Summer of '41

34

Historic Nantucket

I sat in an office chair during the wee hours and attempted to read required books for college (I was Bard '42). I would gaze at a rotary light switch amazingly high on the wall and wonder what it did. For some reason, I never approached it until a fateful night in late August. Ironically, it was the night of the Firemen's Ball. Almost all of the summer crew attended this affair. It was still the Big Band era, and no other dancing opportunities were regularly available at popular prices for the rank and file. At something like 1 a.m. or later, the crew returned, and I mercilessly reminded them I would be knocking on the doors of their basement rooms about 7 a.m. A couple of the girls, including my future fiancee, even joined me in the office, a rare treat at that quiet hour. One of them pointed to the old light switch and thus reminded me that I had always wondered about it. I went over and gave it a turn. The result: a fire alarm bell rang throughout the hotel.

I turned it off immediately while the two girls did an extremely swift vanishing act. For a moment, there was dead silence, and just as I was congratulating myself that no one had heard it, the office switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Dealing with all these calls was impossible, so in a matter of minutes, the guests had descended to the lobby. Most were half-dressed, and the women frequently had their hands full of jewelry. I stammered something about a short circuit, which pacified nobody, but finally they all disappeared upstairs again, convinced at least that the hotel was not on fire.

The owner was not tickled pink in the morning, but except for a couple of guests, most accepted the incident in good grace. In fact, the next evening, Mrs. Robert Benchley, a guest at that time, asked me if another fire drill was scheduled. Thank goodness for the Benchley humor.

There is no special sequel to this event except to report that the next summer, 1942, the war was in progress. I was only able to make a brief visit to the hotel, but I did notice that next to the fateful switch, in big, bold letters, there was now a warning that, for me at least, was just a year too late: "FIRE ALARM."

35

A Basic Nantucket Reading List

by Helen Winslow Chase

This basic reading list of books and articles about Nantucket has been compiled by Nantucket historian Helen Winslow Chase. Mrs. Chase, who prepared the list for Nantucket Historical Association interpreters, presents the most essential works first. These are followed by suggestions of a second level of importance, ending with a list to be read according to personal preference. BOOKS, PAMPHLETS:

Available at the Nantucket Atheneum, at the NHA Library and Research Center in the Peter Foulger Museum [but cannot be checked out], and at the Maria Mitchell Association Science Library on Vestal Street. Also on sale at local bookstores when in print. BEGIN WITH: 1. Hoyt, Edwin Palmer. NANTUCKET, THE LIFE OF AN ISLAND. (Brattleboro, VT, 1978). Softcover. 2. Massachusetts Historical Commission. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY REPORT, COMMUNITY: NANTUCKET, 1500-1940. (Boston, 1984). Unpublished, but available. 3. Sterling, Dorothy. THE OUTER LANDS: A Natural History Guide to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket... Revised edition (New York, 1978). Softcover. A "must" to take to beach or when walking on moors. CONTINUE WITH: 4. McCalley, John W. NANTUCKET, YESTERDAY AND TODAY. (New York, 1981). Softcover. Excellent selection of comparative photographs and historical descriptions. 5. Pullman, Patricia. NANTUCKET: A HISTORY FOR KIDS. (Nantucket, 1988). Softcover. Contains numerous factual errors, but has useful suggestions for the sensitive enjoyment of Nantucket's past and present by young and old. THEN ADD: 6. Gambee, Robert. NANTUCKET ISLAND. (New York, 1986). 430 photographs testify to Nantucket's unique beauty. 7. Mackay, Dick. NANTUCKET! NANTUCKET! NANTUCKET!: An Insider's Guide. (Nantucket, 1981). Softcover.

36 Historic Nantucket

Contents alphabetical and by subject; written with accuracy and humor. Revised edition in works. 8. Macy, Obed. THE HISTORY OF NANTUCKET. 1835. With a Concise Statement of Prominent Events from 1835 to 1880, by William C. Macy. (Mansfield, MA, 1880). A basic secondary reference for any Nantucket research to 1880. 9. Turner, Harry B. NANTUCKET ARGUMENT SETTLERS. Several editions. (Nantucket, 1917-1966). Softcover. Good Nantucket chronology by former INQUIRER & MIRROR editor. 10. Zube, Ervin H. and Carlozzi, Carl A. SELECTED RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND OF NANTUCKET: An Inventory and Interpretation. (Amherst, MA, 1966). Softcover. CONTINUE READING IN THE ORDER OF YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE: 11. Andrews, Edith F. and Blackshaw, Kenneth Turner. BIRDING NANTUCKET. (Nantucket, 1984). Pamphlet. CHECKLIST OF NANTUCKET BIRDS. (Nantucket, 1985). 12. Andrews, J. Clinton. SALTWATER FISHES OF NANTUCKET: An Annotated List. (Nantucket, 1973). Pamphlet. Reliable record by a Nantucket fisherman and true naturalist. 13. Byers, Edward. THE NATION OF NANTUCKET: Society and Politics in an Early American Commercial Center, 1660-1820. (Boston, 1987). Introduction, pp. 3-14, is an excellent social, political and economic interpretation of early Nantucket history. 14. Carpenter, Charles H., Jr., and Carpenter, Mary Grace. THE DECORATIVE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF NANTUCKET. (New York, 1987). 15. Crosby, Everett U. NANTUCKET IN PRINT. (Nantucket, 1946). Part I contains reprints of rare primary source material about Nantucket; Part II contains checklists of books to collect, of books to read, and of writings about Nantucket. 16. diCurcio, Robert A. ART ON NANTUCKET: The History of Painting on Nantucket Island. (Nantucket, 1982). 17. Garland, Catherine A. NANTUCKET JOURNEYS; Exploring the Island, Its Architecture, And Its Past. (Camden, ME, 1988). Softcover. Read, enjoy and become more alert to problems facing the modern, growing Nantucket. 18. Griscom, Ludlow and Folger, Edith V. THE BIRDS OF NANTUCKET. (Cambridge, MA, 1948).