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SPEAKER SERIES

Windows Into Orleans' Past

2024 Speaker Series

Thursdays at 7 pm at the CHO Meetinghouse in November (7th. 14th, 21st) and December (5th, 12th,19th)

Admission is free; donations appreciated

Paintings, postcards and photographs of Orleans’ past will be featured in a new weekly series of history
presentations by local speakers starting November 7 at the Centers for Culture and History in Orleans (the CHO)

November 7: Commercial Fishing on Cape Cod Bay

What was it like when fishing was the lifeblood of the Outer Cape and most Orleans men went to sea? Captain Bill Amaru tells the story of this first--and present--commercial venture.

November 14: A History of the Railroad to Orleans and Beyond

Railroad enthusiast and modeler Jay Stradal talks about when and how the railroad to Orleans was completed, how it operated, and why it transformed the town’s economy.

 

November 21: Postcards from Orleans’ Past

Travel back in time as picture postcards are shown as reminders of places and town life in “the old days.” Learn why cards were popular, how they were used and why speaker Stan Snow collected them.

 

December 5: The Orleans Packet Trade and Other Maritime Ventures, 1640-2000

Bill Amaru describes the once-flourishing packet-shipping industry through which all goods and many services were traded. He travels back even earlier to the saltworks, fishing ventures, winter ice cutting and other businesses that dotted our coastline.

December 12: Kent’s Point: A Place of Beginning and Belonging

Come and unwind 12,000 years of history on 22 acres. Be part of a conversation led by Bill Wibel about Kent’s Point--the previous home to indigenous people, former location of Charlotte and Bill Kent’s home and now a beloved Orleans conservation area.

December 19: History and Evolution of the Cape Cod-style House

Architect Thad Siemasko of SV Design, Inc., provides insight into the history, design and evolution of this still-popular and easily recognized home style and other architectural trends from the Cape’s past.

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