Tatiana Del Deo ©2023
PROVINCETOWN – After being evicted from his home on the Cape Cod National Seashore, Salvatore Del Deo and his family are happy to have him returned to the place that has been under their protection for over 77 years.
Even though the shack was boarded up and the families rights to anything in it were revoked, Romolo Del Deo, Salvatore’s son, said the family never truly believed they were evicted, and he knew he would be back to see his mother’s portrait again.
“I looked at it and I said I’m not taking her portrait, we’re coming back, and when we did get back in I walked over to her portrait and I told her ‘mom we’re back, don’t worry we’re back’ and it was a very moving moment for me,” said Del Deo.
Romolo’s mother Josephine Del Deo fought to create the Cape Cod National Seashore, but then had to fight against it to preserve the dune shack community, says Romolo.
One of the biggest struggles for the Del Deo family during the eviction was the choice of what to take from the shack, as Romolo Del Deo says it was an impossible task given the circumstances.
“We built the entire shack, every stick in that shack, every board, the foundation, everything was made by us. Defining what is our property and what isn’t our property, I don’t even know how you would go about doing that,” Del Deo said.
While the federal decision to give the family five more years in the shack does make them happy to once again be back with their belongings, they are still hopeful to work on the future of the area with the Cape Cod National Seashore.
The Cape Cod National Seashore has been looking to change the area into a seasonal rental application situation through a new caretaker initiative.
About Zachary Clapp
