Massachusetts

Elderly artist forced to vacate shack he’s maintained for nearly 80 years

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2023

Elderly artist forced to vacate shack he’s maintained for nearly 80 years

An elderly Massachusetts artist is being kicked out of the Cape Cod shack he maintained for nearly 80 years as the National Park Service begins granting long-term leases to new renters.

Salvatore Del Deo, 94, resided in the Provincetown dune shack for the past 77 summers, where he paid taxes and was deeded the dwelling, according to CBS News.

But the Park Service does not recognize Del Deo as the owner and has ordered him to vacate the shack.

The artist and veteran arrived in Provincetown in 1946, where he met Jeanne “Frenchie” Schnell who built a remote dune shack along the Cape Cod National Seashore as Del Deo helped maintain the abode.

In 1953 after serving in the Korean War, Del Deo returned to Provincetown where he met his future wife Josephine at a party.

Schnell gifted the shack to Del Deo and his wife as a honeymoon suite.

The Park Service took possession of 19 dune shacks in the ’60s through eminent domain, offering the current owners lifetime leases, and the new renters signing long-term leases, while others only leasing year-to-year.

Del Deo, 94, resided in the Provincetown dune shack for the past 77 summers, where he paid taxes and was deeded the dwelling.

salvatoredeldeo/Instagram

After gaining ownership of the dunes, the Park Service attempted to raze the structures, but the dwellers, led by Josephine fought back and with the help of John F. Kennedy created the Province Lands that became part of the National Seashore reservation, according to the Boston Globe.

“They saw the park as the only solution to the overwhelming amount of people who came on the weekends, and the investors,” Del Deo told WBZ News. “Park would be the lesser evil because they will maintain the purity of the back shore.”

Del Deo, whose name adorns two local Italian restaurants including Ciro & Sal’s, was deeded the shack from Schnell but before her death, one of her daughter’s, Adrienne Schnell, came into her life and was seen as the rightful owner of the shack by the Park Service.

When the younger Schnell died in 2016, Del Deo continued to maintain and pay taxes on the property for seven years before the Park Service noticed.

The artist and veteran arrived in Provincetown in 1946, where he met Jeanne “Frenchie” Schnell who built a remote dune shack along the Cape Cod National Seashore as Del Deo helped maintain the abode.

In March, Miriam Mazel, the Park Service’s acting real estate officer sent a letter to Del Deo offering condolences for the daughter’s death, but also ordered him to vacate the property, according to the Boston Globe.

Del Deo’s family, led by his son Romolo, appealed the eviction, which the Park Service granted an extra 90 days, but now the artist is being forced to remove all his property from the shack and turn over the keys by June 27.

The Park Service began accepting bids for long-term leases for the eight designated shacks — “Frenchie’s” shack not included — but Del Deo was told the property could be won through a bidding contest.

“We’re not even allowed to bid [on the shack] right now,” Romolo told the Boston Globe. “We don’t know when that might be possible, or under what conditions.”

Romolo also said resisting the federal orders would be too complex and expensive.

When the younger Schnell died in 2016, Del Deo continued to maintain and pay taxes on the property for seven years before the Park Service noticed.

Del Deo's painting of the original "Frenchie" shack built in 1942. — Del Deo’s painting of the original “Frenchie” shack built in 1942.

Another daughter of Schnell is alive and living in Tennessee, but the Park Service has denied her request for the Del Deos to remain as a steward.

A Change.org petition created to stop “Halt the eviction of Salvatore del Deo” has been signed by over 6,000 people

The petition asks the Park Service, Department of the Interior, Secretary of State John Kelly, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. William Keating, to halt the eviction of Del Deo and offer him a lifelong lease to the shack for his “artistic contributions and his dedication to the Cape Cod National Seashore.”

“Sal has lost the love of his life by the way he talks about Josephine. She was the activist. She is alive in the dunes.” Michela Murphy told WBZ News. “It’s nothing for the Park Service to give him a lifetime lease. He’s 94 years old.”

Murphy contends that the current shack was built by Del Deo on the site of Schnell’s original shack.

A protest, led by Murphy took place earlier this week calling for the Park Service to end the high-price bids, but was only attended by a couple dozen people.

The shack, titled “Frenchie’s” Dune Shack but labeled by the Park Service as “Jeanne Chanel Shack with Outhouse” sits on the foredune near the Provincetown/Truro border.

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Massachusetts

Why Mass. state universities are getting $14M to increase graduation rates

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Why Mass. state universities are getting M to increase graduation rates

When the state started directing SUCCESS funding to community colleges, it contributed to a 10% increase in student retention between 2022 and 2023.

Now, the hope is to see similar results at state universities by utilizing the same pot of money.

The Healey administration announced last week it will extend SUCCESS funding for the first time to the state’s nine universities — to the tune of $14 million.

The money, coming from the fiscal year 2025 budget, will support programming aimed at increasing graduation rates, particularly among historically underserved students.

According to the Department of Higher Education’s most recent data, more than 30% of state university students don’t earn a degree within six years of enrolling. For Black and Latino students, the number is more than 40%.

Read more: Number of Black students at Harvard Law drops by over half after SCOTUS ruling

“We’ve made progress in making it more affordable for students to enroll in college, and this program will now lift barriers that arise on the way to graduation, especially for first-generation college students who cannot draw on a parent’s experience to navigate earning a degree,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.

In a similar effort, the UMass system recently announced it will offer free tuition and fee support for in-state undergraduates whose families earn $75,000 or less.

The SUCCESS expansion does not include the five UMass campuses.

The SUCCESS Fund (which stands for Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services) was created in fiscal year 2021 specifically for the state’s 15 community colleges.

The SUCCESS grants for state universities will further the initiative, enabling campuses to create new services to support vulnerable or historically underserved students, “including students of color, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, and students who are low-income or first-generation to college.”

Dr. Linda Thompson, chair of the Massachusetts State Universities Council of Presidents and president at Westfield State University, said the funding expansion will help the institutions reach more students looking to advance their education.

“We are confident the funding initiatives brought by the Healey-Driscoll Administration will reach those individuals who want to stay in Massachusetts, build businesses, support our economy, and strengthen their families,” she said.

Read more: Teaching at community colleges is getting tougher. Why do employees stay?

The dollars per university are based in part on the number of Pell Grant-eligible state university students and enrollment numbers. They are as follows:

Bridgewater State University: $2,895,955
Fitchburg State University: $1,297,587
Framingham State University: $1,315,502
Massachusetts College of Art and Design: $890,286
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts: $684,096
Massachusetts Maritime Academy: $713,536
Salem State University: $2,050,053
Westfield State University: $1,532,795
Worcester State University: $1,620,191

In addition to the $14 million for state universities, the state fiscal year 2025 budget also invests $14.7 million in community colleges, for a total $28.7 million investment in SUCCESS programming.

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Massachusetts

We asked, you answered: Your favorite hot chocolate spots in Massachusetts

Published

13 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

We asked, you answered: Your favorite hot chocolate spots in Massachusetts

A cup of cocoa is a sweet treat and hand warmer all in one. And on a cold day in Boston — especially amid the holiday season — there’s nothing better to accompany you through the streets.

We asked WBUR readers and listeners where they like to grab a cup of hot chocolate. (We asked WBUR staffers, too, and you can find out their responses by signing up for one of our newsletters with this link before Dec. 31.)

Responses included chocolatiers, bakeries and cafes in Boston and far beyond it. But there was one clear fan favorite. Here are your top spots, plus a few honorable mentions.

Dark hot chocolate from L.A. Burdick in Harvard Square. (Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Your top favorites

L.A. Burdick

Boston, Cambridge and Brookline

More than 50% of respondents said L.A. Burdick was their favorite place to grab hot chocolate in the area. L.A. Burdick’s thick, rich hot chocolate is made with milk and blended with dark, milk, white or spicy dark chocolate. Readers say it’s a decadent, European-style drinking chocolate, almost like drinking a melted chocolate bar.

“The cocoa is of incredibly high quality, and they make it with whole milk, which is very rich and creamy,” said Emily Bono . “They have their own cocoa blends, which are great, but also a variety of single source options that illustrate just how diverse chocolate can be.”

“In addition to tasting like heaven, we once put a leftover half-cup in the refrigerator overnight, and the next morning it had set into excellent chocolate pudding,” Lori Gayle shared.

Flour Bakery

Ten locations across Boston and Cambridge

Readers say they love the sweet, velvety hot chocolate at Flour Bakery. You can grab a cup of this cocoa all over Boston and Cambridge (they’ll even be popping up on the Common this summer). And for 50 cents extra, Flour will make your hot chocolate “fiery” with a dash of cayenne pepper.

“The cayenne and chocolate combination is rich, creamy, not too sweet and just a little addictive,” Kalli Catcott shared.

Kakawa Chocolate House

173 Essex St, Salem

Kakawa Chocolate House’s Salem shop is its first and only location in New England. (They’ve got three others in New Mexico.) Cori B. says their authentic sipping chocolate comes with a variety of spices you can add, like cinnamon, ginger, mint and cayenne. Dominique Hayes added that the “wonderful variety” is “all very yummy.”

Sweetie’s in Roslindale

48 Corinth St., Roslindale

Sweetie’s primarily sells ice cream, but you might want to visit for the hot chocolate, too. Kris Liberman shared its “rich and cream, with a choice of toppings.” There are also dairy and non-dairy options for your drink, and Leah Boylan says Sweetie’s offers imaginative cocoa flavors (think tahini dark chocolate) and tasty add-ins, like flame-broiled marshmallows, ice cream and whipped cream.