By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
PROVINCETOWN – Not all hometowns have treasured characters who are or were so lovable until you could not help but love them back. Provincetown is home to many such characters but one of its most memorable residents was Frederick E. DeAvellar.
Affectionately known as Butch, the one-time avid fisherman loved talking to tourists, making sure they knew he was considered to be the town character. A very considerate and generous man, he also loved repaying a kindness any way he could.
Photo/Michael S. Koehler
Adopted by family friends
Before his mother passed away in the late 1970s, she asked her employers Ciro and Pat Cozzi to look after her son who could not read or write. The couple went one step further and adopted him. Butch was often seen riding around on his scooter along Route 6, Cornwell Street and downtown, wearing a blue motorcycle helmet with a seagull feather duct taped to it or towing his wagon down the middle of Commercial Street.
Butch usually ate lunch at the Soup Kitchen in Provincetown (SKIP) and often repaid their kindness by helping to set the tables, sometimes clearing the table before patrons were finished, if they did not object. Locals truly loved the gentle and innocent soul. Susan Darnell wrote on Facebook, “I used to see him with a long broom handle tied to the steering bar of the engine. This way, he could stand in the bow of the boat and steer it. It made him feel so important. He was great!”
Marcene Marcoux recalled, on Facebook, “I loved seeing Butch with his wagon and blue helmet walking through town. He was Provincetown and such a big part of who we are. I go by his house on Bradford and always think of Butch. Yes, he was buried with his blue helmet and red wagon. He was sweet and yes, a wonderful character. I still miss his presence as I still miss Freddie! It’s not the same without them.”
David Nechin added, “Butch used to always tell me, I may be slow, but my wheels are always turning. He was a good guy and always had a great attitude. Not a mean bone in his body.”
Support for charities
Besides fishing, he loved tinkering with machines and collecting cans for recycling, saving pop top tabs for police officer Glenn Enos whose niece had juvenile diabetes. Her school collected tabs for a local charity that helped less fortunate patients receive time on a kidney dialysis machine. Butch earned money from collecting cans and felt it was only right to give back.
He hated traffic and would often stop it or at least slow it down by standing in the middle of the town’s most busy streets. Resident Peter Souza said in the Cape Cod Times the P-Town fixture “directed traffic better than most policemen in town.”
Before he passed away from cancer on May 30, 2002, at age 61, Butch spent his remaining days in the Cape End Manor. A companion would occasionally take the beloved resident on a trip to town, always stopping by Seamen’s Bank to donate $3 to $4 each month for the bank’s complimentary dog treats. At the time of his death, 50 pounds of pop tops were discovered in DeAvellar’s house. Frederick “Butch” DeAvellar was buried with his cherished wagon and helmet which he believed confounded police into thinking he had been driving his unlicensed moped.
No, not every hometown is graced with endearing locals whose epitaphs leave a lasting impression. Butch proved that money nor a higher education always matter. But having a good character that encompasses friendliness, thoughtfulness, and generosity can go a long way in bringing smiles to faces, even after death.
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