by Suzanne Daub
This September, as they have done on the same September weekend for 37 years, a group of women will board the ferry to Nantucket carrying decades of shared history and friendships that have lasted nearly four decades. What began in 1989 as a casual girls’ weekend has developed into an annual pilgrimage for this group of friends who have become sisters.
It all started when Pam Massucco asked six of her colleagues to spend a weekend with her at her parents’ home on Nantucket. At the time, they were all nurses working together in the ICU of a community hospital, a demanding career that requires trust, teamwork, and an ability to rely on each other during long, difficult shifts. “It was decided that this weekend would be without husbands and children: nurses taking care of nurses.”
That first girls’ weekend was simple—a day at Miacomet Beach, dinner out at The Whale—six friends carving time out for each other. None of them guessed it would last a lifetime.
The three-day weekend has since expanded into nearly a week on-island. As the women in the group retired, it became easier to add extra days. The group, too, has expanded, eleven now make the trip every year, some traveling from as far away as Texas and Florida. One year a woman flew in from China.
When I asked them what makes their girls’ getaway special, they mentioned treasured rituals: a breakfast spread with mimosas on the ride across the Sound; relaxing on the beach; afternoon drinks on the deck of their home base on Raceway Drive. “We love spending time together and nurturing our friendships in such a beautiful and special place.”
Not every gathering has gone according to plan. “One of the moments we will never forget is when the ferries were cancelled because of Hurricane Jose, preventing some of the women from making it to the island. Those who made it went to dinner and the ones who didn’t went to dinner on the mainland. With the ocean between us, FaceTime allowed us to all be together for the meal.”
When I asked them to share the funniest memory from their many island visits, they smiled and said “What happens on Nantucket stays on Nantucket.”
“This group means everything to all of us,” they explained. “Even though a year may pass between our visit to the island, we come together as sister girlfriends. We’ve shared engagements, weddings, divorces, children, grandchildren, joy, sorrow, and unconditional love.”
As they rounded the Point after that first girls’ weekend in 1989, they each threw a penny overboard, realizing something meaningful had begun. “Every summer on Nantucket, we are reminded how blessed we are to have such an amazing group of women who started out as friends and became family.”
