Less than a mile from Wuss Camp, Centerville Beach is a county park unmanageable by human governments, stormy and cold, with undertows and sneaker waves — an ever-changing, relentless presence that is the soundtrack of our lives.

The hidden valley has been a gathering place since the first European settler, Paolo Gabrielli, from a Northern Italian village on the Austrian border, built his family’s home here after immigrating from Italy in early 1914. His wife and three children were to join him in a few months. The First World War changed everything.