Shack Stories

 


Photo courtesy of Barbara Vag

'Causeway Shack' Future Looking Shaky at Best
Published in the SandPaper June 6, 2012

By Michael Molinaro
Plans to rebuild the beloved yet dilapidated Causeway Shack on Cedar Bonnet Island have been held up for many reasons, but as owner Chet Atkins explains, it mostly comes down to money.
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Print from an original painting by Wellington Ward Jr.

Shack Ownership Problem Resolved,
Permits Next Issue

Published in the SandPaper September 21, 2011

By Michael Molinaro
After a two-year long intensive forensic title search, Jersey Outdoor Media owner Chet Atkins has finally proven ownership and taken title of the land on which the beloved Causeway Shack still stands...barely. This means an effort to restore the dilapidated edifice could move forward though the question as to how remains a mystery.
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Historic Society Readying
To Rally for Clam Shack

Published in the SandPaper February 2, 2011

By Michael Molinaro
It was an easy decision for Tim Hart, president of the Stafford Township Historical Society, to get on board as a donation collector for safetheshack.com, the latest volunteer effort to restore the Causeway Shack on Cedar Bonnet Island.
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Shack Gets a Site of Its Own;
Donations Now Being Accepted

Published in the SandPaper Jan. 19, 2011

By Michael Molinaro
A new effort to restore the crumbling Causeway Shack landmark has arrived this month in the form of a web site, savetheshack.com

Though widely considered the second most recognizable landmark for Long Beach Island, the Shack is actually located on Bonnet Island, within Stafford Township. The Stafford Township Historical Society is now seeking donations through the web site to rebuild the Shack.
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Photo by Ryan Morrill

Hallowed and Creepy, Hollowed and Creaky
Published in the SandPaper Oct. 13, 2010

By Michael Molinaro
Island visitors be warned! There, looking out through the window pane of the most decrepit and decaying of LBI landmarks is Nosferatu, who stands ready to shock the Shack out of you. READ STORY

New Architectural Rendering of Shack
Offers Vision of Possible Restoration

Published in the SandPaper Sept. 29, 2010

By Michael Molinaro
Jim Yuhas of Barnegat is hoping a new realistic architectural rendering of what would be a refurbished Shack on Cedar Bonnet Island will add inspiration toward its restoration. "I'm out to save the Shack," he said.

After taking accurate measurements of the Shack, Yuhas enlisted Diane Coppola-Fitz, owner of Island Arts in Ship Bottom, for help with his idea to create an architectural rendering. "His passion for the Shack is overwhelming. I think it's great," said Coppola-FItz.
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Seeing an Old Shack Through Young Eyes
Published in the SandPaper Aug. 25, 2010

The following essay, titled "The Shack Along the Jersey Shore," earned its author selection as one of 30 finalists in the Celebrate NJ essay contest this year. Dominic Bates is a fourth-grader at McKinley Elementary School in Manahawkin. He illustrated his essay with the picture published here.
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Painting by LBI artist Tony Desiderio

Shack Restoration Delays Expected,
Title Issue Ongoing

Published in the SandPaper Aug. 11, 2010

By Michael Molinaro
Chet Atkins, the current owner of the ramshackle hunting shack to the right of Route 72 on Bonnet Island in Stafford Township, said this week that there is no way to tell how long the process of proving ownership and gaining title of the land beneath the shack may take. But he explained that once the process is complete, which he estimates could take up to six months, a deal my be struck with Stafford for him to relinquish ownership in the hope of restoring the structure. READ STORY


The Shack in 2001

Preserving a Monument: Stafford Supports Shack
published in the SandPaper Aug. 4, 2010

By Michael Molinaro
For many, it is a welcoming monument as they traverse their way onto Long Beach Island; for others, it is a symbol of an era long since past, recalling the origins of Barnegat Bay; and for some, it is simply a shack they drive by each day, slowly disappearing with the passage of time. READ STORY

SandPaper Shack cover from 1978
See full-size cover