Winter 2024

INTERIORS

favorite Winter sport? House hunting!

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

BY THE NUMBERS

A numerical snapshot of Nantucket this winter.

NTOPTEN

All the places you need to be and see.

NECESSITIES

Put these items on your winter wish list.

KID’N AROUND

How to keep your kiddos entertained this fall.

NBUZZ

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

Sweater Weather

Hilderbrand’s

Perfect Couple

Whether you’re listing or looking, NantucketRentals.com makes

Inside Lovango, the Caribbean resort from the owners of The Nantucket Hotel.

Sweater Weather takes Nantucket.

FOGGY SHEET

A recap of Nantucket’ s hottest events.

A look at the presidents who visited Nantucket.

NUPTIALS

Peri Schaut and Jared Tokarz celebrate their wedding at the White Elephant.

NGREDIENTS

Michael Getter prepares a roasted beet salad with goat cheese mousse.

NOT SO FAST

A

Football at Fenway

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bruce A. Percelay

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian Bushard

ART DIRECTOR

Paulette Chevalier

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS

Emme Duncan

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kit Noble

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Sager

SENIOR WRITER

Jason Graziadei

CONTRIBUTORS

Caitlin Boland

Jurgita Budaite

David Creed

Kelsey Day

Tim Ehrenberg

Greta Feeney

Petra Hoffmann

Jen Laskey

Wendy Rouillard

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Charity Grace Mofsen

Reece Nelson

Chris Sebastian

Chris Tran

PUBLISHER

CHAIRMAN: Bruce A. Percelay

PERFECT CHOICE THE

Nantucket is a place that is hardly searching for attention. Indeed, there are many who wish the island were still a well-kept secret miles out to sea. But alas, that ship has sailed as Nantucket often finds itself in the national spotlight.

A number of Nantucket-themed movies have been made over the past decade from In the Heart of the Sea to Grey Lady, however, none have captured national attention like Elin Hilderbrand’s Netflix smash hit, The Perfect Couple. Given the enormous viewership of the six-part series, Hilderbrand’s show will undoubtedly draw more attention to the island, and may very well provide far more benefit than cost.

From July to early September, Nantucket is almost always at capacity, so more attention from Netflix is not likely to further swell its population. The success of Hilderbrand’s hit could, however, expand the shoulder seasons given her target audience, and help populate restaurants, shops and tourist attractions at a time when Nantucket truly needs the business. Given that Hilderbrand’s followers are primarily women of a certain age who are less likely to populate Nantucket during the months of July and August, their presence on Nantucket could provide an important economic boost at either end of the season.

As an individual, beyond her 27 novels about Nantucket, Hilderbrand is a delightfully direct, down-to-earth and positive personality whose hard work could benefit Nantucket going forward if her books become a staple on Netflix or other streaming platforms for years to come. For her persistence and positive spirit, N Magazine

is pleased to name Elin Hilderbrand as its Person of the Year.

BRUCE A. PERCELAY Publisher

It is almost impossible to have any type of discussion about Nantucket without bringing up the recent presidential election. The island voted overwhelmingly for Vice President Kamala Harris, with her receiving 67% of the vote and President-elect Donald Trump receiving 30%, which mirrored Massachusetts as a whole. The impact of Trump’s victory on Nantucket is unclear, however some things are clear. Trump is an opponent of offshore wind, and has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, both of which have significant importance to the Commonwealth. The great political divide both locally and nationally remains, and hopefully the country can find common ground as deep division is always a threat to democracy.

As the holidays approach, Nantucket represents a welcome haven from the political discourse that has divided the country. We all hope you find the peace and tranquility this holiday season that defines Nantucket.

Publisher

Charity Grace MOFSEN

Charity Grace Mofsen captures the island of Nantucket in all its glory—in light and at night. Mofsen has a particular affinity for astrophotography (or night photography), and her work speaks to our connection to the cosmos. From fine art landscapes and intimate weddings to fun portrait sessions and creative product photography, Mofsen finds joy in sharing her love of Nantucket with the hope that others will also cherish the island’s natural beauty. Mofsen has a degree in sustainable residential design and development, though her photography is mostly a selftaught skill as a lifelong creative. Her work has been featured in The Boston Globe , Framebridge’s Black Artist Spotlight, Nantucket Current , Artists Association of Nantucket and Maria Mitchell Association, where she was a twotime artist in residence.

Reece NELSON

Dedicated to storytelling, Reece Nelson uses his background in photography and design to create imagery that speaks to his audience. Having graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in commercial photography, Nelson has worked as a freelance photographer and retoucher, helping produce work for N Magazine , Perfect magazine and Interior Design magazine, as well as many other clients. As an islander, Nelson hopes to use his skills to capture and convey the beauty of Nantucket and its community.

HOFFMANN

Petra Hoffmann came to N Magazine at the beginning of the 2024 season with a deep knowledge of fashion. She has worked as a stylist for over 20 years. Her experience includes working for Chanel, owning a contemporary women’s boutique and consulting as a personal shopper and wardrobe advisor, serving clients on-island, as well as in Boston and in Naples and Palm Beach, Florida. With a love for the island being her only passion greater than aesthetics, she is a genuine part of the Nantucket community. Hoffmann volunteers at Nantucket Safe Harbor for Animals, the island’s animal shelter. She was raised in the Boston area and now calls Nantucket home.

$

22-26

The opening price for a pound of Nantucket bay scallops at the start of the commercial scalloping season on November 1.

1 in 30 Million

1935

The year the Downyflake opened on South Water Street, before a gas explosion forced the shop to relocate to Sparks Avenue in 1991.

$

19.2

The odds of finding an ultra-rare yellow lobster, which lobsterman Jim Sjolund managed to haul from a trap east of Nantucket in September. Million

1,731

The most students ever enrolled at Nantucket Public Schools—a record at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

The purchase price of a waterfront property on Pocomo Road whose new owners applied for a demolition permit in October.

Million 20.3

The number of views Netflix’s adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s The Perfect Couple received in its first week in September—topping the Netflix viewership charts globally.

The number of pints of blood collected at the island’s first blood drive in decades, held in October at VFW Post 8608 on New South Road. 73

50

The anniversary of Nantucket’s Christmas Stroll, which began in 1973 as a shopping event to encourage islanders to shop locally.

3

The number of million-dollar scratch tickets sold at Old South Diner in 2024.

Private oasis fronting Sesachacha Pond, with views of the ocean and Sankaty Lighthouse. Designed by Workshop/APD and built by Reid Builders of Nantucket, this estate boasts two custom-built homes, two garages, a boardwalk to the water, an infinity-edge swimming pool, flower and vegetable gardens, and tennis access.

$21,950,000

1

FESTIVAL OF WREATHS

Whaling Museum

NOVEMBER 25-30

Take in the holiday cheer in the Whaling Museum as it transforms into a winter wonderland for the National Historical Association’s annual Festival of Wreaths. The gallery, which is free to NHA members and island residents, is adorned with dozens of Christmas wreaths decorated by local businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations, from traditional holly, ivy and evergreen to the abstract and unconventional. nha.org

WINTER STREET

NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 8

Theatre Workshop of Nantucket

After a sold-out first run last winter, the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is back with its production of Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter Street, an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling author’s Winter Street series. Hilderbrand—whose book The Perfect Couple was adapted into a major Netflix series—lauded the theater’s adaptation as “engrossing, funny, heartbreaking and filled with the best emotion of the season … wonder.” theatrenantucket.org

4 7 7

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY

NOVEMBER 29

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas— Nantucket style. With trees brightly adorned throughout downtown, none will stand as tall or as bright as the Christmas tree at the top of Main Street, where at 4 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, islanders line the streets to the tune of Christmas carols to start off the holiday season. nantucketchamber.org

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23RD ANNUAL COLD TURKEY PLUNGE

Children’s Beach

NOVEMBER 28

For those who choose to embrace the cold weather (and frigid water), the Nantucket Atheneum is returning with its 23rd annual Cold Turkey Plunge Thanksgiving morning. Dress up in your best Thanksgiving outfit, wetsuit or bathing suit and jump into Nantucket Harbor all while supporting a good cause. Proceeds from the plunge benefit the Atheneum’s Weezie Library for Children and the library’s free, year-round programming. nantucketatheneum.org

FESTIVAL OF TREES

Whaling Museum

DECEMBER 6-31

After the Festival of Wreaths comes the NHA’s Festival of Trees, a celebration of not only the holiday spirit but Nantucket’s creativity, as the Whaling Museum’s galleries fill up with dozens of locally decorated trees. Check out traditional greens, ornate whites, pretty pinks and everything in between decorated by island artists, businesses, organizations and children. nha.org

HOLIDAY SMALL WORKS EXHIBIT

NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 21

The Artists Association of Nantucket’s Holiday Small Works exhibition offers everything from the perfect stocking stuffer to a fitting piece to fit above your mantel. Check out works from local artists at the Cecelia Joyce and Seward Johnson Gallery at 19 Washington Street. nantucketarts.org

50TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS STROLL

DECEMBER 6-8

Nantucket’s Christmas Stroll turns 50 this year. Originally an effort to promote local businesses after the development of the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Stroll has exploded in popularity, becoming the mustsee holiday weekend it is today—one of the biggest weekends of the year for island shops and restaurants. Christmas Stroll features craft shows, live entertainment and even a visit from Santa Claus himself. nantucketchamber.org

10

10

7 8 7 9 5 5 Ring in the new year with the Nantucket Hotel, where the hotel will offer light bites and a full display of desserts for its annual gala. Dance the night away and into the early hours of the morning with DJ Billy Voss, with drinks and a full New Year’s Eve celebration from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. thenantuckethotel.com

LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL YULETIDE FAIR

White Elephant Ballroom

DECEMBER 7

For 19 years, the Nantucket Lighthouse School’s Yuletide Fair has offered decorative crafts, local artwork, baked goods and more on the Saturday morning of Stroll weekend. Warm up in the White Elephant Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a wide assortment of holiday gifts and stocking stuffers, plus craft activities for children. nantucketlighthouseschool.org

RED TICKET DRAWING

DECEMBER 24

Perhaps the biggest gifts of the year will be awarded on Christmas Eve, when six lucky winners receive $1,000 and one extralucky winner takes home the grand prize of $5,000. Red tickets are administered by island shops November 1 through the morning of Christmas Eve, all for supporting local businesses. Awards will be given at random at 1 p.m. on December 24. nantucketchamber.org

113 Eel Point Road

Dionis | 6 BR 5/1 BA | $17,750,000

Gary Winn, Broker & Morgan Winn, Sales Associate

2 Marion Avenue

Cisco | 6 BR 6/3 BA | $27,500,000

Gary Winn, Broker & Bernadette Meyer, Broker

34 Bosworth Road

Tom Nevers | 4 BR 6/1 BA | $9,875,000

Gary Winn, Broker & Morgan Winn, Sales Associate

47 Hulbert Avenue

Brant Point | 6 BR 5/1 BA | $15,995,000

Gary Winn, Broker

BARNABY’S SIGNATURE NANTUCKET NEON LIGHT

NANTUCKET LIGHTSHIP BASKET CHARMS

Perfect for a charm bracelet or a simple chain, these 18K yellow gold charms–one featuring a cabochon sapphire–are a sophisticated way to wear your love for Nantucket.

SEAMAN SCHEPPS

@seamanschepps seamanschepps.com

HYDRANGEA SCARF

This hydrangea scarf features a hand-drawn block print motif on 100% silk. Offered in two sizes, this blue and white beauty brings coastal elegance to any ensemble!

SWELLS

@shopswells • shopswells.com

Designed by Wendy Rouillard, this delightful island light is available in pink, white and turquoise, and can be mounted on the wall or can simply stand on a shelf. A little reminder of Nantucket to brighten up any room! 12" by 10"

BARNABY’S TOY & ART

@barnabystoyandart • barnabysnantucket.com

WINTER WISH

LIST

HELLO HYDRANGEA I PAINTING

THE NOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKY

The Notch captures the essence of the island, combining premium ingredients, old-fashioned techniques and Nantucket sea air. Judged one of the world’s best, The Notch is available in 8-year, 12-year and 15-year expressions that will delight any discerning whisky connoisseur.

TRIPLE EIGHT DISTILLERY

@tripleeightdistillery tripleeightdistillery.com

MARINE LAYER SHERPA OVERSHIRT

Staying warm against the chilly seaside air is easy in this cozy overshirt from beloved brand Marine Layer. The generous fit makes it perfect for layering anything from a long-sleeve tee to a chunky sweater underneath.

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

@ackreds • nantucketreds.com

Artist and summer resident Alexandra Yurkosky uses colorful, rich oil paint and loose brushstrokes to capture the beauty of Nantucket in a fresh, modern style. The hydrangea–Nantucket’s unofficial flower–in all its varieties is a particular muse!

ALEXANDRA YURKOSKY @ay.fineart • ayfineart.com

“Kept the needs of my family first over making the sale... made the selling/buying experience effortless and not stressful.”

-Massachusetts Customer

“Had an exceptional eye for how the property would best be viewed by the buyer and helped us get the house in tip-top shape.”

-Florida Customer

“Used William Raveis real estate, mortgage, and insurance services... every transaction went smoothly as the entire team worked together.”

-Connecticut Customer

“Outstanding professional advice... on market conditions, timing to list our home for sale, and addressing the offers received.”

-New York Customer

*William Raveis customer surveys, 2004-2024

EXPLORE AND LEARN AT THE MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION

One of the island’s must-do family activities this holiday season is visiting the Maria Mitchell Association’s Hinchman House Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street. Here, children of all ages can enjoy learning about the animals, plants and birds indigenous to Nantucket. Kids can also observe live animals, explore with hands-on activities and learn about the history of how Nantucket came to be an island. The Hinchman House offers a variety of programs Fridays through Sundays, including the Ravenous Reptiles tour, Nature Story Time and other kid-friendly sciencebased programs. On Wednesday, November 27, the night before Thanksgiving, the Loines Observatory at 59 Milk Street will host its special Thanksgiving Open Night from 7-8 p.m. Be on the lookout for science courses and special events in the new year, including the MMA’s Nantucket Science Festival in March 2025. All programming is open to the public. mariamitchell.org, @mariamitchellassociation

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH AAN

Get into the holiday spirit with the Artists Association of Nantucket. This year, the AAN is offering a MakeIt Holiday: Gift Crafting class on Wednesdays, where children ages 9-12 can enjoy creating a handmade gift for someone special this holiday season. Families are also welcome to the AAN on Friday, December 6, for a one-hour Family Art Drop-In for children ages 2-5. Then, on Thursday, December 19, the AAN welcomes you to celebrate the winter solstice with a special Winter Solstice Beeswax

Candle Dipping workshop as part of its free community arts program. Fall classes are ongoing and winter registration begins December 6. Be sure to stop by the AAN’s table at the Christmas Stroll Marketplace on December 7 at the downtown Stop & Shop parking lot for more holiday crafting. nantucketarts.org, @ackartists

HOLIDAY FAVORITES AT PEACHTREE KIDS

Peachtree Kids is Nantucket’s favorite children’s shop located at the foot of historic cobblestoned Main Street. Shop for holiday clothing and the best of winter fashion for infants and children through size 12. Peachtree supports woman-owned and sustainable brands including Sammy + Nat, Nanducket, Petit Peony, Joy Street Kids, Maddie & Connor Co. and Brown Bowen & Co., as well as Nantucket brands Piping Prints, Barnaby Bear, Nikki Rene and Tiny Tuckets. Be sure to shop Peachtree’s classic “Nantucket” roll-neck

for every Nantucket child. Peachtree

themed pajamas, hand-illustrated by

trees designed by local merchants, nonprofit organizations, artists and students. There will also be holiday activities for children of all ages to enjoy. Admission is free for the yearround community and NHA members. 508-228-1894, nha.org, @ackhistory

CREATE WITH BARNABY’S TOY & ART Barnaby’s Toy & Art, located at 12 Oak Street in downtown Nantucket, is offering a variety of holiday art classes for children ages 2 and up Thanksgiving through Stroll. Classes range from holiday ornaments to gingerbread houses, holiday winter wonderlands and much more. Barnaby’s doors are always open for children to drop in and create works of art any time of day. Barnaby’s toys have also been carefully selected for the holiday season, striving to provide functional, hands-on interactive play and entertainment. And don’t miss Barnaby’s Art Kits to Go! barnabystoyandart.com, barnabyack@gmail.com, @barnabystoyandart

PANORAMIC VIEWS

63 Old Field Road, Orleans | $6,995,000

Sargent

Brian Dougherty : 617.217.1842

Jack Tobin : 508.280.8875

15

Betsy Cornell : 617.571.4668

10

110 Broad St U: 902, Boston | $1,925,000 The ninth floor residence of one of Boston’s finest boutique residences features floor to ceiling windows that showcase Boston Harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Jack Tobin : 508.280.8875

1

With

This

TOWN MEETING VOTERS REJECT SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROPOSALS—AGAIN

For the fifth time in the past four years, Nantucket voters turned down shortterm rental zoning bylaw amendments, rejecting a compromise effort crafted by the Select Board over the summer and a warrant article sponsored by the political action group Put Nantucket Neighborhoods First at a Special Town Meeting in September.

Voters rejected Article 1, a zoning proposal described by supporters as a compromise designed to resolve the town’s

legal limbo over the permissibility of shortterm rentals, which are not explicitly mentioned in the town’s zoning code. That article would have placed some limits on short-term rentals and written them into the Nantucket zoning code as an allowed use in all residential districts. It was defeated by a vote of 416-472. Article 2—which would have allowed short-term rentals as an accessory use—also failed, by a vote of 478-394, falling short of the required two-thirds majority to pass.

INQUIRER AND MIRROR

ENDS MARIANNE STANTON’S DECADES-LONG RUN AS COLUMNIST

Marianne Stanton, who served as The Inquirer and Mirror’s publisher for 30 years, penned her final column for the

newspaper in October after she was abruptly told by the newspaper’s new management team that she would no longer be writing its “Here and There” column moving forward.

Stanton retired from her role as editor and publisher in July 2023, but over the past year, she continued to write the “Here and There” column, which has been a staple of the newspaper for nearly two centuries.

In her last column, Stanton said she had “received an email from the new management at this newspaper

telling me that this week will be the last time I will write the column.” It’s unclear exactly who informed Stanton of the decision by email, but the move came with no immediate replacement in the wings to take over the column.

In the aftermath of Stanton’s column published in October, her husband, John, sent an email out to many of Stanton’s readers, saying: “This was not a journalism decision. It was personal.” John Stanton, the newspaper’s associate editor and the editor of Nantucket Today, is no longer employed at The Inquirer and Mirror

Marianne Stanton

MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION

The Maria Mitchell Association is pulling out of its so-called Good Neighbor Agreement with offshore wind company Vineyard Wind, the organization said in October, alleging Vineyard Wind breached the terms of the 2020 agreement. The MMA was a co-signer, along with the Nantucket Preservation Trust, on the agreement with the town, which provided $16 million in mitigation funding from Vineyard Wind in exchange for their support of the project.

Following a review of its turbines months after one of the project’s blades fell into the Atlantic Ocean, Vineyard Wind also said it will remove more blades that have already been installed at the wind farm southwest of Nantucket.

GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the turbines and blades being installed by Vineyard Wind, stated in October that it intends to remove “some blades” from the wind farm after the reexamination of more than 8,300 ultrasound images per blade and physical blade inspections with “crawler” drones. It’s unclear how many blades will be removed or what the inspections revealed, but the announcement clearly indicates the company discovered additional

STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY PROPOSES ITS BIGGEST FARE INCREASE WITH VINEYARD WIND PULLS OUT OF AGREEMENT

After a tumultuous summer highlighted by ferry crew shortages, cancellations and reduced service to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the Steamship Authority proposed its largest fare increases ever to cover higher wages and benefits for employees, along with increased maintenance and information technology expenses. The proposed rate increases were unveiled in October during the Steamship Authority’s Port Council meeting. They are intended to cover a projected $5.49 million net loss from the boat line’s operations in 2025.

manufacturing deviations similar to what it believes caused the blade failure over the summer.

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova will also be “strengthening” other blades, apparently in response to what was found during the inspections. The process of how blades are strengthened and where was not disclosed.

“This is the largest rate increase ever—let’s come out and say it, let’s just rip the bandage right off and talk

about it—and the biggest driver on the expense side is the payroll expense we’re talking about,” said Mark Rozum, the Steamship Authority’s

treasurer and comptroller. “We’re looking at the payroll expenses of keeping extra ABs [able-bodied seamen] on the boats, training them, for example, to become pilots and captains. That’s a real cost. We’re looking at wage increases of 10% in year one.”

The proposed increases would affect nearly all fares except passenger tickets on the slow boats. Fast ferry tickets and most standard vehicle fares, including excursion fares, would increase by roughly 10%. Rates for freight trucks longer than 20 feet would rise by 12%, while parking permits in Hyannis would be hiked between 18% and 25%.

ICE AGENTS ARREST FIVE ON NANTUCKET

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested five people on Nantucket during a multi-day operation this fall. All five people were “violent offenders,” according to the federal agency. In a statement, Select Board Chair Brooke Mohr said town officials were aware of the arrests and “recognize that this activity may have been unsettling to many of our residents.”

She added: “Let me be clear, we are committed to the safety and well-being of members of our community, regardless of their immigration status, and are relieved that these offenders have been apprehended by the appropriate authorities and are no longer a threat to our community.”

STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY GENERAL MANAGER

TO STEP DOWN

Steamship Authority General Manager Bob Davis announced in September he will step down as head of the boat line in October 2025, after seven years at its helm. Davis, who first joined the Steamship Authority in 1986, will transition into an advisory role.

“Serving the Steamship Authority and its port communities for nearly four decades has been an honor,” Davis said.

“Together, we have achieved many notable accomplishments to further strengthen the lifeline to the islands, from adding new vessels to the fleet to undertaking major shoreside and terminal improvements. I look forward to moving several additional projects forward during the next year.”

In a statement in September, the Steamship Authority said it would launch an extensive search for Davis’ successor.

TOMS WAY RESIDENTS CHEMICAL COMPANIES

A group of Toms Way residents filed a class action lawsuit in October against the manufacturers and suppliers of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), also known as “forever chemicals.” The mid-island residents filed the suit in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, listing 13 companies, including manufacturing giants 3M and DuPont as defendants, and alleging their properties contain “staggering” levels of PFAS, citing a September 2023 test of 16 private groundwater

wells on the street.

The legal action comes as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection launches an investigation of the nearby Fairgrounds Road municipal campus (the site of the former Nantucket Electric Company) as a potential source contributing to high levels of PFAS on Toms Way.

“Although the town quickly

installed a new water main on Toms Way upon discovering the private well contamination, it is still important to determine the source(s) of this PFAS so it can be mitigated,” the town states on its website.

NANTUCKET GROUP TAKES VINEYARD

WIND LAWSUIT TO SUPREME

The Nantucket-based group ACK for Whales (formerly Nantucket Residents Against Turbines) brought its legal challenge against Vineyard Wind to the U.S. Supreme Court in September, three years after the group first sued to stop the offshore wind project south of Nantucket. In its suit, ACK for Whales alleges federal agencies

COURT

endangered North Atlantic right whale. The group also asserted that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by relying on a “flawed analysis” from the National Marine Fisheries Service. While ACK for Whales members told the Nantucket Current they were hopeful the court would take up the case, the group’s chances remain slim. Of the roughly 7,000 cases presented to the Supreme Court for review each year, only 100 to 150 of them (approximately 2%) are accepted. ACK for Whales also lost its previous efforts to stop the project, including in April, when three U.S. Court of Appeals judges rejected the group’s allegations, affirming a previous U.S. District Court ruling.

Scan the Flowcode to read more news on the Nantucket Current

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.

TIM’S TOP 12 FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2024

James by Percival Everett

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Sandwich by Catherine Newman Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

The Alaska Sanders Affair by Joël Dicker

TIM’S 5 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2025

The Names by Florence Knapp

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian

The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More by Jefferson Fisher

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

THE BOOKSHOP: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSTORE BY EVAN

BLUE SISTERS BY COCO MELLORS

FRISS

It’s safe to say that other than my home, I have spent the most time of my life in bookstores. A bookstore is the first place I visit on any trip, I have worked at several, and they are truly my happy place. When I saw The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore arrive at Mitchell’s Book Corner, I knew I had to read it. Here is a warm, thorough and engaging history of the American bookstore and a compelling story of how it became a central place in our cultural life. Evan Friss gives us this story through oral histories, diaries, letters and interviews, from Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia to the bookstores we know today. I was shocked how much I didn’t know about my favorite institutions. Just like at a bookshop, you meet some interesting and engaging personalities, acquire a long reading list and feel inspired by how these cornerstones of our community have truly helped forge the American identity. If you love the smell of a bookstore and feel right at home when you enter its doors, this book is for you.

EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET

BY BENJAMIN STEVENSON

I started this year by recommending Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, so it seems fitting to end 2024 with his newest novel, Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. This is the perfect stocking stuffer for the mystery lover in your life. Stevenson’s books are some of my favorite mysteries to come across bookshelves in recent memory. They are inspired by classics from Golden Age crime writers like Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers, but they also offer something fresh and new on the page. Stevenson’s latest novel is slim, but it packs a holiday punch featuring a murder (or two), several suspects, festive family gatherings and an advent calendar of clues to help you solve the case. Not only does Stevenson—an acclaimed standup comedian—leave you guessing with this whodunit, he also makes you laugh.

CHALLENGER: A TRUE STORY OF HEROISM AND DISASTER ON THE EDGE OF SPACE BY ADAM

HIGGINBOTHAM

I challenge any history buff not to be absolutely consumed with this gripping, definitive and minute-by-minute account of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. Like the JFK assassination or 9/11, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in our nation’s history, and while people may remember where they were when it happened, they may not know the full story. Here’s what I knew going in: On January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds into flight, the Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board with millions of Americans witnessing the tragedy. I remember watching a news clip of this for the 35th anniversary and wondering what exactly happened. This book offers the answer and reads like a suspense novel. Adam Higginbotham gives us close-ups of all seven members of the doomed crew. He also provides evidence of cover-ups, corruption and political challenges, as well as moments that could have prevented the disaster. It’s expert reporting, and it would make the perfect gift for the historian on your holiday shopping list.

Every so often a book transcends the words on the page and becomes something you are living. In this beautifully written novel, we meet the Blue sisters, Avery, Bonnie and Lucky, who are mourning the loss of their fourth sister, Nicky. These four sisters entered my psyche, and I found myself sharing their grief, love, laughter, heartache and struggles long after I closed the book. Coco Mellors puts readers through the full spectrum of human emotion in alternating chapters highlighting each sister’s personal story. Mellors does so while writing about tough subjects, from addiction to grief and difficult family dynamics that most of us deal with, especially around the holidays. There is a scene when the sisters go back to their childhood home that will resonate with anyone who reads it. I will never forget these sisters.

DARKLY

BY MARISHA PESSL

I was thrilled to see a new novel out by the author of Night Film, one of my favorite titles from 2013 and a genuinely creepy book complete with author-created webpages to enhance the reading experience. In Darkly, Marisha Pessl introduces Dia Gannon, who is applying for a mysterious internship with the Louisiana Veda Foundation by answering the question, “What would you kill for?” Gannon is accepted as an intern and thrust into an intricate labyrinth of buried clues and hidden connections. Pessl creates such an iconic character in the legendary game designer Louisiana Veda, one that feels so real you almost want to Google her name for more information. It makes you wonder who Louisiana Veda is, who the other interns are, and how Gannon will survive the Darkly universe. While this would make a great gift for young adults this holiday season, any age will enjoy it.

BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS: A MEMOIR

BY INA GARTEN

I am not a chef. I can barely boil water, but I am clearly a reader, and I so enjoyed my time with Ina Garten’s life story in Be Ready When the Luck Happens. I am surrounded by people in my orbit who are obsessed with Garten, who own every one of her cookbooks and have watched every one of her TV appearances, but I actually didn’t know that much about her before I read her memoir. Her story is one of courage, kindness, joy, food, connection, hospitality and love. After reading it, I am officially a fan! At the very start of the memoir, Garten gives us this quote: “Do what you love. If you love it, you’ll be really good at it.” What follows is an inspirational story to find the confidence to listen to your dreams and pursue them, to share your life with someone who unconditionally supports you like Ina’s husband Jeffrey, and to “be ready when the luck happens.”

Don’t miss our Books, Beach & Beyond podcast episode with Ina Garten.You can listen at booksbeachandbeyond.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

COOKING

Family Style

WRITTEN BY GRETA FEENEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Four recipes to get you through the winter

Nantucket Stroll is a time to celebrate established traditions while creating new memories with family and friends. But with our peak seasonal population approaching 70,000, and just 4,000 restaurant reservations to be had on-island on any given evening, Nantucketers are upping their game as stay-at-home chefs, creating wholesome, nourishing meals that are as delicious as they are practical. This holiday season, N Magazine features favorite recipes from the custom kitchens of some of Nantucket’s most celebrated hosts and hostesses.

MARK FAMIGLIO became enchanted by Nantucket in the 1970s while he was a student at New College in Sarasota, Florida.

A Philadelphia native and a secondgeneration Italian American of Roman and Sicilian descent, Famiglio was raised alongside six brothers and a sister on a steady diet of home-cooked Italian food. After a familial squabble over who would inherit his mother’s copper cookware,

Mark came into possession of his grandmother Aldina’s chitarra pasta maker and has since mastered the art of traditional pastamaking. Those fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the Famiglio family’s famous brand of Italian-style hospitality are treated to heaping bowls of homemade pasta, served with a traditional “meat gravy” that, over the years, Mark has refined into a gourmet bolognese.

“To my mother’s meat gravy I add a soffritto, also known as the ‘holy trinity’ of Italian cooking,” says Mark as he dices the celery, onions and carrots that form the base of the flavor for his pasta sauce. Together with his twin daughters Camilla Marquesa and Bryn Aldina, Mark regularly hosts pasta nights that have become famous among the Nantucket teen theater crowd. “We make rigatoni, fettuccine, penne, spaghetti, and then we basically eat until we die,” says Camilla, who serves as sous-chef to her dad when she’s not keeping busy as a summer camp counselor at The Westmoor Club.

FAMIGLIO FAMILY RAGÙ ALLA BOLOGNESE WITH MACCHERONI ALLA CHITARRA (pasta, guitar-style)

Prep and cook time 3-4 hours. Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS

For the bolognese

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

10 ounces mixed ground beef and pork

5 ounces pancetta, finely diced

½ cup good dry white wine (something you would actually drink)

½ cup whole milk

14 ounces canned peeled tomatoes (we like San Marzano) crushed or passed through a sieve

Chicken broth

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Fresh basil for garnish

For the pasta

6 large eggs

3½ cups all-purpose flour

Extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

For the bolognese

For the soffritto, heat the olive oil and butter in a large castiron pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are soft and fragrant, but not brown. Add pancetta and cook until fat renders and meat begins to brown. Add ground beef and pork and cook until browned, breaking up meat. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in white wine and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until alcohol evaporates. Lower heat and stir in milk until absorbed. Add tomatoes and season with a bit more salt and pepper, then lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. If sauce gets too thick, add broth.

For the pasta

Heap flour in the center of a large, clean cooking surface. Make a well in the middle. Crack eggs into the well and beat together with a fork, starting at the inner rim of the well and working outward, until half the flour is incorporated. Continue kneading with the palms of your hands until all the flour is gone and the dough becomes cohesive. Clean the cooking area and dust with fresh flour, then continue kneading for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary. Set the dough aside for 30 minutes. After it has rested, cut the dough into 4 equal parts, covering those not in use to prevent drying. Roll out the dough with a dusted rolling pin, lengthwise and widthwise, until it forms a thin rectangular sheet. Press the sheet of dough through the wire rack of the chitarra with either your fingers or the thin rolling pin. Dust the pasta with flour and cover until cook time. This pasta should be boiled for approximately 2 minutes, then served immediately.

Carl Sutton with a bottle of Oversand Rosé

Mark Famiglio with his daughter, Camilla Famiglio

NICK and POLLY MILLER met and fell in love on Nantucket as teenagers in the 1950s, and after they married, entertaining became central to their family’s legacy. Society events such as “Women of Summer” and “Women of Winter” featured many of Polly’s signature dishes, as well as world-class entertainment at the Millers’ sprawling seven-acre Polpis estate. At the top of Polly’s list of go-to dishes is a satisfyingly savory Portuguese kale soup, prepared with fresh local produce whenever possible and served with a tangy, aromatic side of skillet beans. This versatile protein and fiber-rich combination is well suited to a mixed crowd of carnivores and vegetarians, as well as those with gluten sensitivities. “Even the meat-eaters can’t seem to resist the skillet beans,” says Polly, who adapted the skillet bean recipe from her son Scott. “Watch out,” she adds. “It is addictive.”

POLLY’S PORTUGUESE KALE SOUP

Prep and assemble, 1 hour. Cook time, 45 minutes. Serves 8.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups chicken stock

1 pound linguica, chorizo or kielbasa, casing removed, sliced thinly or diced

1½ pounds kale, washed, torn apart, stems removed

2-3 yellow onions, chopped (about two cups)

2 cans diced basil-and-oregano or fire-roasted tomatoes

2 medium raw, cubed Idaho potatoes (2½ cups, peeling optional)

1 small can Bush’s brand baked beans

1 can undrained dark red kidney beans

DIRECTIONS

1 small red and ½ orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped

Some shredded napa cabbage (optional) Cumin and curry powder to taste

Place sausage in a large, heavy pot or slow cooker, along with chicken stock. As mixture begins to simmer, add kale, then the other ingredients, in the order above. Cover and let simmer for at least 45 minutes. Soup will improve the next day when reheated and can be thinned by adding more chicken stock.

SCOTT’S SKILLET BEANS WITH SAFFRON ORZO

Prep and cook time, 35-40 minutes. Serves 8.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound orzo pasta

2-3 cans undrained red kidney beans, drained black-eyed peas, butter beans, white northern beans or garbanzos

1 large can plain diced tomatoes

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1-2 green bell peppers, chopped

3 garlic cloves, pressed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey or molasses

1 tablespoon coarse Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon good saffron

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt to taste, plus a few shakes of cayenne pepper

In a heavy saucepan or large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until golden. Add celery and peppers and continue sautéing another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add thyme, oregano, basil, black pepper, salt to taste and cayenne pepper. Add tomatoes, honey or molasses, and mustard. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes, then carefully fold in the beans, cover and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated. Crumble saffron into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of hot water to extract the spice’s flavor and color. Use the water to flavor the cooked orzo.

TO SERVE

Top orzo with skillet beans and add Parmesan, if desired. Both dishes pair well with a simple mixed green salad and hot buttered Portuguese rolls. Ladle soup into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Polly Miller

From her annual Stroll celebration to her Ladies’ Luncheon, where accomplished women in the community meet and support each other, KIMBERLY KOZLOWSKI is all about bringing people together. A self-described “purist,” Kozlowski honors Nantucket’s history through the impeccable historic renovation of her Pleasant

Street home, and in the kitchen, where she makes healthy food sourced from locally grown and produced ingredients. She even incorporates the use of an antique pie crimper for her famous apple pie. “Apples should taste like apples and not like sugar,” says Kozlowski, who this holiday season has embellished her recipe with Nantucket cranberries and honey.

KIMBERLY KOZLOWSKI’S NATURALLY SWEET CRANBERRY APPLE PIE

Prep and bake time, 3 hours.

INGREDIENTS

For the crust

2½ cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter (cubed)

6 tablespoons ice water

2 tablespoons honey

For a golden crust

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk or water

For the filling

6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into 3-centimeter slices

½ cup fresh cranberries (approximately 20 cranberries)

½ cup 100% pure raw honey (I love Grey Lady Apiary)

2 teaspoons pure ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 pats unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the dough

Add 1½ cups of flour and salt to a food processor, pulse 3 times until combined. Add cubed butter a little at a time, then honey, continuing to pulse the food processor (about 15 seconds) until the dough takes the form of little clumps. Add 1 cup of remaining flour and continue to mix on low speed until the dough looks crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add 4 tablespoons of ice water and hand-mix to form a ball. (You should be able to pinch the dough and it should bind. If it does not, gradually add a tablespoon of water and test again.) Cut the dough ball in half and press into a disk-like form. Wrap both pieces in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until firm. While the dough is chilling, prepare the pie filling. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the filling

Mix apple slices, fresh cranberries, cinnamon and cornstarch together. Mix well and set aside.

Assemble the pie

Take the dough out of the freezer and test for pliability by squeezing it. Dust a clean surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough out evenly to about a 12-inch circle and place in an ungreased glass pie pan (you can use a nonstick cooking spray if using an aluminum pan). Continue the same process with the second half of the dough. Set it aside. Fill the crust in the pie pan with the apple/cranberry filling, then pour the honey directly over the apple mixture. Apply the 4 pats of butter onto the filling. Place the second crust over the filling and crimp edges with a pie crimper. (If you do not have a pie crimper, you can pinch the upper and lower crust together with your thumbs around the edge of the pie pan).

Remove excess dough. Make slits or cut a design in the top pie crust to vent (I typically cut the shape of Nantucket Island in the crust). Place the pie on the center rack of the 400-degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, mix egg and milk until frothy. After baking the pie for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and brush the crust with egg wash. Bake for another 40 minutes until the apples are soft and the crust is golden brown. Place on a cooling rack for two hours before cutting. Served best with vanilla or crantucket ice cream from the Juice Bar.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is Changing the Game in Access to Medical Care

The average time spent in Urgent Access to be treated and released home 30 minutes

More Urgent Access visits were available this summer vs. last summer 76%

Urgent Access at Nantucket Cottage Hospital is open year-round.

Learn more at: nantuckethospital.org/urgentaccess

Urgent Access patients who walked-in without an appointment 86%

WINTER WINES

WRITTEN BY JEN LASKEY

Seven winter drinks for your favorite cold-weather comfort foods

Stroll kicks off the last hurrah before we hunker down for the long winter ahead. With it comes the promise of holiday celebrations, followed by some well-earned R&R when we get to catch up with friends and neighbors, indulge in our favorite comfort foods, and relish the cold, quiet, locals-only version of the island. Whether you’re looking for seasonal sippers to share over Stroll weekend, a special beverage to brighten some of those dark winter nights or something delicious to pair with your hard-earned harvest of Nantucket bay scallops, our local drinks experts have got you covered. Here are seven wines, cocktails and nonalcoholic drinks to savor with your favorite winter foods between now and spring.

DENNY BINI “FESTA” LAMBRUSCO DELL’EMILIA, NV ($20/BOTTLE)

Recommended by

Alanna Lucas, owner, NANTUCKET WINE & SPIRITS

A fruity but dry sparkling red wine made with organically grown grapes from Italy’s EmiliaRomagna region, the Denny Bini “Festa” Lambrusco is “rustic yet playful,” said Alanna Lucas. “The tiny bubbles awaken your palate, keeping you on point for that board game by the fire.” This wine also has darker, deeper flavors that make it a perfect pairing for charcuterie such as Prosciutto di Parma served with ParmigianoReggiano, marinated mushrooms, olives and figs—some of Lucas’ favorite things to nosh on in the cold winter months. She adds that the offseason is an excellent time to explore new wines and regions, or even take a wine class. “Most importantly, though,” she said, “it’s a time to have dinner parties and do what winemakers intended for us wine drinkers to do with their wine: enjoy it with a leisurely meal with family—and friends who are family.”

If you love the flavors of a negroni but are looking to dial back on booze at any point this season, this delicious bottled cocktail from Brooklyn-based distiller St. Agrestis has all the juniper, bitter citrus peel and herbal notes of a real negroni without any alcohol. Plus, its cute packaging makes it festive enough for a holiday party. Just pop the cap and serve. Cheers!

ST. AGRESTIS PHONY NEGRONI ($10/2-PACK)

Photo: Jen Laskey

TRIMBACH PINOT GRIS RÉSERVE 2018

($21/GLASS, $84/BOTTLE)

DUCKHORN MERLOT 2021 ($26/GLASS, $104/BOTTLE)

Recommended by Zack Lindsay, general manager and beverage director, THE SEAGRILLE

Zack Lindsay loves the downtime that comes with winter on the island. “It’s not a blur, like the summer,” he said. In the winter, he gets to relax, spend quality time with his family and indulge in some of his favorite dishes and drinks. “I love our broiled bay scallops with beurre blanc and Trimbach pinot gris—with the sweetness of the scallops and the acidity of the wine, it’s like a homerun, honestly,” he said. “But for real comfort food, I go for our au poivre.” The SeaGrille’s center-cut filet mignon au poivre comes with brandy cream sauce that Lindsay tosses with a side of house-made fettuccine. He’ll wash that down with a warming glass of Duckhorn merlot. “It’s a benchmark for merlot in my mind,” he said. “It almost drinks like a cabernet [sauvignon], so it pairs great with red meat.”

UCCELLIERA ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2021 ($36/BOTTLE)

Recommended by Elisabeth English, founder and former owner, CURRENT VINTAGE

Close your eyes, take a sip of the Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino and let your mind transport you to the sun-drenched vineyards of Tuscany. Made with 100% organic Sangiovese grapes, this dry red wine is “silky and vibrant,” said Beth English. “The savory, spicy red fruit flavors are lengthy and mouthcoating, beckoning another sip.” It’s an excellent value too: “Its big brother, Brunello di Montalcino, is three to five times the price.” For English, the slower pace of winter grants her time to do more cooking, relaxing and bingewatching great TV. “I love pairing all of the above with Italian red wines, especially from Piedmont and Tuscany.” But one of her favorite pairings doesn’t require any time in the kitchen at all: a glass of Uccelliera and Pi pizza with Esposito’s sausage and hot peppers. “Sangiovese, in general, pairs beautifully with pizza and tomato-based dishes,” she said, “but a Rosso di Montalcino with Pi pizza by the fire on a Nantucket winter night is a trifecta!”

Photo courtesy of Maison F.E. Trimbach

Photo courtesy of Duckhorn

Photo: Elisabeth English

Recommended by Neil Ferguson, chef-owner, AMERICAN SEASONS

Inspired by the 1930s-era Army & Navy cocktail, the Evening Glow brings a floral twist to the bright, citrusy classic. “Elegant, clean and moreish, it perfectly balances zesty lemon, the almond and aromatic gin and the St-Germain,” said Neil Ferguson. “You will definitely want a second!” This cocktail is bound to elevate any snowyweather soiree—or even a cozy evening at home. “During Nantucket’s winter months, there’s nothing better than curling up under a blanket with a great movie and a comforting drink,” he said. At American Seasons, they pair the Evening Glow with Ferguson’s Butternut Squash Tortelli, a stuffed fresh pasta filled with squash purée and crumbled amaretti biscuits that’s served with a sage-brown butter sauce and a touch of lemon zest. The dish, he said, “echoes the cocktail’s lovely lemon and almond notes for a delicious pairing.”

EVENING GLOW

Recipe courtesy of American Seasons

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ounces gin

• ¾ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

• ¾ ounce orgeat syrup

• 1 ounce lemon juice

• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker filled three-quarters of the way with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

STROLLING WITH MY HOMIES

Recommended by Clinton Terry, founding partner and beverage director, NAUTILUS

& GASLIGHT

Bartending maverick Clinton Terry may have invented the ultimate Stroll cocktail. It’s delicious, it’s red, it’s got holiday spirit—and a great name: Strolling With My Homies. Served seasonally at Nautilus, this cocktail is made with tequila, Ambrosia hibiscus-infused simple syrup, a little bit of sour mix and, according to Terry, “Christmas cheer.” (The Gaslight serves a vodka-based version.) After the craziness of summer, Terry appreciates how winter turns Nantucket into “one big close-knit neighborhood.” And he added, “The light is just so beautiful.” His ideal spot for relishing this seasonal sipper is at the beach, chasing those last afternoon rays. “I’m a big Cisco sunset guy, even in winter.” He recommends Nautilus’ barbecued beef bánh mì as a pairing for Strolling With My Homies. “The cocktail gives a bit of fruitiness, then there’s a little leather-sandalwood you get from the hibiscus that blends well with the pâté, herbs and pickled veg.”

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces blanco tequila

• 1½ ounces hibiscus-infused simple syrup

• ½ ounce sour mix

• Christmas cheer

STROLLING WITH MY HOMIES

Recipe courtesy of Clinton Terry

INSTRUCTIONS

• Fill a shaker with ice, add ingredients and shake.

• Strain into a chilled coupe (or rocks glass with a large ice cube).

• Garnish with a lime wheel.

FOR HIBISCUS SIMPLE SYRUP

• Use a 4:1:1 ratio of water to sugar to dried hibiscus.

• Combine in a pot over medium-high heat.

• Let simmer until sugar crystals dissolve.

• Cool completely, strain out the hibiscus, and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Photo: Neil Ferguson

Photo: Clinton Terry

WRITTEN BY JASON GRAZIADEI PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Is The Downyflake Cooked?

After the demolition of The Downyflake, will the landmark return?

On what may have been its final day in business this fall, the island institution that is The Downyflake was filled with emotions as staff and customers shared memories of a place that had been a steady presence in their lives.

When The Downyflake shut its doors on October 15, it may not have been the end of the iconic restaurant, but it certainly closed one chapter in its storied 90year history.

The building on Sparks Avenue where The Downyflake has been located since the mid1990s will soon be demolished to make way for the so-called new downtown—an 18,000-squarefoot, three-story, mixed-use development recently approved by the Planning Board and Historic District Commission.

2014 after taking the torch from prior owners Mark Hogan and Susan Tate, are unsure what the future holds but would like to see The Downyflake carry on as it has for decades—as a family-run dining establishment for the year-round community.

The owners have discussed the possibility of an alternative location for the restaurant while the stretch of Sparks Avenue is demolished and remade. They’ve also contemplated selling the name and business to the next steward of The Downyflake.

Paté Kennedy and Ron Oldham, who have owned The Downyflake since

Oldham and Kennedy—both decades-long veterans of the island restaurant industry who are now in their 70s—own both the name and the business.

They believe The Downyflake will live on after the Sparks Avenue location is demolished.

Paté Kennedy and Ron Oldham

“

It’s bittersweet,” said Kennedy, who previously managed the Rope Walk on Straight Wharf, working for the late Joe Pantorno, and before that worked at the Atlantic Cafe on South Water Street. “We want it to stay the same as much as possible. We’re committed to that. And I’m not really worried about it, because I think Chris is too.”

“We want it to stay the same as much as possible.”

– Paté Kennedy

Kennedy was referring to Chris Fiumara, the owner of Boston-based Crowd Lending Inc., and the lead developer of the residentialcommercial development on Sparks Avenue.

Fiumara and his partner Daniel Najarian have secured approvals to construct the mixeduse buildings on lots stretching from 18 to 26 Sparks Avenue, including the area where The Downyflake restaurant is currently located

Paté Kennedy and Ron Oldham

Courtesy of the NHA

The Downyflake on South Water Street, courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association

up to the Cumberland Farms property. The new development will feature two buildings that will include 32 housing units, a restaurant and an eight-lane bowling alley.

Fiumara wants to see that restaurant remain as The Downyflake.

“It will be The Downyflake,” Fiumara said confidently. “I will be 100% on top of making sure that happens. I’ve talked to three or four potential operators, people who are looking to go in and continue the tradition. [Kennedy and Oldham] will be talking to them. I’ll facilitate that, because they’re willing and want to continue the tradition of the island.”

Fiumara said he hopes to have the lots along Sparks Avenue cleared by the end of November, and to start construction by February 2025 if all goes according to plan.

ROLLING IN THE DOUGH(NUTS)

Over her years at the helm, Kennedy said The Downyflake has been like a family. Her staff, many of whom have been at the restaurant for many years and in some cases decades, were all aware of the situation with the demolition and what could come next.

“We’re not spring chickens anymore— we have to be wise about what we do next,” Kennedy said. “We’re fine with everything. We’re just hanging loose right now. When we bought The Downyflake name and business,

it was a 10-year plan, and this was our eleventh year.”

“It was like being a bartender, you know what they’re going to order.”

– Ron Oldham

Oldham said the looming closure this fall has started to dawn on some of his customers, while others are oblivious to the pending demolition of the building. He thinks about how the change will impact his regulars, many of whom he saw on a weekly or daily basis at the restaurant.

“It was like being a bartender, you know what they’re going to order,” Oldham said. “When I see someone come in, I’ll start it up and before it’s ordered, I’ll be serving it.”

Gary

Gary

OFF COURSE

WRITTEN

BY

BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

What’s wrong with the Steamship?

On a Sunday in June, the Steamship Authority canceled all of its fast ferry runs to Nantucket after a pilot called out sick. There were no mechanical issues on the boat. It was a sunny day, with winds under 10 mph.

The Steamship had no other qualified pilots to fill in. As a result, high school sports games that day were canceled. Travelers were left scrambling for a seat on Hy-Line Cruises’ fast ferry or the Steamship’s slow boat. At the time, Nat Lowell, Nantucket’s representative on the Steamship Authority Port Council, called it an “unprecedented disaster.”

As the summer went on, it became clear the Steamship’s staffing issues were far from over. A shortage of licensed deck officers and a contract dispute with the ferry’s labor union led to reductions in service, boat swaps and cancellations that stretched into the fall. On one day in August, the ferry line canceled over half a dozen trips on its Martha’s Vineyard route due to a crew shortage. Another crew shortage on a Saturday in October forced the Steamship to cancel six more Nantucket ferries. And to top it all off, the late trip on the M/V Iyanough between Hyannis and Nantucket was scrapped all summer due to a crew shortage, only returning in September thanks to a change in service.

“There was going to be a real issue if the Steamship didn’t end up adding the 7:30 p.m. boat,” Nantucket Public Schools Athletic Director Travis Lombardi said, noting the 7:30 p.m. M/V Iyanough run was reintroduced for the start of the school season. “That would have been a disaster. If we have teams traveling off island, there’s no way we could get the kids back on the 5:40 p.m. [Hy-Line ferry], so those kids and coaches would have had to take the 8:00 p.m. slow boat.”

An N Magazine investigation found maritime staffing shortages stretch well beyond Nantucket to a group of public ferry lines across the country, though some of those ferry lines have been able to address staffing shortages in ways the Steamship—through its quasi-public funding mechanism—has not.

reason,” Lowell said. “That’s the new canceled trip. Nobody had heard of that. The public was blaming the Steamship, saying, ‘The service is terrible.’ But that’s not true. It’s perception. The perception issue got way worse because of non-mechanical issues. The out-of-nowhere cancellations were not the typical

The Steamship effectively operates as a private company, even though it faces constraints as a public service. Unlike other state-run ferry companies across the U.S., the Steamship relies almost exclusively on ticket sales and grant funding for operations and capital expenses. And with a projected $5.49 million net loss in operations in 2025, the Steamship Authority Port Council in October proposed its largest-ever fare increase.

“We never canceled boats for someone calling in sick or going to a doctor’s appointment or some other personal

cancellations of the past.”

The Steamship’s overall cancellation rate hit a five-year high this year at 7.3% through August, with 1.5% of its Nantucket trips canceled for mechanical issues (a five-year high) and another 5.4% of its Nantucket trips canceled for other non-weather-related reasons (a four-year high). Lowell lamented it as the “worst no-win situation” in his more than two decades on the advisory council.

The Steamship is currently in the process of collective bargaining sessions with multiple unions representing its employees. Ferry officials also expect a

trio of new boats to come online over the next two years. For those reasons, ferry officials believe the Steamship’s issues could be resolved soon. But the question remains what else can be done to address those cancellations, the staffing shortages and mechanical issues for the Steamship, which boasts itself as the lifeline for Nantucket.

FUNDING ISSUES

One idea that continues to resurface— despite opposition from the Steamship—is to fully privatize it.

“The Steamship isn’t making money from October through April or May, so that’s over half the year that it isn’t making money, and no one’s going to step in and operate at a loss for half a year,” said Rob Ranney, Nantucket’s representative on the Steamship Authority Board of Governors.

Steamship Authority Communications Director Sean Driscoll agreed. The Steamship exists because there used to be private companies and there was a need to change it, he argued.

“What do seasonal businesses do when it’s slow? They shut down,” Driscoll said. “[Privatization] is a bigger question, but as a public utility, we’re not driven by a profit margin— we’re driven by operational needs. I don’t know if you could say that about private companies.”

But several reports have found that making the ferry line private could provide benefits. Other reports have found the Steamship’s current system needs major improvements.

A Temple University study on privatizing transportation systems delivered mixed results. On one hand, it stated private investors would be

Rob Ranney, Nantucket’s representative on the Steamship Authority Board of Governors

interested mostly in profitable routes, potentially disrupting service. But the study also suggested that publicly funded companies fail to innovate like transportation companies in the private sector do. Specifically, the study stated that politicians behind public companies often support expensive infrastructure in the short run but ignore long-term financial consequences.

“The capital needs of everybody—not just us—are getting more complex and more expensive,” Driscoll said. “Everything is more expensive now. I think that there is certain value in examining the financial structure of the organization. How that happens is a bigger discussion that the board and Port Council would have to initiate. We have significant capital expenses coming on [including updating the Woods Hole and Nantucket terminals].”

An independent 2018 report by HMS Consulting found the Steamship’s “frugality is based on admirable goals, but its

“We’re not driven by profit margin, we’re driven by operational needs. I don’t know if you could say that about private companies.”

– Sean Driscoll

overemphasis on cost reductions has been penny wise and pound foolish.” The report went on to call out the Steamship for understaffing in key technical roles.

“This has directly and indirectly contributed to vessel incidents,” the report stated. Those incidents “end up costing [the Steamship] due to unplanned maintenance and lost revenue,” according to the report.

Nat Lowell, Nantucket’s representative on the Steamship Authority Port Council

“[The Steamship] is over-reliant on a small number of individuals who hold inordinate amounts of knowledge and power, resulting in an executive team that is stuck in a perpetual mode of day-to-day firefighting,” the report stated. “The primary focus of these roles should be long-term sustainability and improvement of the organization, but almost no long-term planning is currently being performed.”

Ranney noted that most recommendations from the 2018 report have been addressed, including the implementation of a safety and quality management system and addition of a chief operations officer. But there’s another issue, he said.

“Most of the revenue is from ticket sales, and one of management’s concerns is if we have to buy a new boat or pay for more employees, we have to increase fares,” Ranney said. “It’s a political hot potato. The state doesn’t want to be involved.”

STAFFING SHORTAGE

As a public company, the Steamship’s workforce is represented by several

labor unions. Given the ferry line’s ongoing collective bargaining process, the Steamship’s staffing issues have largely been tied up, with negotiations held behind closed doors. One major factor affecting the ferry’s staffing levels has been a so-called overtime strike by licensed deck officers, where those officers informally decline overtime shifts in a maneuver to push management to meet their demands in collective bargaining. Licensed deck officers are not permitted to fully strike under Massachusetts state law. The overtime strike is a workaround.

“It’s a political hot potato. The state doesn’t want to be involved.”

– Rob Ranney

“We hear a lot of, ‘Well, the HyLine can do this, the Hy-Line can do that’—well, the Hy-Line isn’t unionized,” Ranney said. “There are pros and cons of unionization. The union has helped with employee

benefits. The employees want to be in the union for protections, but it slows it all down.”

But even with the overtime strike, Driscoll shot back at the notion of a staffing shortage. The Steamship’s staffing levels, he argued, are not short. The ferry line is budgeted for 255 positions and had 262 employees heading into the 2024 summer season. The issue lies with the number of technical crew the ferry retains.

The Steamship was short three pilots of the 31 it had budgeted for 2024. It was also short one oiler, and was exactly on target for its budgeted number of captains and chief engineers.

“There are layers of challenges on top of the global challenges and the shortfalls facing the maritime industry,” Driscoll said. “We’re far from immune from that.

People say why don’t you talk to Mass Maritime [Academy] about cadets, well, they’re getting fewer students entering too. They’re right on our doorstep, but fewer students are going into these fields.”

A NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE

Staffing woes have plagued ferry companies throughout the U.S. for several years. One of those cases was in mid-coast Maine, where the publicly operated Maine State Ferry Service provides vehicle ferry trips to six islands.

The ferry line’s most popular route, to the island of Vinalhaven, saw 215 of its roughly 2,000 trips canceled over the first six months of 2024, with staffing shortages responsible for nearly three-quarters of those cancellations. As of July, the state ferry service was short 14 of its 64 full-time positions, with seven more staffers on leave and five other part-time spots unfilled.

“The ferry to the islands is a lifeline,” said Paul Merrill, the director of communications for Maine’s Department of Transportation. “We hate it when we have to cancel a ferry run, but we have to cancel more because of staffing issues than we have previously. A few months ago, we did not have a very deep bench. When someone goes on leave or

is out on vacation, sometimes one person being sick is enough to cancel a run.”

As a public ferry line, the Maine State Ferry Service is predominantly funded by the state Department of Transportation, with taxpayer dollars allocated by the DOT covering 100% of capital expenditures. Ferry operations are covered by a 50/50 split between the DOT and ferry ticket sales. The Steamship, by contrast, does not receive funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and, as a result, relies much more heavily on ticket sales for its operations and capital expenditures.

The Maine State Ferry Service’s multiple funding sources give it added leeway to address its staffing shortages. Over the summer, the Maine State Ferry Service contracted Indiana-based Seaward Services Inc. for $500,000 to provide temporary workers through the end of 2024. “Seaward Services has made the most difference to keep boats running— having those people come in to serve the ranks,” Merrill said.

Maine officials have also approved a round of raises for ferry crew members this year, bringing captains to a minimum of $92,976 in annual salary, engineers to at least $73,260 (with a 21.5% stipend) and able seamen to at least $58,489 (with a 30% stipend). The DOT also allocated over $700,000 to create six full-time positions, including three captains.

“The Steamship puts its employees in a position to fail every day.”

– Roland Rexha

“Pay is lower at the Steamship,” said Roland Rexha, secretary-treasurer of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association union, one of the unions representing Steamship employees. “The Staten Island Ferry is the highest pay in the country. You’re trying to recruit people while other people are making far more [with other ferry companies]. On the Steamship pay alone, you can’t afford to live on Nantucket. You’re paid for what you do, what you know and how to respond,” he added.

“On the Steamship pay alone, you can’t afford to live on Nantucket.”

– Roland Rexha

The Steamship puts its employees in a position to fail every day. It’s a highexpectation job.”

In Washington state, the public ferry line providing service in the Puget Sound is also dealing with a shortage of both employees and boats—a doublewhammy the Seattle Times called “twin crises.” The ferry has committed to running a reduced schedule for the next four years, with an aging fleet of 21 boats— five short of the 26 the ferry said would be necessary in its 2019 long-range plan.

One staffing shortage in 2023 led to hundreds of delays and cancellations, with the majority of those cancellations coming as a direct result of a shortage in engineers and oilers.

“It’s a system-wide problem,” said Amy Drayer, director of the Washington-based group, Islanders for Ferry Action.

A privatization feasibility study for the ferry line in 2021

stated it would be possible to make the service private, though it listed a mixed bag of potential impacts from privatization: On the one hand, the transition would create additional maritime jobs, though it could also disrupt ferry service to the San Juan Islands during times of the year when service is not profitable, and impose a “negative economic impact.”

“I just don’t think there’s the political will to change it,” Drayer said. “The system is so large it would be a massive undertaking.”

The Steamship, meanwhile, is also in the process of bringing in new boats. In 2022, it purchased three boats previously used as oil rig service vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. Those boats are in the process of being modified to be used as freight boats, and will ultimately replace the M/V Gay Head

(brought online in 1989) and the M/V Katama (1988).

“This would allow the Steamship to take a breath for five years at least without having to worry about what’s the next move,” Lowell said. “[The new boats] are going to carry more, be easy to back on trucks and all be identical—every engine, control panel, gear box, everything. That’s going to be a big positive for the Steamship maintenance system.”

As for the crew-related cancellations, Steamship officials say it’s a priority to resolve.

“We understand any time a trip is canceled it’s frustrating,” Driscoll said. “The vast majority of our trips run, period. Our cancellation rates for mechanical issues are below industry standards. Any time a trip cancels, we know it’s an inconvenience. This is the lifeline for people getting on and off or companies running a business.”

URBAN LEGEND

INTERVIEW BY BRUCE A. PERCELAY

A conversation with CNN commentator and Trump advisor David Urban

David Urban has been credited with helping then-candidate Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election. As a former senior advisor on Trump’s 2016 campaign, Urban played a pivotal role in Trump’s strategy in Pennsylvania, one of a handful of swing states that also proved to be crucial in the 2024 presidential election. Urban’s resume has run the gamut. Prior to his political career, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned a Bronze Star in Operation Desert Storm. Now, he can be seen on CNN as a conservative political commentator.

How did you discover Nantucket?

I came in for a wedding and stayed at the White Elephant 30 years ago. My wife and I live in Florida. We were looking at places—Martha's Vineyard and Newport and Block Island and Maine. Post-COVID, we came up, and we were hooked. We kept renting, until it became apparent that buying a house is much more cost-efficient than renting.

You were instrumental in Trump’s victory in 2016. How surprised were you that Trump won that year?

When you’re traveling around a big state like Pennsylvania, you talk to people. I’d pull into a gas station [in 2016], and everyone talks about the election. I would say, “Well, who are you going

to vote for?” Everywhere I went the answer was, “Trump, of course.” The vibe on the ground was like, “Something’s going on here, something that’s different.” So early on, I knew that this was not a normal race.

In 2020, I didn’t get that sense. I said to [Trump], “Listen, I’m not feeling it,” and he said, “You think Biden can really beat me?” I said, “Yeah, I think he can.” I said, “Listen, you’ve had nothing but negative press for four years. The kind of legacy media just beat the hell out of you, and we’re in the middle of a pandemic, like a black swan event where people just want change.” I said it’s going to be 50,000 to 75,000 votes in one way or the other, so we need to keep fighting here, and sure enough, Trump won Pennsylvania by 45,000 votes in 2016, and lost by about 80,000 in 2020.

David Urban (right) with former President Donald Trump. Courtesy of David Urban

David Urban

You remained steadfast that Trump would win the 2024 election and potentially win big. What made you so convinced?

You start to know the market conditions. I knew from being on the ground in Pennsylvania and talking to people, and I knew the corporate media narrative did not match what I saw on the ground. The pollsters kind of missed it, and I think people weren’t necessarily telling them the truth. When people don’t tell you the

with where people are. The Democrats thought abortion was going to be the biggest issue in the world and that it was really going to dominate. It was a dominant issue in the 2022 Midterm Elections, but it’s a more distant issue than the economy.

“Our military today is probably the best military ...that we’ve ever had in the history of our country.”

If you were a leader in the Democratic party, what would you say to the party about its focus following the election?

Some Democrats say they lost because they weren’t progressive enough. Clearly, that’s the wrong answer. The most Hispanic county in the United States had a 72-point swing for Trump from 2016 to 2024. What’s going on to make us see that kind of change? I think it’s largely due to the economy. If you’re an average person and bread and milk is three times more expensive, you’re getting frustrated. Democrats are talking about democracy and these lofty ideas, but people are more concerned with kitchen table issues that affect them. I think with the economy and social issues, Democrats are out of touch

Does this election help launch Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s run for president?

He’s a friend of mine. I think he’s an incredibly gifted politician. Others like Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom or Wes Moore don’t have the political background or talent that Josh does. He’s wildly popular in Pennsylvania and I suspect that he will find a way to work with Trump. That will only reinforce his standing among Pennsylvanians. While Democrats lost, Josh Shapiro won.

“This is a vibe election, and Democrats are proudly proclaiming it’s a vibe election.”

– David Urban

Would you accept a spot in the Trump administration?

No, I’m an outside guy, not an inside guy. I enjoy being able to have a little bit of input and a life. Being a public servant is incredibly hard. The time span of the people who go into these jobs is about 18 months because it’s allconsuming. They don’t get a break. There is no break for the weary. It’s 24/7. You go in to work for these jobs that are woefully underpaid, incredibly overworked, and at the end of the day, nobody thanks you. Nobody says, “Hey, David, you did an incredible job today.” You get torn to shreds because you’re trying to help our country.

Let’s talk about you personally. You were recruited to play football at Harvard. But you chose the U.S. Military Academy at West Point instead. Was that a difficult decision at the time? And in hindsight, what was the meaning of that decision?

I was recruited by Harvard’s famous coach, Joe Restic. Joe Restic was to Harvard as Bobby Bowden is to Florida State, or Nick Saban is to Alabama. But it was a pretty easy decision. I visited Harvard with my best high school friend who is now a tenured professor at the Harvard Business School. I remember we went and visited Harvard together. He said, “How about going to West Point with me?” And I said, “That’s fine.” It was a whole duty and honor [for] country thing.

I viscerally felt it was just the place for me. When you go there, they had a big poster at West Point that said, “Most of the history we teach was made by those we taught.” They have Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and all these famous folks up there. And you thought, “Wow, I want some of that.”

Urban with Trump in the Oval Office

Urban serving with the U.S. Army

“I hope for this country that there’s lots of radical transparency regarding this election, because I think that’s what we need.”

– David Urban

You earned a Bronze Star in Operation Desert Storm. How do you describe your military experience?

There are two types of Bronze Stars. One is for valor, for something like jumping in front of a hand grenade. And then one’s for doing really great stuff while in combat. Mine was for achievement, not for valor. I always want to make sure that’s correct, because I never want to be in a position like some people we find in the media today who are claiming things they’re not. There are so many people who are super heroic, and it’s still red, white and blue. I’m very proud of it, very proud of what I got it for and what I did.

The military is about grit, hard work and teamwork. It’s about the golden rule—treat others like you’d like to be treated. Success in the military is no different than success anyplace else. If you’re the lowest private, you’re treated the same way as the chief of staff of the Army or the chairman of

the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who I’m good friends with. These are the best people that America has to offer, who are your colleagues, your peers, your employees.

How would you describe the state of our military preparedness now?

I know Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Charles Q. Brown, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Randy George, the chief of staff of the Army. Mark Esper, the former secretary of defense, was my good friend. The [former] secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, and [former Secretary of the Navy] Kenneth Braithwaite. All these folks are people that I know, and so I’ve got a better than average comprehension.

I think our military today is probably the best military, best fighting force, the best men and women, the best trained, the best equipped that we’ve ever had in the history of our country. They are incredibly talented. They are loyal. They’re very smart. They operate at a level where most employers would kill to have these folks working for them.

Urban served as a strategist on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

You’ve had experience in the Persian Gulf and have observed what’s going on in the Middle East. What is your opinion as to where we go relative to Israel’s war with Hamas and growing tensions in the Middle East? How do you get a permanent solution?

To see how perverted—and that’s the only way to put it, perverted—that Hamas has made Gaza and Gaza City, and what they’ve done to the people there, it’s just a shame. It really is a shame, because the Palestinian people do not want to have the outcome that they’re living through right now. If you pull the thread, it all goes back to an emboldened Iran funding and fueling Hamas and then Hezbollah [in Lebanon]. It comes back to our relationship with Iran, and I do lay this at the feet of the Biden administration of being too soft on Iran and kind of opening back up when they lifted sanctions on Iranian oil, on the purchase of Iranian oil.

I think the solution is to have incredible sanctions. Make them a pariah on the world stage. We need more sanctions on Iran, not less sanctions, because they’re going to find a way around even the sanctions we put in. The sanctions were working under the Trump administration. When you lift your foot off the brakes and put on the gas like we did, you see the results. I think you trace a line from the actions of the Biden administration to where we are today.

Let’s talk about CNN, not a bastion of the right, yet you are a prominent voice there. You’re the Trump guy. What is that experience like?

It’s great. Mark Thompson, the CEO, is a great guy. He’s really supportive. Scott Jennings, my colleague, and myself are the two Republican pillars. There are some other folks they have, but we’re the people that get the most rotations. I think CNN is very fair to me and to my Republican

colleagues because they give us a lot of air time. They give us a chance to make our point, and it’s incumbent upon us to deliver. Is it more difficult sometimes when it’s David Urban versus a host and two other panelists who hate Trump and a clip teed up that’s the worst possible clip they could have? There’s no clip that’s teed up about Trump that’s great. It’s always the worst Trump moment, and then it’s, “David, how can you defend that Trump moment?” That’s where it’s tougher. I accept the challenge.

What are you most optimistic about over the next four years? What are you most pessimistic about over the next four years?

I am concerned about our debt. We keep whistling past the graveyard. As long as the U.S. Dollar is a reserve currency, we’re great, but the second that starts being questioned because of our incredible deficit, we’re in trouble. If global markets think we’re a risky place to do business, that really impacts us. I think we need to promote a dollar-based stablecoin globally that can be traded. As payment systems become frictionless and people get on blockchain of payment, I think we need to make sure we’re at the forefront of that like we were at the forefront of the internet.

I’m also concerned about the division in this country. No matter who won the election, half of the country was always going to be disappointed. I would hope the winners would afford some grace to the losers, and the losers would extend an olive branch to the winners. We may not agree on how we get to the destination, but we’re on this journey together. My biggest fear is that political violence will reemerge, but I’m now hopeful that we can strike a middle ground, and that President Trump will realize his place in history. This is an opportunity to cement that and build a Rushmore-like legacy. I do believe America’s best days are ahead of us. You see rocket launches and the promise of artificial intelligence and how it can help us. There’s so much in the future that’s so positive that we can corral.

Urban and former Cuban President Fidel Castro. Courtesy of David Urban

NATURE’S FILTER

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Rain gardens are an innovative approach to reducing stormwater runoff into Nantucket Harbor.

The rain garden on Easton Street and North Beach Street is designed to absorb stormwater.

The Nantucket Land Bank’s pocket park on the corner of Easton Street and North Beach Street started flooding as soon as the rain came down. Just as it was intended to do. This is a rain garden—a property designed to absorb stormwater from the road before it inundates the streets downstream. In doing so, it takes in nutrients from the runoff before they flow into the harbor.

“Instead of going straight into a storm drain and being released at Children’s Beach, [the water] is going directly into the soil and being filtered by plants,” said Rachael Freeman, the interim executive director of the Land Bank. “That’s one

The Land Bank purchased the 0.2-acre property at 65 and 67 Easton Street for $900,000 in 2020. Then came a $784,250 construction project spearheaded by Speakman Excavating LLC. Water enters the park through a gap in the curb—also known as a stormwater inlet—during a storm, catching runoff as it flows down the edge of Easton Street. Two swales allow the water to pass through the center

is coming down from that area,” Freeman said. “By drawing that into a wetland, we’re restoring water quality in the long run. The first inch of runoff captures the most pollutants.”

The property is part of a growing network of rain gardens and restored wetlands intended to mitigate the effects of both stormwater runoff and saltwater flooding from Nantucket Harbor. The Land Bank is one of several players in the development of that network.

One area the town is considering for another rain garden is on the corner of Francis Street and Washington Street. Town officials are also considering a longterm plan for the Saltmarsh Senior Center that includes relocating the facility to the current site of Our Island Home and replacing the asphalt on the Washington Street Extension site with permeable pavement to allow water to seep in.

“

There’s not a lot of green area that is town property, so how do we deal with stormwater?” Leah Hill, the town’s coastal resilience coordinator, said.

“We already have flooding today, and the risk is only going to increase.”

– Leah Hill

The corner of Hulbert Avenue and Easton Street across from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Brant Point is one example, according to the town’s storm water manager, Charles Johnson. That area “wants to be a wetland pretty badly,” he said.

But there are some areas of downtown where a rain garden only gets you so far. In 2021, the town released its coastal resilience plan, outlining not only the longterm impacts of runoff to water quality, but the risk of sea-level rise on coastal downtown areas that are already prone to flooding. That report, conducted by Arcadis, identified 2,373 structures at risk of flooding and erosion, with a total cumulative annual cost of

$3.4 billion. In the downtown area, the report estimated public roadways leading to Steamboat Wharf will see “frequent loss of service at monthly high tide” in the coming years and that by 2050, the wharf itself will be “completely cut off from surrounding roadways at monthly high tide.”

“We already have flooding today, and the risk is only going

Nantucket Coastal Resilience Coordinator Leah Hill

to increase to the point where eventually there’s no access to the Steamship [Authority] in coastal storms and high tides,” Hill said. Easy Street has become the epicenter of downtown flooding.

phase to raise the road itself, with the hope of securing state and federal funding for the project— which town officials admit would be a major undertaking.

“These are big, expensive

Addressing coastal flooding and sea-level rise takes a variety of approaches. You can retreat from the shoreline, raise structures or adapt. And in some cases, you can work with nature.

During a winter storm, islanders can almost always expect water to rush in from the harbor, and flooding from high tides repeatedly inundates the road. Projections show several feet of water coming up over the road in future storm and high-tide events.

Unlike on Easton Street, there are hardly any green spaces along Easy Street, save the Land Bank’s park on the harbor and several small patches of grass and hedges along the sidewalk. For Easy Street, the town is in the design

projects,” town sustainability programs manager Vince Murphy said. “The idea is you go through the design and public vetting, and get feedback. We need state and federal funding—[sources] like the Inflation Reduction Act. We’re up against Boston, Fall River and all these other towns applying for large-scale grants. We’re punching above our weight class, but the idea is to leverage what we have and have the right people applying for these grants.”

“We should be looking at areas where there’s a need for flood storage, a need for runoff storage,” Freeman said. “We saw a need in the area [on Easton Street and North Beach Street]. We also wanted to have it be a little educational. The path loops around the two swales, and the goal is to get people to interact with these wetlands in a way where they can see how they’re functioning. We hope people find them beautiful at some level.”

Potential improvement plan along Washington Street and Francis Street.

Photo credit: SCAPE, Town of Nantucket, The Nantucket Land Bank and ReMain Nantucket

THE GOOD DOCTOR

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Author Sebastian Junger credits NCH Dr. Steven Kohler with saving his life.

Sebastian Junger was carted into the emergency department at Cape Cod Hospital on a June afternoon, his blood pressure steadily dropping. The sharp pain in his abdomen that had been bothering him for months had finally reached a boiling point.

Junger, a New York Times bestselling author and combat journalist, said he had escaped death at least three times before—once while surfing in the wake of a nor’easter, once as a climber for a tree company in his 20s and again at a U.S. Army outpost in Afghanistan. But this day, which started in his backyard in Truro, was different. “My abdomen seemed to be simply made of pain and nothing else,” Junger wrote in his latest book, In My Time of Dying—a minute-by-minute account of the pancreatic aneurysm that nearly killed him and the eleventh-hour heroics of a handful of doctors that saved him.

One of those doctors was Dr. Steven Kohler, a Nantucket resident who had worked in Cape Cod Hospital’s emergency department before leaving earlier this year to head Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s urgent access clinic.

“I walked in the room and I knew it was bad,” Kohler said about seeing Junger at Cape Cod Hospital. “You can just tell sometimes.”

This was June 2020. Cape Cod Hospital, like most medical centers around the world, had recently implemented COVID-19 procedures.

Many people had also developed a fear of entering the hospital, or any place for that matter where there was a lingering concern of contracting the virus. The hospital, as a result, “was like crickets,” Kohler said.

So when Junger came in, assessed on the ambulance as an EMS priority 2 with blood pressure steadily dropping, his

treatment quickly became all-hands-on-deck.

“Walking in the room, I took his blood pressure and saw it was 60-something,” Kohler said. “It was likely an abdominal vascular catastrophe. It’s one of the few times I went down with the tech to the CT scan, and what we saw on the CT scan was a bunch of blood in his abdomen—but it was unclear what it was coming from.”

Kohler started working at Cape Cod Hospital in 1996. It was a reverse-commute from his house on Nantucket. He estimates that from 1996 to 2023, he racked

Sebastian Junger at his home in Truro. Courtesy of Sebastian Junger.

up 125,000 patient encounters either in urgent care or in the emergency room. Over those 28 years, he can’t remember any other patient with the same diagnosis as Junger.

Junger was a code crimson. In layman’s terms, he needed blood, and fast.

“It’s vascular shock, and at some point you reach this spiral you cannot come out of,” Kohler said. “We were able to identify that he had a catastrophic blow-up in his abdomen somewhere, but we were not sure where, and I was initially thinking it was his aorta. I got the vascular surgeon on the phone, talked to radiology and tried to orchestrate things.”

rupture before he reached a critical point of internal bleeding.

The team of doctors chose the radiology option. The latter choice,

“I later asked Dr. Kohler what was going on with me, medically, at that point. He said, ‘You were getting ready to buy the farm.’”

– Sebastian Junger

What Junger had suffered was a pancreatic artery aneurysm, an obscure diagnosis, according to Kohler. It’s also a life-threatening one.

“I later asked Dr. Kohler what was going on with me, medically, at that point,” Junger wrote in his book. “He said, ‘You were getting ready to buy the farm.’”

In total, Junger needed nine units of blood, meaning he likely lost roughly two-thirds of the blood in his body, he estimates in the book, writing that the CT scan revealed a “huge pool of blood” in his abdomen, with more blood gushing out around his pancreas. At that point, the doctors had a choice: either stabilize him and repair the rupture in radiology using a catheter, or open his abdomen in surgery with the hope of finding the

Junger wrote, was so severe that doctors later told him they would have called in his wife, Barbara, to see him for what could have been the last time, knowing his mortality rate would have gone up had they taken that route. It was at that point that his blood pressure bottomed at 64 over 59.

“It’s up there with one of the biggest emergencies,” Kohler said. “There have been plenty through my career, and this one happens to be a famous author. Most of us have read [Junger’s 1997 book] The Perfect Storm or watched the movie.”

The other doctor in the room was a man by the name of Craig Cornwall. He estimated Junger was 10-15 minutes from cardiac arrest, and potentially 10-15 minutes away from death.

“One of the best things I did was ask for help,” Kohler said. “We had a young surgical resident who called and I said, ‘Can you put a Cordis line in his neck?’ I just needed to dump blood in

Sebastian Junger at his home in Truro, Massachusetts.

this guy. And it gave me time to get on the phone.”

Junger spent four days in the hospital. Months later, he sent Kohler an email, thanking him for saving his life. He attached a photo of his daughter saying thank you. Kohler called it the sweetest email he has ever received. The question of fame, on the other hand, after treating an acclaimed journalist and author, never crossed his mind.

“I don’t know how much fame there is,” Kohler said. “Though he gave a talk at the Dreamland, which was very interesting. I went. It was packed and it was a cool talk. Then a few days later we go to Henry Jr.’s to pick up a sub and I walk in and the lady there says, ‘Thank you for saving Sebastian,’ and I’m like, ‘Did I see a kid Sebastian?’ She told me she was at the talk and that’s when I realized it was Sebastian Junger.”

COMING BACK TO NANTUCKET

Several years went by and Kohler found himself returning to his house on Nantucket from an urgent care shift in Harwich. It was a late ferry. Kohler estimates he saw 160 patients that day. As the boat entered the Nantucket Sound, he was approached by Diane Pearl, the former chief medical officer at Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

“She gave me her phone number and said, ‘If you ever want to do urgent care here, let me know,’” Kohler said.

This was a matter of being in the

right place at the right time.

“It seemed like the right time to bring it home, get out of the [reverse] commute,” Kohler said. “I’m getting old. It’s my final turn, my homestretch.”

The timing was right for Nantucket Cottage Hospital, too. Just two years into its new facility, the hospital was looking to revamp its urgent access clinic, which at the time ran on appointments, as opposed to drop-

clinic in less than 30 minutes. If their visit was longer, it usually included the need for an X-ray. Roughly 3% of them (169 patients) were taken to the emergency department for more extensive care. In the summer, the clinic is open seven days a week. Since Labor Day, it has been operating at an off-season schedule of six days, being closed on Sundays (it will also be closed on Thanksgiving,

“We had to rethink and retrain everything to look at it as an urgent care with an ER point of view rather than a primary care point of view. We’re not closing for lunch, you take lunch when you can. It’s walk-ins.”

– Dr. Steven Kohler

ins. According to Kohler, it did not resemble urgent care at all. “It wasn’t urgent care,” he said. “[Joining] was like turning around an aircraft carrier, just to be blunt. I had never heard of urgent care with appointments. That’s not urgent care. You should just walk in and you’re seen.

“We had to rethink and retrain everything to look at it as an urgent care with an ER point of view rather than a primary care point of view. We’re not closing for lunch, you take lunch when you can. It’s walk-ins.”

The summer came and the hospital’s urgent access volume exploded.From Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends, urgent access saw 5,380 patients—a 76% increase over the same time in 2023. Of those patients, 86% of them walked in without an appointment. Close to 4,400 of them were in and out of the

Christmas and New Year’s Day).

When he’s not in the clinic, Kohler can probably be found training for his next triathlon. Kohler is a modest runner, never the one to brag about a marathon or triathlon sprint. He’s an 11-time ironman athlete, the super-human race consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run—a full marathon. He also competes in the Nantucket Triathlon in July.

Kohler is also modest in the clinic. Looking back at the time he treated Junger, he was quick to call it a “team effort.”

“It wasn’t me the only person taking care of him,” Kohler said. “I was the first person in the room when he came in and got things in motion and identified it and handed it off, but it’s a total team effort and everything fell in line for him.”

THE LAST RESORT

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

Photos courtesy of Little Gem Resorts

The

owners of The

Nantucket Hotel have a new resort: A private island in the Caribbean.

Nearly 1,600 miles south of Nantucket, Gwenn and Mark Snider have developed a private resort so secluded, it has the feeling of being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

That was the intent when the Sniders—the owners of The Nantucket Hotel—purchased half of an island one mile off the coast of Saint John in the U.S. Virgin Islands for their newest resort, Lovango. And while the resort provides a sense of escape from cold winters, guests on the island are not totally isolated.

“There are very few places that are undeveloped, especially in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Gwenn, who co-owns The Nantucket Hotel through Little Gem Resorts with her husband, Mark. “We most certainly wanted to— given this time of climate change—try to build something that will be there and endure. We had the opportunity to do

something with great mindfulness. We’re not building a monolithic building. That really guided it.”

The idea for a third resort got its start about 10 years ago. The Sniders—who also own the Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Katama on Martha’s Vineyard—were looking for a place to establish a tropical resort for guests wanting a winter getaway. As self-proclaimed island people who had vacationed in the Virgin Islands on multiple occasions, the couple began forming the idea for a private resort on Lovango after a visit to the island in 2017.

“We had a beautiful experience there [in 2017],” Gwenn said. “We let our imaginations go and we could see it. It’s enchanting, completely unspoiled, and you have the whole experience of having a private resort where even though you’re away from Saint John and Saint Thomas, you’re not isolated.”

When the Sniders purchased the land in 2019, they had a blank slate to create a resort that would adhere to their guiding philosophy: a light environmental footprint and a resort that puts you in nature.

At the time of the purchase, all that stood on the land was a lone building overlooking the Caribbean. Five years later, the Sniders have built out their luxury private island resort,

“When you’re on this island, you feel like you could be in Polynesia, you could be in the southern seas.”

– Mark Snider

an ensemble of resplendent tropical beaches, restaurants, shops, glamping rooms and villas intended to provide direct access to the beauty of the island.

“When you’re on this island, you feel like you could be in Polynesia, you could be in the southern seas,” Mark said. “It’s a remarkably beautiful island surrounded by azure waters. When you’re on it, you feel isolated from the U.S., but when you go for dinner, you can choose from 15 phenomenal restaurants and beautiful national parks on Saint John.”

Sustainability is at the core of the entire operation. The resort produces its own power. The chefs on-site—including at their upcoming second annual Taste of Lovango—source their food locally. The resort even created a coral reef restoration project in collaboration with the University of the Virgin Islands that spells out L-O-V-A-N-G-O.

Lovango features luxury glamping tents and treehouses, and a Main Street of boutique shops.

Activities on Lovango include a ferry to Honeymoon Beach (below).

Gwenn and Mark Snider

Instead of a sprawling multistory hotel building, the Sniders built a series of walkable villas, luxury glamping tents, a waterfront restaurant and a Main Street of boutique shops, all surrounded by beaches and walking trails. Saint John and Saint Thomas, with their restaurants, shops and the Virgin Islands Natural Park on Saint John, are only a 10-minute ferry ride away.

“When we think of vacationing to the Caribbean, there is a certain naturalism to it, and while there are other beautiful resorts in it, they’re more manicured,” Gwenn said. “We walked softly on the land, made sure that we did it in a way that feels very curated and celebrates the unspoiled quality of Lovango.”

The glamping tents were designed for

a luxury vacation. They don’t feel like traditional tents, Gwenn said. The treehouse guest rooms put you directly

in nature, though they also come with air conditioning.

Since opening the resort, Mark and Gwenn said they have heard from guests who describe their stay

at Lovango in nostalgic terms, likening the resort to the Saint John of 30 years ago. They talk about opening their door to a blue sea, lush forests and a concert of tropical birds that comprise the mostly untouched landscape on the island.

Some of those guests also have fond memories of the former Caneel Bay hotel on Saint John, Gwenn said, and the quiet, undeveloped land they had known from vacations to the island before the storied Caneel Bay resort was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. They remembered a vacation destination not hard to reach, with luxury rooms, quality hotels and a virtually untouched landscape. It was clear from day one that Lovango would share that quality of vacation.

Above: One of Lovango’s glamping tents

NANTUCKET’S PERSON OF THE YEAR ELIN HILDERBRAND ELIN HILDERBRAND

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Bringing Nantucket to Hollywood.

In a matter of days, Elin Hilderbrand’s Netflix series, The Perfect Couple, exploded on the streaming platform. By the end of its first week in September, the Nantucket whodunit hit 103.5 million hours viewed, with 20.3 million individual views—enough to make it the most-watched show on Netflix that week. The Perfect Couple topped the Netflix charts again in its second week, this time boasting 111.6 million hours viewed.

While Hilderbrand was surprised the show had become an instant hit, its success on Netflix might not have been as surprising for Hilderbrand’s loyal following who have kept up with the so-called Queen of Beach Reads’ impressive resume of 27 Nantucket novels. She now believes the show could drive a spike in tourism for the island, and not just in the summer.

“I just wasn’t sure,” Hilderbrand said. “I hoped this was how it would turn out, but in terms of numbers, I had no idea what to expect. Am I surprised we beat Emily in Paris? I’m shocked. I love that show.”

The Perfect Couple— an upscale Fourth of July weekend wedding that descends into a murder mystery when the maid of honor turns up dead on the beach—is Hilderbrand’s first novel adapted into a TV series. Hilderbrand said there’s hope for a second—or

third—adaptation based on another book from her Nantucket series. That goal leaves TV producers with a slate of material to work with from her prolific career—one that now sees Hilderbrand retiring from Nantucket novels. She released her final Nantucket book, Swan Song, this summer, and is working on two new books with her daughter, in addition to putting out her Beach, Books, & Beyond podcast with Tim Ehrenberg. For her stellar year, N Magazine is naming Hilderbrand Person of the Year. N Magazine caught up with Hilderbrand on the heels of her Netflix hit on what the show could mean for offseason tourism and what’s next for her.

Did you have Netflix in mind when you were writing The Perfect Couple?

Do you ever think about a TV or film adaptation while writing?

You have to write the book, and that’s really the most important part. If I was thinking about Netflix, I would be writing a screenplay. I have a background in literary fiction. It was always the integrity of the writing that came first for me, and I have only been worried about writing the best book I can. The fact that The Perfect Couple is a murder lends itself to being on TV because for whatever reason that’s what people want to watch.

Was your approach to writing a mystery different from your previous books on Nantucket?

Not really. I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know how to write a murder mystery. I knew there would be a body, but I didn’t know whose it would be because I don’t know who my characters really are until I spend time with them. Initially, when I turned my draft in, the person found dead was the bride, and my editor [Reagan Arthur] said she loved the book, but the wrong person died. She said, “It should be Merritt [Monaco]. It should be the maid of honor.” I changed the book around and it all clicked. I didn’t have to change every page, and a lot of the novel stayed the same.

TOPPING THE CHARTS

As you were writing, did you always know who the killer would be?

No. I didn’t figure it out until about two-thirds of the way through. As I was starting, I didn’t know. I was just getting started and figuring out my characters. As I was writing, it was the middle of August and I was outside by my pool and came into the living room when it just clicked. I took it one step further back. Then I was like, “Oh my God.”

Liev Schreiber and Nicole Kidman on the red carpet. Courtesy of Netflix.

You have been called the “Queen of Beach Reads,” but you have chosen to describe your novels as “escapist.” How would you define “escapist,” and what goes into writing an escapist novel?

It has to take you to a place you want to go. Anyone reading on Nantucket knows that Nantucket is a dreamland. It is a fantasy world. To a person visiting, especially via fiction, there are so many beautiful things here that aren’t in other places. You’re not waiting at a

stoplight, not sitting in traffic on an exit ramp in miles of traffic. You don’t have strip malls or Olive Gardens or the things that define urban sprawl. To the casual visitor, it’s beautiful and especially in the summertime. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most beautiful American summer resort, period. To be escapist, you need to take people to places they want to go and have lots and lots of drama and reasons to turn the page. I write about flawed characters. That’s where my expertise lies: flawed characters that do terrible things, make terrible decisions, but are still people who you care about.

There are quite a few changes from the novel to the series. The bride’s name, for one. Were any of those changes your suggestions?

It was in the hands of the showrunner, Jenna Lamia. She wrote the scripts. Her goal was to make propulsive TV, and she had to sacrifice a lot of the backstory and the love affairs. When I watched, I knew why Tag [Winbury] and Merritt were together, but then as I read the reviews, I realized people don’t know about Tag and Merritt. They don’t know about Shooter [Uxley] and Celeste [Otis]. But she had to curtail it. There’s a lot of drama around Celeste’s parents in the book [that does not make it into the show]. One of my favorite reveals [in the book] is when Celeste’s father reveals something to Tag that’s astonishing. That was her decision, and I have always felt that for any project of mine going to the screen, people should read the book. It would

“I would love to have a different story made into something. We’ll see if it rings true.”

– Elin Hilderbrand

be edifying to read the novel afterward, because then you would understand the show a lot better.

Even me, I watched the first episode—I was coming from Hollywood at the premiere—then the next day I had to fly to New York City. I watched episodes two, three and four on the plane, and I landed in JFK Airport at the end of episode four and I had to go to bed. I was saying I can’t keep myself from watching episodes five and six. You’re so immersed in the world and the characters.

You announced last year that Swan Song would be your final Nantucket novel. You told N Magazine at the time you had “done it all.” But does the popularity of The Perfect Couple make you reconsider writing another Nantucket novel?

Hell no, I’m done. The reason I retired from the Nantucket books is because I had written 27 books and covered everything. Do I have ideas for other Nantucket books?

Kind of down the road. The problem was the schedule I was on—a book every summer, touring. It was so punishing. I needed a break. I’m not ready to go back and do another Nantucket book. As far as Hollywood goes, they have plenty of material if they want it.

Elin Hilderbrand (center) with showrunner Jenna Lamia and Tim Bagley.

You have also said a dream scenario for you would be if Netflix runs with the series for multiple seasons, sourcing from your other novels. Is that in the cards? What’s next?

One [28 Summers] is in development for a film, and a couple [The Five-Star Weekend and Hilderbrand’s Winter Street series] are in development for a series. Swan Song has been auctioned. Summer of ’69 is also in development for a series.

We’ll see if that ends up being true. That’s one reason the [Netflix] numbers are so important. I want to see season two. I don’t know if I’ll get a season two. I would love to have a different story made into something. We’ll see if it rings true.

“Summer is prohibitively expensive, but in the fall and spring that’s when you see my readers come.”

– Elin Hilderbrand

Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber. Courtesy of Netflix.

What do you think this series and its overwhelming popularity could mean for tourism on Nantucket?

My books alone drive so much tourism, especially in the fall and in the offseason. Most people have been coming for years and years. Summer is prohibitively expensive, but in the fall and spring that’s when you see my readers come. I can’t tell

you how many hundreds and hundreds, thousands who say, “I came to Nantucket because I read your book.”

Nantucket is important to recreate. The one thing I say is that it never disappoints. It could have been a rainy weekend and they still come. I was out walking and I had three people stop me and say they love the show. That’s the best thing about what’s happened because I was worried, and people on Nantucket seem to enjoy it. They know it wasn’t shot here and it’s different, but they still like it.

Nicole Kidman on set of The Perfect Couple. Courtesy of Netflix.

Top: Eve Hewson and Meghann Fahy. Bottom: Billy Howle, Nicole Kidman, Sam Nivola and Jack Reynor on the set of The Perfect Couple Courtesy of Netflix

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.

A life elegantly lived

Arie Kopelman

WRITTEN BY BRUCE A. PERCELAY

Arie Kopelman, a larger-than-life personality and former head of Chanel, passed away at the age of 86 in October.

There are those in life who possess an innate sense of style and grace that defines who they are. Names like Jackie Kennedy, Karl Lagerfeld, Tommy Hilfiger and George Clooney come to mind as people whose personal styles set trends to which others aspire. In the world of fashion and design, Arie Kopelman was truly an icon, and one who literally wore his sense of style on his sleeves.

A former executive at Procter & Gamble who later became a rising star at the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, Kopelman joined the House of Chanel in 1985 and turned it from a boutique business into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse. Under his leadership, Chanel expanded its core businesses including retail, fragrance, cosmetics and accessories. He oversaw the launch of several iconic fragrances, including Coco Mademoiselle and Chance, and he was instrumental in developing the brand’s global strategy.

Arie and his wife, Coco, were longtime summer residents on Nantucket along with their two children, Jill Kargman, a bestselling author and actress, and actor Will Kopelman, who was formerly married to actress Drew Barrymore and is now the husband of Vogue market editor Alexandra Michler. Arie and Coco spent summers on the island with their six grandchildren and involved themselves deeply in island life. Arie was the president of the board of the Nantucket Historical Association and helped guide the renovation of the Whaling Museum, the most highly visited attraction on Nantucket. Arie’s sense of style was

seen throughout his tenure at the NHA, and he continued to serve the organization through its Friends of the NHA organization and heritage society. Arie and Coco were personal collectors of art and artifacts. Their home presented a very clear expression of their sense of everything visual and portrayed their passion for the intersection of design and history.

Beyond Arie’s success as a corporate executive, he was well known for his robust sense of humor and personal charm. When Arie was young, he had considered standup comedy as a career; however, his Harvard-educated lawyer father was able to dissuade him from a career path that was unlikely to yield the same level of success that he achieved in the world of design and fashion. People who knew Arie always remarked about his personal appeal, which likely played no small role in his business success, according to NHA Executive Director Niles Parker.

“[Kopelman’s] leadership over the years was crucial,” Parker said. “His passion and vision were always evident yet always accompanied by his grace and signature sense of humor. He was truly a pleasure to work with and will be dearly missed.”

Arie Kopelman’s legacy in the business world, and in the luxury fashion industry in particular, will be hard to replicate, and his commitment to philanthropy and the support of his passions on Nantucket will leave an indelible mark. At the end of the day, Arie Kopelman’s biggest asset was Arie Kopelman.

LIFEBLOOD

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

Islanders roll up their sleeves for community blood drive.

As the American Red Cross was preparing for the first blood drive on Nantucket in nearly three decades, organizer Tom McCann said their goal was to collect 40 pints of blood. The Red Cross nearly doubled that goal at the blood drive at VFW Post 8608 in October, raising a whopping 73 pints—the most the Red Cross could collect with the equipment on hand.

“They said if you get 40 pints [of blood], that’s a good turnout,” said McCann, who organized the blood drive through island organization Nantucket Cares. “I said I want to get as many [pints] as you can get. It was like I was batting in the bottom of the 9th inning, two outs. I don’t want to bunt, I want to swing for the fences. They said, ‘Your idea of a bunt is our idea of a home run.’”

It had been 28 years

since Nantucket held a blood drive, largely due to the belief that the American Red Cross would not collect blood on an island with a prevalence of tick-borne illness. But that is not the case. According to the American Red Cross, donors are eligible even if they have had Lyme disease in the past, as long as they do not actively show symptoms and have completed antibiotic treatment. What Nantucket needed was an organizer for a blood drive. Enter Tom McCann.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Tom McCann

“There’s never enough blood,” McCann said. “There’s always a blood shortage. [Blood] comes in and goes out in the same breath. There shouldn’t be a shortage, but there is. It’s a matter of getting people together and donating.”

The idea for an island blood drive came about when McCann was in Boston for a physical. On his way out, he heard there was a desperate blood shortage across the country. McCann, knowing a thing or two about Nantucket, hatched a plan to rally islanders, restaurants, transportation services and Nantucket Cottage Hospital for a blood drive on the island. By the day of the blood drive, McCann had secured food from The Downyflake, Pi Pizzeria, Bartlett’s Farm, The SeaGrille and Something Natural. The Fire Department pitched in to store an

The blood itself does not stay on Nantucket. Once it’s donated, it’s sent to a lab in Dedham, Massachusetts, before it enters a so-called blood bank to be distributed where it’s needed most. McCann said at the time of the blood drive in October the blood would most likely be sent to areas in North Carolina

Hospital receives a blood delivery from the Red Cross every two weeks.

“We’re on an island 30 miles out to sea, and there’s only so much blood we have here in our facility [at Nantucket Cottage Hospital],” he said. “There were times they would MedFlight blood from Boston to Nantucket in times of need.”

With the success of the first blood drive, McCann said he plans to make it a twice-per-year event, with the next drive planned for May 2025. His goal for the next event is 251 pints of blood, enough to overtake the record amount donated at an annual Red Cross event at Fenway Park in September.

American Red Cross van overnight, and the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises provided ferry tickets for American Red Cross employees to and from Nantucket.

ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene. If Nantucket is the next place that needs blood, it will get it, McCann said. As it stands, Nantucket Cottage

The only place you could do that is Nantucket, McCann said. “It’s like setting up the Boston Pops concert at Jetties Beach,”

he said. “It was a Super Bowl party. People stayed the full day. The Red Cross was blown away. They had never seen that much food donated. Boston has Boston Strong. We have Nantucket Strong as our theme.”

Volunteers and American Red Cross employees at the VFW

The American Red Cross collected 73 pints of blood on Nantucket.

FENWAY FOOTBALL

WRITTEN BY DAVID CREED

The Nantucket Whalers varsity football team takes on rival Martha's Vineyard at Fenway Park for the annual Island Cup game this fall.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY REECE NELSON AND CHRIS TRAN

On November 26, the Nantucket Whalers varsity football team will not be playing their Thanksgiving week Island Cup game on Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, but at Fenway Park. When head coach Coreese Everett and his players first learned the news in August, it sparked an excitement that has driven the team to improve day after day.

“My first reaction, of course, I was very, very excited,” Everett said. “You know, things like this don’t always come to programs that easy. This is a once-in-

a-lifetime opportunity. I am excited because this is an opportunity that the kids get to experience and hold and cherish for a lifetime.”

While Fenway today is synonymous with Red Sox baseball, the ballpark has hosted its fair share of football games over the past 100 years, including a 1927 game between the New York Giants and a South Boston-based football team called Pere Marquette (the Giants won that game 33-7).

by

Photo

Reece Nelson

Fenway first hosted high school football just months after it opened in 1912, in a rivalry game between Boston Latin and Boston English. Two days later, Everett High School took on Oak Park, Illinois, in the 1912 high school football national championship game (Oak Park won 32-12).

The ballpark became a popular venue for high school and college football games throughout the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, as the Red Sox entered a decades-long championship-free rut. The Boston College Eagles and Boston University Terriers called the park home in the ’30s and ’40s. In 1940, a game between Boston College and Georgetown was lauded by late Boston Globe columnist Grantland Rice as “probably the greatest football game ever played by colleges or by pros.” And one Boston University game in 1949 was announced by legendary Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully. Fenway was even home to five professional football teams through the 1960s, including the Boston Shamrocks and the Boston Braves, who later changed their name to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C.—the

– Coreese Everett “You know, things like this don’t always come to programs that easy.”

team renamed themselves again as the Commanders in 2022.The last scheduled college game of the 20th century at Fenway was set for November 1963 between rivals Boston College and Boston University, but it was scrapped at the last minute following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It marked the beginning of the end for Fenway football. After the Boston Patriots left Fenway for Foxborough—via Alumni Stadium and Harvard Stadium—in the late 1960s, the park entered a 47-year period without any football, a stretch that was finally broken in 2015 when Boston College took on powerhouse Notre Dame, a game the Eagles lost 19-16. Fenway has since hosted high school football games every year since 2021. Nantucket’s game is one of just four high school games being played there this year.

“This is a pretty unique opportunity for these kids,” Nantucket Public Schools Athletic Director Travis Lombardi said. “Obviously, it’s for the kids but [for] our town and our community as well. I know there are a lot of other rivalries that applied for this, but for us to be selected is a huge honor for both us and the Vineyard. We’re really looking forward to it, and it’s

Whalers coach Coreese Everett. Photo by Reece Nelson.

definitely going to be a little bit different. The atmosphere is not going to be as intimate, I get that. But just the whole experience and the environment and the atmosphere is going to be something that these kids in this community are going to remember for a very long time.”

Assistant head coach Mark Willett, who has been on the Whalers’ coaching staff for over a decade, said the team has taken a week-by-week approach all season, but the Island Cup looming at the end of their schedule has kept them focused.

“I think the Island Cup is always like a carrot at the end of the stick because it’s always towards the end of the season,” Willett said. “Now it’s even bigger and it’s a great showcase. I mean, one of the best rivalries in New England high school football, right? Playing everybody’s favorite sport in everybody’s favorite park. I think they’re working hard for it. I think some, especially the upperclassmen, the ones that lost the cup, they know. They know what it’s about. They’ve seen the cup not come home with

them on the boat, and they’ve seen the cup leave this island. They know and they’re working

The last time the Whalers won the Island Cup was on October 31, 2021. After a somewhat slow start, they won comfortably 27-7 on Nantucket that day. But since that game, the Vineyarders have rattled off wins in two consecutive Island Cups—beating Nantucket 14-13

in 2022 on the Vineyard and 24-21 in 2023 on Nantucket. The Whalers failed to qualify for the playoffs in either of those seasons and went a combined 4-15 in 18 games. But the Whalers are starting a new era under Everett and realize a victory in Boston would send a message to the Cape and Islands—and Martha’s Vineyard, in particular—that Whalers football is on its way back to being a winning program.

“When I first heard about the game being at Fenway Park, I was really shocked and surprised because I didn’t know that was an option, but the opportunity just to play at Fenway Park with a lot of the state’s biggest rivals is really cool and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I’m excited for,” said Owen Sullivan, the Whalers’ senior running back, linebacker and captain. “I think the game being a few weeks after our regular season ends is a good thing because it encourages us to get

Burke Lombardi

Owen Sullivan

The Whalers varsity football team, led by coaches Coreese Everett and Mark Willett. Photos by Chris Tran.

better through the end of the season, and it really allows us to get prepared for that game as we all really want to get the cup back.”

Junior middle linebacker Jeremy Jenkinson, who has established himself as one of the team’s key defensive players, said his first reaction to the news was excitement.

disappointed after a big play on our end is exciting. The cup this year being at Fenway instead of an island is a little bit different, but I think it’s a great opportunity for all the people playing.”

Haigh and Sullivan were both freshmen on the last Whalers team to win the cup, and they expressed that a second cup victory on their resume would be the perfect way to finish their high school careers. They not only want to win, but win in dominant fashion with

– Jeremy Jenkinson “For us, it’s going to be like our championship game.”

“For us, it’s going to be like our championship game,” he said. “I feel like the atmosphere will still be there because half of our island will be there, and when you play for such a big group and knowing that your community is there with you, it feels the same as playing on the Vineyard.

When senior defensive back and captain Jake Haigh heard his team would play their Thanksgiving game at Fenway, he said he didn’t know how to feel.

“Obviously, I wanted to play at Fenway,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance similar to TD Garden with basketball [in January 2024 against the Vineyard]. But I also wanted to go to the Vineyard and win the cup at their home—kind of like a villain story. But now I’m excited and ready to play anywhere to win the cup back.”

“A part of me kind of wanted to play at the Vineyard because I personally like hearing all the hate from the Vineyard fans,” Sullivan added. “It sort of fuels me, and seeing them get

the defense leading the way, holding the Vineyard to zero points.

“I’ve already experienced the pain that’s come with losing it, so getting it back would be the perfect way to top off my career,” Haigh said. “As for the team as a whole, winning this game will show that Whaler football has entered a new era. Despite our setbacks this season, we’ve seen major improvement and to demonstrate that improvement in Fenway with a new head coach will send us off to a new era of dominant Whaler football.”

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The DIPLOMAT

On her fourth trip to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, Mitzi Perdue set up an online mental health counseling program for residents in the war-torn country.

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Barely into her return from Ukraine as a war correspondent in 2023, Mitzi Perdue knew something was about to go terribly wrong. The instinct kicked in for Perdue—a freelance journalist for Psychology Today and the Foreign Press Association who summered on Nantucket—the second she saw two unknown men step into her elevator at the hotel in Poland where she was staying on a return trip from Kyiv. It all happened quickly. One of the men shoved her. The other stuck a needle in her thigh. This elevator run-in, she said, had quickly turned into an assassination attempt.

Perdue survived that night, and in September, she returned to Ukraine for her fourth trip since Moscow launched its invasion of the eastern European country nearly three years ago. Perdue has written over 100 articles about Ukraine since the war began, documenting human trafficking, the proliferation of land mines and the long-term mental health costs in the war-torn country.

On her most recent visit this fall, Perdue—the daughter of late Sheraton Hotels co-founder Ernest Henderson and whose late husband Frank Perdue headed Perdue

Farms—helped establish a mental health resource for Ukrainian citizens. That resource, which is available at mentalhelp.global, is designed to handle the overwhelming trauma, panic attacks and depression of living in a country at war. She plans to expand that program to reach a worldwide audience in each client’s native language.

N Magazine sat down with Perdue to discuss her most recent trip to Ukraine and the mental health resource she’s creating, as well as her take on how much more Russia and Ukraine will be able to withstand and whether the end of the war is in sight.

Perdue stands by a tank in Ukraine. Courtesy of Mitzi Perdue

How did you discover Nantucket?

As a Massachusetts girl, I’ve been to Nantucket several times for visits, but this time, I’ve spent the summer here as a guest of [author] Ken Roman. I’ve loved everything about Nantucket, including the amazing amount of civic participation, the kind you can see in the conservation efforts, the walking and bike paths, the parks and the attention to preserving the architectural specialness of the place. It’s been a dream to spend the summer here, and I’m looking forward to more in the future.

What was the purpose of your first visit to Ukraine?

I had written this story on human trafficking in Ukraine, and it happens to be a very big issue because the human trafficking cartels throughout the world, when they know there’s a conflict area, they just converge in that country because there will be so many vulnerable women. I wrote about that for Psychology Today, and to my undying joy, my little story reached the chief of police of the Kyiv region. He had written his master’s thesis on human trafficking and read my article and said he liked it, so immediately we’re friends, but second, he said you’ve barely scratched the surface. He said, “If you come, you can be my guest for six days and we’ll show you things that other journalists don’t

get to see.” I have since learned that there are virtually no journalists who have as their beat the police and law enforcement in Ukraine, and yet they have some of the most important stories because they’re the ones who document war crimes.

You have written and spoken about land mines and mass casualties and the outright destruction to villages, cities and farmland, which is critical to Ukraine’s economy. Can you describe what you’ve seen in Kyiv and throughout your travels in Ukraine?

Land mines have to be among the most inhumane things possible. I became really sensitive to it because I was traveling in Ukraine around Christmastime in snow-covered fields. So here we are in northern Ukraine barreling along at 80 mph, and I look at these snow-covered fields that have what look sort of at a distance like a crop of black toothpicks. I

unharvestable. The number of people who won’t get their sunflower oil is just staggering. And why didn’t they harvest them? Because those fields have been mined. The evilness of that is bad on so many levels. It’s bad for the farmer, it’s bad for the village that depends on the income from his farm and all the local grocers in that town—it’s just a catastrophic thing locally—but nationally for Ukraine, it means not getting the income from agriculture, which is their biggest source of income. The Russians, by planting those land mines, have caused so much misery.

What do you see as Russia’s purpose of continuing the war if it’s only going to be destroying the country?

[Putin’s] motive for destroying the country is to create 8 million refugees. You make the place unlivable. If people can’t live there, they’ve got to go elsewhere. The destruction, whether it’s to the buildings or the factories or the water supply or farmland—the purpose is to create millions of refugees, which puts pressure on the West to stop the war at any price. Then there are his deeper psychological reasons for doing it.

look as closely as I can and they’re sunflowers, but unharvested sunflowers, and thousands and thousands of acres of them. Those sunflowers are ruined, they’re

I hang out with a lot of psychologists and pretty much everybody that I talk with believes he’s a psychopath. Psychopaths have no conscience.

Perdue with Ukrainian Police officers. Photo courtesy of Mitzi Perdue.

They could care less about human lives. They care about their power and their image. I think as a psychopathic dictator, he does what pleases him. I think one of his goals is to be like Peter the Great. Does he care about the misery? As a true psychopath, he could

line up at the police station in an interview room and I hear their stories.

Part of the reason, I’m told, that I got on the kill list is that if somebody’s a journalist and they talk about what’s happening in the war, that rarely tears at people’s hearts. People are much more moved by human stuff, and I think my specialty as a writer is I write the human side. I try to paint what it’s like for a

From the U.S., we hear about the death toll, but we often don’t actually know the human lives affected. By going to Ukraine, are you able to put the war in a more humanizing perspective and visualize its scale and the toll it’s taking on people?

I think I do more than average because each time I’ve gone, I’ve been the guest of the Ukrainian police. Say I’m in a town that’s been newly liberated, I’ll be in the police station and people at the town talk with each other and learn there’s an American journalist there who would like to tell their story, and they just

Which stories have stood out to you?

– Mitzi Perdue “There were 40 missiles that day aimed at the capital city.”

While I was there, Kyiv was under active attack. There were 40 missiles that day aimed at the capital city. I was at a school in the immediate suburb of the capital city. The classes are taking place in a bomb shelter and it’s dark and below ground. The class I got to sit in on was a math and physics class, and the teacher told me afterward that she had come into school that day with her arms loaded with games. She said her intention was to try to distract the kids because those kids know that when they come home at night, their building might be in ruins, they might not have their family any longer. She said the kids saw her with her arms laden with all these board games and puzzles and they said, “Put them away, teacher. We don’t want your games, we want to study math and physics, because we know when the war is over, it’s on our shoulders to help rebuild and we have to study now. We’re too young to fight a war, but we could at least give our all to studying.”

You have obviously recovered from the attempted assassination. Can you describe what led to that attempt against you, and what risk you faced as a journalist in Ukraine?

While I was in Ukraine, I had constant police protection. I would have four special services guys with me with their AK-47s, so I was pretty darn safe in Ukraine. But when I was in Poland after Ukraine, I checked in at the airport Marriott, and as I’m going to the elevator, I see two people and I get a tickle in

the back of my neck. They gave me the spidey-sense of “don’t you dare get on that elevator with them,” so I didn’t. I walked away, and half an hour later I came back and they were gone. I get back on the elevator and they get on at the second floor.

I have a terrible problem with the next part of the story because I don’t remember it but I have a physical scar to prove it. I’ve learned there are at least 100 other journalists who have had something similar happen: [The assailants] get on the elevator with somebody, they’ve got to be alone. They bump into someone sharply, and the other sticks a needle in their thigh. Well, I had a scar on my thigh that lasted two months, but I didn’t know at the time because if you’re distracted by someone knocking into you, you’re not thinking of getting injected.

When I got into my room, I had this terrible trouble breathing, and I knew I should call the front desk but I couldn’t get myself to roll over

“I’m firmly in the idea of making it all military aid and making this thing end.”

– Mitzi Perdue

to reach the phone. I had a Polish friend, and I texted them “help can’t breathe, room 407 airport Marriott.” Thank God he was there to get the text. He called the front desk, and by good luck the airport ambulance happened to be in the driveway at that very moment. The desk clerk alerted them there’s someone in room 407 who can’t breathe. They came rushing up, and I think they thought I had anaphylactic shock because they injected me a couple of times with adrenaline. It had no effect, and my breathing is getting shallower and shallower. When you can’t take a deep breath and you’re wheezing—how about scary?

We’re coming up on the three-year mark of the war. Do you see an end in sight, and do you think either side can sustain more?

One reason I think the end is in sight is because the Ukrainians have been spectacular at drone warfare and they are particularly going after the oil refineries. You send a drone toward the most vulnerable part of the refinery, which is the distillation column. You hit one of those and it’s going to be a huge explosion, and the technology to replace it is going to be very difficult for the Russians to get. Right now in Russia there’s rationing. It means it’s harder for them to fuel their army, and President Zelenskyy said [late last year] he wants to build 1 million drones. How can Russia defend itself when there are a million drones?

Perdue and former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson discuss support for Ukraine

Mitzi Perdue with former United Nations General Assembly President Dennis Francis

What about congressional spending? What do you believe the U.S. should be doing?

I’m firmly in the idea of making it all military aid and making this thing end. The slow bleeding to death—where do they even get the idea that this makes sense?

Your most recent trip to Ukraine was with retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus. How did that come about, and what was the purpose of that trip?

The reason I’m going to Ukraine now with Gen. Petraeus is to meet with government officials and people at the university to operationalize the idea [for a mental health resource]. I’m raising money for it as hard and as fast as I can. Imagine being able to help a billion people [worldwide] in their language at any time of the day or night when they need it. The amount of good this can do is hard to measure.

Can you talk about the mental health resource you’re creating, and why you came to create it?

I have the privilege and pain of interviewing war crime victims. One of them, a 14-year-old girl named Darya, told the story of how in the town of Bucha she was with her stepfather, her mother and her grandfather and Russians randomly and for no reason machine-gunned down all three. She watched her mother bleed out and described it in horrific detail. As I’m listening to this story, I can’t help but notice that she’s speaking in complete monotone and describing it as if it happened to somebody else. Since I write for Psychology Today and I hang out with psychologists, I know that she is dissociating, and when somebody is

dissociating as badly as she was, they need counseling. It takes so much effort to separate yourself from yourself that you become less functional and the likely outcome is you medicate yourself with alcohol or street drugs. Somebody who doesn’t get counseling, their future is very worrisome.

“Imagine being able to help a billion people [worldwide] in their language at any time of the day.”

– Mitzi Perdue

What are the biggest things you’ve learned from your time in Ukraine?

I’m absolutely staggered by the strength and resilience of people. Remember that in Ukraine, they’re having 9/11’s every single day, day after day, unremitting. This gives me a reason to be impressed they’re able to carry on. I’ve been three times. When I leave and get into Poland, I am so exhausted I can hardly get out of bed, and I think what a weak stick I must

The policewoman I was with said there are a million kids who have had trauma this great. The current system of providing mental health is one-on-one, which is very expensive and not available in Ukraine. There’s some available in Ukraine, but on the scale it’s needed, it’s nowhere near. Would there be some way of addressing her situation and those of the others around her? The current system for dealing with them is failing them. With the new large language models, which made possible things like ChatGPT, would there be some way of helping someone like Darya, where she could ask questions and it would interact with her? It’s not an ideal system, but how about it’s better than nothing because right now she has nothing.

I’m staggered with amazement with the courage and strength of the people I meet.

Mitzi Perdue with retired Gen. David Petraeus in Ukraine (September 2024)

SNAPSHOT

ofHISTORY

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOS COURTESY OF FREDERICK G.S. CLOW

A look at the long career of legendary photographer Frederick G.S. Clow

If a celebrity, diplomat, foreign leader or national politician passed through Boston in the mid-20th century, there’s a good chance Fred Clow was there, taking their photograph. In eight decades as a photographer, Clow has generated a stockpile of images that includes the likes of Martin Luther King, Ella Fitzgerald, Winston Churchill and nearly every member of the Kennedy family. Clow forged long-standing friendships with some of them. Ted Kennedy, in particular, was a friend of Clow’s for years.

Clow’s images capture the person behind the celebrity—the tilted smile of Martin Luther King, the surprise on the face of Eleanor Roosevelt sitting in the backseat as Clow slides in the car, camera in hand. His portfolio, in a sense, serves as photographic evidence of the personal and professional rapports he developed, captured in hundreds of negatives. Each photograph he turns through has a story. Sitting in his kitchen, I asked if he is glad he chose the life of a photographer. The answer was an emphatic yes. Clow’s career in photography began in 1949. An 18-year-old Clow was working here and there as a wannabe stringer for a handful of Boston publications. He received a tip on what time Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru would be leaving his Boston hotel room. Clow went there with his camera, and took a photo of Nehru and

“For a brief second [Martin Luther King] cracked a smile, because I was takign his photo from the floor.”

his sister on their visit, wearing traditional dress. That was the first photo Clow sold. His payout: $5 (the modern equivalent of $65, adjusting for inflation). “The Boston Post [initially] said, ‘Thanks for your interest, but we’re not interested.’ But then on my way out, the society editor said, ‘Put [the photo] up right away.’”

– Frederick Clow

When Clow enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force Reserve in 1950, he found a spot taking photographs.

He was later hired as a photographer for the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. When then-President Harry Truman visited Boston in 1952 with House Majority Leader John McCormack, Massachusetts Gov. Paul Dever, Archbishop Richard Cushing and thenRep. John F. Kennedy, a 22-year-old Clow was there, quietly taking photos in the back.

Bill Clinton at a fundraiser on Nantucket, with Frederick G.S. Clow.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Boston.

President John F. Kennedy with Cardinal Richard Cushing in Boston.

Pope John Paul II arriving in Boston in 1979.

Ted Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy at the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1968.

Frederick G.S. Clow (left) with author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

Frederick G.S. Clow (left) with President Harry Truman.

President Harry Truman with Archbishop Richard Cushing with then-Rep. John F. Kennedy and a young Frederick G.S. Clow (behind).

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Harvard Club in 1949.

Clow said his career is one of repeatedly being in the right place at the right time. His career is also one of journalistic independence. Clow sold his images to Newsweek, Time magazine, UPI and over a dozen other publications in Boston and Cape Cod. It wasn’t until he moved to Nantucket that he landed a job as a full-time photographer at The Inquirer and Mirror. “I’m independent as hell,” Clow said. “I don’t have to answer to anyone and I own my own negatives.”

He was at the right place and the right time at Logan Airport for the arrival of Pope John Paul II in 1979. At the time, Clow told the photography editor for UPI he wanted to photograph the Pope for the Boston-based news agency, only to later say he changed his mind and would sell the image elsewhere. “[The editor] went ballistic,” Clow said.

By the 1990s, Clow had become a well known fixture at political fundraisers. At one campaign fundraiser on Nantucket for Bill Clinton, Clow was able to sneak past a gauntlet of Secret Service agents. “I guess they knew me,” he said. At another event in Boston, Clow was stopped by Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign. She shouted to Clow, “Nantucket!” before taking Clow by the hand.

Clow moved to Nantucket in 1968, buying a house on Lyon Street, where he still lives. Several years earlier, Clow had been at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis taking photos of the family on their lawn—something Clow would do over and over again for decades.

“Social Security [for Bill Clinton] let me pass ... I guess they knew me.”

– Frederick Clow

On that trip, Clow took the ferry to Nantucket. The island had a quiet, isolated feeling that reminded him of his mother’s hometown in Nova Scotia. “I walked up Main Street and said this is where I want to be forever,” Clow said. “I said as I looked up Main Street that this is where I want to live and this is where I want to die.”

Clow turned that philosophy of independence into a lengthy career, taking photographs of Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Clow, now 93 years old, said he has started to think of a long-term plan for his photographs. When asked about donating images to an institution or museum, Clow half-jokingly said he would donate for cash. “I’m a realist,” he said. “The good lord has put me on Nantucket, so it was meant to be,” Clow said.

Martin Luther King Jr. at the State House in Boston in 1968.

Ella Fitzgerald performing at the Boston Globe Jazz Festival in 1970.

Ted Kennedy during his 1962 Senate campaign with Robert F. Kennedy.

Then President Harry Truman with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at Brandeis University.

Frederick G.S. Clow (left) as a Private in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserves in 1949.

SWEATER WEATHER

PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAN SAGER

EDITORIAL STYLIST: PETRA HOFFMANN

PHOTO ASSISTANT: REECE NELSON

HAIR STYLING: THE COUPE NANTUCKET

MAKEUP STYLING: JURGITA BUDAITE OF ISLAND GLOW

FLORAL STYLING: KELSEY DAY OF NUUDE BOTANICA

VENUES: VIA MARE, CLUB CAR

MAGGIE INC. MODELS:

FEMALE MODEL: NIKKI STALLING

MALE MODEL: JASON VERGADOS

HIM

POLO AND SWEATER:

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

RINGS: ICARUS + CO.

HER SHIRT: SARA CAMPBELL

JACKET: CURRENT VINTAGE

PANTS: REMY

JEWELRY: GRESHAM

DRESS: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

JEWELRY: CALISTA WEST

HIM

OUTFIT AND WATCH: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

HER DRESS: SARA CAMPBELL

EARRINGS, NECKLACE, AND BRACELET:

KATHERINE GROVER

RINGS: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

SHIRT AND JACKET:

CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINT

EARRINGS: ICARUS + CO.

RINGS: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

CLUTCH: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

HIM

OUTFIT AND WATCH:

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

HER SCARF, SWEATER, AND SHOES: NOMAD

PANTS: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

JEWELRY: ICARUS + CO.

OUTFIT, BELT, AND WATCH: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

DRESS: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINT

EARRINGS AND NECKLACE:

KATHERINE GROVER

RING AND BRACELET: NOMAD

HIM OUTFIT AND WATCH:

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

PANTS AND SWEATER:

HER SHIRT: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINT

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

JEWELRY: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

HAT, JACKET, AND PANTS:

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

RINGS: ICARUS + CO.

EARRINGS: KATHERINE GROVER

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.

NANTUCKET SHORTS FESTIVAL

Since 2013, the Nantucket Shorts Festival has allowed amateur and professional filmmakers alike to express themselves with a short film up to 10 minutes long. Whether it’s a comedy, drama, documentary or something in between, the annual festival exhibits a wide selection of short films, all either

SCALLOPERS BALL

On a balmy October night, the Nantucket Yacht Club hosted the annual Scallopers Ball, the primary fundraiser for the Nantucket Shellfish Association, which has a mission of preserving and protecting Nantucket’s harbors and its shellfish. The Nantucket Shellfish Association works with a group of island organizations to address the health of the harbors.

FLANNEL JAM

Cisco Brewers was packed for Levitate Flannel Jam, featuring a lineup of folk and rock bands including Trampled by Turtles and Deertick, as well as Nantucket’s own Doug & Co., with always entertaining frontman Doug Cote. The annual event also features live art, seasonal beer and spirits and, of course, plenty of flannels.

AQUARIUM RELEASE DAY

After a busy summer season, the Maria Mitchell Association offered a unique hands-on experience for children and families to release fish from its Washington Street aquarium into Nantucket Harbor, one bucket at a time. On a Saturday in October, children lined up for the free, annual event to release the season's aquarium inhabitants and learn a thing or two about the marine life around Nantucket.

Managed by

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS

The presidents who have visited Nantucket

President Woodrow Wilson lands at the Athletic Club pier on September 13, 1917, led by his wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is seated on his yacht Amberjack II in Nantucket Harbor, June 19, 1933.

President Joe Biden at a fundraiser in 2019. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Bagley.

Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in Boston, after a visit to Nantucket in 1955. Photo by Fred Clow.

First Lady Jill Biden. Photo by Kit Noble.

President Bill Clinton on Nantucket, 2000.

President Joe Biden. Photo by Kit Noble.

President Joe Biden. Photo by Kit Noble.

Former President Donald Trump at an island fundraiser in 2016. Courtesy of Ronald Weinberg.

John F. Kennedy moored in Nantucket Harbor on the Honey Fitz, 1963.

On a trip in June 1933, a storm caused FDR’s yacht Amberjack II to be rerouted, and it lay in Nantucket Harbor before proceeding to the Roosevelts’ summer home in Campobello, New Brunswick.

Air Force One carries President Joe Biden to Nantucket.

Photo by Kit Noble.

Former President George W. Bush lands at Nantucket Memorial Airport in 2022. Photo by David Creed.

Former President Richard Nixon on Nantucket with Fred Clow. 1980.

featured wedding

Bride: Peri Schaut • Groom: Jared Tokarz • Rehearsal Dinner: Cru • Welcome Drinks: Proprietor's Ceremony: Unitarian Universalist Church • Reception: White Elephant • After Party: Chicken Box Wedding Coordinator: Jimmy Jaksic • Photographer: Hannah Alyssa • Videographer: Willow Tree Films

Cake: Montilio's • Florist: Soirée Floral • Rentals: Event Rental Co., Placesetter's Nantucket, BBJ La Tavola Bridal Hair: Darya Salon • Bridal Makeup: Paolina Doycheva • Bride's Dress: Oscar de la Renta Band: The Dukes • Stationery: Julie King Studio • Car: Nick Johnson (ACK Classics)

MICHAEL GETTER’S LAST DISH

WRITTEN

IBRIAN

ROASTED RED AND GOLDEN BEET

SALAD

With Whipped Goat Cheese, Pistachios, Balsamic and Beet Vinaigrette

n October, Michael Getter threw his chef’s apron on one last time for dinner service at Dune. It was his last day at the Broad Street restaurant he had owned for 16 years.

After Getter closed on a sale of the restaurant to Florida restaurateur Lee Lyon, Getter said he would step away from the restaurant industry entirely. Getter, who had previously worked as a chef at American Seasons and 21 Federal, said that after 30 years in restaurants, he now hopes to launch a handyman business.

In 2025, Dune will become Billie’s On Broad.

Over his 16 years at Dune, Getter earned a reputation as a premier chef on the island—along with chef de cuisine Joseph Ranstatler—showcasing an array of dishes that incorporated island-grown vegetables and local fish, shellfish and meats from select purveyors. His menu offered both light fare and hearty meals. He shared a recipe that’s a combination of the two, his roasted red and golden beet salad with whipped goat cheese.

“Restaurants don’t last forever,” Getter told the Nantucket Current after the sale.

“They change. And I’m going to be 60 in a few years, and I knew I needed to get out at some point.”

BY

BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE AND MICHAEL GETTER

INGREDIENTS

ROASTED BEETS

• 3 large red beets, rinsed and scrubbed

• 3 large golden beets, rinsed and scrubbed

• 1 quart water

• ½ cup white or champagne vinegar

• 1 tablespoon pickling spice

• 2 tablespoons salt

• Olive oil to drizzle

GOAT CHEESE MOUSSE

• 1 cup goat cheese of your choice

• ¼ cup half and half

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

• ½ cup champagne vinegar

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Pinch of sugar (to balance the acidity)

Bonus add-ons include pistachios, shaved raw beets (very thin), finely chopped chives and microgreens (arugula or pea greens work well).

INSTRUCTIONS

ROAST THE BEETS

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

• Place the cleaned beets in a nonreactive pan or Dutch oven and add the rest of the ingredients to make the beets. Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven on the middle rack, cooking until tender when pierced with a knife easily (about 1 hour, depending on the size of your beets).

• Once cooked, let the beets cool to the touch (but not cold). Using a towel, rub the skin off the beets. If the beets are stubborn, use a peeler. Cut the beets to your liking or in large chunks.

MAKE THE GOAT CHEESE MOUSSE

• Place all ingredients for the mousse in a stand mixer or food processor and whip until light and airy (about 5 minutes).

MAKE THE BEET VINAIGRETTE

• Prepare the beet vinaigrette by taking half of the champagne vinaigrette and blending it at high speed with 2-3 pieces of the roasted beets until smooth and creamy.

• Meanwhile, toast some pistachios (if using) in a 300-degree oven. Do not burn as they will get bitter.

TO ASSEMBLE

• In a bowl, toss the roasted cut beets with a little salt and pepper and a couple splashes of the champagne vinaigrette. Swipe some of the whipped goat cheese on a plate and place the dressed beets on top. Drizzle the balsamic around and make some fancy dots with the beet vinaigrette. Sprinkle pistachios on top, along with some chives, the shaved raw beets and microgreens (if using). Enjoy!

Representative Thinking

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMAS MOAKLEY

An interview with Nantucket’s new representative on Beacon Hill

On November 5, Nantucket overwhelmingly elected former Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney

Thomas Moakley as its new state representative. Moakley, a 29-year-old Democrat, Georgetown University graduate and Falmouth resident, won the election in a landslide with no official Republican candidate on the general election ballot, after beating Martha’s Vineyard resident Arielle Faria in the Democratic primary in September. He is set to be sworn into office in January.

While Moakley will be representing nine towns on the Cape and Islands, he is already well acquainted with Nantucket. Moakley previously interned for former Nantucket state Rep. Tim Madden.

N Magazine caught up with Moakley to discuss why he ran for office, his priorities on Beacon Hill and his take on a range of issues from sea-level rise to affordable housing.

Why did you run for state representative?

I’ve been working in public service as assistant district attorney for the Cape and Islands, and I know I have the skills to be a successful state representative. I think the issues most important to our community like climate change, affordability, the opioid epidemic and women’s reproductive rights— those are some of the biggest issues for me.

Climate change, sea-level rise and coastal flooding have become major issues on Nantucket. How would you address climate change at the State House?

I think the most fundamental role of good governance is to address these issues. When it comes to climate change, it has to be a twopronged approach, where on the one hand you focus on mitigation, where our power is coming from

and reducing our impact on the local level. But what’s most important when we talk about sea-level rise is resilience. That means calling on our experts about how we talk about infrastructure and how we protect existing infrastructure. It’s not just sea-level rise but more frequent and intense storms. It’s a great opportunity for both climate scientists and engineers coming up with new ideas on how to address these challenges.

What about the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project and its recent blade failure that left materials littered across Nantucket beaches? Do you support the project, and do you think the state can or should do anything to address the recent collapse?

On a large scale, I support alternative energy. I support

wind energy, solar energy and the proliferation of renewable resources so we can mitigate the impacts contributing toward climate change. I also support the development of microgrids on the local level so we can be more resilient during storms rather than being beholden to larger networks that cover the entire region. The destruction of the blade was a huge disappointment to all of us that know renewable energy is the only responsible path forward, and it was also disappointing because of the breach of trust that had been built up over the years this project was coming to fruition between the company and host communities. Before we were talking about, “Do we want to continue our reliance on fossil fuels or develop renewable energy?” Now the discussion is, “Well, exactly how do we implement that in a way that is responsible to the people hosting that project?” Our role at the state is doing whatever we can to foster transparency and responsibility.

The median price of a home on Nantucket has swelled to $3.5 million this year. You listed affordability as a major part of your platform. What do you believe needs to be done to address the cost of housing on Nantucket?

I support the local option transfer fee because it’s all about giving municipalities all the tools that they can use to address the housing crisis, which is acute on Nantucket. What’s really going to make the biggest impact is recapturing the seasonal housing stock and transferring it into year-round stock for service providers and what’s called the missing middle— such as firefighters, teachers, court workers and municipal employees. The legislature while I was running in the primary did pass a significant $5.1 billion investment in affordable housing statewide, and [state] Sen. Julian Cyr put a lot of legwork into the seasonal communities designation, which is going to give municipalities power to address the crisis.

Do you promote the housing bank transfer fee legislation, which would earmark a percentage of real estate proceeds over $1 million for affordable housing?

How do you see your role as state representative?

The role of state representative comes with two primary responsibilities. One is at the legislative level and that’s what gets a lot of bandwidth—things we want to do in

What’s missing is the funding. That’s where the transfer fee comes in. It’s important for the sustainability of so many Nantucket businesses and the critical public services that we act swiftly on this.

What are some other issues important to you?

Access to interpreters in the court systems, and that is something especially prevalent on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. That’s frankly leading to an inequity of access to justice when both defendants and victims are not able to communicate freely with police officers, prosecutors, their attorneys, court personnel and then in court itself. The court needs help to hire people in our region and statewide.

the next term. The other part of the job is constituent services. Being the guy when there’s no one else to turn to, to figure out the appropriate executive department that might have control over the issue and making connections to help people navigate the state system, or maybe it’s something as simple as fixing potholes. That’s one of the roles where I’m closest to the people, and I plan to be as accessible as I can.

A goal of mine because we have so many dedicated people in the nonprofit and government sectors in this region—[and] we’ve already started in the past few months—[is] coordinating between the nine towns I represent to get conversations going on what has been working for each of those organizations and what we can do to help one another and be responsible for that region when nobody else is.

Thomas Moakley

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