Selection 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 […]
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?
This was the tenth birthday for what began as a hobby blog about our scenic and historic community. This year for the first time there were over 300,000 site visits and more than half a million page views.
It’s popular Ito 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.
There is something special about the holiday season in Ipswich. From town traditions to icy weather, no one does December quite like we do.
A developer would construct a 16 unit wall of condominiums at the site of the car wash.
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.
“When you swim a saltwater creek as the tide nears high, you have a visceral sense of what could happen if the tide just kept on rising.”
Up for a walk tonight? How about joining me on a late-night beat shift in the early 1980’s? When you’re from a place and stay put, you pay attention to things. It’s the stuff of life that let’s you know where you belong.
“Ipswich is paradise with bugs.”
The Annual Town Meeting is a hallowed New England tradition in which we debate transfers of even the smallest sums from one bookkeeping account to another, while being mercifully spared the details of the annual budget.
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…
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.
2020 may have been lousy, but it was a good year for researching history. This year the site had 461,493 page views and 70,000 more visitors than last year.
Cotton Mather wrote that “New Englanders are a People of God” who had conquered “the Devil’s Territories.” Paranoia persists in today’s political political battle between truth and deceit.
A story by Gavin Keenan Dizzy from an overdose of what passes for news these days; terrorism, endless war, social upheaval, political blandness, “The Donald’s” mouth, Kim Kardashian’s butt (Old news I know, but cheeky nonetheless) vanishing species, etc., etc., one could reasonably conclude that our world is headed […]
If like me you’re wishing for a coronavirus isolation room to escape the maximums-shitzboobins now flooding the airwaves, I advocate a more direct way to influence the common voter. We might have to change a law or two. I’m Gavin Keenan and I approve this message.
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.
Historic quotes from Ipswich leaders supporting the free press.
More than the concepts of sovereignty and private property, the commodification of nature in the service of mercantile capitalism was the crux of the problem.
Italians celebrate Christmas for a full month from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Although some regional differences exist, the month basically is devoted to religious observances and spending time with family and friends.
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
As the title suggests, keeping my bearings, following directions and distinguishing right from left pose increasing challenges as I enter the dark side of mid-life (Or is it the lighter side of old age?) I know that many of you find yourselves in the same bucket of sorrow, […]
Town Meeting time can often raise the blood pressure. When paired with the daily MOABs of POTUS 45, a defibrillator may be indicated. But here I want to speak of local affairs; to wit, small town politics and the history of governing in Ipswich as clearly as I recall it.
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 […]
We are fortunate to be living through interesting times. Life seems to have an intense urgency to it now, an edgy feeling of uncertainty and doubt. Having undergone a year of blistering, enervating and sometimes tragically comical presidential political campaigning, we emerged in November with an unexpected result. […]
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 […]
This past Thursday, over 16.9 million of us tuned into the fair and balanced Fox News Channel to watch the final four Republican candidates debate the serious issues which face America today. We were joined by a lively and animated in-theater audience who enhanced the viewing experience with […]
by Gavin Keenan… Well, the results of the South Carolina Democratic Primary are in…yawn…… and it appears that Hillary’s firewall held fast against The Bern of Democratic Socialism. Those good folks in the Palmetto State just don’t give two hoots about a free college education I guess, and […]
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 […]
Hello, sports fans. What could be a better way to stave off today’s blustery winds, frigid temperatures and icy walkways than by watching a red-blooded, All American Football Classic? Why, doing so as you enjoy a steaming bowl of genuine Guinness Beef Stew. This hearty and nutritious meal […]
By Gavin Keenan. (Illustrations added by Gordon Harris, courtesy of online publications) If you are anything like me, you have been greatly disturbed by the presence of political ads on the television from various presidential contenders of both major parties, which sadly are the only parties that we […]
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.
This post is by former Ipswich police chief Gavin Keenan. 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, catching up on family happenings and just being comfortable with people that I had […]
Historic Ipswich 