Then and now: two Howard
​ Johnson’s restaurants in
​Falmouth, but not quite
By Roberta Cannon

As far back as I can remember, the Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Orleans was a landmark we passed almost every day on our way to the center of Orleans. It sat in the middle of the intersection of Route 28 and Route 6A and it couldn’t be missed with its big orange roof, turquoise blue shutters and white shingles. ​

Dancing the night way at a record hop
​By Roberta Cannon

​My first encounter with a record hop was the second annual Orleans Family Hop in 1957 when I was eight years old. The evening began with a ham and bean dinner in the then Nauset High School cafeteria put on by the town Fire and Police Associations.....

​When telephones were
​social media
By Roberta Cannon

​​​by Roberta Cannon

​My father worked for “Ma Bell” as a cable splicer when I was growing up. He would climb tall telephone poles with just a belt wrapped around the pole and spikes that were attached to his boots.....


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 Games we used to play
By Roberta Cannon

​Summertime brought all kinds of opportunities to expand creative prowess when we were kids. Everything from clubhouses below the lush green trees with boundaries of sticks to protect my sisters and me from would-be invaders to hopscotch,...

Snow then,
​Snow now
By Roberta Cannon

As I watch another round of snowflakes cover the already white ground or “snow lawns” that now grace the Northeast and Cape Cod, I thought about the snowstorms that brought so much fun in my childhood.....

​The Magic of the Santa Claus suit
By Roberta Cannon

​I had the honor and pleasure of talking with Santa Claus last Friday night. It was a magical conversation with a gentleman who truly loves what he does, bringing joy and believing to all in an often-chaotic world.....
Copyright © 2025   Roberta Cannon Writes