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Hospital Thrift Shop Demi-Centennial
H o s p ita l T h ri f t S h o p D e m i -C e n te n n ia l
1929-1979
by Robert Carrick
T H E S T O R T O F t h e N a n t u c k e t H o s p i t a l T h r i f t S h o p c a n b e e n c a p s u l a t e d i n t w o w o r d s : " d e d i c a t i o n " a n d " d o l l a r s " . F o r i t w a s — a n d s t i l l i s — t h e d e d i c a t i o n o f a n i n d u s t r i o u s g r o u p o f w o m e n w h o h a v e r a i s e d o v e r h a l f a m i l l i o n d o l l a r s f o r t h e h o s p i t a l i n t h e l a s t 5 0 y e a r s .
The Nantucket Hospital got its start on April 18, 1911 at the home of Dr. John S. Grouard who said: "If we value our own lives and we would take no hazard with them, we shall be content no longer to see Nantucket without a hospital." And so it grew out of the basic need for modern health care on the island.
Necessity was also the mother of the Hospital Thrift Shop. From the time the hospital opened in 1913, the need for supplemental income was very apparent. Many individual benefits were helpful but there was no permanent organization (outside of the hospital itself) devoted solely to raising funds for Nantucket's fledgling medical center.
So in 1929 a group of determined ladies came up with the idea of the Hospital Thrift Shop. They started on a shoestring, probably a secondhand one, and built up a business of selling second-hand clothes, furniture, books, new articles made from donated material and also homecooked food. They also accepted merchandise to sell on consignment. Actually, the Shop had a good thing going for the community. It provided extra financial support for the hospital and at the same time enabled people to purchase serviceable merchandise at a reasonable price.
Among the original organizers were: Annie Ayers, Edna May, Mrs. Alice Baldwin, Mrs. Phoebe Pancoast, Mrs. Margaret Crosby, Mrs. Anne Congdon, Mrs. Hugh Sanford. The Shop was administered by a Board of Directors with Mrs. Pancoast serving as the first Chairman. They didn't have chairpersons in those days. In their first year of operation the Shop cleared $603.00 for the hospital.
For the first 16 years, the Thrift Shop was housed in rented quarters, the first location being a Macy house on Liberty Street. Subsequently, the place of business moved to a Macy house on Federal Street (now the site of the Post Office), then to the Annie Alden Folger Antique shop on Union Street. Next was a house at 24 Broad Street and then the Sanford House on Federal Street (now the site of the Town and County Building). Finally, in 1945 the Thrift Shop purchased the house at 17 India Street which they occupy today.
Prior to this purchase, in September 1944 the Shop became a cor-
14 HISTORIC NANTUCKET
poration under the laws of the Commonwealth and elected a Board of nine Directors: Alice M. Baldwin, Anne Congdon, Margaret H. Crosby, Annie Grimes, Mina Jerome, Phoebe Pancoast, Charlotte Pitman, Dorothy S. Wescott and Edna F. May, the latter also being elected Clerk of the Corporation.
The minutes of the August 27, 1945 meeting of the Executive Committee indicates the business acumen of the ladies - "to discuss the advisability of buying a permanent home for the Thrift Shop, having in mind the property of Frederick C. Ayers, 17 India Street, price $7,500. After a discussion it was voted that Mrs. Baldwin and Miss May make an offer of $6,800 to Mr. Ayers. At the same time they were given authority to meet the price of $7,500 if he would take nothing less."
The Ayers house was purchased with the help of a $3,000 mortgage from the Nantucket Institution for Savings. That year the Thrift Shop's contribution to the hospital was only a token $100, the lowest at any time in the 50-year period. However, in 1946 the Shop paid off the mortgage and gave the hospital $2,500, asking that an electro-cardiograph machine be purchased with the approval of the Trustees and Doctors. At this point, the Town granted the Shop a tax-free status as a charitable organization.
House tours were added to the functions of the Thrift Shop and augmented their contribution to the hospital. The $4,000 donated in 1947 was earmarked for a new ambulance. Monies from the 1951 and 1952 contributions to the hospital were used to purchase an integral auxiliary generator which could be moved to the new hospital building when that was constructed. In an effort to support the drive for a new hospital, the Thrift Shop pledged $10,000 to the campaign with $5,000 as a gift for 1953 and the balance to be given in 1954. New officers elected for 1954 were: President, Mrs. Paul Thebaud; Vice-President, Mrs. Robert Elder; Secretary, Mrs. Oswald Tupancy; Treasurer, Miss Edna May. New members elected to the board were: Mrs. Lyster Reighley, Mrs. William Hunt and Mrs. Alexander Craig, Jr. 1957 was a banner year for the Thrift Shop. Gross sales from the various rooms totaled $11,800 and the special dance on August 21st on board the new steamer Nantucket brought in $8,000. This, in a different context, was a "night to remember". On its evening trip from Woods Hole to Nantucket, the new $2,700,000 vessel was completely decorated by zealous Thrift Shop workers with "aluminum-papered pennants in various colors". The ship arrived at 8:00 p.m. and the hastily lowered gangplank was lined with potted trees and covered with glittering foil. Then more than 25 of the island's leading hotels and restaurants put on board food for a buffet supper served from the counters in the dining area.
According to the press, "young and elderly mixed in the cordial atmosphere and danced to the peppy, rhythmic beat of an eight piece
orchestra of Harry Marshard, society and resort band leader. "Attractive young matrons modeled seven period costumes valued at $3,200, a collection loaned by Marshall Field of Chicago. Leading the show of fashions was Mrs. William H. Pell modelling an attractive flowered challis hooped gown of the Civil War era. A large leghorn hat trimmed in lace completed her costume. Mrs. John Wickser modeled a charming pink bustle dress of puffed sleeves and long pleated train of the Lillian Russell era. "Last in the collection was one modeled by Mrs. William Newman. Her expensive, alluring strapless gown was a 1957 model of rose lace from the '28' Shop at Marshall Field's."
That year the hospital received $15,000. The Thrift Shop requested it be used for the Doctor's Dressing Room and the Central Supply Room. Contributions, always used at the discretion of the hospital Board of Trustees, were used in many ways. Some times to help defray operating expenses and often for items of equipment given as a memorial to a Thrift Shop worker. However, the $8,000 given in 1959 was intended for a bassinet for the nursery, a steam sterilizer, a back-up anesthesia unit and a new cardiograph machine.
Although it had been a partial participant in the Main Street Fetes (which were strictly hospital benefits), in 1961 the Thrift Shop did the whole thing, under the Chairmanship of Mrs. Allen Backus, and collected $6,000 which raised the total contribution to the hospital to $12,000.
In 1962, Miss Edna May resigned from the Board after 30 years of service. Five years later the Thrift Shop received an interesting letter from Hospital Administrator Leroy H. True. It was addressed to Mrs. Backus and stated: "We received your check for $20,000 and needless to say we are extremely pleased. "It just doesn't seem possible that this amount of money can be made in this way and we know very well it did not come without a tremendous amount of work on the part of Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Thebaud, you and all the rest of the dedicated people."
In 1971, Mrs. Paul Thebaud relinquished the office of President of the Board, a position she had held for 19 years and during which time the Thrift Shop had experienced one of its most flourishing periods of growth. More recently, in 1975, the Shop donated $30,000 to the hospital and in 1978 their contribution hit $35,000, a phenomenal performance for a volunteer organization.
The Thrift Shop operation is not entirely seasonal and during the Fall and Winter months Board members and volunteers meet at the home of Mrs. Robert Congdon to make attractive articles for the Gift room.
The Executive Board presently consists of the following members: Mrs. Allen Backus, Mrs. William Briard, Mrs. Robert Congdon, Miss Catharine Cronin, Mrs. Frank Dinsmore, Mrs. James Glidden, Mrs. William Howe, Mrs. Frederick Lee, Mrs. Earle Mahoney, Mrs. Jamison Martin, Mrs. Lawrence Morse, Mrs. Ripley Nelson, Mrs. Richard Porter, Mrs. David Voorhees. Mrs. Peter Oldham, Manager.
The following is a tabulation of the Thrift Shop's donations to the hospital for the past 50 years. To maintain this great supportive role the Shop must replenish its depleted stock so plan on bringing the things you can't use to the place that finds people who can use them. And at the same time, contribute to your Hospital.
Record of Donations From the Hospital Thrift Shop to The Nantucket Cottage Hospital 1929-1979
Year Amount Year Amount Year Amount 1929 $603.00 1947 $5,000.00 1965 $15,000.00 1930 603.82 1948 4,000.00 1966 20,000.00 1931 3,500.00 1949 4,000.00 1967 20,000.00 1932 2,545.00 1950 5,000.00 1968 20,000.00 1933 3,500.00 1951 5,000.00 1969 22,000.00 1934 3,000.00 1952 5,500.00 1970 22,000.00 1935 1,250.00 1953 5,000.00 1971 25,000.00 1936 2,500.00 1954 5,000.00 1972 25,000.00 3,000.00* 1937 1,500.00 1955 5,000.00 1973 30,000.00 1938 3,000.00 1956 6,000.00 1974 20,000.00 1939 3,000.00 1957 15,000.00 1975 30,000.00 3,000.00* 1940 3,000.00 1958 7,000.00 1976 25,000.00 1941 1,000.00 1959 8,000.00 1977 30,000.00 1942 1,500.00 1960 8,000.00 1978 35,000.00 1943 3,000.00 1961 12,000.00 1944 2,500.00 1962 10,000.00
§ Year Building was purchased *Pledged, 1954, Paid, 1957
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