By William F. Hanna The Cold War has been over for more than 30 years, so a generation of young people has come of age without ever having lived under the immediate threat of nuclear annihilation. Older Americans, however, have no trouble recalling those days of tension and political brinksmanship…

By William F. Hanna George G. Polley had a breathtaking view over Taunton in the twilight hours of September 19, 1921, but to fully enjoy it he had to overcome several nagging distractions, each demanding his immediate attention. Not least of these was that he was doing a hand-stand on…

By William F. Hanna Dreadful news reached Robert Treat Paine as he rode into Taunton on the morning of June 4, 1763. Elizabeth McKinstry, his friend and the sister of one of Taunton’s most prominent physicians, had been viciously attacked in the kitchen of her brother’s home. …

By William F. Hanna Just listen. In the predawn stillness the sound carries across a darkened landscape lighted only by the nearly full moon. Far in the distance a throbbing, high-pitched whine penetrates the silence. Hardly noticeable at first, it becomes louder as it unspools across the countryside, and although…

By William F. Hanna One critic called it the worst show ever written, and in January 1874 it was on its way to Taunton for a one-night stand. It was Scouts of the Plains, a Wild West show starring Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok and Texas Jack Omohundro. A few months earlier, after…

By William F. Hanna Throughout its almost 400 year history many of Taunton’s most celebrated houses have fallen victim to the wrecking ball, most claimed by avarice or indifference. …

By William F. Hanna December 7, 2021, marks the eightieth anniversary of the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The strike killed more than 2,300 military personnel and heavily damaged the Navy’s Pacific fleet. The next day Congress declared war on Japan and shortly thereafter…

Part Two (If you missed Part 1, click here.) — By William F. Hanna “All of us prisoners of war heard one repetitive refrain from the Germans . . . They would say, ‘For you the war is over.’ And that was pure B.S.” Within minutes of jumping from the dying Mischief Maker II, Sgt. Bob Doherty and three crewmates were being interrogated by…

Part One By William F. Hanna “Without warning I was smashed against the floor. Like a specimen butterfly pinned on a lab corkboard I was immobilized in a position only a contortionist could praise . . . I remember seeing my chest pack on the floor beside me but I…