Category: United States

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Giovanni Agostino, New Mexico hermit

A ninetenth-century Italian-born monk and hermit became a famous resident of New Mexico, dwelling on a mountain that would be one day named Hermit’s Peak. Giovanni Maria de Agostini (1801-1869) had been banished from Brazil to Mexico for provoking masses of curious to follow. Agostini went to Mexico but found the same official ire, then going to Cuba, then to New York City, then to Quebec, everywhere resentd for his austerity, simplicity, and religiosity. Leaving Canada he traveled (always by foot) to New Mexico, where he finally settled, still drawing crowds of pious and curious. He died at the hands of unknown assailants.

URL: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/inspiring-monk-lived-new-mexico-cave-180973501/; Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_Maria_D%27Agostini

PRINT: Giovanni Maria de Agostini, Wonder of the Century: The Astonishing World Traveler Who Was A Hermit, by David G. Thomas. Doc45 Publishing, 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_Maria_D%27Agostini
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95-year-old threatened with eviction from Cape Cod shack

The Associated Press carries this news item from Providence, Massachuisetts. Article title: “95-year-old painter threate edwith eviction from Cape Coddune shack wins five-year reprieve.The article is here reprinted in its entirety.

“A 95-year-old painter and his family threatened with eviction from the Provincetown, Massachusetts, dune shack they have helped care for and occupy for nearly eight decades have won a reprieve.

“A legal team representing the painter worked out an agreement with federal officials that allows Salvatore Del Deo and his family to continue to live in and maintain the shack for five years, according to his son Romolo Del Deo. A legal team representing the painter worked out an agreement with federal officials that allows Salvatore Del Deo and his family to continue to live in and maintain the shack for five years, according to his son Romolo Del Deo.

“The shack is one of a number dotting the more remote reaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore, located within the Peaked Hill Bars Historic District in Provincetown and Truro. The isolated shacks have no electricity or indoor plumbing and are prized for their uninterrupted solitude.

“The family was abruptly evicted by the National Park Service during the summer when the agency opted to start a bidding process to let the public apply for up to 10-year-leases to occupy eight of the shacks. The shack occupied by the Del Deos was not among the eight, but could be included in future bidding rounds.”

URL: https://apnews.com/article/cape-cod-dune-shack-eviction-massachusetts-painter-a437446ee4394bdbe4261d02d383af81

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“Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake” (film)

Based on the book The Hermit of Gully Lake: The Life and Times of Willard Kitchener MacDonal, by Joan Baxter, is the 2007 film titled Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake, produced by APL Films, directed by Amy Goldberg, and narrated by Randy Bachman.

Description (from the film): “In the 1940’s American-born Willard MacDonald jumped his troop train heading to WWII. Fearing authorities he lived as a hermit deep in the northern wilderness of Nova Scotia, Canada for more than 60 years inspiring folklore for generations.” Trailer on Vimeo.

URL: https://vimeo.com/168836376