Don Wildings – "Henry Beston’s Cape Cod: Inspiration for a National Seashore"

Don Wilding’s presentation includes over 170
slides of Henry Beston and his famous cottage, along with footage
from a documentary film project. Beston’s book, The Outermost House, was written in 1927 after Beston spent a solitary
year in a 20' x 16' cottage on Eastham’s outer beach. The program
tells how the Quincy native, still shaken
by his experiences as an ambulance driver in France
during World War I, took to writing fairy tales and eventually found the peace
of mind he was looking for on Cape Cod’s outer
beach.

The book is now considered an American classic on
the level of the works of Thoreau, Muir and other noted nature writers. The
National Park Service later used The
Outermost House to cite why the
Outer Beach of Cape Cod should be preserved as a National Seashore. 

Wilding, co-founder of the
nonprofit Henry Beston Society on Cape Cod, will be available to sign
copies of his book, Henry Beston’s Cape Cod: How ‘The Outermost House’ Inspired a National
Seashore, along with copies of the DVD, Henry Beston’s Cape Cod: Meditations of the
Outer Beach. The DVD, a fundraiser for a
documentary film project, includes samples of interviews and scenic footage
that have been gathered so far. 

Sponsored by the Friends of the Milford Town Library, this event is free
and open to the public.