Easy Fred
Late Fifties/Early Sixties.. when the NPS grabbed the Seashore, and tried to go south of Eastham into Orleans and Chatham.. they were grabbing what they could.. the town of Orleans did not want to loose Nauset, and balked at them "taking" the public beach.. and.. convinced the Orleans campowners to turn over their camps to the Town.. with a gentlemens agreement they could use them... (this kinda blew up last year.. but has been straightened out).. Chatham camp owners.. well.. some caved and signed over their camps and signed 50 year leases.. some didn't and still own them outright.. as each lease has run out.. some have renegotiated, some have not been able too.. and some.. like this one.. has been abandoned and empty.. and this one also got pushed around a bit in the last storm.. the one that made the new "cut".. so.. they torched it.. not the first one to get burned.. one campowner years ago.. who was not allowed to rebuild after a storm.. torched his.. easier than dismantilling and hauling off.. .. NPS has burned 'em before.. still a few that are abandoned out there.. I still like going by them.. History and all that..
(Read: Drifting Memories.. tells the history of all the Nauset Camps)
Some say its best to torch them instead of letting them get vandalized, and possibly some foolish kid getting hurt.. could be..
Saddest thing I ever saw.. one New Years Day.. a family whose lease had run out down there.. their loading everything into a bunch of trucks.. all of them with tears streaming.. NPS wouldn't renew.. they even begged for 5 years.. 3 years.. one summer... 4 generations of memories.. bet they wished they never took the lease deal...
They came back to watch it get burned a couple years later.. I don't think I coulda done that... if it had been me...
Like one owner told me tho.. Million Dollar View.. that I wouldn't give ya 5 cents for.. one storm.. could all be gone.
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