Old boat buoys hang from the outdoor shower wall and the side porch holds an assortment of birdhouses and potted plants.
Living with Heirlooms The cottage out on Polpis Road, quite removed from town, was built in the 1800s. For many years, it was inhabited by the late Mac Dixon, famed for his role as director of the Nantucket Theatre Workshop. The most recent occupants, Peter Greenhalgh, sales manager for the Joyce and Seward Johnson Gallery at the Artists Association of Nantucket, and his wife, Stacey Stuart, special events manager at the Nantucket Historical Association, enjoy the serene oasis they have created away from the energetic environment of town and their work. When one has amassed a collection from several generations of family, it is both a responsibility and a challenge. But Greenhalgh has always derived pleasure in surrounding himself with the treasured heirlooms he inherited from his ancestors, who came from England and Scotland. He takes comfort in living with the past. “It isn’t a burden to take care of these things,” he comments, “but rather a joy. When I arrange a group of silver items, for example, I remember seeing them in my family home and it evokes pleasant memories.” When he married Stacey a few years ago, the cottage was already crammed with several generations’ worth of Peter’s possessions, brought with him from many moves. The couple has managed to incorporate their family collections, appreciate things of quality, and decorate with items that remind them of a gentler time. This early cottage and everything in it pays respect to another era, one that is revered on Nantucket. 179