~ by Carl Oscar Olson ~ With a global population of over 7 billion human beings, it’s hard to imagine that any open space free of houses, highways, or high rises still exists. That is especially so for a very small and very attractive destination island like Nantucket. Short supply […]
Nantucket History & People
Daughter of Nantucket to be on US Currency
~ by Amy Jenness ~ When 200 women and 100 men gathered in upstate New York in 1848 for America’s first women’s-rights convention, they unanimously agreed that women should be given the same freedoms as men: the right to speak publicly, pursue an education, get a job, practice a religion […]
French Neutrals on Nantucket
~ by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day In Nantucket History ~ Isolated out to sea and staunchly Quaker, and therefore pacifist, Nantucketers nonetheless got pulled into British conflict long before the American Revolution. Island whaleships had to contend with European privateers capturing their ships as early as 1744. […]
Libby Gibson, Growing up on Nantucket
~ by Rebecca Nimerfroh ~ You may recognize Libby Gibson’s voice from the weekly updates she does on 97.7 ACK FM, reporting the latest happenings of the town in that oh-so-relatable, down-to-earth tone. Or perhaps you have spotted her walking her dog down one of Nantucket’s many gorgeous beaches, Libby’s […]
Remembering Arthur
Charles Arthur Schaefer always knew he was born to be a gardener, even when the only space he had was in a pair of windows facing west in his old Greenwich Village apartment in New York. He filled them with a jungle of exotic plants that thrived to the point […]
Ferry Captains at Sea
~ by Richard Trust ~ An old saying that applies to many professions can be lightly tied to those who are captains of ferry boats sailing between Hyannis and Nantucket. “There’s an old-timer who once said, ‘The job is hours and hours of boredom intermingled with moments of sheer terror,’ […]
Shipyard Arson
by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day in Nantucket History, available at Mitchell’s Book Corner Built in 1818 in Middletown, CT, the 340 ton Nantucket whaleship Planter left Nantucket on its first voyage on September 25 of that same year. Launched at a time when Nantucket whaleship owners were […]
A 130-Year Vigil – Nantucket Lightship
~ by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day in Nantucket History, available at Mitchell’s Book Corner ~ The US government installed new experimental technologies on the lightships Nantucket and Cape May in 1934. A new type of short-range radio beacon was installed on the Nantucket to enable the lightship […]
Cranberry Harvest on Nantucket
~ by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day in Nantucket History, available at Mitchell’s Book Corner ~ A September 11, 1915 article in the Inquirer & Mirror announced that cranberries harvested from island bogs would now be shipped in barrels labelled “Island Brand.” The new labels would also include […]
Gold Fever
by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day in Nantucket History, available at Mitchell’s Book Corner Published by the island newspaper Mirror on September 3, 1849, Jethro C. Brock’s list of Nantucket people who went to California was printed as a broadside called A Correct List of Persons Belonging to […]