Yesterday’s Island, Today’s Nantucket; Vol 50, Issue 1; Edition 2020

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CELEBRATING OUR 50TH YEAR!

May 21-June 3, 2020

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FREE!

ISLAND MAPS

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Todays oodddayss Nan ant nttuc uc kkeetet tuuuck ucke

Volume: 50 Number: 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com • Est. 1970 • Dining Guide • Advertiser Directory

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A look back to 1970 with Harvey Young...see page 8

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Celebrating our 50th Year!

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1970-2020

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Heroes Among Us...see page 6

Socially distant spots for a picnic...see page 29

photo by Gretchen Madden

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Pausing to Remember

This season marks the 50th year that Yesterday’s Island has been published. To celebrate that anniversary, we are indulging in some nostalgia, remembering 1970 on Nantucket through interviews with island residents who were living and working here half a century ago. At that time, the island was beginning to draw more attention and more tourists than it had in quite some time. As H. Flint Ranney put it, “... about 1970, somebody sped up the music.�

This season, “the music� has stopped for now, and looking back to Nantucket during a gentler time has turned out to be comforting as we hope not to be among those left without a chair.

In an article published in National Geographic in June of 1970 titled Life’s Tempo on Nantucket, author Robert Benchley wrote of an island “with a scanty year-round population of 3,900� and “a secret allure� that during the summer draws “some 16,000 people, from almost every state and from many foreign countries.� Benchley continued: “This most prized of Nantucket commodities—a sense of isolation—is what draws the summer visitor. For the Nantucketer it is the heart of the matter.�

Those we have interviewed so far remember 1970 on Nantucket as a time of family gatherings, hippies (and “anti-hippie� bylaws passed in November), streaking, dune buggies, beach parties, surfscasting, and weddings. They remember a fierce August storm, arson, extension of the HDC, a new addition to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Sankaty Head Lighthouse getting a new and far brighter light, and the Nantucket High School Whalers winning the Mayflower Championship. An emergency airlift of 35,000 pounds of food to the island took place in January 1970, after ice in the harbor three-feet thick left the island without ferry service for days.

And on March 7 of 1970, Nantucket went dark when the island was in the path of totality of a stunning full solar eclipse (only from Nantucket and Monomoy Point could this be seen).

In this, our first printed issue for 2020, we share some memories of Harvey Young, whose family has been very much a part of Nantucket for generations.

If you have memories (and photos) of Nantucket Island in 1970, we would love for you to share them with us! Please email them to yi@nantucket.net along with a phone number if you’d like us to give you a call to reminisce.

Happy anniversary to us, and here’s to a happy 2020 for us all!

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Reinventing a Festival during Times of Social Distancing

by Mary Bergman

I haven’t left Nantucket since February 25th. But last week, I was on a houseboat on the River Thames. Since late February, I have been to high rises in New York City and the suburbs of Philadelphia. I’ve been to a yellow house in New Orleans, the rocky shore Nova Scotia, and the deserts of the American west.

I’ve been on whaling ships and to one-room schoolhouses. I stopped by Tinker Creek, Virginia and Alaska in the 1970s. I visited our neighboring island, Martha’s Vineyard, and returned to my hometown of Provincetown on the Outer Cape.

I did all this without breaking the stay-at-home order. How have I managed this feat, these travels through time and space? You likely already know the answer—by reading. I have never more acutely understood the power for books to transport and connect people than I have during this period of isolation.

All year long, the committee that organizes the Nantucket Book Festival (NBF) works hard to bring together some of the world’s best writers to our sandy shore. We like to say that at the Book Festival you’ll hear from award-winning writers, and writers who will go on to win awards. The Book Festival presents bestselling writers as well as those who are not a household name—but they will be soon. It doesn’t matter how difficult the work of organizing the festival is, because the weekend in June where everything comes together is always nothing short of magical.

Gathered in the Atheneum, the Unitarian Church, the Methodist Church, and the Dreamland, I am reminded of Nantucket’s history when islanders of yore would assemble to hear the great speakers of the day. This island, while far away from the mainland, has never been intellectually isolated. Minds and hearts have been opened by the conversations had in these buildings, and the Nantucket Book Festival carries on that proud tradition.

When it became clear that this year’s Nantucket Book Festival was not going to be able to take place in its usual form we knew this tradition had to continue in some fashion. We did not want to lose out on a chance to connect with our community of writers and readers. After all, aren’t people reading now more than ever?

That’s where the idea for At Home With Authors, our video and podcast conversations with the authors you would have been hearing from in June, came about. NBF committee member Michael Schulder and and veteran CNN Senior Executive Producer and writer has been heading up this “virtual festival,” interviewing many of this year’s authors. Other NBF committee members and friends have contributed to this project, which has resulted in candid, in-depth conversations that we hope will capture some of the magic of the Book Festival.

Years ago, I considered reading and writing to be solitary tasks that often required a monk-like devotion. My involvement with the Nantucket Book Festival has allowed me to more fully understand the transformative power of connection and commeradarie when it comes to the literary arts. And it turns out when you get book people together, even on a Zoom call, wonderful things happen.

Soon we’ll begin work on the 2021 Nantucket Book Festival—our 10th anniversary. We’d love to know what you’ve been reading, and if there is a particular author you’d love to hear from. You can write to us and watch the At Home With Authors conversations on our website. I know the entire committee and board joins me in saying we wish we could all be together this year, and we look forward to when it will be safe to gather once again.

Mary Bergman is the Chair of the 2020 Nantucket Book Festival, Executive Director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust, and a writer and historian.

May 21-June 3, 2020

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

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Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Heroes Among Us

by C. Oscar Olson

The Call of Duty is louder for some than others. Though we all rise in the morning with tasks to complete, hurdles to jump, and goals to meet, some of us face greater challenges. Nantucket resident Rich Leone heard his call in 1979, and he has never stopped stepping up to the challenge.

At that time, a group of Iranian college students and supporters of the Iranian Revolution took over the United States embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two American citizens and diplomats were taken hostage, and the 444-day standoff between the US and Iran had begun. “This was my call to service,” recalls Leone, who had never before considered a career in the military.

Prior to enlisting in April of 1980, he worked with his family in their restaurant business. They lived in Chelmsford, Massachusetts where he graduated high school in 1974. His father, an electrical engineer, switched careers around the same time. He found success in buying and selling restaurants, at one time owning 9 locations across the state. The Cove Restaurant and Marina in Fall River, a South Shore dining destination that still stands today, was one of the family’s claims to fame.

Leone’s first two years of service were spent in schools training as an Electronics Technician, helping to operate and manage the electronics systems of the world's most advanced ships and aircraft, as well as bases on land. Leone had no experience in the engineering field, but enjoyed learning on his feet. “My fist duty station was on board the USS Moosebrugger,” he says, a Spruance-class destroyer affectionately nicknamed 'The Moose’ by her crews. Having never seen combat, the USS Moosebrugger was first deployed to the Mediterranean in July of 1980.

Three years later, Leone was preparing for his first deployment. The plan was 6-month cruise back to the Mediterranean, a journey that was soon interrupted.

“Upon our departure from Charleston, South Carolina and about half way to the Mediterranean, we got word that the Cubans had overthrown the government of Grenada.”

The situation there had been a growing concern to the United States since 1979, when leftist leader Maurice Bishop seized power and began developing close relations with Cuba. In 1983, known Marxist Bernard Coard arranged Bishop’s assassination and took control of the government. President Reagan ordered 2,000 troops to the island where they soon faced opposition from Grenadian armed forces and Cuban militants. “My ship and the task force we were with immediately changed course and headed south to the Island of Grenada”.

Rich Leone had made the decision to serve his country at a crucial point in history. This series of conflicts combined with the ongoing Cold War with the Soviet Union had many people worried that the stage was being set for another World War. “The ship I was on was stationed in the harbor of St. George about 700 yards off shore,” he remembers. “We engaged the enemy for about a month.” And then, once again, there was a call from the other side of the world. “Towards the end of this conflict, Sunni rebels had blown up the Beirut Hilton, killing 247 sailors and marines. We immediately left the shores of Grenada and steamed toward Beirut, Lebanon.”

The Moose and her crew arrived and stationed themselves along the shores of Beirut in November of 1983. There they remained and continued engaging the continued on page 16

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket CELEBRATING 50 YEARS! yesterdaysisland.com Box 626 Nantucket, MA 02554 • 508-228-9165 • Fax: 508-228-1348

Suzanne M. Daub - Publisher & Editor • C. Oscar Olson - Associate Editor Writers - Robert P. Barsanti, Dr. Sarah T. Bois, Jack Fritsch, Greyson Keller, Catherine MacCallister, Carl Oscar Olson

Production & Design - Sarah Morneau Cover Photographs - YI Staff & 2019 Photo Contest Entries Ethan, Anora, & Solveig: Story Time over Zoom with Memaw on Nantucket Yesterday’s Island is published from April - November in print and online year-round.

Established in 1970. The publisher reserves the right to review all material submitted for publication & will not be responsible for any and all misinformation, misprints, typographical errors, incorrect or misleading content of advertisements, etc. which might appear in this publication in print or online.

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Whaling Museum Ready and waiting to provide you with a non-touch and safe experience!

Stay tuned for more information on summer offerings and hours, coming soon.

Begin your adventure at the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

LOOKING BACK AT 1970

The Freewheelin’ Harvey Young

by Jack Fritsch

Harvey Young is one happy guy. You have all seen him along Broad Street, always with a big beaming smile. He explains that he wakes up every day with a smile on his face… he adds almost apologetically “I’ve always been that way. I was born that way. I came into the world with a smile on my face.” Not surprisingly he has wonderful happy memories of growing up on Nantucket in the 1960s and 70s. In 1970 Harvey was 13, in the 8th grade at the old Cyrus Pierce School, and enjoying a very, very big year.

Harvey was born and raised on Nantucket, the fifth of six siblings. His father came out here when he was five, and his mother later to work at the old Cottage Memorial Hospital when it was still a cottage on Westchester Street.

They lived down Old South Road, when it was still a dirt road, one of the last houses before the State Forest. There were only three other families down that way, so it was a pretty tight neighborhood, with the kids all playing together with a pretty wide spread of ages. The gang also included the nearest families living at the start of Fairgrounds Road and in “the projects,” the new houses built after World War II on the two new streets laid out behind the Inquirer and Mirror (Goldstar Drive and Newtown Road).

His father built a baseball diamond in their backyard, which all the neighborhood photo courtesy NHA kids loved. “Between the six of us, and the five Holdgate kids across the street, it didn’t take much to get a game together.” Harvey was a natural—born with a talent for projectiles…” if it was something to throw, I was great at it.” He became a fearsome pitcher in the island soft ball league. A couple of old-timers taught him a few tricks… even how to throw a proper diabolical knuckle ball (with a soft ball no less): “It was so cool watching it going over the plate, looked like a fast ball but wasn’t, and moved all over the place… it was a great pitch for striking out the batters, but the catchers hated it!”

His father owned Young’s Bicycle Shop down on Broad Street (founded by grandfather Harvey A. Young in 1929). He was a hardworking and enterprising man, who, together with his wife Cynthia working at the hospital, was able to provide well for their family. Remember these were still hard times on Nantucket— the summer boom with tourist dollars didn’t really take off until the late 1970s, so islanders perforce lived frugal lives—but Harvey complacently points out that

they were always well fed and clothed. He smiles and remembers “We had a really nice childhood.” No one was wealthy, so everyone was in the same boat. Of course right across the street from the Bike Shop was the yacht club… but Harvey explains there was no resentment… “They were just different, that’s all.”

He started working at a young age, like all kids in those days. Where off-island you might have a paper route, or mow lawns, Harvey was brought down to the wharf. There was always a stack of flat bicycle tires in the back of the shop, and at the age of twelve he started fixing flats at 25 cents per tire. He got very good at it… too good. His father quickly saw that Harvey was making too much money, and it would be cheaper to put him on the payroll at minimum wage for 40 hours per week (in the summers of course). He laughed “There really wasn’t that much for me to do. It was really like Bike Shop Day Care.

I mostly just got in the way.”

What he mostly remembers was messing around on the wharf. One of his older brothers taught him how to fish (to get him out from underfoot at the shop), and he found his passion. He would go fishing every day with his drop line, catching scup, sea robins, eels, squid, lots of cunners (which they called wharf rats), an occasional skate and even sand sharks. He loved it. He was a wharf kid, messing around with boats, doing all the things kids do on wharfs… yes, even diving for coins when the ferries were coming in and out.

His father had a great imagination and kept things interesting down on Broad Street, even in the off-season. At Christmas time, when downtown was asleep in those days before the Christmas Stroll, he would turn the front of the Young’s Bicycles into a Christmas Toy Shop and sell hot chocolate. Harvey loved it, and said people were very disappointed (even the Selectmen complained) when they finally stopped doing it. The hot chocolate would make a comeback though: when the weather got cold enough, Roger would embank sand in a large oval across the street (where the Steamship truck parking is now) and get permission from the Fire Department to open a hydrant to flood his make-do ice skating rink. The skating was a big hit, a mid-winter diversion, and the Young’s would open the shop to let people in out of the cold and enjoy their hot chocolate.

The biggest event in young Harvey’s life was when his father decided to build continued on page 17

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Life Finds a Way

Page 9

by Robert P. Barsanti

I was standing in front of the ice cream in the Stop & Shop when I got shouted at by a former student, enraged, hopping, eye-popping at my mask. He was a house painter, but there was not a spot of paint on his clothes today. Instead, he had a cart with milk, Cheerios, Huggies, broccoli, two loaves of Arnold White bread, and one canister of grated parmesan.

And I was deciding between Chunky Monkey and Coffee Heath Bar. “The virus was a hoax from the media. My mask was a fool’s errand. I need to get my head straight and stop listening to the media. Use your brain. Think.” He shouted.

Which sounds a lot like something I might have shouted at him a few years ago.

I wasn’t particularly scared or threatened. After 35 years in a high school classroom, I have been shouted at by the best of them. Principals, teachers, nurses, lawyers, policemen, and comedians have, when they were sixteen, stood up and let me have it. In my classroom, I am the only one paid to be there.

Nonetheless, it upsets everyone around me when the shouting happens, and it isn’t the most pleasant experience. Nurses expect that a patient may vomit on their shoes as well, but it doesn’t mean they want to go home and tell their wives about it.

When he tired and saw the masked audience gathering, he spun around, stomped up to the check out and left. Later, at three in the morning, he sent me an email apologizing.

Masks are hard to accept. Before we had to wear them, the disease was happening to other people. It preyed in nursing homes, factory farms, and New York, but it had left our island alone. Everything looked normal. If we waited long enough, the year would resume with dinner, drinks, and nights in the AirBnB. No matter what you read in the paper and what you saw on TV, Main Street looked ready to go. The mask challenges that. The mask proclaims that the virus is here like fog, beading up in the screens and dripping from the branches. It doesn’t just happen to other people, it happens here. We weren’t lucky. We didn’t get spared.

Moreover, the mask hides. Fully half of our faces are hidden and cannot convey emotions: we cannot smile; we can’t scowl;we can’t laugh for fear of it slipping off. So we slink around like bandits, afraid to stand too close and afraid to say too much. Fear brings anger, and anger steals sleep.

In the sickness of spring, I think a lot of angry lights burn at three o’clock in the morning. Especially around the first of the month. My lights have been on as column A starts to look a lot smaller than column B. When the planes hit the towers, we spent months waiting for the next attack. Even Christmas Stroll was stalked by rumors of attacks on ferry boats. But it passed quickly, with an embarrassed glance and inane airport searches. This crisis hangs like the fog: outside, indefinite, and stalwart. If we are lucky, we sit inside, warm

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continued on page 18

• Are ferries running?

• Do I have to wear a face covering on the ferry?

• Is Nantucket airport open?

• Where can I get a mask on Nantucket?

• Can I rent a car?

• Is the NRTA bus running?

• Are beaches open?

• Are inns & hotels open?

Answers to these questions and more at: Nantucket.net/COVID19-FAQ.php

High Speed Ferry Schedule May 22 - September 7, 2020 Depart Nantucket

Arrive Hyannis

Depart Hyannis

Arrive Nantucket

7:40am

8:40am

6:10am

7:10am

*9:55am

10:55am

*8:30am

9:30am

11:10am

12:10pm

9:30am

10:30am

12:50pm

1:50pm

11:20am

12:20pm

2:15pm

3:15pm

12:45pm

1:45pm

4:10pm

5:10pm

2:25pm

3:25pm

5:45pm

6:45pm

4:15pm

5:15pm

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FACE COVERINGS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL PASSENGERS

Reservations strongly recommended

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

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May 21-June 3, 2020

Curtains Will Still Go Up at Island Theaters

by Catherine Macallister

Across the world, theaters have made the difficult but necessary decision to close their doors to audiences, cast, and crew during the global pandemic. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to take in one of Nantucket’s theatre productions at the The Dreamland, The Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, or the White Heron Theatre, you have experienced the magic of live theatre as it transports you to new places, new people, and new ideas. While plans for the 2020 summer theatre season has to be altered to follow state rules and safety guidelines, behind-the-scenes work is being done to find new ways to deliver creative theatre experiences to the Nantucket community.

Justin Cerne, Artistic Director of the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, is in the midst of reworking 2020 programming and, though much of it is on hold, he is looking forward to putting out “programming that is meaningful,� and can “still touch audience members,� despite difficult times. “We are really proud of the season we programmed, and we worked really hard� says Cerne of the original 2020 Season, but he hopes that some of the TWN season can remain or be moved to the 2021 Season. Having just wrapped up virtual play readings in partnership with the Nantucket Atheneum, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is headed towards a couple of exciting projects that will provide a platform for actors and audience members to experience theatre during this time of social distancing.

Cerne is hoping to create a virtual theatre experience that is “taking the moment and embracing it for what it is.� There is a clear purpose for this programming Cerne says:“don’t create more noise.� The hope is that meaningful and purposeful theatre will come from this crisis, and that it will reflect the audience, producers, and mission of the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket.

There are plans for two different virtual experiences that will engage audiences: a play and a musical-based production. Cerne recently revisited British playwright Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, which addresses how we talk about love and receive information. The play is comprised of 57 different scenes and more than 100 actors, and the goal is for theatres across the US to collaborate with The Theatre Workshop to bring each of the scenes to life. “Collaborating is such a rewarding experience,� says Cerne, who recognizes that these two performances will look different than what you may see in a typical theatre setting.

The musical-based production will also be a collaboration, this time between Theatre Workshop and the Mac-Hadyn Theatre of Chatham, New York. These two experiences will “provide content for the next couple months,� says Cerne, who is still waiting to see what the rest of the season will look like. “Everyone respects everyone’s creativity,� says Cerne, and this will be an opportunity to “engage with new technology.�

Additionally, the Theatre Workshop will be transitioning away from their live benefit to a virtual, and aptly named tele-thon, “The Show Must Go On.� It will be “an old-fashioned variety show,� as Cerne puts it, and centers around an uplifting message. Details for the event are still in the works but the objective is for “people join us and reflect on time at the Theatre Workshop and what it has meant to them,� says Cerne, adding “I hope we can be together.� It will be a continued on page 19

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 13

Page 14

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Spotted Turtles of Springtime

by Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois

Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation As the weather warms the island seems to spring to life. It’s not just the daffodils and birdsong. As you walk along the bike paths and travel on roads, some of our Nantucket turtles are on the move as well. Fresh out of hibernation, our smallest freshwater turtle, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) is moving about travelling to springtime feeding and breeding grounds.

The most charismatic of Nantucket’s freshwater species (in my opinion), Spotted Turtles are relatively small (reaching only three and a half to five inches in length) with distinctive bright yellow spots dotting their otherwise black carapace (the top of their shell). As hatchlings, they usually have one spot per scute (or plate) on their shell. As they age, more spots develop. The pattern and number of spots is unique to each turtle and can be used to identify individuals.

Once listed as a Species of Special Concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, Spotted Turtles were removed from the list in 2006 due to a widespread distribution in the state and the existence of relatively stable populations in southeastern Massachusetts and the islands.

State biologists believe that Nantucket’s Spotted Turtle population may be one continued on page 26

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

HOME GARDENING

Page 15

WALK UP W INDOW W SERVI ICE E

Planting Your Pandemic Patch

CU UR BS S IDE DELIV E RY ISLA ND W IDE DELIV E RY

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As I sit in the back garden basking in the glory of a Kwanzan cherry tree, its prolific pink petals parachute gracefully to the ground. The wind whispers through the canopy and the mind begins to wonder. Will my pepper seedlings ever start to grow? Is it too late to sow more peas? What will Nantucket’s summer look like in this “new normal’’? Although these questions can paralyze any action, I think it's important to do just that.

Act. Sow more seeds, feed struggling plants, and plant your pandemic patch. In these next few paragraphs, I’ll guide you step by step in building the foundation of your veggie garden.

Let’s start by saying that raised beds are a great option. They’re aesthetically pleasing, they give you more immediate control over the quality of your soil, and they’re fun to build. First you’ll need to decide on the material of your raised beds. In my dreams, mine are made out of reclaimed granite, but in my backyard I went with untreated planks. These planks are unmilled, rough cut 2x10s. There is a bit more meat to them than your average spruce 2”x10”, but either will work just fine. I know that pressure-treated lumber lasts longer, particularly when it will be constantly wet and sitting in soil, but I would rather rebuild these raised beds every five years than eat any potentially leached chemicals.

This island is overflowing with incredibly talented carpenters, so if that’s you, don’t let me hinder your creativity. If you’re just an average bloke who can barely read a tape measure like myself, start simple. Build a rectangle or a square. I’d recommend not building any wider than four feet, as you’ll want to be able to reach across the garden. Once the bed is built, and before you add the soil, go grab those folded up Amazon boxes you have stashed next to your recycling. Pull off any plastic tape and then lay them on the ground inside your bed. If you’re building this bed on top of an existing lawn, the cardboard will suppress the grass and keep the weeding to a minimum in the future. Don’t worry! The cardboard will break down over time and the worms will thank you.

I’ll just take this moment to mention that your pandemic patch doesn’t need to be a raised bed. The veggies will grow just as well if you decide to plant in pots or directly into an existing bed of any kind. Even a window box is a creative way to start your patch, just make sure you plant veggies that aren’t deep rooters.

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Heroes Among Us from page 6

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enemy for nearly two years until February 1985. Leone smiles, comparing the challenges we’re all facing today and providing an important perspective to remember: “It’s kind of funny when I think about all the complaining about being isolated during this Covid-19 pandemic. We had left Charleston in late August 1983, and I didn’t touch land again until our first port of call in Haifa Israel on December 23, 1983.”

In 1990, three years in to his second tour of duty, Leone was hospitalized with a serious medical condition. A botched surgery made matters worse, eventually leading to his discharge from the Navy. After a long hospital stay, he returned home to his family in Fall River and restarted his life in the restaurant business.

Some years later, in 2003, he found an opportunity with his brother’s construction company on Nantucket. Leone packed up and shipped out once again, but this time under very different circumstances.

Soon after settling down, Leone met Callie Pierce. A fellow veteran of the military, Pierce was a 20 year retiree who spent his first four years in the Air Force before switching branches to the Navy. His career wound down on Nantucket where he was stationed before finishing his work with the Navy. Pierce was also a past Commander of the American Legion on Nantucket and urged Leone to join the organization. He did, and with over a decade of membership in 2018, he decided to run for the position of Commander. He won, and a year later had the honor of presiding over the Legion’s Centennial Celebrations. Leone is ever grateful for Callie Pierce’s suggestion, “being Commander of the Legion has been a very rewarding experience.”

As Commander, Leone wears many hats. He runs the Le-

Nick Duarte and Rich Leone

gion’s meetings, plans events, organizes fundraisers, negotiates rent, and more. One of his most important duties is finding additional income sources to support not only the Legion and its members, but scholarships and philanthropic endeavors as well. This year for the fall, he is working on making the island’s first clam chowder cook-off a reality.

Leone hopes to include not only chefs but also residents in this island-wide competition.

This year, Nantucket’s annual Memorial Day services and the much-loved parade up Main Street have been cancelled, but that won’t stop Rich and the island’s other heroes from honoring the legacy of the fallen men and women by placing flags on monuments and on the graves of the departed. Since this national day of refection will be different for all of us this year, consider replacing your routine barbecue and beer with a day of remembrance, and maybe make a donation to the Legion and support all they do for our nation’s heroes and our community.

Donations by check can be mailed to: American Legion Post 82, 21 Washington Street, Nantucket, MA 02554

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 17

Freewheelin’ Harvey Young from page 8

“Mid Island Bowl” in their property in 1962, an eight lane candlepin bowling alley.

Harvey said even just having the construction site in their backyard was a blast: all the backhoes and heavy equipment, the excavation, watching a bowling alley get built from the sand up. It was the first Butler building on the island, with corrugated steel sheets hung on a steel I-beam frame. He gleefully remembers crusty old-timers stopping by at the end of each day, giving the side walls a thump and declaring “It’s gonna blow away in the first nor’easter!”

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OPEN FOR T TA AKE EOUT Well, it did not blow away, and lasted in business until about 1980. It was a pretty basic, plain bowling alley, a family affair, with no food service or bar. Harvey moved from the bike shop up to Mid-Island Bowl, eventually becoming the manager, tending to whatever odd jobs needed doing. Not setting up the pins though…”No sir, we had Automatic Pin Re-setting machines!” But most importantly, he got to bowl. And he bowled… a lot.

Harvey explained that if you put a lot of time into something, you are going to become pretty good at it. At a very young age Harvey became very, very good at bowling. By the age of ten he was winning every competition on-island. He became known as The Bowler. Strangers would see him out and about, and say “I know you. You’re The Bowler. To be honest, it freaked him out a little, a small kid having adults come up to him and know who he was: “I was thinking I don’t know who you are, we don’t hang out together or anything.” (Islanders will still often complain that living out here can be like living in a fishbowl—everyone sees and knows everything about you. Imagine what that was like when the yearround population was only 3400 or fewer).

Harvey won every competition out here, and then would go over to the Cape for the Regional Bowl-Offs… and win. He won in 1967, 1968, 1969, and yes in 1970, and would then go on to a televised statewide championship Boston’s WCVB’s Candlepin Bowling show. He still gets animated talking about taking the ferry with his father, and driving up to Boston for the contests: “It was really big deal!” Harvey competed in the under 18 category, bowling against a lot of older kids from big cities. He did well, but always lost to Billy Doucette.

Billy was his nemesis: a brawny kid from Haverill who worked at Academy Lanes up there. He held the record for the most consecutive wins of any youth bowler. And he always beat Harvey. But remember, we said that in 1970 thirteen-year-old Harvey was enjoying a very, very big year. Well, that year he beat Billy Doucette. After losing every time for the past three years, he finally beat his arch rival. Once. He still didn’t win the championship, but who cared, he had beaten Billy Doucette! “It was my peak, my pinnacle, the height of my athletic prowess… since then it’s been all downhill!” he says with a delighted, cheeky grin.

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Life Finds a Way

May 21-June 3, 2020 from page 9

and dry, while it drifts by.

Worse, we can’t defeat this with a fundraiser at the Box, with a community walk around Brant Point, or with a hug and a handshake. Instead, we remain inside our expensive boxes, watching the meters run. Or we wear a mask, sanitize our hands, and hope that customer just has an allergy. Togetherness, human warmth, and a pat on the back have become poisonous. On this Memorial Day, we mourn and remember the world we once lived in.

So, safe from the fog, pick what word best applies to you at this moment: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, or acceptance? Yesterday has died and it won’t pay the invoices anymore. The dawn continues to insult us, and the calendar snickers, both at home and at the bank. The uncertainty rots the shingles. We hand out yard signs instead of diplomas, drive our own cars at Daffodil, and wonder whether the next boat carries a trick or a treat. Everyone is afraid of the new day.

Except the frogs. By five in the morning, the dawn ticks another morning on the calendar. The fog remains swirling and eddying in fatal droplets. Then the peepers begin. One, then six, then a thousand...roaring in the lust of spring. The birds hidden in the brake of blackberry bushes follow in, buzzing, chirping, and skating their own love songs. The rabbits, momentarily free from pursuing play of an old puppy, bounce along the flagstones and nibble on the grass. Life, as the scientist says, finds a way. And, in the early light, it also makes a remarkable noise.

We live. In the fog, with a mask. We still croak our way into the day, hop along our paths, and build the best nest we can. We can live, we can adapt, we can accept that summer is coming. August has mutated into something different, but it is still coming.

My mask will remain, as will yours. The visitors, such as they are, will be wearing masks as well.

Vineyard Vines, Izod, and even Nantucket Red masks will cover us; the Golf Club and the Yacht Club are soon to feature bespoke masks for their members.

Our new world demands more from us. It does not demand more cruelty, more blindness, and more ammunition. Instead, we have to reach for kindness, compassion, and mercy. But when we approach someone with a mask, we have to listen harder and more generously. We can’t see what they are feeling as we once could. In turn, we have to be kinder and more open, since we can’t show what we once did. The masks ask and task.

The new day arrives, in all its froggy goodness. We meet masked, but not hidden.

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Island Theaters from page 10

way for audiences, actors, producers, and crew members to “gather” in a safe, and socially distant way, that still allows them to enjoy and appreciate the hard work of the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket.

Much like the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, the White Heron Theatre aims to work on “alternative programming that has value and enhances the experience,” says Lynne Bolton, the Artistic Director of the White Heron Theatre, and something that “isn’t a replication,” of their planned 2020 Season. The White Heron is leaning into the virtual space, putting together programming that allows actors and mentors to come together and let their creativity shine.

Safety is a priority and at the forefront of the White Heron’s game-plan as they navigate the new normal of their summer season. “We are committed to the education program,” Bolton, who spoke about the comprehensive approach to bolstering their successful Student Company. During this time ”kids are bursting with creativity, and adults are bursting with creativity,” says Bolton, who is optimistic about their current virtual offerings. For the time being, their main stage productions are still being worked on, but they expect to be ready to share more details in June.

The stage at White Heron Theatre is not totally empty. Jen Waldman, a former Broadway actress and founder of the Jen Waldman Studio, is currently running her online classes from the empty stage at White Heron. While she has been offering her typical classes for current professional actors, she has also begun working with students of the White Heron Theatre. It has “offered a connection to the space,” says Bolton, and even though it is being done virtually, “being able to get into a theatre,” has been important for the actors and students.

Waldman has been connecting White Heron students to Broadway actors in “virtual online experience,” and setting up Zoom calls between students and actors from their favorite musicals. It has inspired “so much creativity,” says Bolton, who also emphasized the importance of connecting the younger actors with professionals to see what being a professional actor is like. There are ongoing signups for these Zoom sessions, which is an opportunity for more island children and teens to be involved, while giving them a creative and theatrical

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 19

outlet.

And this is only the beginning of the virtual offerings that will be available to Nantucket youth. White Heron’s Student Company typically produces two shows during a summer season, Mixtape and a condensed Shakespeare production, but this year they are offering additional spring courses like “Building an Audition Book” and “A Cyber Cabaret” to will allow students of all ages to hone their skills in auditioning and performing. The Cyber Cabaret will focus on the theme“the art of self-expression.”

A new master class for advanced students and college students will emerge as well, offering a deep dive into both Shakespeare and Chekov. As White Heron continues to monitor potential plans for a main stage production, it is clear that there are still plenty of opportunities to grow and engage, especially for island students. While this theatre season may look different than what was planned, Bolton expressed her belief in the power of theatre during this time, saying that it “gives you a chance to think…makes you take a pause,” while emphasizing, “the arts will come back stronger and better.”

While the Dreamland Stage programs for 2020 have not been canceled as of our press date, organizers are waiting to confirm all details about classes, workshops, and performances until they receive guidance from the state. Director of Education Laura Gallagher Byrne is hosting social media based acting and audition classes on Instagram Live @dreamlandstagecompany Dreamland Stage Company is also hosting live weekly play readings every Tuesday evening at 7pm. The play of the week is announced every Friday on Dreamland Stage Company’s Facebook and Instagram pages. To read, participants simply comment on the post to be assigned a role, first-come, first-assigned. Once the roles are cast, readers meet in a Zoom call to read through the play and discuss it. “Low stakes, no rehearsal, just fun, discussion and connection.”

The experience of live theatre will be missed as we move into the first part of the summer, but we are fortunate to have theatre directors and teachers on Nantucket who are enthusiastic about engaging students can offer perspective to audiences, even if it is from the comfort of your own home.

With their virtual programs free and their summer galas delayed or canceled, all the Nantucket theater programs need your support to continue their great work.

If you’d like to help by donating, reach out to them at whiteherontheatre.org, theatrenantucket.org, and dreamlandstagecompany.org.

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Pandemic Patch from page 15

Now it’s time for your growing medium. Bagged soil or compost is great, but it can get expensive. If you have the ability to buy by the yard, you’ll save some money. For the purpose of this guide, I’ll assume you’ve bought topsoil from a local vendor in bulk. Go ahead and fill your bed, leaving about three inches to the top of the edge. Fill the final few inches with bagged compost. It comes with a price, but compost is packed with nutrients that will benefit your plants all summer long. Finally, I like to grab an organic all purpose granular fertilizer. Espoma is a good brand, they break it down into comprehensible categories. TomatoTone, Bulb-Tone, Plant-Tone, etc... hard to mess that up. Sprinkle just a bit over the top of your finished grade and scratch it in. This will act as a slow release fertilizer for your plants as they move through the season.

Here’s where the fun begins. Since it’s late May, you can pretty much direct sow anything you want. Go crazy! Tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and cucumber. Don’t worry about spacing, this is a learning year, and you can always thin out anything you’ve sown too densely. The important thing is that you’re sowing.

You’re doing it! Love is a verb, and you are loving your garden.

With that said, I can hear the garden gurus in the back of my head. “Don’t sow cool weather crops like kale or lettuce because they’ll bolt.” Bolting is when a vegetable sends up a stalk to flower. It’s doing this because it's too hot, so it's stressed and wants to drop seeds for the next generation. I say, “who cares.” The seeds will grow enough for you to enjoy the process and get at least a meal out of it. Plus, when it’s time to pull the cool weather plants, you’ll have more real estate to plant some autumn harvest goodies. Things like beets, radish, turnips, leeks, kale, chard, and spinach can all be sown in July or August. You’ll be glad you did when you’re still getting garden-fresh greens in late October.

May 21-June 3, 2020

We’ve all killed that poor plant that sits on our kitchen window sill, right next to the faucet. What a torturous way to go. Thinking of that, everyone wants to automate watering with irrigation systems. I think that’s great and could gladly recommend some amazing local companies that can do an install for you. However, when it comes to your pandemic patch, I think it's best to hand-water. I know it sounds tedious and like hard work, but if you’re hand-watering you’re also enjoying time spent in your garden. You’re breathing fresh air. You’re allowing yourself to notice the wind whispering through the canopy of your trees.

You’re smelling the metaphorical roses. You might notice a bug is eating your veggie before you get to. You’ll know to ask your friend Google how to handle that. You’ll also see any teeny tiny weeds that are no work at all to pull. You’re preventing problems before they start.

This all comes back to having some say in what is happening around you.

Gardening is so much more than food production or pairing the best colors and textures of trees and perennials together. A garden is a sanctuary; a garden is a healer. The more time you spend in a garden, the more available you are for all the other aspects of life.

There are so many “rules” to gardening, but I can assure you, it is not this unattainable fairyland where a subscription to Town and Country is the admission fee. Throw the traditional rules out the window and buy seeds, buy starts, buy shrubs and trees. In this “new normal” it can feel difficult to have much control.

Gardening is something where you can have your thoughts and feelings heard, you can make decisions and reap the rewards for years to come. So roll up your sleeves, grab your wellies, and welcome yourself to a lifetime of gratitude in the garden.

I’d love to follow you on your gardening journey. Tag us in any #pandemicpatch photos on instagram with @thegardengroup. Feel free to ask questions too, I’d love to hear from you. Cheers to you and your pandemic patch!

Island artist and teacher Beth Morris has been painting inspirational signs for the community. They can be seen along Surfside Road near the high school. She accepts bids on each one at her Facebook page, with the money raised going to island organizations.

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

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Bookstores Mitchell’s Book Corner Open 24/7 online at nantucketbookpartners.com FREE ISLAND HOME DELIVERY if book is “on hand” or Shipping!

508-228-1080 54 Main Street

MITCHELL’S BOOK CORNER prides itself on a long tradition of personalized attention to its customers for over 50 years. Visit nantucketbookpartners.com for any book in print, pre-orders, signed copies, e-books, audio books, gift cards, staff picks, and more. If the book is “on our shelves now” we can offer next business day island home delivery. If the book is not on hand we can either ship it to you or order into the store and then deliver it to your home. We are also happy to ship books to anywhere in the US. We need your support now more than ever! mitchellsbookcorner.com

Nantucket Bookworks Open 24/7 online at nantucketbookworks.com FREE ISLAND HOME DELIVERY if item is “in stock” or SHIPPING!

508-228-4000 25 Broad Street

NANTUCKET BOOKWORKS is our quirky little shop chock full of books, gifts, and goodies. Visit nantucketbookworks.com for the very best of Bookworks ONLINE. We have Nantucket gifts, puzzles, games, toys, art supplies, party accessories, stuffed animals, greeting cards, kids items, and so much more. If the items are in stock we can offer next business day island home delivery. We also are happy to ship anywhere in the US. For books, shop nantucketbookpartners.com. We need your support now more than ever! nantucketbookworks.com

508-228-1353 40 Straight Wharf

G. S. HILL’s one-man gallery is open daily online. For over three decades, Greg’s original oil and watercolor paintings have captured the image and spirit of Nantucket. The gallery also offers exclusive American-made gifts designed by Greg and Judi Hill. Stunning porcelain china dinnerware, hand-pressed glass and ornaments are only a few of treasures you will find. gshill.com

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Books & Publications FREE Searchable Nantucket Phone Book App The island’s “Little Black Book”

Apparel & Accessories Blue Beetle

May 21-June 3, 2020

Buses NRTA See display ad for times and routes Year-Round Bus Routes

508-228-7025 Face coverings are required on all routes

RIDE THE WAVE to/from town, mid island areas, Madaket, Sconset, and points in between.

Access real time information bus locations and estimated arrival at your stop from your computer or internet enabled cell phone at live.nrtawave.com. Service is provided year-round on select routes and thru mid-October on seasonal routes. See our schedule on nrtawave.com for complete information Fares are $2 or $3 depending on route, half fare for 65 & older, persons with disabilities, veterans, and active military personnel. Exact change is recommended or a future ride change card will be issued. Short term passes are available.

Routes and schedules are subject to change without notice. See nrtawave.com for current details. nrtawave.com

Car Rentals Affordable Rentals Open daily Cars, jeeps, mopeds

508-228-3501 6 South Beach Street

AFFORDABLE RENTALS can help make your visit on Nantucket more complete. With their cars, 4x4s, vans, and mopeds, you will have access to all parts of the island: Great Point, Wauwinet, Coatue, Squam, ‘Sconset, Madaket, and more. Explore to your heart’s content in a vehicle from AFFORDABLE RENTALS, open daily at 6 South Beach Street. Call ahead for reservations. All major credit cards accepted. affrentals.com

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Island Fun & Shopping Deadline is Sept. 12, 2020 See winners & entries online at Nantucket.net

pants. You can find a wonderful selection at her new virtual store on Etsy, or she will work with you to help you choose just the right color for a custom order.

IslandWeaves.com

Nantucket Boat Basin Authentic Shop Authentic Island Merchandise with Special Nantucket Designs

Contests NANTUCKET PHOTO CONTEST

508-228-9165 Box 626, Nantucket, MA 02554

This annual photo contest is a popular way to share your photos of Nantucket with the world.

Winners of the 2019 Contest are online at nantucket.net. The 2020 Contest has begun: DEADLINE TO ENTER IS SEPTEMBER 12, 2020. We accept copyright-free images of Nantucket present and past. Email your entries to ACKPhotoContest@gmail.com or mail us a CD or thumb drive with electronic images from your digital camera. If you send us digital images, please make sure they are high-resolution. You can even mail in your prints of Nantucket Island. Visit Nantucket.net to see a great selection past entries and winners. nantucket.net/photos/contests.php

Copying, Mailboxes, Shipping The UPS Store

508-325-8884 61 Old South Road

Open Monday - Saturday Locally owned and operated

Nantucket’s UPS STORE is in spacious quarters at 61 Old South Road and offers a variety of products and services to make your life easier: personal mailboxes, mail forwarding, UPS shipping and receiving, overnight delivery, and more. THE UPS STORE offers a wide variety of copy and print services, including b&w and color copies, output from disks, wide format printing, laminating, collating, and a full range of finishing services. You can even go there for notary services, passport photos, and mail boxes. THE UPS STORE makes high quality, full color banners and posters! Plenty off-street parking. THE UPS STORE: let them help you!

Counseling 508-228-2689 20 Vesper Lane, L-1 Gouin Village

FAIRWINDS — NANTUCKET’S COUNSELING CENTER provides confidential, quality professional care to adults and youth who seek mental health and addiction services. All are welcome, regardless of ability to pay. Call to schedule a remote appointment for outpatient therapy, substance misuse counseling, peer recovery coaching, therapeutic mentoring, medication management, and more. We serve more than 1,000 Nantucket individuals and families to help meet their goals and improve their quality of life. YOU ARE NOT ALONE: FAIRWINDS is always here for you. fairwindscenter.org

Gifts ACK 4170TM

Health Care Nantucket Cottage Hospital 24-hr emergency services, hospital care, lab, rehab

Internet Nantucket.net

508-228-9165 Insiders Guide to Nantucket Visit Nantucket before & after you visit Nantucket!

Beaches, Events, Museums, Dining, Classifieds, & More

Visit NANTUCKET.NET for a beach listing, photo galleries, maps, and guides to lodging, dining, real estate, recreation, and much more! Our Calendar of Events is the most complete and is updated several times a week, year-round. And our classifieds are ever-changing. Visit Nantucket before, during, and after you visit Nantucket by going to Nantucket.net

Island Apps

ACK 4170™ gift boutique features small makers and artists who create beautiful, high-quality gifts, apparel, jewelry, home decor, art, and accessories. Our ACK 4170™ apparel is salty good!

Visit our online store at ack4170.com – we are always open online. We are offering free delivery on Nantucket Island, and for spring you can get 15% off with the code: SPRING15. Sail with us on Instagram: ack4170 ACK4170.com

508-228-1353 40 Straight Wharf

Established in 1981, HILL’S combines the best of Nantucket for the art and gift seeker. G.S. Hill Gallery and Hill’s of Nantucket offer fine art by Greg Hill and wonderful speciality gifts designed by this husband-and-wife team. Nantucket theme prints, note cards by Hill are their main focus. American made; that hard-to-find gift is here waiting for you! Treat yourself to a unique gift gallery from HILL’S. gshill.com

Island Weaves

ACK Weather Your go-to website & app for Nantucket weather Download on the App Store

508-228-2505 158 Polpis Road

Nantucket weather is always an adventure. Follow along with ACKweather for daily reports on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with @ACKweather. Stay up-to-date with tides and currents. Check the wave report and ferry schedules along with daily weather reports. Brought to you by Egan Maritime Institute, ACKweather can be customized for your favorite information.

Download it now from the App Store and view it online at ackweather.com ackweather.com

Your telephone book for Nantucket

FREE download for IOS and Android 508.680.1777

Open 24/7 online with free Nantucket delivery

Visit us online until we can welcome you on the wharf Unusual and Original Nantucket Theme Gifts

508-825-8100 57 Prospect St

NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL is open, safe, and ready to provide care for COVID-19 AND non-COVID-19 medical issues. NCH has taken numerous measures to ensure it is safe for all patients to come to our facility for their care. In the ER and inpatient floor, we have designated a high-risk zone for confirmed COVID-19 patients and patients under investigation for the disease, while those who are coming to the hospital for all other health issues are isolated from them in separate areas. Please do not delay care or ignore a pressing health issue. NCH is open, safe, and ready to care for you!

Nantuckethospital.org

Call Nantucket

1A Old North Wharf (at Easy Street) Beautiful gifts & products created by small makers & artists

Hill’s of Nantucket

508-228-5470 33 Straight Wharf

Visit the NANTUCKET BOAT BASIN AUTHENTIC SHOP and celebrate Nantucket Island with our limited edition apparel and accessories. We have a variety of island merchandise. We offer the highest quality wearables, headwear, and accessories for visitors, boaters, and islanders. Get your authentic Nantucket shirts, vests, hats, and more! You’ll find us at 33 Straight Wharf. nantucketboatbasinshop.com

Fairwinds - Nantucket’s Counseling Center Phone is answered 24/7 FOR EMERGENCIES, CALL 877-784-6273 or 911

May 21-June 3, 2020

508-221-8343

Visit our Virtual Store: IslandWeavesStudio on Etsy Heirloom quality handwoven throws, rugs, shawls, baby blankets Weaver Karin Ganga Sheppard grew up on Nantucket and learned her craft from two master weavers. Her products are crafted from high-quality natural fibers and include throws made from silk, alpaca, cotton, chenille, and mohair. Karin’s versatile line also includes multi-fiber scarves, washable cotton baby blankets, and rugs made from recycled towels, jeans and khaki

Know who you want to call but need their phone number? Search by name on CALL NANTUCKET. Know what you want but not where to get it? Search by category on the up-todate and locally produced CALL NANTUCKET app. This app is free to download and easy to use. Both white pages and yellow pages are included. callnantucket.com

Jewelry Blue Beetle Open Online with Shipping & Drop-off Jewelry & Gifts

508-228-3227 12 Main Street

BLUE BEETLE reflects the playfulness and elegance of island living. We strive to provide a collection of carefully curated clothing, jewelry, gifts and accessories that portray the summer lifestyle on Nantucket. We have modern, chic, and contemporary fashions to suit every occasion. Known for our Nantucket Jewelry, there is something for everyone; beads to fit Pandora, rings, bracelets and of course our charm bar, where you can create your own unique island necklace. Visit us online at BlueBeetleNantucket.com — we offer shipping and drop-off service.

BlueBeetleNantucket.com

Jewelers’ Gallery of Nantucket Visit us online Fine Antique & Estate Jewelry

508-228-0229 21 Centre Street

JEWELERS’ GALLERY offers Nantucket’s largest collection of antique and estate jewelry, including pieces by Tiffany, Cartier, Webb, and more. Until we can reopen, visit us online to see our exquisite island classics, including the Turk’s Head braided bracelet, Nautical Cable Collections, gem-set Sailors’ Valentines, and handwoven gold lightship basket jewelry. Also

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

featured at JEWELERS’ GALLERY is an outstanding collection of beautifully designed jewelry by such leading goldsmiths as Ronald Pearson, Michael Good, Thomas Kruskal, and others. Call us for details. JEWELERS’ GALLERY has been serving Nantucket since 1971. thejewelersgallery.com

The Love Shack by Lola Open 24/7 online!

10 Old South Wharf Handcrafted sterling pendants, bracelets, jewelry, t-shirts, candles & more!

THE LOVE SHACK may not be open yet on Old South Wharf, but all their favorite items are available online at lolacompany.com LOLA™ designs and creates beautiful sterling jewelry with inspirational messages on the back marking important moments in peoples lives. With more than 30 pendant designs varying in size and gorgeous colors, creating your own look is endless and addicting. THE LOVE SHACK is home to our entire jewelry collection and is inspiration for our apparel, candles, soaps and more. Everything you need for your very own Love Shack! lolacompany.com

Nantucket Pearl Company Shop online for gifts for everyone on your list!

American made, hand-strung pearl jewelry

508-228-1353 online and at 40 Straight Wharf

Authentic American-made jewelry from quality pearls at affordable prices. Jewelry designer Pam Freitus creates unique jewelry from hand-picked pearls, stones, leather, crystals and glass.

On some pieces, pearls are interspersed with turquoise, on others, the Ying and Yang of black and white is featured, or sapphire and diamond bling may be chosen to set off the soft reflection of the pearl’s whiteness. Look for Pam’s signature, a small red bead that identifies the piece as hers. NANTUCKET PEARL COMPANY jewelry is available exclusively at Hill’s of Nantucket, 40 Straight Wharf. nantucketpearls.com

Mortgages & Banking Cape Cod 5 Open Monday-Friday We’ll make your dream come true!

508-247-1709; 508-247-1795 112 Pleasant Street and Zero Main Street

CAPE COD FIVE will give you more than just a mortgage... they’ll help make your dream come true! Fixed Rate, Adjustable Rate, Jumbo Loans, Affordable Housing, Construction & Land Loans for first time home buyers. Call Beth Ann Meehan at 508-247-1709 or Lauren Ard at 508-2471795 or visit their website at capecodfive.com

Museums & Sites Egan Maritime Institute

508-228-2505

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 25

and safe experience. In this top-quality exhibition venue, we have a 46-foot sperm whale skeleton, a restored 1847 candle factory, exquisite collections of scrimshaw, artwork, artifacts from centuries of Nantucket life, and a fully accessible rooftop observation deck with an unmatched panoramic view and cozy seating. Our gateway film “Nantucket,” directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ric Burns, showcases the island’s natural beauty and its significant role in global history in a 51-minute film that is a feast for the eyes. Visit us online at nha.org. nha.org

Special Events Nantucket Book Festival The 2020 festival is virtual Celebrating great books and fascinating authors The NANTUCKET BOOK FESTIVAL is proud to present “At Home With Authors,” featuring videos and podcasts with our 2020 line-up of writers plus some special guests. Starting May 14, enjoy conversations with Diane Rehm, David Rohde, and Samantha Power, with new content added each week. Visit nantucketbookfestival.org/ahwa to attend our virtual festival, all for free! For more information and notifications about upcoming author videos, sign up for the NBF newsletter at nantucketbookfestival.org

Tours - Walking Nantucket Walking Tours Walking Tour Schedule on Nantucket.net/events Meet Tour Guide at Main & Centre sts by bank steps Walks scheduled every day May 21 to June 3

508-332-0953

Social distancing observed!

The 3-time runner-up in the the Nantucket History Quiz Bowl and the most experienced walking tour guide on Nantucket is your guide for a wide array of informative and exciting tours: FIFTY SHADES OF FABULOUS TOUR: This tour is given daily — 11 am on May 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, & June 2 & 4 AND also at 2 pm on May 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, & June 1 & 2 NOTORIOUS NANTUCKET: This tour leaves at 2 pm on May 28 GREAT WRITERS ON NANTUCKET: This tour leaves at 2 pm on May 26 and June 2 from India & Federal sts, by the Atheneum fence.

ORIGINAL NANTUCKET GHOST WALK: this tour is offered every evening at 8 pm.

9 AM MORNING EXERCISE WALKING TOUR: Fabulous Mansions of Cliff & Brant Point OR Historic Mansions of Main Street — 9 am on May 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, & June 1, 3, 4

Transportation Boat

Join our virtual programming Podcasts, online programs, books, & more

Hy-Line Cruises

The EGAN MARITIME INSTITUTE is offering virtual programming during the pandemic restrictions, including our TIME & TIDE PODCAST with dramatic and harrowing stories of Nantucket’s seafaring past at timeandtidenantucket.com. Your support will help Egan Maritime continue to provide programs like this and our Sea of Opportunities programs to offer Nantucket students STEM-based maritime and experiential education, our Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, ACKweather.com, and Mill Hill Press which publishes books on Nantucket’s maritime heritage. Your support in the form of tax-deductible gifts and memberships is more critical now that ever! Visit us at eganmaritime.org or text the keyword “Maritime” to 91999. We thank you! eganmaritime.org

Travel between Nantucket and Hyannis is about an hour on the HY-LINE’s reliable high-speed ferry. THE GREY LADY, Hy-Line’s water-jet catamaran is comfortable, convenient, and offers the highest level of customer service passengers have come to expect from HY-LINE CRUISES. You’ll cross the Sound in half the time! PLEASE SEE OUR SCHEDULE PRINTED HERE IN YESTERDAY’S ISLAND FOR CURRENT DEPARTURES. Face-coverings are required for travel. hy-linecruises.com

Nantucket Historical Association Your portal to Nantucket history

508-228-1894 15 Broad Street

Travel daily; see schedule for times Reliable Fast Ferry service between Nantucket and Hyannis

Steamship Authority Reservations Daily: 7:30am - 4pm

508-228-3949 Straight Wharf

508-228-0262 1 Steamboat Wharf

Nantucket is located 26 miles from Cape Cod’s mainland port of Hyannis. Take a leisurely 2 hour and 15 minute voyage on our traditional ferries from Hyannis to Nantucket.

The NANTUCKET WHALING MUSEUM is ready and waiting to provide visitors with a non-touch

Enter our Photo Contes Contest! st!

A d win i cash!

And

oto Here Your Ph

Deadline: September 12, 2020

Send u us your original Nantucket photos and be entered to win $300 firrst prize or $150 second prize! High resolution photos of Nantu ucket can be emailed to ACKPhotoContest@gmail.com inner 2020 W

For co ontest rules,, information,, and past winners visit Nantucket.net/photos

Page 26

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

Turtles from page 14

of the most robust and healthy in Massachusetts. Throughout most of its range, Spotted Turtles are still listed as threatened or endangered primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation of wetland resources. Monitoring and properly managing Spotted Turtle populations throughout their range is important to the long-term persistence of the species.

One of my first conservation jobs on Nantucket was with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF) in the early 2000s. The first project I headed up at the time was monitoring Spotted Turtles at Squam Farm and other NCF properties. Monitoring involved trapping turtles with hoop nets, small box traps, or by hand, placing radio transmitters on several, and then tracking them throughout the season to gain an understanding of movement patterns across the habitat. From 2004 to 2008, NCF captured and uniquely marked almost 100 Spotted Turtles even capturing some that had been marked in the 1990s! Knowing how this species utilized the habitat helped inform management decisions about the property.

Despite a reputation for being slow, Spotted Turtles travel quite a bit throughout their annual cycle. Over the course of a year, Spotted Turtles typically visit multiple wetlands to forage, mate, thermoregulate, and overwinter, requiring frequent upland migrations and road crossings that make them especially vulnerable to road mortality. They are pretty choosy about the water bodies they inhabit, preferring shallow, muddy bogs and shrub swamps with ample sphagnum moss.

They are rarely, if ever, seen in the deeper, open ponds of Nantucket like other turtles species (Snapping and Painted). Boggy ponds, fens, and sphagnum seepages, all of which can be found around Nantucket, provide suitable habitats – think of the red maple swamps of Squam Farm and Squam Swamp.

Spotted Turtles can live up to around 26 years, but many can live to 50 years or more. They reach maturity at about 10 years of age. After that, they breed every year mating in the shallow waters of vernal spring pools.

Right now, in May, you may see Spotted Turtles out and about as they move from wintering grounds to the spring ephemeral swamps and vernal pools. Vernal pools are also good feeding grounds. While omnivorous, Spotted Turtles preferentially eat small, live animal prey, such as snails, worms, slugs, and spiders.

Spotted turtles are most active from April to October and may be seen singly or in groups basking in the sun. During the breeding season (May-June), males are in an active, almost frantic pursuit of females; several males may be seen simultaneously chasing one female. When the female is ready, she lets one male catch her to mate.

Once mated, females leave the shallow breeding pools to make a nest (usually in late May-June). This is when they can be seen wandering, sometimes travelling quite far from breeding pools for the “perfect” nest spot. Unfortunately, in this

May 21-June 3, 2020

travel is when they are in danger of road mortality and predation. Once she finds her ideal location, she’ll begin digging in the evening. After resting, she’ll lay 34 eggs in the 2-inch-deep and 2-inch-wide nest. She then covers the eggs to disguise the nest and smooths the dirt by dragging her body over it. Peak nesting season on island is during the month of June. Nests can be in fields or residential yards, areas where the nest will get sunlight throughout the day to incubate the eggs. They prefer patches of bare sandy soil when available – and we have plenty here on Nantucket – which means a nest can be almost anywhere. If you find a nesting female, the best thing to do is to keep people and animals away from the area until she’s done nesting, which can take several hours.

By late August/early September the hatchlings emerge about 1 inch in size.

The wee ones travel to wet grass or leaves looking for food. At this size, their only protection from predation is their camouflage. Many end up as a meal for a predator with only a small fraction reaching adulthood.

The Spotted Turtle is still considered an at-risk species that was recently petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act and is currently ‘Under Review’ for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The Northeast Spotted Turtle Working Group is currently gathering data regionally to inform the USFWS’s decision. Danielle O’Dell of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation is part of this working group. NCF has continued sampling Spotted Turtles at multiple sites to inform various restoration efforts. These include Medouie Creek (salt marsh restoration) and more recently at Windswept Cranberry Bogs where a major restoration effort is in the planning phase. In 2019, funds from the American Turtle Observatory allowed NCF to purchase transmitters to track turtles at Windswept.

Understanding their habitat use and winter hibernation will help in the planning and implementation of restoration efforts, O’Dell said. Data from sampling efforts of NCF and the rest of the working group will be used to inform the USFWS decision on listing Spotted Turtles expected in 2022.

You may be seeing more turtles this time of year (not just Spotteds) as many are travelling in search of food, mates, and nesting grounds. The number one thing you can do to help protect Spotted Turtles (and other turtle species) is to stop when they are in the road and allow them to cross. If it’s safe to do so, photos by Sarah Bois you can move the turtle across yourself, but always move it in the direction it was traveling. They know where they are going!

Here are a few things you can do to help protect these wonderfully wild and charismatic species: You can help the spotted turtle, and many other wildlife species, by conserving wetland habitat wherever you can.

Leave turtles in the wild. Remember that even though they are cute, Spotted Turtles cannot be kept as pets. Massachusetts is strict with pet laws.

Do not disturb turtles nesting in yards or gardens.

To learn more about Spotted Turtle Conservation, check out the Nantucket Conservation Foundation .

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 27

NANTUCKET ISLAND BEACHES

NORTH SHORE AND HARBOR BEACHES

EASTERN SHORE - OCEAN BEACHES

40th Pole: Great for families and young children, but no lifeguards. On Nantucket

Siasconset: Regular shuttle bus service or seven-mile ride on paved bike path

Sound; warm water during July, August and September inspired nickname “The Bathtub” for area nearby. Parking. Best access via 4WD vehicle.

Dionis: 3 miles from town by bike on the north side of Eel Point Rd off Madaket Road. Look for the boulder marked “Dionis.” Sheltered by dunes, calm waters for swimming, safe for children; restrooms, & parking. Beachgoers can take NRTA shuttle bus to Eel Point Rd stop & walk.

Steps: Between Dionis and Jetties beaches; access from Cliff Road. No lifeguard, no facilities, very little parking. Gentle surf; sandbar. Many steep steps must be descended to get to the beach.

Jetties: Easy bike ride from town, or take the shuttle bus. Great beach for families.

Lifeguards, changing rooms, playground, volleyball nets, restrooms, showers, public phones, restaurant and take-out food service. Concession and restrooms handicap accessible; boardwalk to the beach. Tennis. Windsurfing, sailboat, and kayak rentals. Shuttle service from town to Jetties Beach is available seasonally.

Brant Point: Easy walk or bike ride from town. No lifeguard. Strong current; experienced swimmers; beach drops off suddenly under the water. Scenic beach with Brant Point Lighthouse; nice to sit and watch the boats rounding the point.

Here is where to go to wave goodbye to friends and family departing on the Steamship.

Children’s: Harbor Beach, an easy walk from town down So. Beach Street and off Harbor View Way. Flotation devices are not permitted within the guarded area.

Ideal for small children; park, playground, and bandstand; lifeguard, restrooms, showers, food service, picnic tables. Food, playground, and rest room are all accessible. Activities sponsored by Park & Recreation Commission are often held at this beach during the summer.

Francis Street: Five-minute walk from Main Street. Calm harbor waters for swimming; no lifeguard. Jungle gym, kayak rentals, bathroom.

SOUTH SHORE - OCEAN BEACHES Cisco Beach: Four-mile bike ride to end of Hummock Pond Road. Heavy surf; lifeguard. No facilities. Parking. Rip currents can be strong.

Ladies Beach: To access, turn left at the end of Bartlett Farm Road. No facilities; no lifeguard. Limited parking. Rip current can be strong; heavy surf.

Miacomet Beach: at the end of Miacomet Road. Surf and rip currents can be dangerous. Parking. No facilities or food service. Families with very young children may prefer Miacomet Pond.

South Shore Beach: at the end of South Shore Rd. Limited parking; difficult to access beach, 4WD is advisable. No lifeguard; no facilities.

Surfside: Located at the end of Surfside Road, a three-mile ride on paved bike path or take the shuttles. Easy to park. Plenty of surf, wide beach is good for picnics, beach games, and surfcasting. Kite flying west of Surfside Beach is acceptable; for safety reasons, please do not fly kites east of Surfside toward the airport.

Due to the number of people who frequent Surfside Beach during the day, it is inadvisable to fly kites during the peak beachgoing hours. Lifeguard, restrooms, showers, public phones, food service. Shuttle service from town to Surfside Beach is available seasonally.

Fisherman’s Beach: Located between Surfside Beach and Nobadeer. No parking; Beach access via steep wooden steps. Plenty of surf, wide beach is good for picnics, beach games, and surfcasting. No lifeguard; no facilities.

Nobadeer: Located near the airport. Limited parking; difficult to access beach.

Plenty of surf, wide beach is good for picnics, beach games, and surfcasting. No lifeguard; no facilities.

Madequecham: Land Bank property at the end of Madequecham Valley Road; rough sand road. Parking. No facilities; no lifeguards. Rip current can be strong; heavy surf.

Tom Nevers (“Pebble Beach“): Surf can be heavy; very coarse sand. No lifeguard; no facilities. Good for fishing. Strong rip currents; heavy surf. Access to the beach can be difficult.

WESTERN SHORE - OCEAN BEACHES Madaket: As far west as you can go, six-mile bike ride on scenic, paved bike path, or take the shuttle bus. Heavy surf, lifeguard, restrooms. Famous for its incredible sunsets.

Surf can be heavy; lifeguard. Food available in nearby village of ’Sconset.

Low Beach: 4WD access. Surf can be heavy; no lifeguard.

BAY & POND BEACHES Miacomet Pond: Fresh water pond on Nantucket. Good for young children. Parking; no lifeguard, no facilities. Snapping turtles may be encountered.

Pocomo Beach: Great for kayaking and to learn to windsurf. Just west of the Head of the Harbor. Good for children. No lifeguards, no facilities.

Eel Point: Good for fishing and watching the sunset. No lifeguard; no facilities Limited parking. Rip currents can be strong.

Coskata-Coatue and Great Point: at the end of Wauwinet Road, past The Wauwinet Inn. Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge managed by Trustees of Reservations; beach sticker required for vehicles from Trustees of Reservations. Great for fishing and for seeing Great Point Lighthouse up close. Rolling dunes, bayberry beach plum, heather, and beach grass. Salt marsh and maritime shrubland. The largest red cedar savanna and woodland in New England. Gray and harbor seals Public restrooms available at the lighthouse Memorial Day-Columbus Day. Sections of the refuge are sometimes closed to protect nesting shorebirds. Dogs permitted only from Sept. 16 thru March 31 and must be leashed at all times. Guided tours with Trustee naturalists offered in-season. Seasonal hunting permitted. For more details, go to www.TheTrustees.org Property Lookup.

Sesachacha Pond: off Polpis Road. Great for families; warm water; no facilities no lifeguard. Parking. Near the Audubon Sesachacha Heathlands and Wildlife Sanctuary.

Leave only footprints...

Nantucket has some of the most beautiful and pristine beaches in the world. Please respect Nantucket’s fragile environment and the beauty of our island. Clean up your litter, respect private property, and use only designated entry points. In areas where dune reclaimation is taking place, please do not cross the rope or fence barriers protecting the dunes.

BEACH SAFETY •Learn to swim. If you can’t swim an overhead stroke for at least 15 minutes you should not be in the ocean. •Never swim alone. Always swim with a buddy, and swim near a lifeguard whenever possible. •Stay out of the “surf zone” where the waves break at the shoreline. Waves are at their greatest force here, and even a small wave can lift you up and throw you headfirst into the sand. •Never run from the beach into the water and dive headfirst into the waves. Sandbars that cannot be seen from the surface may be present and/or the water may be too shallow.

•Don’t jump or dive into the water from a pier or rock jetty. From a pier or jetty, water appears much deeper than it really is. What looks like 10 or 20 feet of water may only be 2 to 3 feet deep. Diving in could be fatal. The same applies for jumping headfirst into the ocean or a wave from a surfboard – don’t do it! It’s not a risk worth taking. •If you are body surfing or boogie boarding, always keep your arms out in front of you to protect your head and neck. •A rip current will pull you away from the shore, but it will not pull you under. If you’re caught in a rip current, do not swim toward the shore! Instead, swim parallel to the shore, until you’re out of the rip current. Then, swim in to shore. •Never drink alcohol or use drugs at the beach. It clouds your ability to make wise decisions, and that could be fatal! •Take direction from lifeguards at all times.

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Nantucket Dining Guide Bakeries Nantucket Bake Shop

508-228-2797 17-1/2 Old South Road

All the products you love & mail order online 7 am to 1 pm

Interested in enjoying an authentic bit of Nantucket? You still can in the NANTUCKET BAKE SHOP. Here you’ll find genuine Portuguese bread & rolls. Be tempted by our world-famous almond macaroons and Magees. For breakfast, try our fresh donuts, native cranberry & blueberry muffins, scones, flaky croissants, danish, & bagels accompanied by a steaming cup of Green Mountain coffee. We bake decorated cakes, fresh fruit tortes, cheesecake, chocolate velvets, and pastries. Everyday favorites include cookies, fruit squares, turnovers, fudge squares, pies, cupcakes, & more! How about an all white meat chicken pie or fresh spinach quiche for a quick supper? Take our Portuguese bread home so your friends can enjoy a bit of old Nantucket. For mail order, visit our website.

Nantucketbakeshop.com

Brewers Cisco Brewers

5 Bartlett Farm Road

At CISCO BREWERS we make BIG, all-grain beers in our tiny brewery using traditional methods, fine malts, and whole hops. NEW: their WILLA ORGANIC VODKA proceeds benefit ACKSaves.org.

Located next to the Triple Eight Distillery, home of the “Triple Eight Vodka,” and Nantucket Vineyard, CISCO is the only local producer of fresh beer, delicious wine, and smooth vodka.

Due to COVID-19, CISCO BREWERS is closed to guests but open daily for curbside pick-up. ciscobrewersnantucket.com

Coffee Nantucket Coffee Roasters

Order online at Nantucketcoffee.com

Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans For more than 25 years, NANTUCKET COFFEE ROASTERS has been Nantucket’s premier artisan coffee roaster. Locally owned and operated, we enjoy advantages that escape bigger roasters.

We specialize in bringing limited and micro-lots of coffee here to Nantucket from small farms all over the world. Our highly skilled Roast Master oversees the development of each and every batch by hand and eye, without the use of automation. We roast to order and deliver exceptionally fresh, specialty coffees to our customers. Our stock is constantly changing and we’re adding new arrivals on a regular basis. Visit nantucketcoffee.com to see what’s new and place your order

Markets Bartlett’s Farm Open daily 8am to 6pm Groceries, fresh produce, food-to-go

508-228-9403 Bartlett Farm Road

Grocery shop at BARTLETT’S OCEAN VIEW FARM. Eggs, milk, cheese, coffee, and, of course, fresh vegetables. Freshly baked goods, as well as daily seasonal specialties prepared with farm fresh ingredients for take away. Ample parking and friendly faces. Grocery shop online for curbside pickup. bartlettsfarm.com

Take-Out Bartlett’s Farm Open daily 8am to 6pm Fresh baked goods, foods-to-go, fresh produce

508-228-9403 33 Bartlett Farm Road

BARTLETT’S OCEAN VIEW FARM prepares mouth-watering baked goods, homemade soups, breads and foccacia, hearty sandwiches, salads, and many more daily seasonal specialties to go. Our breakfast sandwiches are a great way to start your day, and check online for our daily lunch and dinner specials. BARTLETT’S even has prepared foods that you can take home and heat up and freshly baked pies you can serve for dessert. Don’t forget that BARTLETT’S also has the freshest island vegetables, plus annuals, perennials, herbs, and beautiful cut flowers. bartlettsfarm.com

The Beet Check thebeetnantucket.com for current hours Healthy food; something for everyone.

Made-to-order breakfast, salads, sandwiches + dinner specials

Black-Eyed Susan’s Open for Dinner Monday-Saturday Call-in your order for curbside pick-up

508.680.1857 9 South Water Street

THE BEET features handmade, food + beverages in an inviting atmosphere. Located in the

508-325-0308 10 India Street

Tucked away on India Street, just around the corner from Centre Street, you’ll discover one of the island’s great finds! Part of the neighborhood for more than 20 years, BLACK-EYED SUSAN’S is a favorite of visitors and locals. The dinner menu is inspired by the seasonal market and changes frequently. View their menu at black-eyedsusans.com and call between 4 pm and 8:30 pm to pick up your dinner curbside between 5 pm and 9:30 pm.

Black-EyedSusans.com

Downyflake Serving Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner A Nantucket Tradition for 85 Years

508-325-5929

Open daily for curbside pickup of your favorites And now producing hand sanitzer too!

heart-beet of downtown Nantucket, THE BEET will satiate everyone’s cravings – our freshly made breakfast bowls, healthy salads, soups and crispy shrimp burger, can be enjoyed in our vibrant dining room or taken out. Conveniently located between both ferries, THE BEET is the perfect choice for quick grab-n-go when you arrive or on your way off-island. Online Ordering at thebeetnantucket.com + Facebook + Instagram - @thebeetnantucket.com. thebeetnantucket.com

508-228-4533 18 Sparks Avenue

THE DOWNYFLAKE is a Nantucket tradition known for the big doughnut outside and delicious doughnuts inside. Choose from a menu of Flake favorites and daily specials for good food and fast, friendly service. Call ahead for take-out, bulk pastry orders, and catering or event planning.

Full menu available for curbside pickup. Open daily: Mon.-Sat. 7am to 2pm and 4:30-8:30 pm Sun. 7 am to 1pm thedownyflake.com

Dune Contact-less pickup Tuesday-Saturday Where chic meets casual comfort

508-228-5550 20 Broad Street

DUNE-to-Go is open for the season with Chef Michael Getter, formerly of 21 Federal and American Seasons, in the kitchen! The ever-changing menu showcases an innovative selection of the finest in seasonal local produce, fish, and meats from regional farms and select purveyors. Dune-to-Go offers dinner plus beer and wine. See the menu at dunenantucket.com/take-out and call in your order Tuesday through Saturday starting at 1 pm for contact-less pickup between 5:30 and 7:30 pm.

DuneNantucket.com

Easy Street Cantina

508-228-5418 Open daily from 8 am to 8 pm corner of Easy & Broad sts.

Walk-Up Window Service plus Curbside & Islandwide Delivery EASY STREET CANTINA on the corner of Easy & Broad streets by the water on Steamboat Wharf is the merging of two island traditions of 20 years (award-winning Joe’s Broad Street Grill and Tacos Tacos). EASY STREET CANTINA features fresh fried seafood such as Nantucket bay scallops, clams, and beer-battered Atlantic Cod along with cheese steaks, burgers, fresh falafel and our famous burritos, nachos, and tacos. Also deli wraps, kids’ foods, fresh pastries, fresh ground coffee, and cookies. Call or order online for contact-less payment, pickup at our window, or delivery islandwide. Take your feast home, to the beach, or on the boat. Our baconegg-and-cheese burritos are the perfect breakfast to go. One Nibble & You’re Hooked!

EasyStreetCantina.com

The Faregrounds Takeout Curbside 11:30am- 8pm. Delivery Offered Delicious & affordable. Gift Cards available.

508-228-4095 27 Fairgrounds Road

One of Nantucket’s favorite restaurants, THE FAREGROUNDS is serving its regular menus with daily specials, and beer + wine is available with your takeout food order (must show proper ID). There’s plenty of parking; major credit cards accepted. Visit thefaregrounds.com to see the menus and call FAREGROUNDS at 508-228-4095 to order your takeout. Enter the Pudley’s Piglet Pizza Challenge: order a pizza kit for $6.99 with the basics, take it home and dress it up! Take a photo of your pizza masterpiece and post it on the Faregrounds Facebook page and you will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $50 gift card! thefaregrounds.com

Fifty-Six Union Call for Pickup Global Cuisine, Glorious Libations, Glamorous Staff

508-228-6135 56 Union Street

Warm and welcoming with an irreverent spirit and food that is nothing short of inspired…

FIFTY-SIX UNION has an appealing combination of quality food and fun that can’t be hampered even by a pandemic! Wendy and Chef Peter Janelle will be offering their delicious global cuisine for takeout until they can again welcome guests to their patio and dining rooms. Visit FiftySixUnion.com for the menu and call in your dinner order. They have an impressive selection of wines and beer that you can pair with your curbside pickup. FIFTY-SIX UNION...there’s nothing else quite like it on Nantucket. fiftysixunion.com

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Siam to Go

508-228-7426 Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm and Sat 4-7pm Nantucket Ice, 1 Backus Ln Thai Cuisine made with fresh ingredients at reasonable prices

SIAM TO GO offers an appealing selection of authentic Thai cuisine that is light, fresh, and traditional. The menu includes Thai curries, noodle and rice dishes, and house specialties, offered with a choice of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, fried tofu, or vegetables. The Create Your Own Curry section of the menu allows you to pair a protein with any of their six favorite curries.

The entree section of the menu is especially tempting, with dishes like Kai Yad Sai (Thai-style Egg Fu Yung) and Ram Rong Song. While the menu is extensive, every dish is prepared well and fresh to order. Call ahead or order online for curbside pick-up. siamtogonantucket.com

Sophie T’s Pizza

508-325-6265 Open for Curbside Pick-up or Delivery 7 Dave St, in Nantucket Commons Pizza, pastas, salads, subs, sandwiches, wraps & more.

Something fresh is always cooking at SOPHIE T’S PIZZA. In addition to Classic and Specialty Pizzas, you can create your own at SOPHIE T’S with more than 2 dozen toppings. Plus they serve the most varied choice of fresh, bountiful salads, buffalo wings, pasta, daily specials, and an array of subs and sandwiches that come fully dressed and toasted, if you wish. Call ahead for fast take-out & daily specials. See our daily specials on Facebook & follow us @sophietspizza. Sophie T’s Pizza is located mid-island at 7 Dave St. We offer curbside pick-up or delivery by ACK Eats. sophietspizza.com

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Seafood Souza’s Seafood Open daily: call ahead for seafood or a Lobster Dinner

508-228-9140 23 Trotter’s Lane

SOUZA’S SEAFOOD, under the red and white flag on Trotter’s Lane, offers a full line of quality seafoods both fresh and frozen: steamers, littlenecks, cherrystones, lobsters, swordfish, crabmeat, escargot, shrimp, quahogs, and much more! Only at SOUZA’S can you get delicious smoked scallops, their secret recipe stuffed quahogs, homemade chowder base. Call ahead and arrange for a cooked lobster dinner for a picnic at home, on the beach, or on the boat.

Remember to order a travel pack of lobsters to take off-island with you.

Wine & Spirits Epernay Wine & Spirits

508-228-2755 Open Daily - Order online 24/7 1 North Beach Street Largest Rosé Selection, Craft Beer, Boutique Liquors, Artisanal Cheese, Premium Cigars

The only Sommelier owned + operated wine store on Nantucket! Why trust your wine choices to anyone else? Advanced Sommelier Jenny Benzie + Certified Sommelier Kirk Baker invite you to join them for their FREE Virtual Wine Tasting Thursday nights at 6 pm on FB + IG Live. ÉPERNAY WINE & SPIRITS is located in the Brant Point neighborhood, just steps from downtown near the White Elephant and Nantucket Hotel. Mention this ad for 10% off your Cheese & Crackers purchase (expires 06.03.20). @epernaywines | #YesWayEpernay | We Deliver to You epernaywines.com

Dining Out during the Pandemic Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Nantucket eateries are taking precautions to protect their guests while they find new ways to serve them their favorite meals.

Eateries who have always offered takeout are now doing curbside and home delivery. Fine dining restaurants are offering to-go menus and hoping to offer outdoor dining once the situation changes. A few are even selling meal kits for guests to finish preparing at home.

Beaches on Nantucket are perfect for picnics. Some beaches have parking areas, and many island beaches require a trek to get to the waterline. Bring a blanket or chairs, and please be sure to leave ONLY your footprints! Most island beaches do not have trash cans, so be prepared to take all your trash back home with you.

There are also plenty of places downtown and around the island where you can enjoy your coffee or takeout. In addition to the benches you’ll find on nearly every street in town, here are our favorite downtown parks and sitting areas where you can stay 6-feet from others but not feel quarantined. Just remember to respect your surroundings and fellow residents, and clean up after yourself!

Around Town You'll find park benches appropriately spaced along most in-town streets. There are even a few areas where several benches are clustered together but where you can still socially distance.

The Atheneum Park Entrance to this is along India Street, to the right of the steps into the Nantucket Atheneum. There are benches and a grassy area where children like to play.

continued on page 30

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

The Nantucket Whaling Museum 13 Broad Street has benches placed in front of the museum

Children's Beach Park Harbor View Way is a short stroll from downtown. There are benches and a grassy area, along with a small stretch of beach. Limited parking is available.

Sculpture Pocket Park There is a “pocket park” on India Street between Federal & Centre sts that is adorned with sculptures. Benches on the bricked area provide seating.

Town Pier Park Walk down Washington Street, past the Handlebar Cafe (which also has a few benches for customers) and go beyond Brant Point Marine. Here you’ll find benches and a path to the water. Parking across the street in the town lot.

Fair Street Park At the corner of Main & Fair sts. This park is in the heart of town, so it has no parking of its own, but there are usually parking spots nearby. It has benches & stone seating around fountain and is beautifully adorned with fresh plants.

Arthur’s Park On the edge of town beyond Consue Springs. It is a bit of a walk from Main Street.

There is one picnic table and grassy area. No parking is available.

Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020

Page 31

Limericks in the Time of Coronavirus

Since 1989, Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket has challenged readers to add to the series of Nantucket Limericks started in June of 1924. You can read the original series of limericks, at yesterdaysisland.com/limerick-challenge along with more recent additions.

Our staff felt the need for a little light humor to relieve some of the stress coming from the pandemic restrictions and fear of COVID-19, so we put out a new challenge across social media. We challenged our readers to submit new chapters for the Limerick Challenge: chapters about life on Nantucket during the pandemic.

Here are some of the best that were submitted. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do, and that they make you smile. If you have a limerick to add, please email it to us at yi@nantucket.net.

H

H H H

There once was a man from Nantucket Who told the apocalypse it could “Suck it!”

So he sheltered at home, And dared not to roam, Less he ends up in Hell via hand bucket.

— by Michael Alvarez

During the time of the plague on Nantucket, Some from America decided to chuck it.

They sheltered in place On this clean wind-swept space, Wearing Nantucket Red masks to duck it.

— Sent in by Rod Starbuck Learned

At home on my self-quarantine For fear of the Covid-19, I’ve finished my chores, And now I’m so bored.

It’s only 11:15!

— by Mary Longacre

And the rather mysterious “Portly Bard” (who wishes to remain anonymous) penned a series of 8 limericks to share:

There once was a man from Nantucket Who’s scallop knife was so sharp he could shuck it.

When the high tide rolled in, And his waders wore thin, He retreated to the pub and said #$&@ *&.

— by Bob Lyons

H

H

H

H

H

There once was a woman from Surfside Who was all out of rice for her stir fry.

“I’m afraid to go out To the store,” she did pout, She called Faregrounds for delivery curbside.

— by C. McConnell Like everywhere else, in Nantucket The virus got loose – ran amok, it Refused to rescind For those standing downwind, Oh so many not able to duck it.

— by Doug Harris But the fellow we know from Nantucket Has emptied the cash from his bucket And filled it with bleach Disinfection to teach – The way, with a virus, to chuck it.

— by Doug Harris Nantucket’s an island we know Where plenty of summer folks go.

But during this spring, We’re all sheltering, So hope not to see them now, though.

— by Mary Longacre

H

H

They said “stay at home” in Nantucket, Yet out to the beaches we truck it.

But I ask your assistance, In keeping your distance, There’s just one roll left, I must pluck it!

— by Richard Pykosz There once was a man from Nantucket Who saw covid was on Town docket He said to his friends Hope this nightmare ends And we all end up back with “Our Tucket.”

— Sent in by Jennifer Satterfield

H

H H

There once was a man from Nantucket, Who toted an alcohol bucket.

So a hand he immersed Would no longer be cursed

By COVID done in where he stuck it.

H

‘Twas a story folks loved to retell So he built and filled buckets to sell And acquired his wealth By preserving our health Doing business as “Alco-Haul Well.”

H

And that led to hermetically sealed Sterile wipes to dry hands he had healed, That he cleverly made So they’d biodegrade, Which he knew to so many appealed.

It was anchors aweigh as we say For his profit on opening day.

When crowds began telling The world he was selling “Nan-Tuck-It-and-Chuck-It-Away!”

H H

But it didn’t end there, he was part of Nantucket’s historic restart When he proved from a barrel He could fashion apparel That would keep us together apart.

H

Even Paris said “C’est magnifique!”

To the billow of clothing unique And the profit so bloated At Nantucket’s now noted “Social Distance Insistence Boutique”.

To his swimwear, reaction ecstatic Seemed to flow from the liners pneumatic, A life-saving design For those braving the brine With a confidence far more emphatic.

H

H

So with marketing sense rather smart– By appeal to the beach-going heart — With his suits labeled “DareWear,” That featured safe “AirWare.”

He had sales going off of the chart.

H

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Yesterday’s Island/Today’s Nantucket

Vol. 50 No. 1 • YesterdaysIsland.com

May 21-June 3, 2020