July 17, 1988 - Removal of Seashore National Park shacks considered. 1937 - Both Islands may secede
1937: Steamship strike ends as Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard threaten to secede. 1988: Park may remove dune shacks
A typical Province Lands dune shack of the era. Photo by Jane Booth.
1988: Removal of Cape Cod Shacks Is Considered
18 of the structures are in serious disrepair
On this date in 1988, the AP reported that the National Park Service says it may remove rustic cottages it owns on the windswept dunes of outer Cape Cod between Provincetown and Truro. In the warm-weather months, the park service rents the shacks to people who do not mind doing without electricity, indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences.
Each shack rents for $150 a week. A spokesman at the park service's Cape Cod headquarters in Wellfleet said last Sunday that the agency was talking with the Massachusetts Historical Commission about various options for the shacks, including bulldozing, moving or restoring them.
The spokesman said a decision may be made at the commission's meeting in Boston next week. The park service said that many of the 18 one- and two-room structures are in serious disrepair. For 20 years the shacks have attracted artists, writers and others in search of serenity or isolation along the Peaked Hill dunes.
1937: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard cut off for four days
Siege lifted, Steamship settlement brings 33% pay increase
On this day in 1937 the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard decided not to secede from the rest of us.
The four day strike of the steamship company which serviced those islands ended with big pay increases. The officers got 33% more and the crewmen got 14%.
The islanders threatened to start their own boat line. And remember, all this happened almost 80 years ago today. Read all the gruesome details below:
ACCORD SETTLES NANTUCKET STRIKE;
Steamship and Union Officials at State House Agree on Pay Rise Lifting 4-Day Siege
July 17, 1937, Saturday - A steamship strike which had cut off transportation to the Summer resort islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard for four days and brought threats of "secession" was settled early today in an agreement signed at the State House.
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Walter Brooks (1930-2018) was the Founder of CapeCodToday.com. He was also the founder of Best Read Guide and wrote the Blogfather blog. Walter served as volunteer Managing Editor of Cape Cod Today until the day he died.
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