This notice, placed in a time capsule destined to be opened on July 4, 1976, in Sandwich, advertises the "Greate Concerte" held at Town Hall in March 1876. The two-day concert, featuring Auld Lang Syne and The Star Spangled Banner, was part of the town's year-long Centennial celebration. The notice and most of the other items packed into the Centennial Box capsule are in the Town Archives. COURTESY OF THE SANDWICH TOWN ARCHIVES When history buffs plan our share of a big natio

From the junction of Water and Main streets in Sandwich Village, you can see five centuries. But for the 250th birthday of the United States this year, let's put on spectacles that filter out all those centuries but the revolutionary 18th. Across town, we have spaces, homes, taverns, historic cemeteries and historical institutions that show us how lucky we are to live right here right now for this national party. Most of the United States has no such physical legacy of the Re

The 1950s in Sandwich. Our family lived on Jarves Street and our town’s population was a bit over 2,000 residents. As I look back, I remember that time in my life fondly. I admit it seems to me   to have been an idyllic time to grow up in our town. First of all, you knew everyone. When someone drove by, you waved. You stopped to chat on the street. Even as a youngster you were expected to be polite and respond when in conversation with an adult. And if you ever did something

Sandwich has celebrated historic birthdays so often you’d think we’d be short on candles. For at least a century and a half, big civic parties have marked the births of the town, the county and the nation. But like an Olympic torch passed from runner to runner till it reaches the cauldron, each generation picks up the flame where the last one left off. We’re about to take on that collective challenge again as the town participates in the 250th birthday party of the United Sta

The creators of Sandwich's Centennial Box didn't have an instruction manual in 1876 when they launched one of America's first time capsules on a 100-year voyage. Their wood-and-tin box looks as crude to us as the Mayflower or a Mercury spacecraft. But like those other pioneering voyagers, it delivered the goods. On July 4, 1976, the 200th birthday of the United States, town leaders opened the lid and fulfilled the 19th century community's wish to link generations. In this sec