September 2024

NNBC ANALYST & FORMER NFL COACH

GARRETT

THE TURBULENT REALITY OF VINEYARD WIND

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL

SPIDERS ON NANTUCKET

JASON

INTERIORS

Nantucket Collection

23 BANK STREET - $4,195,000

This darling and recently fully renovated cottage is a seaside gem. Located on the quiet end of Codfish Park in Sconset this property is comprised of a 3 bedroom and 2 bath main house, a superb 2 story 1 bedroom and 1.5 bath cottage, and storage shed with special amenities such as private courtyard, outdoor kitchen, central air, private parking, and views of the ocean. Property is offered furnished and ready for summer occupancy.

4 WINDSOR ROAD - $6,795,000

Where privacy and elegance collide. This luxurious 6 bedroom, 5.5+ bathroom home property boasts high-end features and finishes throughout and is situated on over one acre of land. Step outside to your own private oasis, complete with a refreshing pool and relaxing spa. The outdoor space includes an expansive yard, covered deck, gas fireplace sitting area, and a kitchen cabana with leathered granite countertops, perfect for entertaining guests or enjoying a quiet evening at home.

4 SUNSET HILL LANE - 5,750,000

Fabulous in town location, perched on Sunset hill, this home is the perfect place to hang your Nantucket hat. Fully renovated this classic charmer has been masterfully designed by Sophie Metz offering all of the features and conveniences of a new build. This property includes 3 finished floors of living with a total of 4+ bedrooms and 4.5 bath and attached one garage.

29 MAIN & 1 WEST SANKATY - $8,995,000

Classic sophistication nestled in on Sconset’s charming Main Street with swimming pool and extra lot to utilize for future generations. This property exudes both charm and functionality with an outstanding location to soak in all that the village has to offer. With 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, darling sun porch, and attached garage this property embodies summer living at its finest.

Chandra Miller & Co. 37 Main

Nantucket, MA 02554

508.360.7777

chandra@maurypeople.com

@cmillerandco

N A N T U C K E T

F A L L F A S H I O N S H O W

O C T O B E R 1 2 T H

6 : 0 0 P M - 8 : 0 0 P M

T H E N A N T U C K E T

H O T E L & R E S O R T

A Bespoke Gulf-Front Address

Step into a different world—one of prestige, style and sophistication with unprecedented design details.

The most anticipated new address in Naples and final ownership opportunity within its exclusive Pelican Bay enclave, Epique offers a limited collection of sixty-eight bespoke Gulf-front residences.

Certainly not everyone can do this. But if you can, you should.

Maria Mitchell Association Major Grant Recipient 2024

We are honored to share that the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation has generously pledged $1 million to our capital campaign. This substantial grant will allow us to expand and reimagine the Aquarium and Discovery Center on Washington Street. Our focus will be on experiential learning, coastal resiliency education, and showcasing the unique marine life of Nantucket’s waters, making it accessible to the next generation of scientists.

39 Nantucket Scholars since 2006

57 Professional Scholarship recipients since 2018

52 institutions of higher education attended Grants to 93 Island organizations

836 grant requests – 741 grants funded

Largest grant of $1M

Through the generous support of the members of the Nantucket Golf Club and their guests, the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation has raised over $45 million in the last 22 years for the benefit of Nantucket youth.

•

•

• Large kitchen islands and spacious living for relaxing or entertaining family and friends

• Finished lower level with full bathroom, and private access

• Conveniently located close to beaches, bicycle path, specialty restaurants, and shops

CONTRIBUTORS

Meet the talented group of writers and photographers who helped make this issue possible.

BY THE NUMBERS

A numerical snapshot of Nantucket this fall.

NTOPTEN

All the places you need to be and see.

NECESSITIES

Put these items on your fall wish list.

112

Falling for Fashion

KID’N AROUND

How to keep your kiddos entertained this fall.

NGREDIENTS

Make Black Eyed Susan’ s ’ capellini for your next dinner party.

NBUZZ

All the news, tidbits and scuttlebutt that’s fit to print courtesy of the Nantucket Current.

NEED TO READ

Tim Ehrenberg gives his fall reading list.

BELT AND BAG: SARA CAMPBELL

JEWELRY: ICARUS & CO.

Carl Sutton on his wine label, Oversand Rosé.

Nantucket’s restaurants seek growth beyond our shores.

NDESIGN

Blue Flag Capital’s new kid-centric hotel, The Beachside.

NSPIRE

Gillean Myers’ mobile solution ensures access to books.

The pioneering program that’s helping create jobs for young Nantucketers with disabilities.

Nantucket’s own Nick Davies puts on a locally inspired opera for the ages.

NVESTIGATE

Learning the ways of the island, many of Nantucket’s newcomers also work to learn English.

Vineyard Wind’s turbine collapse raises questions.

NDEPTH

Though widely feared, spiders are an ecological boom to Nantucket.

Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative’s groundbreaking research.

NQUIRY

U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Elizabeth Frawley Bagley reflects on diplomacy in turbulent times.

Jason Garrett discusses his life in football, from the Giants to the Cowboys and beyond.

NSTYLE

The virtues of secondhand shopping on Nantucket.

NVOGUE

Falling for fashion.

FOGGY SHEET

A recap of Nantucket’s hottest events.

Diving Beneath the Surface

Bridget Mara and Jack Hayden’s dreamy outdoor wedding at the Sankaty Golf Club.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bruce A. Percelay

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Antonia DePace

ART DIRECTOR

Paulette Chevalier

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS

Emme Duncan

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kit Noble

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Sager

SENIOR WRITER

Jason Graziadei

CONTRIBUTORS

Madeleine Bilis

Brian Bushard

Tim Ehrenberg

Emma Kershaw

Jen Laskey

Larry Lindner

Wendy Rouillard

Jonathan Soroff

Andrea Timpano

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Bill Hoenk

Emily Elisabeth Photography

Jim Meehan

Zofia & Co. Photography

EDITORIAL INTERN

Louise Brickman

CHAIRMAN: Bruce A. Percelay

BROKEN PROMISE

The owners of Vineyard Wind came to Nantucket with the promise of delivering a clean, renewable and environmentally sensitive source of electricity. The recent failure of one of the turbines in the first phase of the wind farm ’ s project off our South Shore has blown apart the myth that the wind farm is an energy panacea. What we now know is that the risks posed by the wind farm could very well exceed its benefits, and Nantucket appears to have become merely a guinea pig in the use of turbines at this scale.

It has been suggested by Vineyard Wind and their turbine provider, GE Vernova, that the failure of the blade off our coast was an anomaly and was a result of a possible manufacturing defect. The fact is a similar failure occurred on a windmill in Dogger Bank, England, where an oversized blade also disintegrated just this year. Further investigation by N Magazine has discovered that a much larger problem occurred in Oklahoma, which has prompted a major lawsuit against GE Vernova, undermining assurances from Vineyard Wind about the safety of this project.

In a heated Select Board meeting last month with representatives from Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova, it became clear that both companies have, in wind farm vernacular, blown their credibility through numerous public statements. Vineyard Wind was unable to explain why they failed to inform the island of the blade disintegration until two days after it happened, or whether similar failures have occurred elsewhere, and capped off their public pronouncements

by asserting that fiberglass residue on the beach does not constitute a toxic material. It is hard to accept this explanation when their own crews were wearing hazmat suits when picking up the fiberglass pieces strewn all over the South Shore beaches and beyond.

A. PERCELAY

The larger question that hangs over the island is whether the failure of the turbine during a period of virtually no wind suggests a design that is incapable of surviving during hurricanes or the harsh New England winters. With structures as tall as the Eiffel Tower, equipped with blades the length of football fields, one has to wonder what would happen during hurricane-force winds.

The harsh reality is that the romance of free energy from ocean-based wind is a myth. The turbines are enormously expensive to build and operate, and are costly to the environment. It is time for Nantucket to consider all options with respect to the future of the wind farm, including developing a game plan for the removal of a project that may haunt us for years to come.

Publisher

BRUCE

Publisher

Andrea TIMPANO

Andrea Timpano is a writer and editor based in upstate New York. She holds a master ’ s degree in journalism from Boston University and specializes in telling stories for both print and digital audiences. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, Architect and Hudson Valley Magazine , among other publications.

Jonathan SOROFF

Jonathan Soroff is a Boston native and a graduate of Duke University. He began his journalism career at The Boston Herald , and for 28 years was the lead columnist for The Improper Bostonian magazine. He has written for publications ranging from People to the Royal Academy Magazine and The South China Morning Post . He is currently a columnist for Boston Magazine , writing a social column, the “Person of Interest” interview and most of the magazine’s travel content. He also produces travel stories for national and international publications. He is a board member of the Boston Ballet, the Trustees of the Reservations, the NET Research Foundation and Beaver Country Day School. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.

JEN LASKEY

Jen Laskey is an awardwinning writer, editor, and content strategist, specializing in food, wine/ spirits, travel, health and the arts. She began writing for N Magazine in 2012. Her work has also appeared in Saveur, Snow, EatingWell, NBC, Today, Everyday Health, Fodor’s Travel and many other publications.

Andrea Timpano portrait by

Toan Trinh

10 Knots

The speed limit that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking to enact for vessels 35 feet or longer during specific times of the year along the Atlantic Coast to protect the North Atlantic right whale.

3,800

20 mph

The limited top speed of a Class 1 and Class 2 e-bike.

1924

The year that the 2.66-acre Cliffside Beach Club property was first developed into a beach club known as Conrad’s Beach.

10,000

The approximate gallons of water used during the July Fourth water fight.

2 Days

The time it took Vineyard Wind to report a broken turbine blade to Nantucket. The incident caused a massive amount of debris to wash up on

The most doughnuts ever made at the Downyflake, which occurred on a July 4 weekend during the pandemic. Million

1993

The year Elin Hilderbrand first came to Nantucket, leading to her storied career as a bestselling author.

$

3.55

The island’s median single-family home price as of August.

378

Feet

The length of new combat ship, USS Nantucket.

Stephen Maury co-listing with

15 and 17 Pilgrim Road | 28,596 sf | $11,495,000

15 or 17 Pilgrim Road | 14,000+ sf each | $5,995,000

15A Pilgrim Road | 7,500 sf | $3,495,000

5 Huckleberry Lane

Dionis | $16,000,000 | Jamie Howarth

Stunning water views from this well-maintained, updated 5 bedroom home with 1 bedroom pool house and garage with studio above.

2 Maple Lane

Surfside | $6,495,000 | Stephen Maury

6-bedroom custom home fully furnished with pool, cabana and garage.

Nantucket’s Premier Building Sites

In the heart of Nantucket’s most sought -after neighborhood, discover an extraordinary canvas for your custom residence. Available in several configurations, offering flexibility to suit your unique vision and lifestyle needs.

3 Lyford Road

Tom Nevers | Call for price | Joyce Montalbano

Unobstructed ocean views! Build your dream home on this 2.45 acre property with ample ground cover.

31 Dartmouth Street

Tom Nevers | $2,195,000 | Stephen Maury

Open and airy upside down style 3-bedroom home in the desirable Tom Nevers neighborhood

1

NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL SANKATY SWING

SEPTEMBER 9

Sankaty Head Golf Club

As the summer season winds down, join the Nantucket Cottage Hospital for its 34th annual golf tournament. Presented by the Marine Home Center, participants will enjoy a round of golf followed by lunch and a cocktail reception. All proceeds from the tournament benefit island health care. nantuckethospital.org

NANTUCKET CHAMBER ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP CELEBRATION

SEPTEMBER 24, 6:00-8:00 PM

Dreamland Film, Theater and Cultural Center

Join the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce in celebrating its members, highlighted by awards for Volunteer of the Year, Tourism Advocate of the Year, Small Business of the Year and more. Live music, hors d’oeuvres and a raffle round out the evening. nantucketchamber.org

THE NANTUCKET PROJECT

SEPTEMBER 26-29

Ignite your imagination, inspire new perspectives and empower your drive for positive change in our world. The Nantucket Project’s annual gathering takes you on a transformative journey as it challenges conventional thinking, embraces new ideas and creates connections that inspire action through noteworthy presentations, panels and more. nantucketproject.com 10 4

4 7 7

NANTUCKET CROSS-ISLAND HIKE

SEPTEMBER 28, 8:00 AM

Join the Nantucket Land Bank for the fourth annual cross-island hike, starting at the beach in Quidnet and ending across the island on Madaket Harbor. During the hike, see the island’s natural wildlife properties of the Land Bank, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Mass Audubon and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. nantucketlandbank.org

COBBLESTONES & CRANBERRIES

OCTOBER 11-14

Transition into fall with the sixth annual Cobblestones & Cranberries community shop initiative. Presented by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, the event promotes and supports local businesses around the island. Grab a shopping bingo card at participating stores or the Chamber office and receive participation stickers at each stop for a chance to win prizes. nantucketchamber.org/ cobblestones-cranberries/

6 6 2 2

FALL FASHION SHOW

OCTOBER 12, 6:00-8:30 PM Nantucket Hotel and Resort

See the latest fall trends at the second annual Nantucket Fall Fashion Show, hosted by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce. Models will rock the runway in chic Nantucket-style outfits from Chamber member retailers. nantucketchamber.org/fall-fashion-show/

NANTUCKET

HALF MARATHON AND 10K

OCTOBER 13

Grab your best running shoes for the Nantucket Half Marathon. Runners will take in one of the most beautiful racecourses on the East Coast, featuring incredible ocean views, bike paths and neighborhood streets during the 13.1 miles. There will also be a 10K and Kids Fun Run. nantuckethalfmarathon.com

2 3 10 7 8 7 9 5 5

NANTUCKET SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 13, 4:00 PM

The Dreamland Celebrate short films from two to 10 minutes at the Dreamland during this year’s Nantucket Shorts Fest. For filmmakers, submissions are due no later that September 13. nantucketshorts.com

NANTUCKET RESTAURANT WEEK

OCTOBER 2024

Visit your favorite restaurant or try a new spot and enjoy exclusive special menus and offerings during the week. Participating restaurants include Bartlett’s Farm, Galley Beach, Lemon Press, Pizzeria Gemelle and more. nantucketchamber.org/restaurant-week/

In celebration of Robin Harvey’s life, the Harvey Foundation Nantucket is hosting the 10th annual Run for Robin 5K. There will also be a post-race cookout that participants and supporters can enjoy. It’s a day that will surely bring community together. harveyfoundationnantucket.org

LARGE NANTUCKET SCRIMSHAW HEART PENDANT WITH DIAMONDS

Inspired by the sailor-made ivory needle holders from the Nantucket and New Bedford Whaling Museums, this heart necklace is full of whimsy! With diamonds set in the holes that would have allowed a woman to sew it to her smock, it evokes a bygone era with a modern twist.

KATHERINE GROVER FINE JEWELRY

@katherinegroverfinejewelry katherinegroverfinejewelry.com

FRANCOIS CAZIN CHEVERNY BLANC

It may be fall, but by no means is it time to stop drinking refreshing, crushable whites. This French blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay comes together with a nice texture and bright citrus and mineral notes, and it’s organic, too!

NANTUCKET WINE & SPIRITS

WHITE WHALE BABY HAT

As the temperature starts to drop, every little one needs an island-inspired hat to keep out the cold. This hand-knit cotton baby hat by Beth Laffey makes the perfect gift for the new addition to any family!

NANTUCKET LOOMS

@nantucketlooms nantucketlooms.com

FALL WISH

COASTAL CREWNECK SWEATER

Beautifully knit with a cashmere blend, this sweater is a perfect transition into fall or for those late summer nights. Also available in "West Coast," show your coastal love everywhere you go!

JOHNNIE-O

@johnnieobrand • johnnie-o.com

@nantucketwines nantucketwineandspirits.com

The Shelfie , by local island photographer Lauren Marttila, is perfect for all your bookshelf-decorating needs. Bonus: They make the best holiday, hostess or co-worker gifts, too!

LAUREN MARTTILA PHOTOGRAPHY

@laurenmarttilaphotography laurenmarttila.com

LIGHTHOUSE NANTUCKET RED SLIPPER

Murray’s Toggery Shop and Stubbs & Wootton have joined forces to deliver an iconic collection of luxury footwear paying homage to Nantucket. Available in additional styles like Whaling and Rainbow Fleet, these made-to-order shoes for men and women are a wardrobe staple for any island lover.

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP x STUBBS & WOOTTON

@ackreds nantucketreds.com

CREATE AT BARNABY’S TOY & ART

Stop by Barnaby’s Toy & Art at 12 Oak Street in downtown Nantucket. They offer a variety of art classes for children ages 2 and up throughout the fall. Plus, their doors are always open to drop in and create works of art any time of day! Their toys have been carefully selected as they strive to provide functional, hands-on interactive play and entertainment. Before leaving, don’t miss Barnaby’sArtKitstoGo for more fun at home. Please visit their full calendar of programs at barnabysnantucket.com. 508.901.1793, @barnabystoyandart, barnabyack@gmail.com

DISCOVER AT THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

Visit the NHA’s Whaling Museum this fall and enjoy the Family Discovery Center featuring their new play areas inspired by the exhibit Tony Sarg:GeniusatPlay. Known as the father of modern puppetry in North America and the originator of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, Sarg was an accomplished illustrator, animator, designer and nimble entrepreneur who summered on Nantucket and was inspired by the island’s beauty for nearly 20 years. Don’t miss this exhibition and interactive activities that provide entertainment for the whole family! The NHA also offers two daily programs exploring Life Aboard a Whaleship and the famous Essex Gam. nha.org, @ackhistory

FALL FASHIONS AT PEACHTREE KIDS

Peachtree Kids, located at the foot of historic cobblestoned Main Street, is one of Nantucket’s favorite children’s shops. The boutique carries timeless classics and the latest fashions for infants and children through size 14, all while supporting small, womenowned and sustainable brands. This includes Sammy + Nat, Nanducket, Petit Peony, Joy Street Kids, Maddie &

Bows, Henry Duval and Little Paper Kids. Of course, brands native to Nantucket are found on the shelves as well, including Piping Prints, Nikki Rene, Tiny Tuckets, Barnaby Bear and Liliput Vintage. Peachtree Kids is excited to launch its new Nantucket children’s pajamas in collaboration with Tori Samuel and Sammy + Nat. Also, be sure to shop their classic Nantucket sweaters for the fall season. Don’t miss the shop on the way to Lizza’s Puppet Show at the Atheneum this fall for all Nanpuppet merchandise and more peachtreekidsnantucket.com, @peachtreekidsnantucket

ART YEAR-ROUND WITH THE AAN

The Artists Association of Nantucket offers a variety of year-round educational programs for children of all ages including painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, digital art, textiles and much more. Students are encouraged to experience the creative process of artmaking in a welcoming environment through the organization’s Youth After School programming, beginning

found there. The house is especially known for the remarkably preserved faux-wood grain painting in the kitchen from the 1850s. In addition to the Mitchell House, the MMA’s Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, Loines Observatory, Aquarium, Sea Shop and Vestal Street Observatory are all open to the public throughout the fall, and they are a great way to learn more about Nantucket’s history. mariamitchell.org, @maria_ mitchell_association

AUTUMN SOUNDINGS WITH NCMC

The Nantucket Community Music Center is excited to launch its new Island Youth Orchestra program this season. The after-school program will provide island children with a world-class music education and instruction four days a week. Children can expect to engage with instructors in group and individual lessons to perform alongside the Boston Civic Symphony during its Nantucket concert next year. The program also includes subsidized instrument rentals for the children. nantucketmusic.org, @nantucketcommunitymusiccenter

MANGIA!

WRITTEN BY ANTONIA DEPACE • RECIPE BY BLACK EYED SUSAN’S • PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

MAKE BLACK EYED SUSAN’S’ CAPELLINI FOR YOUR NEXT DINNER PARTY.

A

s summer comes to a close and seasonal residents start the trek back home, Black Eyed Susan ’ s shares the recipe for its popular capellini to cure those off-season cravings.

INGREDIENTS

• 6.5 pounds of San Marzano tomatoes

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 small carrot, diced

• 1/4 cup minced fresh garlic

• 10 basil leaves, chopped

• 3 small plum tomatoes, diced

INSTRUCTIONS

Sauté garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until it just starts to turn golden.

Add diced onion and carrot. Cook until onion is translucent.

Add San Marzano tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2.5 hours, stirring often.

Purée the sauce and return to the pot, along with the diced tomatoes and basil.

Toss with capellini or your favorite pasta and serve with grated Parmesan.

REPORTED BY THE NANTUCKET CURRENT

USS NANTUCKET COMBAT SHIP DELIVERED TO NAVY AFTER SEA TRIAL

The U.S. Navy in late July accepted delivery of the new combat ship that bears Nantucket’s name after the vessel and its crew completed acceptance trials that began in December 2023. The USS Nantucket, a Freedomvariant littoral combat ship, was accepted by the Navy at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The vessel will be

commissioned later this year and will be homeported in Mayport, Florida. At 378 feet long and drawing around 14 feet of water, the USS Nantucket is designed to navigate coastal waters that bigger vessels cannot. Armed with rolling airframe missiles and a Mark 110 gun that fires 220 rounds per minute, the vessel will be as lethal as it is agile.

CNN ANCHOR RUSHES TO AID OF ELDERLY INJURED IN BIKE ACCIDENT

Just hours before Kaitlan Collins, a CNN anchor for the network’s primetime show The Source, was set to be the guest speaker for the Dreamland’s series “Dreamland Conversations” in late July, she found herself strolling down Broad Street following an afternoon with friends to return to her hotel room and prepare for the event. But as she walked down the street, she saw an elderly man fall off his bike and immediately went over to assist him only to discover the injuries were worse than she thought.

“I was walking down the street by myself, and I saw him fall and, you know, people on Nantucket

fall off bikes all the time, but then I got closer, and I realized he had seriously injured his leg,” Collins said. “I don’t know if he hit an artery or what, but I mean, it was bleeding profusely.” Collins said luckily the man had a beach towel in his possession, and she quickly grabbed it and began applying pressure to his leg before paramedics arrived. “I wrapped it around his leg to hold it firmly because obviously holding and having pressure on it is everything, especially for someone who is older,” she said. “You don’t know if they have something going on or are on blood thinners or anything. It was crazy.”

Photo by Evan Mann

SWIM ACROSS AMERICA NANTUCKET RAISES RECORD $825,000 FOR CANCER CARE & RESEARCH

It was a beautiful and inspiring morning on July 27 at Jetties Beach where hundreds of island residents and visitors gathered for the 12th annual Swim Across America Nantucket open water swim to raise funds for on-island cancer care and oncology research. A new record of $825,000 was raised by the participating swimmers and their supporters, and that total was expected to rise as additional donations came in. The organization has now raised over $5.5 million since coming to the island in 2013. Attendees heard from Nantucket cancer survivors Jeff Schneider and Duncan Richardson, who inspired the crowd with their stories and thanked the participants for supporting the programs and clinicians who saved their lives.

BEECH LEAF DISEASE DETECTED FOR FIRST TIME ON NANTUCKET

Beech leaf disease has been detected for the first time in Nantucket’s forests. Members of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s ecology team detected the first instances of the disease in July at the organization’s Squam Swamp property. Beech leaf disease primarily affects the American beech (Fagus grandifolia); however, it can also affect European,

Oriental and Chinese beech species as well. The disease is caused by tiny nematodes that infest the buds and leaves of a tree, thinning the canopy cover rapidly, and ultimately killing a tree within two to seven years. “NCF will monitor affected trees and manage them around trails to ensure public safety,” the nonprofit stated last week. “Unfortunately, no largescale management treatments currently exist for beech leaf disease. We had hoped that the island’s isolation would protect our beech trees longer, but now that it is established, we can only track the spread of the disease.”

COAST GUARD RESCUES CHARTER BOAT SOUTH OF NANTUCKET

Coast Guard Station Brant Point completed a seven-person water rescue mission on July 23, master chief Lance Wiser confirmed to the Current. Station Brant Point launched for the 42-foot fishing vessel Overland that was disabled and taking on water approximately 17 miles south of Siasconset. The vessel had seven people on board and was taking on water from an unknown location in the engine room. “We received the call about 1 p.m. this afternoon, launched within a few minutes, but still had over a two-hour estimated arrival time due to the location of the fishing vessel,” Wiser said. The Coast Guard’s 87-foot cutter Hammerhead diverted from wind turbine operations to arrive on the scene and stabilize the vessel. Station Brant Point’s 47-foot motor lifeboat arrived shortly after and took the vessel in tow. Wiser said all seven individuals aboard the boat were safe and unharmed.

PERCELAY PHILANTHROPY AWARD GIVEN TO NANTUCKET GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION

The Nantucket Cottage Hospital presented its annual Percelay Philanthropy Award to the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation. Accepting the award was Tommy Bresette, Chief Operating Officer of the Club and Executive Director of its Foundation.

Over the past 22 years, the Foundation has made a remarkable impact, providing two full college scholarships each year since 2006 to deserving Nantucket high school seniors and raising $42 million to benefit Nantucket ’s youth. This year, the Foundation went above and beyond, awarding three scholarships. Additionally, it continues to support the community by granting funds to over 80 island organizations dedicated to the well-being of Nantucket’s children.

During the presentation of the Bruce Percelay Philanthropy Award, Craig Muhlhauser, Chairman of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, underscored the significance of the Foundation’s Nantucket Professional Workforce Scholarships program, which aims to support and cultivate the island’s future healthcare leaders.

Tommy Bresette, COO, Nantucket Golf Club

NANTUCKET TENTS, PLACESETTERS INC. AND SOIRÉE FLORAL SOLD TO LEFORT INTERESTS

Three island businesses that are among the biggest names in Nantucket’s events industry have been sold to LeFort Interests, a limited liability company registered in Florida and led by Alec LeFort. Nantucket Tents, founded by Ande Grennan, along with Placesetters Inc. and Dawn Kelly’s Soirée Floral, were all acquired in June by LeFort Interests for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which also included Grennan’s Sperry Tents of Florida, was announced in early July by

island resident Joe Huber of Briggs Capital, who brought the three companies to the market and represented the sellers—Grennan, Kelly and Nantucket Tents co-owner Adam Weldy.

“It’s been a great run for 25 years, and it was time to transition to a new buyer who will continue our growth pattern,” Grennan said in a statement. “Dawn and I are looking forward to working with

Alec to ensure a seamless transition over the course of the 2024 season. Additionally, my partner Adam Weldy along with the entire senior leadership teams have decided to stay with the new company moving forward.”

WOODS HOLE PLANS GEOENGINEERING EXPERIMENT TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE IN WATERS OFF NANTUCKET

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution plans to conduct a small-scale study on the effects of ocean alkalinity enhancement, a process that artificially increases the pH of ocean water to combat human-caused ocean acidification. The experiment will be conducted in the waters southwest of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Dubbed the “LOCNESS” project—short for “locking away ocean carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope”—the experiment involves dumping 20 metric tons of sodium hydroxide (also known as lye and caustic soda) and up to 75 kilograms of tracer dye into the ocean followed by five days of on-site, 24-hour

monitoring of alkalinity dispersal, carbon dioxide uptake and environmental impacts.

The experiment will be “one of the first of its kind in the world, and the first of its kind in the Northeast United States.” If successful, ocean alkalinity enhancement could increase the ocean’s ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, lessening the effects of climate change. As the world’s biggest carbon sink, the ocean is a key part of the fight against climate change, and a more alkaline ocean can sequester more carbon—and is healthier for aquatic life. Carbon dioxide interacts with naturally occurring chemicals in ocean water to form bicarbonate, which can store carbon dioxide longer than most biological sinks. By pouring sodium hydroxide into the water, Woods Hole hopes to test whether humans can boost ocean alkalinity and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide in one stroke.

Scan the Flowcode to read more news on the Nantucket Current

Tim Ehrenberg

of “Tim Talks Books” gives you his seven picks for fall reading.

SCAN HERE to connect with @TimTalksBooks

For even more book recommendations, follow @timtalksbooks on Instagram. All books available at Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks or online at nantucketbookpartners.com.

HERE ONE MOMENT

BY

LIANE MORIARTY

On shelves September 12

Picture it. You are on a flight. There is a delay. A woman stands up and tells you and everyone else the cause and age of their death. Everyone is a bit shaken, but they hardly believe the woman coined in the news as “the Death Lady.” Then the predictions start coming true! This high-concept novel had me from the very first moment, and I could not stop thinking about the deeper themes and profound questions even after I finished it. If you knew your destiny, would you try and fight it? What would you change in your life if you were going to die this year? Liane takes these questions and gives us a powerful and propulsive plot with characters you grow to care about. It’s the ultimate “what would you do?” novel by one of the world’s favorite fiction writers. September is still summer so make this one your final beach read of the season.

Don’t miss our upcoming podcast episode of Books, Beach, & Beyond with Liane Moriarty on September 18. Liane, Elin and I talk about fortune tellers, death, fate and all 10 of Liane’s bestselling novels. Listen at booksbeachandbeyond.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

THE WEDDING PEOPLE BY ALISON ESPACH

September is wedding month here on Nantucket, and the island becomes the setting and backdrop for hundreds of beautiful Nantucket nuptials and newlyweds. I have always loved a good wedding novel. There is no better scene for drama, family secrets and reflection than a wedding, and The Wedding People is one of the latest and greatest. Last month’s Read With Jenna pick is one of those gems that is hilarious, witty and quickmoving. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, it’s an incredibly thoughtful look at starting over, friendship and connection—you won’t soon forget Phoebe and Lila. Make sure to take this one along for any wedding weekends you are attending this month, but don’t miss the ceremony while you’re lost in its pages.

MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH

BY ROBERT C. O’BRIEN

Not only is September wedding month, but it is also the time when kids all over the country are headed back to the classrooms. In honor of school being back in session, I always like to feature one of my favorite books as a young bookworm. Last year I spotlighted Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, and this year I present Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I sometimes can’t believe that one of my favorite children’s books stars a cast of rodents, considering I have a self-prescribed phobia of them, but it’s true. This winner of the 1972 Newbery Award is about the mouse Mrs. Frisby, who lives with her family in the field of Mr. Fitzgibbon’s farm. When her youngest mouse pup, Timothy, falls ill and needs to be moved to avoid the spring plough, Mrs. Frisby seeks the help of the magical rats of NIMH. This adventure is classically told, and I will never forget all the farm animals in its pages. I recommend reading this one together as a family this month!

WHEN WE FLEW AWAY: A NOVEL OF ANNE FRANK BEFORE THE DIARY

BY ALICE HOFFMAN

On shelves September 17

Alice Hoffman writes, “In the year I was twelve, I discovered many of the books that have meant the most to me, books that changed my life. The book that affected me more than any other was The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” When We Flew Away is Alice’s fictionalized but highly researched take on Anne Frank’s life before the diary and before the Frank family went into hiding. We see Anne like we have never seen her before. She is experiencing life out in the world as a sister, daughter and friend, trying to exist as the Nazi occupation closes in around her and her family. Anne experiences firsthand the transformation of ordinary people into horrific and violent Nazis. Published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, this book is for any age, but it’s another perfect recommendation for your child’s silent reading time in school. Do they still have those? I sure hope so.

WE SOLVE MURDERS

BY RICHARD OSMAN

On shelves September 17

I am a gigantic fan of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series. We Solve Murders introduces a new group of detectives solving a brandnew case of murders. Meet Amy Wheeler, a bodyguard to billionaires, her father-in-law and ex-cop Steven Wheeler, and Rosie D’Antonio, Amy’s current client and the world’s bestselling crime author. These characters will keep you on your toes as you laugh at their quirks and eccentricities, and you work together with the trio to try and solve the case in its pages. I think what makes Osman’s books go immediately to the top of my reading pile is his trademark wit. Every sentence and word that Osman puts in his characters’ mouths puts an immediate smile across my face and keeps me turning to the next page.

ENTITLEMENT

BY RUMAAN ALAM

On shelves September 17

Rumaan Alam is the New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and a major motion picture starring Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali. Alam is back on bookshelves this month with a novel of money and morality— Entitlement! It’s a fascinating tale of need and worth, race and privilege, following Brooke, who works for an octogenarian billionaire and assists him in his quest to give away a vast fortune. BookPage writes, “If you miss HBO’s Succession, put Entitlement on your TBR list,” and I agree it fulfills the void, but it elevates the themes from that show even more. You may see a bit of yourself in this social novel, and you might not like it.

INTERMEZZO BY SALLY ROONEY

On shelves September 24

A new Sally Rooney novel is always cause for celebration and what better way to settle into the fall season than with Intermezzo I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I am obsessed with this one. Playing with a chess metaphor in the novel, Irish author Sally Rooney gives us her signature exquisite character development featuring a cast of queens, kings, rooks and bishops who make moves back and forth, challenging each other and their own existences. Intermezzo is about two brothers, Peter, a successful lawyer, and Ivan, a competitive chess player. They are both grieving the loss of their father and attempting to juggle despair and desire with newfound relationships. It’s a novel of grief, love and family, but done only as Sally Rooney can do it.

A Rosé By Any Other Name

WRITTEN BY ANTONIA DEPACE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Carl Sutton’s Oversand Rosé

Carl Sutton wears a number of hats on Nantucket, whether as the wine buyer and guide at Épernay Wine & Spirits or a produce packer for Nourishing Nantucket. More recently, he added “maker of Oversand Rosé” to his repertoire.

“It screams Nantucket. Everyone’s going to be able to identify it.”

– Carl Sutton

Sutton, who came to the island seven years ago and never left, launched Oversand Rosé in July 2022. This summer, he returned with the 2023 vintage and sold approximately one-third of the 160 cases at Pip & Anchor, Épernay and Bartlett’s Farm by early August. “We had people at the beginning of this season asking, ‘When is it going to be back in?’” Sutton says.

He describes the rosé—which is 78% Mourvèdre, 11% Grenache and 11% Cinsault—as earthy with notes of watermelon and strawberry. The wine is aged for six months in stainless steel after fermentation with wild yeast—a stark difference from the three-month industry standard in the United States. According to Sutton, the biggest challenge he’s faced thus far is predicting how much wine to make. “What will the market absorb? How much of it can we make?” he asks.

While the label may be newer to Nantucket, making

wine isn’t for Sutton, who started in the industry in the mid-1990s in the tasting room of a small family-owned winery in California. His ability to speak Spanish led him to get by in the winery and vineyard in addition to the tasting room, allowing him to learn multiple aspects of winemaking quickly. Not only did he find his passion through the experience, but he continued working at wineries in both sales and production.

He also began making his own wines at home in 1996, later named Sutton Cellars. “That quickly developed into something that was

Then in 2017, shortly after closing Sutton Cellars, he was invited to Nantucket for a three-week consulting job at Triple Eight Distillery and Nantucket Vineyards Winery. Three weeks turned into seven years as Sutton became a year-round resident.

way, way bigger than a hobby,” he says. He continued to produce wines under the commercial label out of California for 20 years.

In addition to Oversand Rosé being carried exclusively on Nantucket, the bottle pays homage to the island with its label: a pink replica of Sutton’s 2020 oversand permit. Between the label art and the flavor profile, Oversand Rosé has quickly become a local favorite. Sutton notes that many Realtors and landlords purchase the bottles for client welcome baskets, adding, “It screams Nantucket. Everyone’s going to be able to identify it.”

Carl Sutton with a bottle of Oversand Rosé

An Appetite for

EXPANSION

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

NANTUCKET’S RESTAURANTS SEEK GROWTH BEYOND OUR SHORES

Just two blocks from the Cisco Brewers Seaport summer beer garden, the Nautilus ownership trio of Stephen Bowler, Liam Mackey and Clinton Terry have transformed a new space in Boston’s Seaport District into the second coming of their hit restaurant at 12 Cambridge Street on Nantucket. Walk three blocks from Nautilus Pier 4 and you’ll find yourself at Stubbys Boston, the metropolitan version of the Broad Street late-night classic.

Cisco Seaport

For these restaurants, it’s not only a matter of boosting revenue, but of finding ways to overcome the inherent restrictions of owning a business on Nantucket.

“It’s so seasonal on Nantucket, but in Boston it’s year-round,” says Terry, who runs the cocktail program at Nautilus.

“You go out in January [in Boston] when it’s cold and miserable outside and the weekends are still pretty good.”

Limited real estate for opening new restaurants, exorbitant construction costs, a business model tied to summer tourism, a cap on the town’s liquor licenses and high start-up costs are some of the factors that have led to some restaurants expanding off-island—to Boston, in particular.

Just two blocks away from Stubbys Boston, diners can reserve a table at LoLa 42, the follow-up to Marco Coelho’s popular LoLa 41, while down the road, customers might opt instead for fries and a milkshake at LoLa Burger, a re-creation of the lunch spot Coehlo had owned at the Milestone Rotary.

In just a matter of five years, the food scene in Boston’s Seaport district has embraced some of Nantucket’s tried-and-true restaurants. And more are on the way. When the CambridgeSide Galleria’s food hall reopens this fall, the 30-year-old shopping plaza on the Lechmere Canal will swap out fast-food chains Taco Bell and Burger King for the Nantucket sandwich shop, Fresh.

Wendy Hudson, co-owner of Cisco

Brewers, says that after years of considering where to set up another location, Boston made the most sense, because so many visitors from Nantucket come from Boston. “We’re always trying to find ways to maximize opportunities but stay in our lane,” Hudson says.

In 2018, nearly three decades into running Cisco Brewers off Hummock Pond Road, Cisco’s ownership made the decision to expand off-island, first with a brewpub in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, then with Cisco Seaport and finally with a waterfront spot in New Bedford, Massachusetts—a location that provides live music, food vendors and a full restaurant.

As with the Nautilus team, the seasonality of business on Nantucket

was a key reason to go off-island. Cisco Brewers’ Nantucket location, like most island establishments, makes the bulk of its revenue in the summer months and hopefully into the shoulder season. “We try not to lose money [in the winter] but if you can keep people employed and at least break even that’s a good enough reason for me [to stay open]. I take an annual view of it and want it to be open for the community,” Hudson explains. “There are people [on Nantucket] in the winter, but their spending patterns are different. To keep our staff, it makes sense to go off-island. It’s another opportunity.”

Beyond New England, Coelho has opened two additional LoLa 41 locations in Naples and Palm Beach, Florida. Meanwhile in South Carolina, 167 Raw Fish Market and Food Truck owner Jesse Sandole is celebrating 10 years of operating his sister raw bar in downtown Charleston, where Sandole has been able to go well beyond the food truck and fish market concept, first to a four-seat bar, then to a full 24seat restaurant.

“I always had aspirations to bring the business off the island,” says Sandole, who went to college in Charleston and opened 167 Raw Oyster Bar there in 2014. “Nantucket is amazing but it’s really difficult with the seasonality. You really have eight weeks to make money and survive, and while you’re doing that you’re working 24/7.”

The allure of expanding off-island also comes from the fact that people want Nantucket year-round, according to Georgetown Hospitality owner Bo Blair. Blair, who has been known for his Nantucket-themed restaurants for years, opened his first on-island spot, Millie’s, in 2010. Seven years later, he expanded the name off island to DC. “Northwest Washington, DC and

“We’ve heard so many offers, ‘Oh I have a spot for you in Austin, in West Palm,’” he says. “It’s tough because we’re actual workers. When we set things up, we’re there for the first six months we’re open. That’s part of it, even finding a chef partner [Steve Marcaurelle], we couldn’t have done it without him. We’re just not wanting to hand over a folder full of recipes and say good luck because the story gets lost. We’re not TGI Fridays, we want it to be personal. There are chains that do it well, but some are soulless. We wanted people to go to Boston and say ‘Oh I feel like I’m on Nantucket.’”

Clearly, Boston has an appetite for what Nantucket has to offer and the expansion of island restaurants in the Seaport and beyond is likely to be a trend that continues.

Bar167 tuna

Millie’s, Washington DC

LoLa 42 (22 Liberty Dr., Boston); LoLa Burger (11 Fan Pier Blvd, Boston); Stubbys Boston (43 Northern Ave, Boston); 167 Raw Oyster Bar (193 King St., Charleston, South Carolina); LoLa 41 Palm Beach (290 Sunset Ave., Palm Beach, Florida); LoLa 41 Naples (560 9th St. South, Naples, Florida); Cisco Brewers Kitchen & Bar (1482 E. Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford); Cisco Brewers Portsmouth (35 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth, New Hampshire); Fresh Boston (232 Old Colony Ave., Boston) s DC (4866 Massachusetts Ave. NW, DC).

LoLa 42, Seaport

LoLa Burger, Naples

Stubbys, Boston

ALL IN THE

WRITTEN BY ANTONIA DEPACE

Blue Flag Capital’s new kid-centric hotel,

With questions looming about the future availability of short-term rentals, the spotlight has begun to shift back toward hotels for those seeking vacation alternatives, particularly for those with families. Nantucket’s economic engine is clearly driven by tourism, and the recent ruling against corporate ownership of short-term rentals has generated significant concern about the island’s ability to adequately provide for vacation accommodations. For Blue Flag Capital, timing is everything, and its acquisition and redevelopment of The Beachside Hotel may prove to be propitious.

Blue Flag Capital acquired the dated, 100-room hotel in 2021 and executed a total redesign, transforming it into a family-friendly boutique accommodation that opened in late August.

The patio serves as a central meeting place for families with the restaurant and pool nearby

I’ve got three kids—10, eight and three. Brad has two kids of similar ages,” Jason Brown, Blue Flag Capital co-founder and CEO, says. “We felt like there wasn’t anything fun, but also a little bit cool and design-forward, that we wanted to go to, and Beachside presented that opportunity with this vast campus of endless possibilities.”

With that mission in mind, the hotel near Brant Point is themed around endless summers. According to Brad Guidi, Blue Flag Capital cofounder and chief development officer, “there’s this shared human experience where we feel like everybody can equate summer to your first inkling of freedom as a child.”

“What we were setting out to do is really bring back that nostalgia for us in an environment that the kids are going to have an unbelievable time in,” Brown adds.

The duo has certainly succeeded. The 3.5-acre property has a swimming pool, baby pool, gym, guestonly restaurant with quick bites, an arcade, fire pits, a retail store, outdoor movie nights in partnership with the Dreamland, local food trucks and fun activities with Barnaby’s. There is also an event space on the property, meant for birthday parties, small private dinners and other micro-events.

Interestingly enough, while there are a limited number of family-oriented hotels on the island, none of them zero in on the child experience quite like The Beachside Hotel, which presents an interesting opportunity for a company that has established an oversized presence in the hospitality business on Nantucket, including the Faraway Nantucket Hotel, Woodbox Inn, the former Century House Inn and the Brass Lantern Inn, among others.

Working in tandem with New York’s Parts and Labor Design, Brown and Guidi chose a mid-century modern vibe with a saturated color palette of maroons, blues and greens. “When you walk in, you’re going to be greeted with this beautiful terracotta, red and cream color floor, and that terracotta is the thread that ties the design together throughout the whole property,” says Guidi. For one of his favorite elements, he notes the seafoam-green tile bar that has an indoor-outdoor element with a large, retractable window. In the same

Jason Brown, Blue Flag Capital co-founder and CEO

Brad Guidi, Blue Flag Capital co-founder and CDO

Portraits by Michael Blanchard. All other photos courtesy of Blue Flag Capital

area, a large patio covered in sun sails creates an area for parents to relax while children can play in the pool nearby. Throughout the property, custom furniture, trinkets and two original pieces of artwork

“We’ve taken everything we’ve learned from the other hotels to the next level here.”

– Jason Brown

by Sean Spellman add to the

charm.

“We’ve taken everything we’ve learned from the other hotels to the next level here,” Brown says. “It’s very different from the other stuff that we’ve done in a way

that we want to push the envelope a little bit, and I think it will be really interesting and fascinating to see how people react to that.”

The Beachside is open through Stroll before closing to prepare for next season.

A terracotta hue weaves throughout the hotel, including the bedrooms.

The event space

Savor Nantucket sunsets, fall asleep to the gently lapping tide and awaken to the sound of shorebirds. Sitting directly on Nantucket Harbor with unobstructed panoramic views across the water to Coatue and Great Point, 15 Lauretta Lane delivers the luxury of a brand new, fully furnished, two-bedroom cottage in the most magical setting on the island. Architecturally unique, this contemporary circular cottage was completely re-imagined by Jay Hanley and his team at Hanley Development in 2024. The soup to nuts renovation included the installation of new oak floors, kitchen cabinets, countertops, high-end appliances, light fixtures, tile shower and floor, bath vanity, built-ins and ship-lap ceilings throughout, new windows and door, sidewall and roof. If you're seeking relaxation, the privacy and seclusion of this property provides everything you need to replenish and reinvigorate your soul. If it's a lifestyle on the water you're looking for, you can't do better. Just wade out to your boat mooring, bring your scallop rakes and fishing rods, or just cruise around the harbor, allowing spectacular sunsets to serve as a backdrop for your cocktail hour. Your harbor-front retreat awaits. Please note that the bordering property at 7 Lauretta Lane is also available to buyers looking to create a complete waterfront compound.

WORDS WHEELS

WRITTEN BY EMMA KERSHAW

Gillean Myers’ mobile solution ensures access to books

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Eight years ago, Nantucket Public Schools elementary teacher and island native Gillean Myers was determined to encourage the younger generation to read more—but there was one problem. Many of her students told her that they didn’t have access to books at home. Despite having access to the Atheneum, many students found that their time was too limited to go after-hours, but they also didn’t have the funds needed for books of their own.

As someone who has fond memories of being read stories like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Treasure Island, Myers was shocked at first, but then took the problem into her own hands. After organizing book donations and being donated a van by Don Allen Ford, she created the Nantucket Bookmobile. “The bookmobile is responding to [this] need and also provides book ownership, which is impactful,” she says. “The bookmobile goes to where the children are, making the access more attainable and something they can access on their own.”

Gillean Myers

“The bookmobile has helped support literacy on Nantucket and create excitement and a positive outlook for young readers.”

– Gillean Myers

The nonprofit, which delivers free books to those who need them most, has donated approximately 10,000 books to children each year since its inception in 2016. According to Myers, she donates approximately 1,700 books every time she goes to the Nantucket Elementary and Intermediate schools. The bookmobile visits the schools once a month.

To keep reading going during the summer months, Myers travels to local fairs, camps and churches. “The bookmobile has helped support literacy on Nantucket and create excitement and a positive outlook for young readers,” she explains. “The children look forward to visiting the van to pick out a book.”

When it comes to finding book donations, Myers depends entirely on the Nantucket community. Moors End Farm has created a place to drop off book donations, and fellow elementary school teacher and

reading specialist Sandy Mitchell helps to keep the bookmobile stocked with donations by assisting with pickups and organizing. Residents can also make monetary donations, which are used to buy new books and help with the maintenance of the van. Myers also works closely with the Nantucket Book Foundation and Nantucket Book Festival, where she both distributes and collects donations.

Looking to grow, Myers hopes to expand the initiative to the high school level with a wider range of reading material and even wants to include students in the day-to-day management of the program. “Having an assortment of books from board books to young adult books gives readers all sorts of reading levels and interest choices,” she adds. “It is amazing to listen to the excitement of children finding a book they love.”

The bookmobile works off of donations from island community members.

BREAKING

BARRIERS

WRITTEN BY JEN LASKEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

The pioneering program that’s helping create jobs for young Nantucketers with disabilities

I

n 2022, Nantucket resident Joshua Malitsky was trying to find a job for his son, Asher. Asher, who has autism, had just graduated from a post-high school program at the Riverview School, a Cape Cod-based educational institution for students with complex language, learning and cognitive challenges.

After seeing an online post from town manager Libby Gibson about the problematic trash situation on the island, Malitsky proposed a solution that would help them both. He wrote Gibson, pitching a program where his son and some of the other young Nantucketers from Riverview could help clean up the island. He negotiated a pay rate of $15 an hour. Gibson accepted. And with that, Malitsky launched Inclusive Work Opportunities Nantucket (IWON). Today, the summer program provides developmentally disabled young people (ages 16-24) with paid work experience that not only helps them build their skills and qualifications for future jobs, but serves the greater Nantucket community, too.

“The data on people with disabilities having paid work experience prior to finishing school is so advantageous for the possibilities of independence afterward,” Malitsky says.

Joshua Malitsky with his son, Asher, and wife, Anne Brynn

Agrowing body of research suggests that such opportunities significantly increase the chances for

Charles Polachi, who directs them in sorting the garbage they collect into proper waste streams.

well-being, greater self-sufficiency and, ultimately, reduced costs in social services for people with disabilities, among other benefits. It’s one of the reasons Malitsky was driven to spearhead the project in the first place.

“Since then, the town has been really wonderful,” he adds.

Since its start, Malitsky has expanded the program into different types of work

“The data on people with disabilities having paid work experience prior to finishing school is so advantageous for the possibilities of independence afterward.”

– Joshua Malitsky

on children with disabilities, became IWON’s first supervisor for the summer of 2023. She managed a team of 11 as they performed their various morning and afternoon gigs. “Being able to learn from them and share their experiences was incredible,” she says. “By the end, they had a better grasp of who they were and what their next steps could be.”

IWON has also received valuable support from other members of the community, including Jenn Christiansen of Nantucket Public Schools and parents like Malitsky’s wife Anne Brynn, Linda Ledoux, Laura Steele and Diana Turk. Turk’s son, Jamie, worked two summers with IWON, but this year he landed a job at Bartlett’s

In 2023 and 2024, it awarded IWON a $10,000 grant. IWON also received $2,000 from the Nantucket Land Bank (NLB) and $1,000 from the Nantucket Land and Water Council last year (NLWC). With those funds, IWON has hired supervisors to oversee the annual program and help members develop additional vocational, social, civic and leadership skills.

Having just wrapped its third year, the program partners with the town of Nantucket to pick up litter all over the island—along bike paths, at beaches, in fields, protected lands, cemeteries and parking lots —five days a week throughout the summer. As part of their on-the-job training, IWON members learn about waste management from DPW parks and recreation manager

opportunities, branching into the Take-Itor-Leave-It under the guidance of Alice Kellogg this year. Last summer, the organization partnered with the NLB and the NLWC to help with landscaping and orchard pest management as well as work on an eelgrass restoration project.

After some members expressed interest in office work, Malitsky sought to create additional jobs. As a result, IWON tackled a mountain of paperwork for the NLB and NLWC—organizing, scanning and digitizing their paper forms. “We got through the material way faster than anyone expected us to,” says Malitsky, noting that it was “a huge timesaving and cost-saving benefit to our partners.”

Nantucket resident Nora Harrington, a social worker whose training focused

Farm, which Turk says is a testament to how well IWON prepared him for working on the open market. He learned what it meant to show up every day and get paid to do a job. “This is what the research tells us about how best to help make people with disabilities productive members of society,” says Turk.

Looking ahead, Malitsky hopes to secure enough job prospects to transition IWON into a full-time, yearround program.

PERFECT

PITCH

WRITTEN BY ANDREA TIMPANO

Nantucket’s own Nick Davies puts on a locally inspired opera for the ages.

Nick Davies has quite the resume. Currently a full-time musician for the Colorado Symphony, Davies is a clarinetist with multiple competition wins under his belt who has lent his talents to classical ensembles around the country—including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He’s also performed solo, even playing a concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the ripe age of 18.

Now, the Rice University and University of Southern California alum returns to Nantucket, where his family has lived since 2006, to try his hand at something new: staging an opera with the Rossini Club, the seasonal chamber-music organization he founded on the island more than a decade ago. The series, which he hopes to continue every season, kicks off with a production featuring the club’s original take on Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s 19th-century work “Winterreise,” or “Winter’s Journey” at the Dreamland on August 29 and September 1. “We’re finally dipping our toes into something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time,” says Davies. “I cannot tell you how excited I am.”

Nick Davies portrait by

John Christopher Studio

For Davies—who first learned to play clarinet as an elementary school student in Australia, where he lived with his family before moving to Nantucket—this opportunity has been many years in the making. He credits his parents, islanders Beth and Wayne Davies, for introducing him and his sister to classical music at a young age. “My parents played a wide range of music for us. I think ‘eclectic’ is barely covering it,” he recalls, adding that he remembers listening to his mom’s copy of the Igor Stravinsky opera “The Rake’s Progress” during his childhood. “As a kid, I just absolutely loved this stuff.”

Hooked on classical music and committed to mastering an instrument (or two) of his own, Davies trained on the clarinet and cello and eventually began to study musical composition—an interest that ultimately led the budding virtuoso to start the Rossini Club in 2012. Initially comprising a then-18-year-old Davies, his composition

teacher and some local musician friends, the group—aptly named as a nod to renowned Italian composer and home chef Gioachino Rossini—began by entertaining their concertgoers with classical music performances and a multicourse meal, which club members would plate and serve themselves. In addition to their shared penchant for chamber music, “all of us really [liked] to cook,” Davies explains. But ultimately, music was their true passion.

The group’s upcoming Schubert production at Nantucket Dreamland, directed by Nantucket-based vocalist Greta Feeney, is an ambitious addition to their musical repertoire. After successfully joining forces with theater and dance companies in previous years, Davies felt the Rossini Club—currently made up of professional musicians from the island and beyond—was ready to tackle opera, which he reveres. “I think opera is one of the pinnacles of Western civilization. That’s a very bold blanket statement, but I think it’s up there because it has and does everything,” says Davies, who has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, the Sarasota Opera and the Des Moines Metro Opera throughout his career. “It’s art, costuming, set design. It’s literature.”

“We’re finally dipping our toes into something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time. I cannot tell you how excited I am.”

– Nick Davies

It’s music, too, of course—and, in particular, Davies thinks “Winter’s Journey” is a piece islanders will find relatable, even if they’re not familiar with the genre as a whole. The opera— which will feature tenor Benjamin Boskoff and Davies, among other musicians—is essentially a “70-minute breakup song,” he says. The opera’s setting, which for this production has been changed to 1950s Nantucket, should resonate with audience members too.

After all, catering to the local community is key to Davies’ mission for the club overall. While staging an opera in his adopted hometown allows him to cross a major item off the Rossini Club’s performance bucket list, the clarinetist also sees the show as an opportunity to bring something new to Nantucket—a community he feels could benefit from more exposure and access to “high art.” Davies’ series will occur again at the end of August in 2025 and will center around the premise of humankind’s turning points in the last century through works like Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time”; a portrait concert of Boston-based composer

Howard Frazin; and a new solo violin commission by Davies himself, based on the music of baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude.

Tenor Benjamin Boskoff

The production’s set, designed by director-producer Greta Feeney.

Lost in TRANSLATION

LINDNER

Learning the Ways of Nantucket Also Means Learning English.

WRITTEN BY LARRY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Marina Calderon (El Salvador)

Cezar Jenzura (Brazil)

Olha Strukova (Ukraine)

Imagine coming to Nantucket to start a new life and earn a better income but being unable to name even the tools you work with. That’s why Susan Richards, who teaches beginner’s English to adults as a member of the Literacy Volunteers of the Atheneum (LVA), holds up various items and says in declarative sentences for her students from myriad countries, “This is a hammer. This is a broom.” the students learn to translate them from Spanish, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and many other languages.

Plenty of students are translating to English from their mother tongue, if you extrapolate from what’s going on in the school system. Nearly 50 percent of students in Nantucket’s public schools have a first language other than English, says the system’s director of English Language Learner Services, Barbara Cohen. And nearly 20 percent are taking classes for English as a second language (ESL).

Spanish is spoken by the largest number of English language learners and former English learners on-island, at 73 percent, Cohen says. Number two is Portuguese, at “11.5 percent of English learners and growing.” Those students come from Brazil. Bulgarian runs a distant third, but Cohen also ticks off Lithuanian, Russian, Patois, Nepali, Uzbek, Thai, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Yoruba and Mayan. “Nantucket is amazingly diverse,” she says. “We don’t view this as a problem. It’s really an asset. These students bring a richness and a real-worldness.”

Still, it’s a challenge for the learners, particularly the adults. Marina Calderon, a housekeeper from El Salvador, took some classes at the Atheneum when she first arrived on the island in

2013 but then became too busy working to continue attending. Not until 2020, when the pandemic moved the classes online, was she able to resume. By then, she and her husband had had three daughters. “When I was giving birth, I didn’t understand everything the nurse was saying,” she comments. “You feel nervous even to go to the supermarket.”

Like most of the students, she remains highly motivated. Now that her children are no longer babies, she continues to take classes once a week and meets one-on-one with a tutor, also

student, arrived with his wife and daughters from Brazil in 2021. Back in Brazil, Jenzura taught computer and electronics technology and also developed systems and created software. When he arrived on Nantucket, he didn’t even know how to say the word “router.” Now, he helps develop sound systems, computer systems and other complicated technologies for large smart homes that may need many access

Cheryl Creighton, coordinator of the Literacy Volunteers of the Atheneum, and Intermediate English teacher Jane Carlin

Olha Strukova, her daughter, Sofiia, and LVA tutor Belinda Bralver.

points, and he has begun classes for licensure as an electrician.

“I think I learn English,” he says, “because it’s better to open the doors, for social community, for being alive in society—if I need to make an appointment in the hospital or even simple things, for example, to buy groceries in the market.”

LVA coordinator Cheryl Creighton marvels at the dedication of students like Calderon and Jenzura, although work schedules can make it difficult, she says. “Five minutes before it’s time to meet, someone will call and say, ‘Sorry, gotta get this fence. Boss won’t let me leave.’”

Volunteers started teaching the classes some 25 years ago, Creighton notes. LVA started out at the schools, but by 2005 the program needed more space and was able to move to the Atheneum.

It’s not surprising, and not just because people from other countries keep emigrating to Nantucket. The adult learners also gain community in the program. “You can see

“Nantucket is amazingly diverse. We don’t view this as a problem. It’s really an asset. These students bring a richness and a real-worldness.”

–

Barbara Cohen

when a new person comes in they might be really quiet and just sit,” Creighton says. “And then, if they keep coming, they’re soon laughing and bantering.”

That camaraderie extends to

the teachers and one-on-one tutors. “We all know each other pretty well,” intermediate teacher Jane Carlin says, “and we know about each other’s families. That’s part of our goal. We don’t want our students to feel like they have to be invisible and just do the work of the people who need them here.”

Carlin, like Cohen of Nantucket Public Schools, also

“When I was giving birth, I didn’t understand everything the nurse was saying. You feel nervous even to go to the supermarket.”

– Marina Calderon

talks about the value of having such a strong international community all learning English together on the island. “It’s just such an amazing group of people from all backgrounds, from all over the world,” she says. “We all really like each other. If it’s Zoom, they put their kids on, and we talk to the kids. ‘So-and-so just had her prom; here’s her prom dress.’ We laugh a lot and speak goodnaturedly about our strengths and weaknesses.” She points out that they meet for potluck dinners on Children’s Beach sometimes, too— the teachers, the students and their families.

Tutor Belinda Bralver has become good friends with one of her students, a Ukrainian woman named Olha Strukova. They get together for coffee every week.

Strukova made her way out of her country in 2022 with her daughter, Sofiia, and son, Prosha, after they saw bombs hitting the local airport from their apartment, about 300 miles southeast of Kyiv. “We were afraid for our lives,” she says. Her husband, a carpenter, had been working on Nantucket temporarily and was originally planning on going home that summer. Instead, with the war raging, he was able to bring his family over via a circuitous route that took them through Poland, Germany

For Strukova, who worked at a bank in Ukraine and now manicures nails in a salon, learning English has been somewhat difficult.

“I learned English in school in Ukraine many years ago,” she says, “but I have not practiced. I started the beginner class the third day I was here. I understand more than I can speak. But now, I’m not afraid. If I don’t understand something, I ask, ‘Repeat, please,’ and it’s okay.”

Barbara Cohen, director of English Language Learner Services at Nantucket Public Schools

Hhandle on the language, not just because of her youth but also because students are almost automatically placed into ESL classes in the public school system as soon as they arrive. They don’t have to seek out the learning, as the adults do. She started with ESL when she landed on Nantucket in April 2022 and then worked with an online tutor for the summer when school let out. “When I came back to school,” she says, “I knew English. I was able to talk to people.”

As someone, whether a child or adult, moves forward with English, the rewards then find their way to all islanders. A few

couldn’t remember what it was or how to identify it. A man who happened to be shopping there at the same time was able to help her figure out what she was seeking, which was a pack of finishing nails. It turned out he had been one of her students 20 years earlier.

VOLUNTEER TO TEACH ENGLISH

“We always need more volunteers to tutor and teach,” says Cheryl Creighton, the coordinator for the Literacy Volunteers of the Atheneum. The need is greatest for year-rounders. She notes,“There’s an abundance of summer people, but you have to be here for a certain amount of time to build a relationship.”

You don’t need experience as a teacher or knowledge of a second language. For more information, head to nantucketatheneum.org and click on “Attend,” then “Volunteer,” then “Literacy Volunteers of the Atheneum.”

“His first language was Spanish,” she says, “and here he was teaching me something in English. Even more important, it was so great to catch up with an old friend. We talked about what was going on with our families and our lives in general.”

In other words, he had very much become, to paraphrase the school system’s Cohen, part of the fabric of diversity that enriches a community.

Longtime LVA volunteer Susan Richards teaching a beginner's English language learning class.

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A view of the broken blade

BLOWN AWAY

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

VINEYARD WIND’S TURBINE BLADE COLLAPSE RILES THE ISLAND

On a February afternoon in 2019, Vineyard Wind executives came to the Great Hall of the Nantucket Atheneum to make their case directly to island residents that their planned 166,000-acre wind farm southwest of the island would provide clean, renewable energy, with minimal visual and environmental effects on Nantucket or its waters.

But just over five years later, with the project suspended by federal officials, and with thousands of pieces of fiberglass and foam board from a crumbling blade strewn across the island’s South Shore, those promises of clean energy feel empty.

The question for a growing number of residents, environmental groups and town officials is not just what went wrong, but whether Vineyard Wind or GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the 350-foot blades, knew those blades could fail—and what happens when the rest of Vineyard Wind’s proposed 62 turbines fall in the path of a winter

nor’easter or a hurricane.

“The number of failures [in offshore wind] are relatively small, however as these machines go bigger and bigger, we have seen a bit of an uptick in the number of failures,”

Todd Griffith, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas, said.

Vineyard Wind completed construction on its first turbine last October, using GE Vernova’s Haliade-X, touted as the “largest turbine in the Western world.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Thousands of pieces of fiberglass and foam board closed down South Shore beaches in July.

On July 13, the company learned one of its blades had collapsed into the Atlantic. It notified the town two days later, just as pieces of the blade began washing up on shore.

Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller identified those shards as nontoxic, though that definition has also been called into question.

GE Vernova officials claimed the blade failure was an isolated event and “not a fundamental design flaw.”

In a July earnings call, CEO Scott Strazik blamed the event on a “material deviation or a manufacturing deviation in one of our factories that, through the inspection or quality assurance process, we should have identified.”

But those answers did not satisfy town officials, and past turbine failures show a pattern of issues.

like Nantucket, that project uses GE Vernova’s Haliade-X turbines.

According to a report from SSE Renewables, one of the primary companies behind the Dogger Bank project, the circumstances around the incident were “isolated to the single blade affected.” Construction on that wind farm has since resumed. According to GE Vernova, what happened at Dogger Bank was not related to the failure south of Nantucket.

“We have not identified information indicating an engineering design flaw in the blade or information of a connection with the blade event we experienced at an offshore wind project in the U.K., which was caused by an installation error out at sea,” Strazik told investors in July about the Vineyard Wind blade failure. “We are working with urgency to scrutinize our operations across offshore wind. Pace matters here. But we are going to be thorough, instead of rushed.”

But other failures have occurred with land-based turbines. GE Cypress model onshore turbines have suffered multiple broken blades and a collapsed turbine in incidents in Sweden, Germany and Lithuania.

“Maybe they didn’t expect it to break and shatter into a billion pieces, but wait, it already happened once,” said Amy DiSibio, a board member of ACK for Whales, a grassroots organization opposed to the turbine project.

Just last May, a turbine blade in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm—a 277-turbine, 3.6-gigawatt offshore wind project roughly 62 miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne, England—crumbled into the North Sea. Just

In February, Texas-based wind company Mesquite Creek Wind LLC sued GE Vernova in the New York Supreme Court, claiming GE took eight months to investigate a group of turbines that suffered damage from lightning strikes in 2015. In its delayed inspection, GE Vernova identified a handful of damaged turbines, though one year later, plaintiffs claimed the company admitted additional damage had occurred prior to its initial inspection—a case of fraudulent misrepresentation, according to the plaintiffs.

In a separate case in May, energy company American Electric Power took GE Vernova to court over “numerous material defects on major components” and “several complete failures” on a wind farm in Oklahoma, including

one failure to a turbine blade and an “even larger portion” that “exhibited one or more material defects that are reasonably expected to result in failures within their useful service life that will require expensive repairs.”

What’s more, Vineyard Wind’s blade failure came on a breezy summer day, when weather charts showed Nantucket faced winds between 6 and 13 mph from the south-southwest. Compare that to a Category 1 hurricane (74-95 mph sustained winds) or a Category 3 major hurricane (111-129 mph).

“We are the guinea pigs of this industry...”

– Val Oliver

“This endeavor is a learn-as-we-go experience,” Val Oliver, the founder of ACK for Whales, said. “We are the guinea pigs of this industry and if I’m not mistaken, these are the largest turbines ever built so of course there’s no information on failure or how they’re built because they’re just getting built now.”

Vineyard Wind’s turbines themselves sit comfortably in federal waters, outside of state and local jurisdiction, in an area where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has leased 10 offshore wind sites, part

of a major advancement in offshore wind intended to replace traditional fossil fuels.

As Vineyard Wind started to secure funding and federal approval, town officials in 2020 signed a so-called good neighbor agreement with Vineyard Wind, the Maria Mitchell Association and Nantucket Preservation Trust. The partnership requires Vineyard Wind to fork out $16 million to signatories in remediation for the wind farm, and in return the town would “convey support for the projects” and “inform federal, state, and local elected officials of their support for the projects” through its permitting process.

At the time the agreement was signed, the primary concern for town officials was the project’s visibility from the island and what that could

mean for Nantucket’s designation as a national historic landmark.

But the agreement also acknowledged the possibility of damage, stating: “The Parties recognize that the development of offshore wind power projects are subject to many risks and uncertainties, that there is no assurance that the Projects will obtain permits and approvals necessary for development and construction or receive necessary financing, and that Vineyard Wind may abandon a Project at any time, at its sole discretion.”

It goes on to state that neither Vineyard Wind nor its affiliates will be held liable for any failure to receive financing, if it abandons the project or for any “consequential or punitive damages, whether or not foreseeable.”

One week after the blade failure, the Nantucket Select Board said it would renegotiate the terms of that agreement.

“Our hands are not completely tied,” said Select Board member Dawn Hill Holdgate, who chaired the board when it signed the good neighbor agreement. “We agreed if we have a real problem we would start with remediation. This is very different from what’s in the agreement about the visual impact.”

In response to the blade collapse, GE Vernova launched a root-cause analysis to determine any necessary adjustments to its turbines to

Vincent Schellings, GE Vernova’s head of product management, said at the time that GE’s engineers “have learned a great deal about how to maximize the performance of the Haliade-X,” adding that the certification “validates our ability to translate those lessons into more performance for customers using offshore wind to help mitigate climate change.”

But other aspects of its inspection process have given islanders pause.

In 2019, GE sent one of its Haliade-X turbines to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Wind Technology Testing Center in Boston for rigorous testing, though the turbines were too big for the facility, and the blade had to be cut to fit into the building.

calling the blade

the production line at Canadian manufacturing plant LM Wind, as well as the blades already installed, by using computer records—though some Nantucketers, including ACK for Whales, do not believe that process will prove thorough.“It’s reactive and cheap to look back at the X-rays,” DiSibio said.

unusual and rare.”

GE Vernova said it will look at all of its Haliade-X blades, including blades coming off

“The structural design as it gets more and more challenging, if you think about making anything bigger and bigger,” UT Dallas’ Griffith said, “you have higher loads, stronger forces on those machines.”

In the aftermath of the blade failure, Nantucket was left with a massive cleanup project. Thousands and thousands of increasingly smaller and smaller—some microscopic—pieces of foam board and fiberglass washed up on the island’s South Shore. Residents who cleaned the beaches were told to wear footwear and gloves to avoid potential contaminants from the debris field from Low Beach to Madaket—even though Vineyard Wind officials said the debris was nontoxic.

“To say that large pieces of floating debris and pieces of fiberglass in the environment was not harmful was questionable at best.”

– Emily Molden

DiSibio is now asking whether the installation of the turbines was simply a matter of putting up the most powerful devices available and doing it quickly.

“They’re in a race to get this stuff up,” she said. “They want their production tax credits. It’s all about money.”

The 850-foot-tall, 14.7-megawatt turbines received independent certification following three years of prototype testing from Norwegian assurance and risk management company DNV (Det Norske Veritas) in December 2022. At the time, GE Vernova boasted the turbines would be a “proven and bankable technology for customers seeking financing,” and said they would “set a new benchmark in lowering offshore wind’s levelized cost of energy” and make “offshore wind energy a more affordable source of renewable energy.”

Town officials closed all South Shore beaches the day after they were informed of the collapse.

ACK Surf School owner Gaven Norton said after the debris field washed up onshore, customers started canceling. “I have 25 employees that are now struggling with money because they can’t teach,” he told the Select Board. “It’s ruining my business short-term, but who knows how long this is going to go.”

In less than a week, the incident left more than 6 cubic yards of foam material and roughly 1.5 cubic yards of fiberglass on Nantucket’s beaches, according to a July 17 estimate from the Robert B. Our Company, which was hired by Vineyard Wind to clean up the pieces and haul them off-island.

“To say that large pieces of floating debris and pieces of fiberglass in the environment was not harmful was questionable at best,” Emily Molden, executive director of the Nantucket Land and Water Council, said.

“We recognize the real benefits of wind and offshore wind, but at the same time recognize that it’s an industry as well and this is a very unfortunate example of what can happen when we industrialize our offshore waters around the island.”

– Emily Molden

Our big concern and disappointment was the initial, immediate downplay of the potential harm of the release by having them say that it was not toxic and not harmful to people and the environment,” she continued. “We recognize the real benefits of wind and offshore wind, but at the same time recognize that it’s an industry as well and this is a very unfortunate example of what can happen when we industrialize our offshore waters around the island.”

The blades themselves consist of nearly a dozen materials. More than 64 percent of each blade, by weight, is fiberglass, which includes a polyester resin and glass fiber made from silicon and oxygen. The blades also contain carbon planks, an adhesive called vinylester GT60 glue, balsa wood and foam.

A preliminary environmental review conducted by GE Vernova’s consultant engineering and design firm Arcadis—the same group hired by the town for two

found the pieces of the turbine were “inert, non-soluble, stable and non-toxic,” similar to materials used in boating, packaging, textiles and aviation. While the manufacturing of the blade includes no materials with the forever chemicals known as PFAS, the report finds 200 “aerodynamic add-ons” containing PTFE, considered a type of PFAS.

is a question still up in the air. Holdgate said town officials are continuing to meet to review all options, though she would not say if the town is planning to file a suit against Vineyard Wind or GE Vernova.

State Sen. Julian Cyr, argued the biggest step Vineyard Wind

“Broadly speaking, moving toward clean energy and offshore wind remains a commonsense strategy for Massachusetts to lead on the climate crisis. But that can only happen if we do it right, and anything else is unacceptable.”

– State Senator Julian Cyr

“It’s a matter of definition; it’s quite irritable,” Select Board member Malcolm MacNab, a former doctor, said. “I had a case once of someone with fiberglass

should take is to improve its communications with the town. Waiting two days from the failure to inform town officials of what happened is unacceptable, he said. But he argued that doesn’t mean the wind farm should be abandoned altogether.

“Broadly speaking, moving toward clean energy and offshore wind remains a commonsense strategy for Massachusetts to lead on the climate crisis,” Cyr said. “But that can only happen if we do it right, and anything else is unacceptable.

“I expect that this unacceptable incident and its aftermath is going to ensure that this never happens again,” Cyr added, “that there are extra protocols and inspections and other activities conducted to ensure the integrity of turbines and blades, and in the event that an incident does occur—and things do happen—that their response lives up to being a good neighbor to Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.”

Nantucket lifeguards and staff helped to clean up the debris while equipped with proper PPE and footwear.

ArACKnophobia!

WRITTEN BY JONATHAN SOROFF

Though widely feared, spiders are an ecological boom to Nantucket.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Photo by Dmitriy /Adobe Stock

Among the planet’s unloved creatures, spiders are perhaps the most unreasonably loathed. In literature, including the Bible, they serve as metaphors for calculated treachery, while folklore from medieval times to modern Hollywood depict them as a basic ingredient of horror. No wonder arachnophobia consistently ranks among the top 10 most common fears, and if you suffer from it, you may want to stop reading here.

As it turns out, Nantucket (including Tuckernuck and Muskeget) is home to over 270 documented species of arachnids—a biological anomaly for such a small and isolated island, and the spider population includes several varieties of the most feared: two types of black widow and two types of tarantula. In fact, the eensie-weensie spider crawling up your waterspout might even be a type that has yet to be cataloged.

“Nantucket has been a hotspot for arachnologists for over 100 years,” says spider expert John Dobyns, an instructor at St. Norbert College who teaches a course every other summer on the

creatures for UMass Boston at its Nantucket Field Station. Dobyns points out that the eminent arachnologist James Emerton conducted research on the island in the early 20th century. But while the collection at the Maria Mitchell Association includes 234 species, a census by MMAaffiliated naturalist Andrew Mckenna-Foster has expanded that number, and Dobyns says, “In my mind, there’s certainly over 300. It’s a moving target, and new discoveries are made every year.”

In 2006, Mckenna-Foster was tasked by the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative to update its last spider census, conducted in the 1920s. He spent three years collecting specimens and cataloging them. “There’s still a lot of mysteries on Nantucket,” he says. “It has a unique mix of species, and we don’t know why there are so many different ones.”

One theory is that there are so many different ecosystems that provide favorable habitats for the vast array, combined with spiders’ remarkable mobility. “Most of the spiders you’ll find on Nantucket were introduced,” Mckenna-Foster says, undoubtedly arriving in

the cargo holds of ships and the suitcases of unwitting tourists over the past several hundred years. Spiders can also travel vast distances by themselves using a technique called “ballooning,” during which the spider creates a parachute out of silk and can ride air currents for thousands of miles.

One previously undetected variety called Tiso was recently collected by both Mckenna-Foster and Dobyns. Native to Scandinavia, it either stowed away or came via ballooning. Currently, only males have been found (both sexes must be collected to scientifically describe a species). While Dobyns was hoping to find a female this past July, he didn’t. However, his survey did identify three different new species, proving that the number continues to increase.

As for the black widows and tarantulas, populations are likely found due to where Nantucket sits geographically,

Carolina wolf spider

Yellow garden spider

Tarantula

Yellow Garden Spider

by wolfhound911, Wold Spider by Muhammad, Tarantula by Studio One

“Nantucket has been a hotspot for arachnologists for over 100 years.”

leading to a mixing of species from the North and South. MckennaFoster explains, “There’s one spider that’s only been seen in Florida and lives underground with the ants. Of the tarantulas, one is incredibly difficult to find, because it’s the size of a quarter and only comes out to mate for one week during June.”

Among the island’s other eight-legged residents is the Carolina wolf spider, which grows to be the size of a man’s palm, and the black-and-yellow garden spider, which builds a web with a distinctive lightning-bolt pattern. Dobyns says, “I’m a huge wolf spider lover. They’re incredibly beautiful, but no one ever sees them, because they burrow down in the sand.”

Whether you like or loathe the creatures, both Mckenna-Foster and Dobyns adamantly point out that none of the species—including black widows and tarantulas—pose any threat to humans. Indeed, Jeff Coakley, communications manager at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, says, “Both our Emergency

Department and Urgent Clinic directors have reported no recorded incidents of spider bites. It just doesn’t seem to be an issue on the island.” MckennaFoster also notes that a bite is impossible to identify unless the person actually sees a spider doing it.

As for the widely feared brown recluse? Both MckennaFoster and Dobyns point out that they don’t exist in Massachusetts. Chancellor Pollock, who co-owns Island Insect Control with partner Flint Ranney, confirms the claim. “Spiders are one of the things we get the least requests about,” he says, “with a little over a dozen calls this July. While they may look scary and aren’t the ideal pests to have in your home, they play a beneficial role in the ecosystem, as well as serving as natural bug controllers, preying on other insects, like mosquitoes.

“Luckily, Nantucket has no serious threat of poisonous spiders,” he continues, “the only real danger being that a

bite from a species like the wolf spider can be painful, causing red swelling and irritation.”

Dobyns, meanwhile, stresses spiders’ salutary effect in controlling other, more dangerous pests. “Spiders eat things like spotted lantern flies, an invasive species that poses a major threat to agriculture. The only nightmare scenario I can envision with spiders on Nantucket would be an infestation of pirate spiders because they exclusively eat other spiders, and that would decimate the robust population.”

Above Dobyns’ desk hangs a framed quote of an old English rhyme that Nantucketers ought to take to heart: If you wish to live and thrive, Let the spider run alive.

Black Widow spider

Documented species kept at the Maria Mitchell Association

– John Dobyns

The Isaac Macy Home on Pleasant Street

This prominent and historic nineteenth-century Federal-style home was built in 1822 and has been beautifully preserved by the current owners. The property has benefited from many modern updates over the years and enjoys gorgeous gardens and a generously proportioned guest house with an oversized garage. $14,490,000

DIVING BENEATH THE SURFACE

WRITTEN BY MADELINE BILIS

The Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative’s groundbreaking research

Since launching in 2004, the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative (NBI) has funded more than $150,000 in local biodiversity research. Larger groundbreaking studies to come out of its grant program range from recording tick densities and cataloging tidal marsh bird demographics to discovering more than 260 species of herbivorous insects not previously reported on Nantucket. The organization’s focus is broad, but there are two significant initiatives of particular interest.

Tracking Shark Populations off Nantucket

The subject of sharks is one that conjures up fear among many, but the fact is they are a vital part of the food chain and warrant protecting, not hunting. Lurking in the waters just off Great Point is a significant population of sharks—sandbar sharks, to be specific. “If you’ve swam off Eel Point or if you’ve swam off Coatue, you’ve swam with a sandbar shark and you just don’t know it,” says shark biologist Caroline Collatos.

You can rest easy knowing sandbar sharks aren’t a threat to humans. The species overall, however, is threatened—and Collatos is hoping to change that. Thanks to NBI grants—which she’s applied for and received for three years in a row—Collatos has been able to tag and closely monitor the activity of sandbar sharks off the coast of Nantucket. Ultimately, she’s working to save their population from further decimation.

Collatos, a Ph.D. student at UMass Boston who works with the New England Aquarium, personally fishes and wrangles each shark that she tags. From either a boat or the beach, she uses a shark rig that she’s built to affix tags to every fish. Each shark, once it’s measured, receives between one and three tags. First, an identification tag allows Collatos to record their size, sex and age estimate to compile demographic data. Next, another tag operates much like the EZ

Clockwise from top, photo: by Vanessa Kahn; courtesy of the New England Aquarium; courtesy of the New England Aquarium; by Kit Noble; courtesy of the New England Aquarium

Pass toll system, she explains, where it communicates with receivers placed around Nantucket Sound to track the sharks’ movements. Some sharks receive another tag that looks at the sharks’ energy expenditures “on a Fitbit level,” she says.

Collating the data points gleaned from the tags is an important step toward protecting the sharks. “This information has never been incorporated into shark assessments for population numbers or biodiversity,” Collatos says. “So a lot of fishermen know what they catch around Nantucket. But with this EZ Pass system, it’s another way for me to put a level of authentication around what these fish were doing on their own. So it’s answering the who, what, when, where and why around the island.”

Mapping Scallop Habitats

Commercial fishing for bay scallops was once a booming industry up and down the East Coast. Today, Nantucket is the last remaining commercial bay scallop fishery in the world, though habitat loss is presenting a large hurdle to retaining the title.

To combat this, the Brant Point Shellfish Hatchery takes stock of Nantucket’s bay scallop population through dives each year. “They have a couple of staff members who will dive in, take pictures, count the scallops and get an idea of population numbers at specific places,” says Jacob Tinkhauser, who

An example of Tinkhauser’s drone mapping results

Photo courtesy of Jacob Tinkhauser

has a background in computer science. “This is, as you can imagine, really tedious. It takes a long time. It’s tiring. It’s resource-intensive.”

Tinkhauser hopes to make this process more efficient with his grant from the NBI—by taking aerial drone maps of the scallops’ habitats this fall. The maps will offer a snapshot into what’s occurring in the harbor over time, and which eelgrass habitats are particularly beneficial to bay scallops.

Tinkhauser plans to run his drone photos through a software program to process the images, which will then arrange them together into a comprehensive map. The program will be able to identify the dense areas of scallops;

the hope is that density patterns will merge with areas rich in eelgrass. He’ll then hand the maps over to the hatchery and the Nantucket Shellfish Association, who will use them to strategize about where to release juvenile bay scallops into the water. The maps will also aid in identifying scallops that have been pushed onto the beach after storms in “strandings.”

“This is a small part to try to get a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on,” Tinkhauser says. “We want to use our limited resources effectively to redistribute the scallops and increase the survival rate to adulthood.”

A healthy community starts here.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is the island’s source for health and wellness, providing compassionate care with the expertise you would expect from Mass General Brigham.

Claire Conklin, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, and Dr. Derek Andelloux, two of NCH’s primary care providers. At NCH, our primary care providers are the orchestra leaders of your health and well-being. They’ll take care of all your routine needs such as annual physicals, vaccines and the care of common or chronic health issues. If you need a primary care provider, call 508-825-1000.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley

Being DIPLOMATIC

A. PERCELAY

U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Elizabeth Frawley Bagley reflects on diplomacy in turbulent times.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley has been a longtime summer resident of Nantucket and a prolific fundraiser for the Democratic Party. Bagley has served in a variety of posts in Washington, D.C., over the past four decades and has the unique distinction of having served as both the U.S. ambassador to Portugal and now to Brazil. She was the youngest ambassador to ever serve in Portugal and is now finishing out her term in Brazil as an appoi ntee of President Biden.

You were one of only a few politically appointed ambassadors to serve in two different posts. How are ambassadors selected?

Well, as a political ambassador, and I’m a hybrid because I spent over 20 years working in the State Department, and then another eight years when President George W. Bush was in office as co-chair of the [U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy], most ambassadors who were politically appointed were either close to the current president, helped him get elected, raised money or were close to personal colleagues. Usually, 70 percent of the ambassadors are career diplomats and 30 percent are political appointments, but with Trump, it was the other way around.

You were ambassador to Portugal and are now ambassador to Brazil. Have you noticed an evolution of the role of ambassador from more of a figurehead to something more serious, given the instability in the world?

You could be a figurehead if you wanted to, but there’s plenty to do. When I was ambassador to Portugal, I was the youngest ever and the first woman. There were a lot of things that I had to do to prove myself with the Portuguese government, the Portuguese people—with the men in particular on my staff and in the government. We did a lot of things with NATO as Portugal was a founding member. It was all very substantive.

INTERVIEW BY BRUCE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Given the tensions in the world, do you experience tightened security?

Yes. We are actually building a new building because we don’t feel the current building is secure enough. After 9/11, everything was beefed up at every mission. We have eight Marines that guard the embassy, and then the ambassador’s residence

Let’s talk about the political situation in Brazil. What parallels do you see in Brazil to what’s going on in the U.S.?

There are a lot of parallels. [Jair] Bolsonaro was determined to have been actively involved in the insurrection against the Capitol in Brazil on January 8 [in 2023]. Bolsonaro is a big admirer of

Johnson supported a military coup against anybody who looked remotely anti-communist, so we have had a checkered history in Latin America. Because [President Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva] and his party are very left, they tend to be more distrustful. [But] when Lula was elected, the first person to call him was Joe Biden, which helped solidify the relationship.

prove myself with the Portuguese government, the Portuguese people—with the men in particular on my staff and in the government.”

– Elizabeth Frawley Bagley

is guarded by a private company. When I travel, I always go with bodyguards, and there is an advance car and a car behind me.

Bolsonaro also never accepted his election results, which also mirrored Trump. Secretary of Defense [Lloyd] Austin came and met with the minister of defense in Brazil and basically said, “Do not do anything that might surprise us because if you do, we will take everything away.”

When you [look back at] our history in Latin American relations, in 1964, President

The Brazilians care about the environment, which Bolsonaro destroyed. Deforestation was at its worst when he was in power. He decimated the Amazon, but now up to 57 percent of it has been reforested. There are six biomes in Brazil, and it has the [world’s] largest [tropical] wetlands in Pantanal. Eighty percent of the electricity in Brazil comes from hydroelectric, and the rest is provided by nuclear, wind and solar.

“The Brazilians care about the environment, which Bolsonaro destroyed. Deforestation was at its worst when he was in power. ”

– Elizabeth Frawley Bagley

What do you make of the shift in governments to the left? And how does that impact our position in the world?

I would worry more about the right movement. We were certainly worried about Marine Le Pen in France, but luckily, they had a second election. In the U.K., this was, I think, just a response to the Tory government, and I feel that many of these responses are reactions to the governments before them. I don’t think Brazil is particularly left. Although, there is certainly a hard left wing and right wing. Lula tends to be more pragmatic. He’s much more to the center left, and the people around him, like his finance minister, are very center.

Despite the issues in America, are we still the guiding light for a country like Brazil?

We like to think so but less than we were. We were the big democracy. People really do love the United States, and one of the major billionaires in Brazil, who I was talking to, said that “it is closest in every way to the United States of any country in South America.” Brazil has the most diverse population, and in São Paulo, the country has Lebanese, Japanese, German, Italian and Indigenous peoples. Black people, who selfidentify as Afro-Brazilian, account

for 58 percent of this country.

Brazil is bigger than the continental United States and is the second-largest democracy. It has the second largest military to the United States, so they see themselves as very close.

They actually love Disney World. It’s a rite of passage for a 15-year-old boy or girl to go to Orlando, Florida. Brazilians are the third-largest tourist group to the United States; they love everything about America. It really started with FDR’s Good Neighbor Policy and then JFK’s Alliance for Progress.

Can you tell me any interesting stories about our relations with Brazil?

When FDR had his Good Neighbor Policy, he was worried about Brazil because there were so many Germans and Italians. He was worried that they were going to support Mussolini or Hitler. So FDR sent all these brilliant creators, including Walt Disney, to Rio for a month at the Copacabana palace. Walt Disney himself created a character called José

– Elizabeth Frawley Bagley “The country is complicated, and its politics are complicated, but its culture is not—it’s amazing.”

Carioca, which was a parrot with a straw hat and a cigar, and he was drinking and it became a caricature. He never worked but drank and smoked all day. He was a bad influence on Donald Duck but was his best friend.

If you could make a broad statement about the Brazilian people, how would you describe them?

I love their joie de vivre. These people are engaged, warm and outward. They welcome everyone there and their music is enchanting, which I’ve really gotten into.

The country is complicated, and its politics are complicated, but its culture is not—it’s amazing. When you go to a concert, everyone is standing, they sing and dance and that’s what they do. You go to a dinner party and it starts with music and everyone knows every word of the song and the night ends with dancing. Their national anthem goes on forever, but Brazilians sing it with such passion. I never see people depressed and they are always up and very welcoming. They are wonderful people.

What was the reaction in Brazil to the announcement that Biden was stepping aside in favor of Vice President Harris?

There are headlines all over Brazil that say “Kamala ta pronta” that refers to the fact that “her suitcase is packed and she is ready to go to the White House.” The country is very pro-Kamala and s ad about Biden, and personally, I feel he has passed the torch with humility and grace, “classic Biden.” The country loves Kamala, because 58 percent of the population self-identifies as Afro-Brazilian and this is a source of pride.

Jason Garrett

GAME ON

INTERVIEW BY BRUCE A. PERCELAY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Jason Garrett discusses his life in football, from the Giants to the Cowboys and beyond.

From his early days playing for the New York Giants to leading the Dallas Cowboys as head coach and transitioning into a successful broadcasting career, summer resident Jason Garrett continues his football career as a studio analyst for NBC Sports’ Football Night in America. Garrett won three division titles during his time as head coach of the Cowboys from 2010 to 2019, and holds the record for having the second-most wins for a head coach in team history. We sat down with Garrett to discuss the NFL, the significance of sports in social movements and personal anecdotes that stood out in his career.

How did you find Nantucket?

I was playing for the Giants in 2000, and a good friend of ours was broadcasting a game at Boston College. He looked at our schedule and saw that we had a bye week and said, “Why don’t you come up to Nantucket.” And so my wife, Brill, and I came up, and we were just completely amazed by it. We got on a boat to Tuckernuck; we did a picnic and had a great dinner at this long table; and we just became smitten by it. And then finally in 2017 we bought our house. It was the best decision we’ve ever made in our lives. We love it.

You went to Princeton. Was there a different balance between academics and sports at Princeton than there would have been at an Ohio State, for example?

I loved the balance that Princeton had. It was competitive football. There was a true commitment there and certainly was

a tremendous commitment during the season, but the expectation was that you’re a student-athlete, and you had to perform well in the classroom. They have high standards academically and athletically. And to me, it brought the best out in us.

Can you talk about your senior thesis?

I did my thesis on the Black Power movement in sports in 1968 in Mexico City at the Olympics. Essentially, the idea was the sports phase of the civil rights movement— the inequities that Black athletes felt in college and elsewhere at that time. They weren’t treated the same way. … So I went through the entire history of that, and it’s pretty interesting, because as I was the head coach of the Cowboys, this idea of using sports as a platform to convey social change certainly came upon us with kneeling on the sidelines. And it was something that I actually talked to our team about—the fact that I had done this research many years ago, and how these are the issues and these might be the consequences of your actions.

Did this enable you to have a better relationship with your players?

It was one of the most challenging experiences I had as a head coach because you have these two competing ideas. Some of the greatest moments I’ve had as an athlete or as a coach is standing on the sidelines before a big game with the flag being raised and listening to the national

Give us a couple of impactful highlights that you walked away with as head coach of the Cowboys.

My biggest takeaway was the idea that I took over a team that was one in seven in the middle of the 2010 season. When I became the head coach, we really had to dismantle our team. They were all great players for a long time, but they were

anthem. It’s emotional, and it’s something that I always was very grateful to be a part of. We as a team took that very seriously well before all of these issues came to the surface. And then this comes up, and I thought it was important for me, as one of the leaders in our organization, to recognize the roots of this issue.

older and making a lot of money, so we had to undo the team and start anew. …

I felt like we built the right kind of team who played the right way. Did we win enough games? No. … Our team had played well, but just not well enough.

How much of an advantage was it for you as a coach to have been a player?

It was a tremendous advantage because you have been where the players are and you have a perspective that many coaches don’t. That doesn’t mean coaches who haven’t played in the NFL can’t be good, including the guy who lives on the island who is arguably the best coach ever.

What’s your take on the impact of ownership?

Ownership is critical. There’s no question about that. I would argue that the best teams in the NFL and all sports are aligned, and it starts with ownership…ownership being supportive, giving everybody what they need, but then communicating with everybody to start that alignment.

Was it Bill Belichick or Brady?

They’re one of the greatest combinations ever. If you just think about what they did over the course of 20 years, the winning … it’s ridiculous. It’s unprecedented. So they become the ideal franchise in all of sports. Nobody sustained that type of winning for that long, along with winning the championships, and they were able to do that. … They had a great dynamic there. Because Brady was so good, they were allowed to load up on the other side of the ball and draft and sign great defensive players, and maybe give him a lesser cast. I’m not trying to diminish the players he played with, but they were always so strong on defense, and the resources went to defense. And Tom figured it out.

Dallas coach Jason Garrett cheers his team on during an NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Dallas won 28-14

PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY –USA TODAY NETWORK

What was the secret sauce that made Tom Brady so effective?

I think he has underappreciated athletic ability, but what separates guys in my mind is the intangible stuff. Take any of the GOATs that you can imagine. Let’s start with Michael Jordan. As great as Jordan was physically, was he so much better than everybody else athletically? Weren’t there other guys who could run and jump and do some of the same things? To me, Jordan’s greatness comes to his mind, his will, his mental and physical toughness, his heart, his desire and his competitiveness. And I think Brady has all those same traits, all of those qualities: his mentality, his heart, his will.

Were you surprised that Belichick did not get picked up?

Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

“…as I was the head coach of the Cowboys, this idea of using sports as a platform to convey social change certainly came upon us with kneeling on the sidelines.”

Shocked. There were seven head coaching opportunities this year. This guy’s won six Super Bowls as the head coach, eight total. His track record as a head coach in New England is unmatched. I think he still has a desire to coach, and I think a lot of the owners are going to come to their senses and say “maybe some of these older guys can still coach,” like Andy Reid in Kansas City.

Is there an explanation for why he was not picked up?

– Jason Garrett

The explanation is probably that he’s in his 70s, and there’s a perception that he needs to take over the entire organization. And that probably threatens a lot of people. Is the owner willing to do that? Are the people around him who helped the owner make the decisions willing to bring that kind of person in? Maybe their jobs get threatened.

“I think it’s incumbent upon some of these colleges to make sure to try to remain true to their cause of developing them as students, as athletes and as people.”

There’s a lot of anticipation in New England about Drake Maye as quarterback. Any observations?

I’m a fan of Drake Maye, and when I watched him on tape, I was impressed with many things he did physically but felt in some ways he was a little immature. But in talking to people who spent a lot of time with him in the draft process, they absolutely love him. I’m not saying he has Tom Brady or Troy Aikman traits, but a lot of people talk about him in that way.

Do you think the risks of playing football with CTE and other injuries have been reduced in any way?

CTE is a real thing and we all know that. The game can be brutal and can have a lasting impact on those who play it for a long time, but the NFL has done an incredible job making it safer. A couple of years ago, you played 16 games in a season and then 17 and now 18, as well as flying to Europe, which are all contrary to the great strides they have made in making the game safer. The NFL has fallen prey to putting the almighty dollar first.

This is a career that still has a relatively short lifespan to it. What do you see happening to these players when their career is over?

The average career in the NFL is 2.3 seasons, so it’s not long. I always use Troy Aikman as an example. The player who’s the first player taken in the draft, plays 12 years, goes to seven Pro Bowls, wins three Super Bowls, but he retires at 34 years old. He’s got the rest of his life, and he’s been so identified with this his entire life. What does he do? Troy’s made an amazing transition to be a broadcaster, but you wake up in the morning, do you have a purpose to your day? And can you shake your identity as a great football player and channel all of the great qualities that you developed in becoming a great football player into something else? It’s not really a slam dunk for a lot of people. It’s hard to do. … That’s why we go back to education. I think it’s incumbent upon some of these colleges to make sure to try to remain true to their cause of developing them as students, as athletes and as people.

Was broadcasting an easy transition for you?

At the end of my playing career for the last four years, Fox used to have this opportunity for players to go over to NFL Europe for two weeks and you could announce games. That was my first exposure to doing it. … When I was done playing, I decided to go into coaching instead. So it was kind of in the back of my mind. And when I decided I wasn’t going to coach, a good friend of mine, Fred Gaudelli, who was regarded as the best producer of football on television ever, said, “Hey, do you have any interest in this?” And he encouraged me to join with NBC and go down and do USFL [United States Football League] games in Birmingham, Alabama, a couple of springs ago. … I did 10 games down there, and it was something I really liked doing.

“The game can be brutal and can have a lasting impact on those who play it for a long time, but the NFL has done an incredible job making it safer.”

– Jason Garrett

You’ve coached a lot of guys, but who impressed you the most?

The first guy that came to my mind is Jason Witten. Jason Witten was not a wow, physical player. He probably was an underappreciated physical athlete, bigger than everybody, faster and quicker than everybody thought, but I’ve never seen a guy demonstrate total dedication to a craft like he did. I coached him for 12 years, and every minute of every day, he was determined to do things the right way. If the definition of discipline is do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, exactly like it’s supposed to be done, do it that way, every time, that’s Jason Witten.

Photo from AtoZ Sports.com

Kansas City, Missouri, USA; NBC sportscaster Jason Garrett on field prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Nantucket’s Leading News Source

More people rely on the Current for their news than any publication on the island. Our work has also been cited by some of the most respected media outlets in the country and beyond.

Nantucket Current provides instant news to your phone or email inbox. The news doesn’t wait to break every Thursday, so why should you? Discover why thousands of Nantucketers now view the Current as their single source of news.

The virtues of secondhand shopping on Nantucket

rom 2021 to 2023, the global value of secondhand apparel rose from $138 to $211 billion,” states a recent article on EarthDay.org. By 2027, it is expected to reach $351 billion. These statistics demonstrate the popularity of buying secondhand across the globe and Nantucket is no exception. On an island where recycling and being environmentally conscious are second nature, buying from thrift or consignment shops serves two goals: one to find bargains and the second to reduce waste.

At the Hospital Thrift Shop, it is not uncommon to find high-end items like Limoges china, Chanel jackets and Prada handbags at stunning discounts—just this year, a leather and cashmere-lined Loro Piana jacket that retailed for $5,000 sold at the shop for $995. But beyond the racks of clothing and shelves of household finds is an opportunity to help contribute to help Nantucket’s Cottage Hospital. Currently celebrating its 95th year, the nonprofit has donated over

$7.5 million since its inception in 1929 by selling donated inventory. Last year alone, the shop donated $625,000 after covering its own expenses. Mary Casey, executive director of the Hospital Thrift Store, says, “Recently, we were the main contributors to the new stateof-the-art MRI machine. We also contributed to the rehabilitation PT building when that was being done, and then, last year, our funds went directly to housing, because we all know how important and difficult housing is.”

WRITTEN BY ANTONIA DEPACE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

One of the many rooms within the Hospital Thrift Shop

From left, Hospital Thrift Shop Executive Director Mary Casey, Thrift Shop Board President Pamela Leinbach, Nantucket Cottage Hospital President Amy Lee, NCH Board Chair Craig Muhlhauser and NCH Chief Development Officer Chris Glowacki

ue to the steady increase in interest for shopping secondhand, the thrift shop is projecting an even larger increase for the 2024 season.“Our success in achieving our mission—which is to serve the community with affordable goods and donate to the hospital—depends upon our success in engaging the Nantucket community to ‘Donate, Shop, Volunteer,’” Casey adds. “We have been fortunate in that it seems that we continue to grow both donors and shoppers, enabling us to give generously to the hospital each year.”

On Orange Street, the Rainbow Fleet shop has also seen an increase in the volume of buying secondhand. Specializing in designer and vintage styles, the consignment shop has more than quadrupled its inventory due to demand since opening less than five years ago—owner Kristen Hull estimates the shop sees nearly 10,000 clients annually. “We have reached max capacity for our floor plan,” she says. Hull does note

some challenges of running the consignment shop, like budgeting for the off-season, but even then, she finds a way to give back to the island that gives to her. In addition to allowing island artists to utilize the store’s front porch, lawn and parking lot space to display goods and host pop-ups, Hull has also given back

The Rainbow Fleet Thrift Store

through fundraising events like her Fill a Bag event, which benefits A Safe Place. During the pandemic, she upcycled designer clothes that needed mending into masks and donated them to the hospital and Meals on Wheels drivers. Hull also works with the community to donate costumes and props for school theater

productions. Any leftover inventory is either sent off-island to Goodwill on the Cape and other nonprofit programs or donated to on-island artists at no charge.

She explains, “The younger generation is so much more aware of the impact on the world. And they’re definitely trying to mitigate the negative effects of what they are doing. There’s also been an increase in awareness about how the fashion industry is impacting the environment. I think that generation is very clued in to that.” At her consignment shop, which opened in 2017, she’s seen a steady 15 to 20 percent increase in sales every year.

The value of Nantucket’s consignment shops and thrift stores is clear and they give the entire island population access to items that island otherwise have not be affordable or available. Whether it be designer items

At Commonwealth consignment shop, Eileen Harkness attributes the growth in value for secondhand shopping to the younger generation.

like Hermès leather bracelets, vintage Gucci luggage or Seaman Schepps clip-on earrings, one thing is clear—Nantucket’s consignment shops are a place to find buried treasure.

Commonwealth consignment shop

An incredibly rare opportunity to own three adjoining properties which exemplify luxurious living on Nantucket. Steeped in history, fully restored, and meticulously maintained, this truly iconic generational compound is now ready for its next steward. Enjoy spectacular ocean views and the close proximity to the village center.

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HER DRESS: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINT

BAG AND BELT: SARA CAMPBELL JEWELRY: ICARUS & CO.

HIM SHIRT AND PANTS: J.MCLAUGHLIN

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RING: ICARUS & CO.

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JEANS: REMY NECKLACES AND EARRINGS: ICARUS & CO. BRACELET AND RING: CALISTA WEST

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HIM

POLO, SWEATER, PANTS AND BELT: DUCK HEAD

DRESS: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINT JEWELRY:

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DRESS: SARA CAMPBELL

EARRINGS AND PENDANT NECKLACE: ICARUS & CO.

SILICONE NECKLACES AND BRACELETS: GRESHAM DIAMOND BANGLES: THE VAULT

EVERY ROOM

TELLS A STORY

Introducing Nantucket’s Most Captivating Hotel

76 Main Ink Press Hotel provides a fascinating glimpse into Nantucket’s media past within a totally redesigned seacoast environment.

With its subtle blue hues and textured surfaces, 76 Main is more s one that showcases the fascinating past of this historic island through a media lens over the centuries.

Come experience a one-of-a-kind adventure while being pampered with luxury linens, crafted continental breakfasts, and a calming outdoor lounge. Luxuriate today while savoring the richness of Nantucket’s past.

RACE FOR OPEN SPACE

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation held its Race for Open Space 5K this year with 686 runners— the most the NCF has ever seen. All proceeds from the 5K support the yearround maintenance of the 9,011 acres of open spaces across the island. One hundred miles of this land are open trails for the community to enjoy.

NANTUCKET BY DESIGN 2024

Nantucket by Design returned July 15-18 with a full calendar of events that pleased all design enthusiasts. Opening Night, sponsored by Serena & Lilly, kicked off the three-day event at a private residence, while a slew of panels from experts followed, including the Design Luncheon with Aerin Lauder and Mark D. Sikes. Ken Fulk added to the program with an evening keynote and book signing. On the final day, attendees gathered at the Whaling Museum for the Closing Night Party.

AAN GALA

Hosted at the Great Harbor Yacht Club, the Artists Association of Nantucket held its annual summer gala and art auction on July 13. Art collectors and dedicated donors gathered for this on-island tradition to celebrate the arts with a special auction. Auctioneer Ron Cavalier led the silent auction featuring 14 smaller art pieces and one luxury experience, during which Honoree Artist, Anne Marie Bratton, auctioned her piece Seascape in a Porthole, which sold for $25,000.

Elizabeth Nicholson

Anne Marie Bratton

Connie Anne Harris

Brian Sager

Jean Doyen de Montaillou and Susan Zises Green

Gillian Lewis

John Carruthers

James Hamilton III and Laura Rizio

Jennifer Bowman

Phil Nardone, Amanda Lang, Geoffe Beathe and Elin Hilderbrand

Janet Sherlund, Wendy Hudson and Randy Hudson

Willy LeMay

Tom Pincince, Jennifer Pincince, Meryl Bralower and Michael Bralower

Sharon Woods Hussey, Jan Purdy Metcalf, Sandy Flavin, Susan Coyne, Julija Mostykanova and Alexandra Yurkosky

Beverly Hall, Greg Hill, Judi Hill and David Billings

Alexandra Yurkosky

Stephen Sorbaro and Ejona Maci

Michael Bossidy, Julia Bossidy, Gerry Keneally and Mike Kopfler

PALM ROYALE THE VAULT NANTUCKET’S

Hosted in the private home of Anne Marie Bratton, the private luncheon by The Vault’s Katherine Jetter celebrated the collection of David Webb Jewelry. Themed “Palm Royale,” the afternoon included bites and drinks like upside-down pineapple cakes and grasshopper cocktails by PPX, décor by Amy Guidi of Hello Marigold and a speech from Sotheby’s jewelry expert and jewelry historian Ruth Petalson. Before leaving, guests were treated with Staud-gifted handbags.

Allison Markinson, Daisy Soros and Lulu Powers

Amy Guidi Table décor, bags by Staud, hand-painted table linens by Pepper Home

PPX Catering and looks by Staud

Décor by Amy Guidi of Hello Marigold

David Webb Jewelry by The Vault Nantucket

Laurie Champion, Katherine Jetter, Ruth Peltason

Amy Canepa, Susan Rainey Fallon, Jenny Green, Carla McDonald, Katherine Jetter and Elizabeth Daly

Amy Guidi and Sarah Powers

Anne Marie Bratton, Lulu Powers, Allison Markinson

PPX Events dressed by Staud Clothing

Carla McDonald and Lulu Powers

DreamBIG

Hundreds of guests gathered at a private estate for the annual DreamBIG event, which honored Elin Hilderbrand for her contributions and awarded Leah Bayer for this year’s Good Neighbor Award. Themed around “Endless Summer,” the evening included music by DJ Lazy Boy, food by Island Kitchen and a rainbow of vintage surf attire donned by guests.

Managed by

CRANTASTIC

IMAGES COURTESY OF NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION’S ARCHIVES

A look into the island’s cranberry harvesting past

Man in hip boots harvesting cranberries in the bog off Milestone Road.

Harvesting cranberries at the cranberry bog off Milestone Road.

A crowd of men and women picking cranberries.

Three men and one horse in the field harvesting cranberries. Covered wagon in the background.

Large-scale cultivation of cranberries was started in Gibbs Swamp in 1906.

A man harvesting cranberries.

Nantucket Cranberry Company main building at the bogs with Ray Morse, a consultant from Cape Cod.

Cranberries being loaded into a semi-truck for shipping to an off-island marketing company.

The Cranberry Harvest of 1998, cranberries before the harvest.

Red truck, with “M. Rounsville Cranberries” on the side. The M stands for Marland.

Cranberries being harvested in the cranberry bogs with Sankaty Head lighthouse in the distance.

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