It's been decades since the venerable Old Harbor Lifesaving Station held vigil over the outer beach off Chatham, providing a base for surf rescue teams, a lookout post for boats in trouble, and a refuge for shipwrecked sailors since 1897. But by 1977, perched on a rapidly eroding beach, the station itself needed to be rescued. It was lifted with a crane onto a barge and brought to a new home at Race Point, Pro...

CHATHAM — The new man in charge at Chatham Bars Inn not only has his own ties to the town, but also wants to strengthen the inn’s connection with Chatham. Gary Thulander started work last week as the inn’s new managing director. He takes the place of John Speers, who served in that capacity since 2014. Thulander comes to CBI from The Woodstock Inn and Resort in Vermont, where he was president and general ...

CHATHAM – On Tuesday, at ceremonies presided over by Noohkahshun, whose name means “the wind that carries softly,” two areas connecting Chatham to the native story of the Cape were named and given signs detailing their history. An area adjacent to the Muddy Creek and the Muddy Creek Bridge was re-consecrated to its original name, Askaonkton, or “at the Wading Place.” A sign was then placed on land at Old Harbo...

CHATHAM – In its first year, the town's waterways user permit seemed to find its way onto most vessels in town, although revenue was slightly below projections. Waterways officials had projected the fee would generate up to $175,000 annually. In 2017, the permit brought in $170,225, according to Finance Director Alix Heilala. Part of that shortfall may be because of delays in billing and loss of moorings in...

CHATHAM – Claiming that dredging in Aunt Lydia's Cove last year contributed to damage to his revetment this past winter, a Minister's Point property owner is threatening to block the town's plan to clear shoals from the North Inlet. Gerald Milden is asking that before emergency dredging is done across Chatham Harbor from his home, the town conduct a study to determine potential impacts on the inner shoreline. ...

SOUTH CHATHAM — Cockle Cove Beach, a narrow, rocky shoreline just a few weeks ago, is now a broad, clean, sandy beach. The lifeguards are back, and so is the fee for parking. Cockle Cove Beach before the nourishment project (left) and after (right). COURTESY PHOTOS Erosion had left the beach all but unusable f...

SOUTH CHATHAM - The Barnstable County dredge Codfish began work clearing shoals from Mill Creek in South Chatham last week, pumping the recovered sand to Cockle Cove Beach. Beach nourishment is underway at Cockle Cove Beach, #SouthChatham . pic.twitter.com/pmJj9gXubk — Alan Pollock (@CCCAlanPollock) July 12, 2018 The sand is a dark color at first because of organic material, but quickly bleach...

CHATHAM – In the past decade, the town has served as a location for two movies – the small, independent production “The Golden Boys” and Disney's big-budget recreation of the Pendleton rescue, “The Finest Hours.” This week Chatham will serve as the setting for a much smaller, more intimate film, a student short entitled “Man of War.” In a sense, the film may be the closest of all to the spirit of Chatham. “...

CHATHAM – For the second year in a row, the Friends of the Eldredge Public Library is holding its “Passport to Savings” fundraiser. The Friends are selling “passports” – small, blue booklets that look just like a U.S. passport – that contain special offers and discounts from 79 local businesses. Purchase of the $20 passport also provides entry into four “special giveaways” for overnight stays, dinner and lunch...

CHATHAM – The antique house that is at the center of the documentary “Starboard Light” is on the market. Located at 154 Champlain Rd., where the waterfront street bends north, the late 18 th century house overlooks Stage Harbor and includes beachfront south of the roadway. The one-and-a-half story three-quarter Cape was said to have been moved to the site from Nantucket. Appraised by the town's assessing de...

One hundred years ago, during World War I, the only attack on American soil by the Germans took place on Nauset Beach in Orleans when U-boat 156 fired shells that hit the beach. That attack was soon answered by seaplanes from the Chatham Naval Air Station, which dropped dud bombs on the U-boat. It was July 21, 1918, a hot and hazy Sunday, when U-boat 156 lurked in the waters just off Orleans. According to o...

CHATHAM – “Little rocket man.” “The dotard.” Prior to the summit in Singapore last month between North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, the pair exchanged insults. Is this good diplomacy? No, said Gov. Bill Richardson, a part-time Chatham resident, during a talk Wednesday. “I’m a traditional diplomat, I’m a dull person. I just don’t believe in insults,” Richardson said. “Diplomacy i...