Wellfleet Historical Society at the Wellfleet Public Library

In the depths of the Great Depression, the National Park Service first floated the concept of a national seashore from Duxbury to Provincetown. By the time Congress put forth legislation in the late 1950s, Cape Codders hotly debated the concept, with one prominent citizen predicting tyrannical destruction of inalienable rights of citizens." National Park Service employee Bill Burke's presentation includes the genesis of the idea, philosophy behind new parks, the master plan for the seashore, growing pains, big compromises, lingering controversies, what's historic and what's not, successes and challenges, and what the future might hold. No one said this would be easy.