Publisher's Note

Nantucket has always played host to a fascinating array of people, no more so than during the month of August when the island population is at its fullest and it seems that if we were a boat we would surely sink from overcrowding. In this issue of Nantucket Today we are pleased to profile some interesting people and places on our island.

The new “must-see” museum on-island is the renovated, expanded and renamed Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum on Polpis Road. Just 10 months in the making, this newest exhibition space chronicles that era in island history when the primary method of transportation of goods and services to America was by ship. Nantucket just happened to be in the shipping lanes of vessels traveling to and from Boston and New York, and, surrounded by shoals, was often the closest spit of land when ships wrecked in these shallow waters. Indeed, more than 700 shipwrecks are chronicled in this graveyard of the Atlantic. The new museum is built around the heroic efforts of the men who risked their lives in surfboats to go out to these ships and save the sailors from their sinking vessels. Turn to page 46 to read more about this fascinating exhibit and part of Nantucket history.

For many years the 1800 House was the least interesting exhibit in the Nantucket Historical Association’s collection of properties. It was simply an old house from the 1800s, with nothing particularly exciting about it save for the myth that it was inhabited by spirits. Four years ago, however, the building was rehabilitated and turned into a classroom for teaching early American crafts and decorative arts. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to cane a chair, make a sailor’s valentine, a wooden-sailor whirligig or try any of a dozen or so old-fashioned crafts, then turn to page 50 and read on.

Each artist has a different calling and comes to their work after traveling their own unique path. Joan Albaugh, who trained at Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts, describes her journey as a series of recreations of self and art. Her haunting images of houses without windows set against a stark landscape are uniquely hers. Turn to page 28 to see what motivates her and what she’s working on now.

For sculptor Gordon Gund, it was the early loss of eyesight due to retinitis pigmentosa, that ultimately led to his desire to create sculptures inspired by nature. He is a true testament to the power of positive thinking and a spirit that refuses to be defined by a disability.

The third week in August is Nantucket Race Week, when the horizons on the harbor are dotted with sailboats. It is unlikely this would have ever occurred without the influence of Gwen Gaillard, founder of The Opera House restaurant and Opera House Cup, a race for classic wooden sailboats. We pay tribute to Gwen in this issue by reprinting some of her classic recipes from her one and only cookbook, “Recipes with Love.” Turn to page 66, whip up a Planters Punch from Gwen’s cookbook and toast the waning days of summer!

Marianne R. Stanton

Editor and Publisher

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