Summer Break: A Gardener Gets Away

            I’ve been following my own advice from the last column, and I have to tell you — it’s made all the difference.             I will admit freely that I am a list person. I chart my course for garden and house tasks, perhaps a trickle-down from my father, who writes out everything he intends […] Read more »

Celebrating Plumb Library with Bubbles

            Over a dozen children came to Joseph H. Plumb Library’s lawn with their families on Tuesday, August 18, for a celebration of the library’s 50th anniversary filled with bubbles and music. According to Fuchsia Haskell, the youth services librarian, the bubble celebration was the culmination of the library’s summer programming for children.              Many […] Read more »

From Flamenco to Calypso at Wharf Island

            As musicians settled into their chairs at the Robert O. Broomhead Bandstand, concertgoers set up lawn chairs across the grass at Island Wharf in Marion. Within minutes, conductor Tobias Monte had turned the informal Friday evening gathering into a musical trip through Latin America and beyond.             The Marion Concert Band presented “A Latin […] Read more »

News Reaches The Old World

            This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in the Thirteen Colonies. Last week, Washington called on all troops in the surrounding regions to force-march to New York as British numbers increased on Staten Island. He does permit soldiers to largely have Sundays off for […] Read more »

Creature Feature

            Have you ever caught a hermit crab at a beach? Did you notice that not all claws look the same? Many people may not know that there are two main types of these crabs found on the beaches of Massachusetts.             The first is the long-clawed hermit crab, the smaller of the two, growing […] Read more »

Thoughts on… Remembering Lest I Forget

            The Town Coffee Committee met last Wednesday as we do every week, though we have acquired a new moniker, the “ROMEOs” (Retired Old Men Eating Out). It was given to us by a group of the fairer sex who have observed our deliberations from time to time. Anyway, while we continue to solve the […] Read more »

Summer Reading Program Ends on a Sweet Note

            There was one more reason to celebrate summer reading at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Saturday, August 8. It came with a scoop of ice cream.             Children who participated in the library’s 2026 Kids’ Summer Reading Program gathered with their families for an end-of-summer ice cream social, enjoying a sweet treat after […] Read more »

Put Down the Hoe

            It happens every year, around the time when the “dog days” of summer set in. You’ve been absolutely smitten with your garden — watching each new flower come into blossom, admiring those close-to-perfect, beautifully manicured, colorful vistas. And then, almost imperceptibly, everything seems to droop and fade. As the keeper of the garden, you […] Read more »

Seaside Picnic Raises Funds for Local Groups

            Conversation and music filled the air over the Munro Preserve as more than 150 patrons dined at the Mattapoisett Museum and Land Trust’s Annual Great Community Picnic fundraiser on Thursday evening, August 6.             The picnic supports general operations for both groups, as well as trail maintenance and acquisitions for the Land Trust. It […] Read more »

The Looming Threat of Empire

This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in the Thirteen Colonies. Last week, Washington condemned Continental Army troops for their poor treatment of local New Yorkers. Nathanael Greene also caught some New Yorkers trying to flee the draft across the Hudson River to the British […] Read more »