Nantucket History & People Archives

Spreading the Fishing Bug

May 30, 2024

Not every type of fishing involves rods and reels. Nantucket has an abundance of quahogs, hard shell clams that live in the shallow sandy areas around the island. When I was in my early teens, it seems that once or twice each summer I’d end up on a trip with Oscar Bunting, a commercial fisherman, to go with him and scratch up those tasty morsels. Oscar looked like he was from central casting’s selection for “The Old Man and the Sea.” He was a very strong guy with forearms that rivaled Popeye’s, a real-life Cap’n Quint. Oscar had a steely look in his eyes that told you he was a serious man but he softened that look with a frequent and wonderful deep laugh. I loved those quahog digging trips with him!

Sea Monster Returns to Nantucket Island

May 16, 2024

In August of 1937, Nantucket Island was abuzz: a sea monster was swimming in our waters and walking along our shores, leaving huge three-toed prints in the sand. News wires went out, and articles were published across the country speculating about the strange beast. Island fisherman Bill Manville claimed to […]

Nantucket History & People

Just Like Old Times

April 25, 2024

Mid April on Nantucket will fluctuate from a spectacular sunny t-shirt only day to one that requires a hooded neoprene jacket just to get to the mailbox. The wind howls, the boats are cancelled, and the rain pounds down in a sideways manner, just to remind you to stay inside. Which is what reasonable Nantucket people will do, of course. But fishermen are not necessarily reasonable people. And this is how I found myself standing in waders in the North Head of the Hummock, hands numb, eyes watering, trying to cast an ultralight pond rig into a 30 knot wind.

Exploring Nantucket, Nantucket Events, Nantucket History & People

Tidying-Up for Spring

April 25, 2024

Spring cleaning on Nantucket doesn’t just refer to sweeping away dust and cobwebs that have accumulated throughout the house during the winter months. It also includes several cooperative efforts to tidy-up our island roadsides, beaches, nature preserves, and town.

Nantucket History & People

The First Rule of “Fish Club”

November 16, 2023

The cross-examination was withering: question after question, each one seemingly a tripwire cleverly placed to snare my plodding steps. The law yer pressed me relentlessly, stepping up his attack by the slightest degree, sensing that I was a moment away from falling apart. And he was right—my confidence was waning, and I was f loundering. I couldn’t play his game any longer. I reverted to what I did best, what had gotten me this far, what has always been the key to my survival I counterpunched.

Nantucket History & People

Honoring Life Savers

August 31, 2023

Nantucket’s history is filled with stories of heroic lifesaving efforts made by ordinary citizens and those who went above and beyond the call of duty. Honoring that tradition, Egan Maritime Institute and Nantucket Cottage Hospital recognize the following modern-day lifesavers at an annual Lifesavers Recognition Day on Monday, September 11 […]

Nantucket Arts, Nantucket Events, Nantucket History & People

This Sunday Is for Rainbows

August 17, 2023

This Sunday morning, August 20, hundreds will trek to the beach at Brant Point to watch a beautiful and joyful spectacle that has been a part of summer on Nantucket for half a century: the Rainbow Parade.
Artist G.S. Hill is usually among them. “I do a lot of on-location sketches during Opera Cup,” he explained. “The first year we were here, 1979, was the first year that I painted the Rainbow Fleet…it’s one of my favorite subjects. They’re so colorful!”