by Steve “Tuna” Tornovish
I’ve started my days this week fishing from a bridge in Salem, MA as cars and trucks cruised by me at 30 or so MPH, scaring me to death. Yeah, this was not first choice, but at least it allowed me to catch some fish and clear my head out a bit. Another thing that it did was to help me to better appreciate the beauty of Nantucket, particularly Great Point. I’ll be home soon enough and will have some sand between my toes shortly thereafter.
So what’s so great about this Great Point anyway? Well, for one thing, it’s home to some of the best beach fishing in the world. There’s a variety of places to go out there, so you can generally find a spot to fish regardless of conditions. And it’s well managed. The people who work for the Trustees of Reservation do a fantastic job of maintaining the large expanse of conservation land. They keep the beach pristine and open, at least more open than the Town of Nantucket beaches (or perhaps birds just hatch and fly quicker on the eastern side of the island?). Finally, there’s Spruce.
Spruce is Burton Balkind: he is one of the dedicated rangers working for the Trustees. The rangers help keep beachgoers safe and the reservation enjoyable and accessible. These days, he’s often providing tours for folks who otherwise might not get to experience the beauty of Great Point. I’ll see him with his group in the extended pickup truck (complete with outdoor seating – the Mosquito Express!) as they poke around Great Point. Spruce never fails to stop and introduce me to his tourist group, something that always brings me great joy. Yeah, Spruce is a Nantucket treasure.
“I came to Nantucket with a backpack and a bike! Everyone lifted me up, this college kid with dreads—I came from Montana, where I was attending Montana State in Bozeman. I was a fanatical fly fisherman out there. I fished mostly for brook trout. I was a poor college kid living on 75 bucks a week, so I was fishing for sustenance! I had this neat five-piece Eagle Claw pack rod. I would hike into a hidden mountain pond or stream and catch trout for dinner. Add a bag of rice, a tin can and tin foil— I was in business! Stillwater River was my favorite.”
Spruce grew up in Plymouth, MA. I asked him how he became to be known as Spruce (a funny question coming from a guy known as Steve Tuna, right?). “I worked for an old Yankee Quaker who had a field in Marion MA. He grew all kinds of plants and gave all his workers nicknames. And that was that. I came to Nantucket with two of my buddies who were landscaping for Donnie Holdgate. Started with one job (Holdgate), then jumped in at Foooods For Here and There (remember Mark Arnold?), and then at the India House doing prep cook stuff. Three jobs is the Nantucket thing. I was working 90 hours a week, hoping to save up a little ching to head west for the winter.”
Nantucket fit him well. Spruce loves to surf and he quickly became a fixture amongst the south shore surfing community. He discovered that Nantucket was much more than the nightlife in the summer. He worked hard and played hard. I met Spruce when we were on the same hockey team when Nantucket Ice came into being. “I played hockey as a kid in Plymouth. I jumped into the roller hockey league when that was going on at Tom Nevers. When the ice rink opened, I was really happy. Hey, I got to skate and surf with Ken Linseman (former Boston Bruins center)!”
Spruce ran his own landscaping business for 27 years. It was time for a change. “I had a hip redone one winter. Landscaping was wearing me down. I learned that Diane [Lang, the manager of the Nantucket division of the Trustees of Reservations] was looking for some people to work at Great Point. She reached out, asking, ‘Hey, do you want to drive around Great Point?’ I wasn’t sure: after all, there’s no surf at Great Point! I stepped into a role as a part-time ranger, and I began doing the beach tours as Barry [Thurston, a long-time Trustees fixture] was phasing himself out.”
The fit was perfect. “Who else has an office like ours? Who do you see that’s mad out at Great Point? It’s a happy place! People from everywhere are smiling and waving when they’re out there. It’s a different world for them! It’s like there’s some magic pixie dust that transforms them. I learn something new every day out there. I have books about shells, about birds and Peter Brace’s book Nantucket – A Natural History. Peter also has a book about Nantucket walking tours. Both are so worthwhile!”
Spruce embraces every minute he spends out at Great Point. It suits him perfectly. “Today I took out a group of elders on a tour. I loved listening to them and picking their brains. They have so much institutional knowledge! We had Coatue to ourselves and we drove up to the Coskata Pond opening. There were birds every-where—plovers, sanderlings, willets—it was so cool!”
Spruce is an accomplished photographer. Great Point serves as a perfect artist pallet for him. “As a kid I had a 110 camera. Remember those, with the funny little film packs? Next was a starter Pentax 35 mm. As I got older, I wasn’t into the nightlife as much as getting up early and taking pictures. Now it’s birding and photography that do it for me!”
There’s a hidden side to Spruce that he doesn’t much talk about but I sure will. When things get tough, Spruce is one of the first people to step up and help out. He’s been the point man for a lot of the Red Cross events on the island. Spruce will get things set up quickly if a storm results in evacuations. He works tirelessly to help out those in need. He is quick to donate a photography shoot for a charity auction. As a great former Nantucket resident Fred Rogers once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers, so many caring people in this world.” Burton Balkind is one of those helpers. He makes the fabric of Nantucket so much stronger.
Spruce remains an adventurer. He has a ten-day trip to Cook Inlet, Alaska scheduled for this September. “Alaska is my 50th state to visit!” He’s also contemplating a drive out west for some snowboarding “…for a month or two.” Last year, Spruce took his snowboard and travelled to Japan. “I was lucky, lucky, lucky to go there. I went to Hokkaido, an island in the northern part of Japan. It’s the least populated and has the most nature. You know how islands are! Japan was amazing. The food was so affordable. I ran into a bunch of Nantucket kids, and we got together for an amazing dinner. It cost $84 for the entire group! I rented a car and went around on my own. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip!”
Spruce told me, “I have roots on Nantucket but branches everywhere else. Montana, Costa Rica, everywhere.” Nantucket is a better place for having Spruce here. He embodies another Fred Rogers quote: “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” Based upon this scale, Burton Balkind has achieved ultimate success. I’m glad to know him. He makes Nantucket a better place.
Steve “Tuna” Tornovish is a Nantucket native who has spent his life fishing from the beaches of his beloved island. He loves to introduce clients to the joy of fishing with his Nantucket Island Fishing Adventures: stevetuna.com
