Helen Schmidt Van Dereck Haunstrup • Women’s History Month
In Provincetown, Helen (Schmidt) Van Dereck Haunstrup was known for her flair, good taste, perpetual energy, gardening, cooking, Zumba, walks in the dunes, making bread and tahini, her love of her pets, and potluck dinners in her home next to Goode Landing.
She was born July 15th, 1940, in Smithtown, NY, and from the age of 10 vacationed during the high season with her family in Provincetown. It was there that Helen sharpened her swimming and sailing skills until she attended and graduated from Brown University in 1962.
In the summer of 1955 Helen had met and later fallen for Anton “Napi” Van Dereck Haunstrup so that upon her exodus from Brown, Helen insisted that he be allowed to travel with her and her father through Europe after her graduation. When they returned from Europe, Helen & Napi settled in NYC where she began teaching in a poor, ethnically diverse neighborhood. Together they explored the city and restaurants where Helen’s interest in food grew. They were married in 1964 continuing a life of adventure, travel, and sailing, moving to Provincetown full-time in the late 60’s.
In “Ptown” Helen taught at Provincetown High School. In their free time, she and Napi traveled through New England searching through estate sales for treasures that they sold in an antique store they opened on Freeman Street. This location became the spot where their dream of a restaurant percolated and became a reality after closing the antique store. In 1975 they opened the iconic “Napi’s”. Helen created the menu and a garden around the restaurant while Napi took charge of transforming the spot with stained glass and adorned every wall with the art treasures they’d collected.
Napi too was a tremendous sailor owning many boats and catamarans, so he and Helen would travel the Intracoastal Waterway to the Caribbean and back. They participated in many of the sailboat races that took place in Provincetown in the 70’s through the 90’s.
Helen and Napi were acclaimed for their generosity and were philanthropic to the core supporting organizations like the Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the West End Racing Club (now known as West End Racing Children’s Community Sailing).
After a 10-year journey with Alzheimer’s, Helen passed through the veil of mortality on January 29th, 2025. Through it all, she maintained her gentle spirit, kind soul, and quiet grace. It’s been said that “one can’t argue with history lived” so it comes as no surprise that Helen’s indelible influence is forever embedded in the fabric of this community on the outer cape.
Compilation Sources: FB, IG, wickedlocal.com, chapmanfuneral.com