by Gavin Keenan. This article was first posted in 2017, and is timely as ever.
The Karma of Modern Problems
Category: Commentary
Oh, wintry Christmas of my youth!
It's popular to wax nostalgic of a time and place where the winters were colder, the snows deeper, and the pace of life more manageable. For those of us lucky enough to grow up in Ipswich, these things were mostly true.
Thoughts on an August Day
To borrow a hockey metaphor, if June and July designate the first and second periods of summer, then surely August tells us that we are now deep within the final period of this glorious season. The changes abound in subtle but perceptible ways.
The Postman Only Rang Once…….
What was forwarded to me was a shocking eye-opener of national proportions, I promised to keep it under my hat, so consider yourselves among the very privileged few to have this access. Please don't tell anyone...
PTSD in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Great Migration brought nearly 14,000 Puritan settlers, unprepared for the hardships and trauma that awaited them. Building a new society in the wilderness induced transgenerational post-traumatic stress and mass conversion disorder, culminating in the Salem Witch Trials.
Ipswich Pine
There is a local tradition that the wood stain known as Ipswich Pine originated with Carman Woodworking, which operated behind the Laughing Lion gift shop on Essex Road and specialized in Early American pine reproductions.
The ABCs of Town Meeting
To secure a competence
Remarks by Ipswich Historical Commission chairman John Fiske, on accepting the 2014 Community Service Award from the Ipswich Democratic Town Committee to the Historical Commission on January 31, 2015
Born in a refuge camp
By Ingrid Miles, Ipswich I was born in a refugee camp and I feel as if I am reliving my parents nightmare after World War II when my dad had to modify his name and identify himself as Christian; my mother was Catholic in order to come to this country as displaced persons aka DP's.… Continue reading Born in a refuge camp
Ghosts of Independence Day
My wife and I were reminiscing of Independence Days long past, when our children were little, some of our parents still alive and our families mostly living nearby. Backyard cook-outs scheduled around shifts at Beverly Hospital or the I.P.D., Betty Dorman's Recreation Department Fourth of July Children's Parade - thankfully still going strong, decking out… Continue reading Ghosts of Independence Day
How will sea level rise affect Ipswich?
Sea levels rose about 8 inches globally and about 1 foot on the Eastern Seaboard in the past century. What will happen to Ipswich if catastrophic predictions for the 21st Century are realized?
The great and famous not so gentle Ipswich putdown
Republished from Ipswich Yesterday by Alice Keenan, 1982. Photos by George Dexter and Edward L. Darling. Ipswich has the habit, long ingrained, of turning on those who love her most, and who, innocently and willingly, donate their time, talents, energies, and in some cases — money -- for her welfare and adornment. Sometimes the reprimand is delivered… Continue reading The great and famous not so gentle Ipswich putdown
Primary Colors
by Gavin Keenan Don't you just love the American political process? Especially in the times through which we now pass, so fraught with fear and uncertainty. If you were to take it all too seriously, you would certainly be justified in believing that we live in the time of the great circling - around the… Continue reading Primary Colors
Something Wicked Your Way Comes
Never one to seek the company of others, he preferred the isolation of working midnights patrolling the lonely landscape of failed farms and shuttered mills below the Quebec border. But Peter knew he was in trouble.
A simple badge and gun does not a copper make
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting some retired Ipswich Police Department friends at a late summer cookout. It was a magical evening of story-telling. I was grateful we had all made it to the other side relatively unscathed, and I realized once again how fortunate I was to have been broken in by such a group of experienced and savvy cops.
Historic Ipswich 