WELLFLEET – Chuck Cole is of the land, and he is of the sea. There is a lot about Cole, whose family roots go back to the Mayflower, that is quintessential.
“He’s a hippie flashback kind of guy,” said Cole’s friend, the artist/musician Harriet Korim of Wellfleet.
“They may not notice. But they notice when we are not here.” – Chuck Cole. CAPE COD WAVE PHOTO
Cole is a 64-year-old sailer, surfer, hippie, peace activist, quirky community radio host, and Mayflower descendent living in his own off-the-grid homemade yurt compound, complete with an outhouse, on land in Paine Hollow that has been in his family since 1630.
In Cole’s own words, he has “become somewhat of an institution” on the Outer Cape.
“Anybody who resides on the Outer Cape eventually meets Chuck Cole,” said Bob Seay, of Eastham, former executive director of WOMR, the popular community radio station where Cole has had a Thursday morning program since 1984.
“He’s very active, very visible, and his roots are very deep,” said Seay. “Every town has personalities that exemplify what the town is about. He’s from the Outer Cape.”
“Anybody who resides on the Outer Cape eventually meets Chuck Cole.” – Bob Seay, former executive director of WOMR
With his shock of long gray hair, matching his long gray beard, ever-present WOMR ballcap, overalls adorned with political buttons, drums, political signs and friendly wave, Cole has every week for more than a decade taken a peace vigil to both Wellfleet Town Hall and the Eastham Windmill, just to remind folks that believing in peace matters.
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