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A Simple Badge and Gun Does Not a Copper Make (7/26/2026) - 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.… Continue reading A Simple Badge and Gun Does Not a Copper Make 
January 10, 1776: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” is Published (7/3/2026) - In 1776, Thomas Paine’s 47-page pamphlet “Common Sense” inspired the American Revolution. The following excerpts still speak true today: “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind… Continue reading January 10, 1776: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” is Published 
John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” and William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” (6/17/2026) - A tale of two visions for development and their outcomes By: Stephen Miles, Member, Ipswich Historic Commission, Former Board Member Ipswich Historical Society (now Ipswich Museum). June 15, 2026. Contact: smiles@sloan.mit.edu In 1629, John Winthrop was appointed head of a corporate venture under the jurisdiction of King Charles I (reigned 1625–1649). In John Winthrop’s 1630… Continue reading John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” and William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” 
Unjust Town Meeting is a Problem Older than Ipswich (5/15/2026) - Opinion article by Michael Corbelle “Are we kinda being pricks?” Those words, spoken recently by Marblehead citizen David Modica as he questioned why his town’s leadership was voting to shirk its state-mandated responsibility to alleviate the housing crisis, have become a rallying cry against the “Not In My Backyard” attitude of so many property owners… Continue reading Unjust Town Meeting is a Problem Older than Ipswich 
John Wise Would Be Proud; May 12, 2026 Town Meeting passed Article 14, asking their duly elected representatives in Congress to perform their oversight duties over the executive branch in our government. (5/13/2026) - Featured image: Ipswich Post Office mural representing a meeting in 1687 for which Ipswich is known as the “Birthplace of American Independence.” By Stephen Miles In a resounding vote at the May 12, 2026 Town Meeting, citizens of Ipswich, in the spirit of their forebearers, passed Article 14, asking their duly elected representatives in Congress… Continue reading John Wise Would Be Proud; May 12, 2026 Town Meeting passed Article 14, asking their duly elected representatives in Congress to perform their oversight duties over the executive branch in our government. 
Installing Linux Mint or Kubuntu on your Windows computer. (5/3/2026) - by Gordon Harris On October 14, 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, which will no longer receive hardware and security updates. An estimated 200 million computers built before 2017 (Intel 8th Generation) don’t have TPM 2.0, and can’t be updated to Windows 11. Windows 10 will still be safe for any purpose that doesn’t… Continue reading Installing Linux Mint or Kubuntu on your Windows computer. 
Salem City Council Passes Resolution Ensuring the Safety of its Immigrant Population. (2/20/2026) - In February 2026, the Salem, Massachusetts City Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the city’s responsibility to protect all Salem residents regardless of their immigration status. RESOLUTION: TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY WHEREAS, the City of Salem is a welcoming city with a longstanding commitment to being a culturally inclusive and safe community… Continue reading Salem City Council Passes Resolution Ensuring the Safety of its Immigrant Population. 
The Streets of Minneapolis (1/28/2026) - By Gordon Harris The above photo is from the New York Times Through the winter’s ice and coldDown Nicollet AvenueA city aflame fought fire and ice‘Neath an occupier’s bootsKing Trump’s private army from the DHSGuns belted to their coatsCame to Minneapolis to enforce the lawOr so their story goesAgainst smoke and rubber bulletsBy the dawn’s… Continue reading The Streets of Minneapolis 
PTSD in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (12/12/2025) - 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 culminating in the Salem Witch Trials, which some professionals describe as mass conversion disorder.… Continue reading PTSD in the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
No “Bait and Switch” (12/12/2025) - Photo by David “Stoney” Stone Letter: The headline “Bait and Switch” in the November 25 article about the Ipswich Mills Dam was eye-catching but very misleading. Read this article at the Ipswich Local News.
“At Long last, Sir, Have You Left No Sense of Decency?” (11/20/2025) - On June 9, 1954, before a nationwide television audience, Joseph Welch of Waltham replied to Joseph McCarthy, "Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness."… Continue reading “At Long last, Sir, Have You Left No Sense of Decency?” 
The “Commonwealth” (8/9/2025) - "Commonwealth" is defined as a state in which authority is vested in the citizenry. In the 17th Century it was the radical philosophy the work and the proceeds thereof should be shared by the people.… Continue reading The “Commonwealth” 
Ghosts of Independence Day (7/3/2025) - By Gavin Keenan My wife and I were reminiscing about 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… Continue reading Ghosts of Independence Day 
The Great and Famous Not So Gentle Ipswich Putdown (4/22/2025) - 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 
Daniel Low’s Silver “Witch Spoons” among Salem’s First Souvenirs (2/26/2025) - By Helen Breen Daniel Low & Co. started on the bottom floor of the First Church, Unitarian, 231 Essex Street at the corner of Washington Street in Salem. The jewelry company purchased the church in 1923, elegantly refitting the structure as an appropriate setting for its luxurious merchandise. THE BUSINESS Daniel Low & Co. jewelry… Continue reading Daniel Low’s Silver “Witch Spoons” among Salem’s First Souvenirs 
Description of Ipswich in the 1797 American Gazetteer (2/21/2025) - The township of Ipswich is divided into 5 parishes, and contains 601 houses, and 4502 inhabitants...This was heretofore a place of much more consideration than at present. Its decline is attributed to a barred harbor and shoals in the river. … Continue reading Description of Ipswich in the 1797 American Gazetteer 
Born in a Refuge Camp (1/29/2025) - 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 
The “Hum” (12/2/2024) - The Hum is an unexplained low frequency rumbling sound heard by about 2% of the population from inside their homes during the late evening hours. I began noticing the Hum when I moved to Ipswich. Do you hear it?… Continue reading The “Hum” 
Historical Perspectives on Section 3A (11/3/2024) - Local historian Gordon Harris Mariana Ovnic, the Chair of the Ipswich Historical Commission share their perspectives on this Town Warrant question.… Continue reading Historical Perspectives on Section 3A 
How I Came to Ipswich (8/21/2024) - The moral of this story is that it's never too late to decide what you're going to be when you grow up.… Continue reading How I Came to Ipswich 
Regarding the Removal of the Ipswich Mills Dam (4/6/2024) - By Ipswich resident Roger Wheeler On May 21, a yes vote to remove the head of tide Ipswich Mills Dam and free the river will provide Ipswich, Essex County, and New England with a rare fish-accessible river. This could be an extraordinarily uncommon river and watershed if all fish have accessibility at the head of… Continue reading Regarding the Removal of the Ipswich Mills Dam 
My Ipswich connections (8/3/2023) - "I suspect that thousands of New Englanders have their roots based in Ipswich. Is it possible that I was drawn here by deeply ingrained ancestral memories?" By Thomas Palance… Continue reading My Ipswich connections 
Play and Recreation in a Town of 6000, a Recreational Study of Ipswich, Massachusetts, November 1914 (4/23/2023) - "This survey was made at the request of the Ipswich School Committee. Its purpose was to determine what the schools might do to meet the recreation needs of the community, with special reference to the school children."
… Continue reading Play and Recreation in a Town of 6000, a Recreational Study of Ipswich, Massachusetts, November 1914 
Oh, Wintry Christmas of my Youth! (12/23/2022) - 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.… Continue reading Oh, Wintry Christmas of my Youth! 
Abigail Adams to John Adams: “All Men Would be Tyrants if They Could.” (1/18/2022) - March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams to John Adams: "In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."… Continue reading Abigail Adams to John Adams: “All Men Would be Tyrants if They Could.” 
My Father’s Letter, Feb. 10, 1948 (1/17/2022) - In honor of Martin Luther King Day, this is a letter to the Atlanta Journal from my father David Aubren Harris, a Mississippi native, in support of President Truman's civil rights initiatives. He received a vicious racist letter in response.… Continue reading My Father’s Letter, Feb. 10, 1948 
Yankee Dictionary; a Compendium of Useful and entertaining Expressions Indigenous to New England (11/23/2021) - In 1963 Charles F. Haywood published the Yankee Dictionary, dedicated to his parents “both of whom loved Old New England, its life, its people, its history, its customs and its speech.” … Continue reading Yankee Dictionary; a Compendium of Useful and entertaining Expressions Indigenous to New England 
Thoughts on an August Day (8/2/2021) - 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.… Continue reading Thoughts on an August Day 
“Preserve and Protect” (3/3/2021) - Alice Keenan: "Naturally when we moved to Ipswich my antiquarian cup ranneth over. This lovely old town, its long history, ancient houses and interesting people became almost an obsession"… Continue reading “Preserve and Protect” The Postman Only Rang Once……. (1/26/2021) - 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...… Continue reading The Postman Only Rang Once…….
How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Ipswich? (11/18/2020) - 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?… Continue reading How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Ipswich? 
The Karma of Modern Problems (10/5/2017) - by Gavin Keenan. This article was first posted in 2017, and is timely as ever.… Continue reading The Karma of Modern Problems 
Keeping My Bearings in Changing Times (7/14/2017) - What is an unreconstructed Townie to do when pummeled by these endless and unwanted shifts in the familiar that masquerade as progress?… Continue reading Keeping My Bearings in Changing Times 
Historic Ipswich 