope Jorgensen, two Monomoy Regional High School eighth grade students, their plans evoked negative s...

I have a daughter who is 37, which is a remarkable fact in itself, since I seem to harbor a misty belief, floating crazily in the back of my mind, that I am only 39 years old. I have another daughter who is 33 years old, which of course makes her younger than me. It’s funny how your kids grow up and we always see them as kids. And we can’t have aged that much, or do we? A mere three months ago, which now seems...

Milkweed Seeds Still Available Editor: I am still distributing milkweed seeds, free of charge, to help the monarch butterfly, whose caterpillar can only eat milkweed. Send your address via email to suzannaaan@yahoo.com, or pick some up at the display case at 606 Main St. Chatham, at the corner of Seaview Street, in a jar. Suzanna Nickerson Chatham

It's summer, according to both the calendar and the traffic. While there may not be quite as many visitors here as in past years, there are certainly more people out and about — on foot and on bicycles — than usual, a holdover from the long shutdown during which taking a walk or a bike ride were among the few escapes from quarantine. Lately we've noticed drivers, walkers, runners and bikers not being as carefu...

In the next few years, the Monomoy Regional School Committee will face some significant decisions about the future of its two elementary schools. As we report this week, Chatham's declining enrollment means that Harwich is subsidizing more and more of the cost of running Chatham Elementary School. If the trend continues — and there's every indication that it will — in just a few years there may be only enough stu...

Love For The Love Caravan Editor: The Terraces Orleans wants to sincerely thank Rev. Wesley Williams and friends for organizing the “Love Caravan” that circled by our long term care facility on May 27. The whoop-whoop of the sirens, the honking horns, the line of decorated cars that looked as if it would never end was a sight to behold! Just awesome. We are so grateful to the Orleans and Brewster Police and...

The wind was coming from the direction of the ball field, or at least where you could normally make out the lights a mile and a half away at night. Up on this roof that I have been climbing up on since I was six, the treetops of the zelkova and the mountain ashes and the Bartlett pear trees I had planted as mere twigs swayed and swooshed their new green leaves in the breeze. Sunset over the Oyster Pond was com...

Just as the Constitution protects our right to publish and prevents the government from censoring speech, it also ensures that citizens can peaceably assemble without fear of interference by either the government or other citizens. Whether that was the intention of people who posted messages last week on social media that seemed to be veiled warnings about the planned protest in Harwich, we can't say for sure. Th...