Editorial: Walking Out of Town - an Old Experience

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Walking Out of Town - An Old Experience

SIXTY YEARS AGO, it was not uncommon for the average Nantucket family to walk out into the countryside, or "out-of-town" as it was then called. These islanders saw the out-lying land in terms of their agricultural use. It was indigenous to the life of the community. Whether one walked along Cliff Road or Atlantic Avenue, the roadside was familiar. The landscape made sense; it wound its way past houses known to the walkers. Proceeding at a leisurely pace, one absorbed the surrounding scene naturally, aware of the few changes, conscious that the old familiar surroundings remained as of old, secure in their common denominator, reflecting the times, which were quiet and controlled by the times.

The old familiar ways remain as of old, but the surrounding land has been altered considerably. Where one walked through a narrow lane to Dead Horse Valley, or cruised along Milk Street to Prospect Hill Cemetery, or walked the length of North Liberty Street, the look of the land remained unchanged. There was a sense of contentment in the view. Whether one came upon an acquaintance or stopped to speak to a passerby, or watched a few cows being driven home from pasture - he knew the people involved.

Walking the old ways brought a sense of well-being to the family as well as the individual. In the spring, when winter's chill had ceased to hold back the urge to walk, the pedestrian welcomed the opportunity. In the summer it represented a change of the daily scene, and in the fall the times of harvest brought a rare welcome to the familiar sights. Oftentimes, one lingered a bit to reminisce on an earlier time, or to hail an old friend, or linger over a portion of the roadside that awakened a pleasant memory.

Walking out of town has changed remarkably since that earlier day. No longer do you come upon a group of Islanders headed out to gather a few mayflowers, or to pick a few grapes or beachplums. The automobile has interrupted the former pastoral strolls, and the Island has become no longer the haven of the walker. Even the automobile rides have changed in that the old scenes have changed. For example, the houses along the crest of hills on the Polpis Road have destroyed the old vista, where the low hills gave way to the undulating sweep of the commons.

Perhaps, the scene may change. Perhaps, the former custom will one day return, and Islanders will once again trudge the out-of-town ways. It would be a revival of a spirit of the past, a return to a custom long since forgotten in our own times.

-Edouard A. Stackpole