News and Events for Nantucket Island
Coming to terms with and adjusting to the reality of now has not been easy for anybody. Life is slowly returning to normal, though slower still here on Nantucket than usual, and with good reason. With weather warming and the population growing, many are wondering what to do, where to go, and how to do it safely.
As they enter their 75th year in business, Murray’s Toggery Shop, the iconic Nantucket store at 62 Main Street and home of the original Nantucket Reds collection, has just completed a major renovation to transform the ladies’ and children’s departments. The renovation, which began at the beginning of January and was initially delayed due to closures associated with the pandemic, is now finished.
I graduated from Barrington Consolidated High School in the spring of 1970. Five friends and I decided we would all meet on Nantucket that June for a reunion. None of us had ever been there. I was inspired by a high school English teacher named Charles White who got me interested in literature. I loved Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and wanted to see the island. I hitchhiked from Barrington, located about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, to Pittsburgh, then to New York and on to Concord, MA, where I camped out at Walden Pond for a few days.
Ahh, 1970… seems so long ago with so many adventures and three children between then and now… the story really begins in 1968, a ‘Sconset Girl working as hostess at the Mad Hatter meets Missouri bouy bartending a the Harbor House. Who would expect this summer romance to lead to an “I do” at the Siasconset Chapel in July 1970?
Nantucket has always been home to Richard Montfort Cary. He grew up summering here in his family’s Hinckley Lane farmhouse, and his island roots go back to the 1800s. It was in 1970 that Cary moved himself, his wife Mara, and his son Donick back here to escape the theatre. He lived and worked on-island until 2004, with just a few intermissions. Many here remember Richard as the founder of Actors Theatre of Nantucket and as vibrant contributor to our community with his talent in music, writing, and all aspects of theatre.
In these days of social distancing and staying inside, we all find ourselves missing some of the best Nantucket has to offer. No, we’re not talking about the Daffy, Wine Fest, or Figawi, or any of the fun festivals that have been taken off this season’s calendar or made virtual. We’re talking about everything the outdoors has to offer on our one-of-a-kind island.
The year 2020 has delivered many challenges. Everything from the Japanese Murder Wasps to the pandemic and protests. There is a shift. Not only in congress and country, but in the fabric of our fields. Our cool crops wain and our spring begins to yield. Tomatoes seem to double in size and the zucchini is about to bloom. Pole beans are on the trellis and the herbs are on our spoon.
Two years ago, Someone spray painted racist graffiti on on the front of the African Meeting House on Nantucket. Two years later, that Someone is out there drinking coffee and waving at the cops when they drive by. The police department “will vigorously pursue the perpetuators of this hate crime,” which, I suppose, they are still doing.
Nantucket is often thought of as a virtually tree-less landscape. Picturing the conservation lands and open space, we often think of rolling grasslands and the open moors. But take a look closer.
