^{Photos: Courtesy of Historic New England}

Provincetown’s History Told Through Artifacts

by Steve Desroches 

Who knows where the time goes is an age old lament. And indeed, time does move swiftly. But to answer that question, it is often best to consult a historian, or more specifically, an archivist, as they know just where the time went: their collections. The most effective archivists and museum professionals, with appropriate resources, know that it is much easier to collect artifacts in real time rather than wait years into the future to collect materials that represent a certain moment in history. If you wait too long, too much can be lost to history as people discard items, not recognizing their historical importance, or the story an artifact once held becomes devoid of context. That’s why Historic New England, one of the oldest historical organizations in the country, put out a call early in the Covid pandemic asking people from the six New England states to collect items that represented life locally, during the global health calamity. Many people responded, including some in Provincetown, who sent in these artifacts to help tell the story of how the pandemic affected life here. And as you can see, even in a crisis Provincetown’s flair was well on display.