Nantucket TODAY
Joe Farrell: From Salvage to Salvation
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I wanted to pass along my appreciation for the Nantucket Book Festival. Put aside the magic of Nantucket and what a fabulous setting for the festival; to my mind, the greater magic was the incredible festival itself. The weekend was such an amazing series of discussions, one after another, by incredible authors having rich conversations about their work. And to have a setting where hundreds of people showed up, simply because they love books. I felt so lucky to be a part of it. Was that Nantucket, or was it heaven? – Rick Tulsky
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EDITOR’S NOTE Autumn. In my humble opinion, it’s the best time of year on Nantucket. The weather is still warm enough to go to the beach for a quick dip or catch a radiant sunset spreading pastel glory across the sky, yet cool breezes make for perfect sleeping weather with the windows open. The pace of life slows, traffic congestion eases, if only ever so slightly, and there’s often a high-school football game to catch at Vito Capizzo Stadium on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon. The bulk of our restaurants and shops are still open, if not all week at least Thursday to Sunday, and there are enough visitors – many here for destination weddings that seem to occupy every weekend in September and October – or clued in by friends or family members who have discovered that fall on Nantucket offers the best of summer, without the worst of summer. And it’s been one crazy summer, from influencer debates to Flock camera controversies to complaints about the worst traffic we’ve ever seen. But respite is just around the corner, and it’s time to enjoy what’s been bringing visitors to our shores for generations. In this issue we offer a true buck-dancer’s choice of stories and images to enjoy while enjoying a leisurely weekend brunch on the porch, some much-needed 11th hour sun before the chill sets in or curled up on the couch in front of the first fire of the season. Inquirer and Mirror news editor Dean Geddes, who has been covering the island for nearly two decades, chronicles the incredible life of Joe Farrell, the long-time summer resident who runs one of the world’s premier marine salvage companies and as he transitions into retirement, has shifted some of his boundless energy to humanitarian and environmental protection efforts. Check out this great piece of long-form journalism on page 12. Staying on the water, staff writer and photographer Kaie Quigley spent a good chunk of the winter delving into our bay scallop industry, and in another long-form piece of work that starts on page 22, poses the question of why it has been in decline for over a decade, when the fishery itself is the healthiest it’s been in years. The answers are not necessarily surprising, and reflect the larger issues challenging the island. On a lighter note, you probably couldn’t go a day this summer without finding a game of mah jongg if you wanted to. From private clubs to private homes, island businesses to nonprofits, just about everyone seems to have jumped on the tile game’s bandwagon this summer. Frequent Nantucket Today contributor Anna Popnikolova gets to the bottom of its renewed popularity, not just on the island but nationwide, with players of all ages. Check out the story on page 40. Deer and rabbits and squirrels, oh my. Regular Nantucket Today writer and Inquirer and Mirror “Island Bird Sightings” columnist Ginger Andrews takes a look at some of the island’s ecological follies – animals introduced to Nantucket with perhaps the best of intentions, but not exactly the best consequences – on page 52. Make the most of my favorite time of year on the island. The damp chill and isolation of winter will be here soon enough.
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CONTENTS:
FALL 2026 FEATURES
IN EVERY ISSUE
12 THE SALVAGE MAN: FAITH, HARD WORK AND
4 9 66
RESOLVE DRIVE JOE FARRELL From a young age, his life revolved around the sea. After spending years building an international salvage business, summer resident Joe Farrell continues his legacy by focusing on ways to pay it forward through humanitarian projects. by Dean Geddes
EDITOR’S NOTE CONTRIBUTORS WHO’S WHO IN REAL ESTATE
22 A WAY OF LIFE ON THE WANE: NANTUCKET’S
SCALLOP FLEET FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE For years, commercial scalloping was a way of life for many Nantucketers, but times have changed and the fleet has diminished to just a few boats. Can the commercial scalloping industry be resurrected? by Kaie Quigley
32 A PHOTO ESSAY: LAKE POWELL BUCKET LIST? Photographer Scott Thomas travels to Arizona and shares beautiful imagery from the Colorado River that forms Lake Powell and the pastel landscape of the Sedona area. by Scott Thomas
36 FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS There are plenty of events still taking place this fall. Get outside and enjoy Nantucket during this quieter season. 40 MAH JONGG: LIKE A BOOK CLUB
WITHOUT THE BOOK Mah jongg is the “new bridge.” Groups are forming across the island, bringing young and old together, leaving technology behind and giving players a chance to build mah jongg skills and new friendships. by Anna Popnikolova
COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE FARRELL
22
52 IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME... What started as either good intentioned, or was motivated by desiring something to hunt – certain animals were introduced to Nantucket. We are still scratching our heads trying to figure out “why?” by Ginger Andrews 69 YOUR GUIDE TO DINING OUT 72 LAST LOOK Photo by John Seip
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The Nantucket Fund Grant Recipients from left; A Safe Place, Island Kitchen (Covid Response Fund)
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Nantucket T O D AY
The Inquirer and Mirror Inc. 1 Old South Road Nantucket, MA 02554 508 228-0001 nantucketmag.com Published by
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CONTRIBUTORS These are just some of the people who bring their talents to the pages of the fall issue of Nantucket Today and allow it to reflect genuine island life.
Dean Geddes
is the news editor of The Inquirer and Mirror, covering Nantucket government, breaking news and the people who shape the island. When he’s not reporting, he can usually be found on the golf course or photographing Nantucket from above with his drone.
Kaie Quigley
came to the island fresh out of Lasell University in Newton three years ago to take a position as staff writer and photographer for The Inquirer and Mirror. If a notebook or camera isn’t in his hand, a golf club or pickleball paddle probably is.
Meghan Luksic
moved to Nantucket four years ago, and is currently the production manager for the I&M. On the weekends you can find her at the beach with her dog Nori or spending time with friends and family.
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nky Santa is Nantucket’s answer to helping families who are struggling during the holidays to provide Christmas gifts for their kids. Through donations from island businesses and seasonal and year-round residents, Inky Santa is able to make Christmas a little merrier for island families. First begun in 1985 by firefighter Tom Holden and his wife Betsy as a Toys for Tots program, it was joined the following year by The Inquirer and Mirror, when editor and publisher Marianne Stanton saw that using the reach of the newspaper could expand the message of need and increase donations. That partnership has endured ever since to the benefit of island children. Over the last 40 years, Inky Santa has worked to ensure that no island kids go without on Christmas morning. Please help us continue that tradition and donate this year.
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FALL 2026 11
The Salvage Man
Faith, Hard Work and Resolve Drive Joe Farrell BY DEAN GEDDES
12 Nantucket Today www.nantucketmag.com
The first two helicopters never saw the 13 men tied together in the open ocean, and Joe Farrell knew why. Before he founded Resolve Marine, Farrell had spent years working with helicopters in the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center in the Bahamas, recovering test torpedoes from the bottom of the ocean. He knew how easily even brightlycolored objects could disappear in rough seas. Now Farrell and his crew were the objects lost in 12- to 16-foot swells in the middle of the ocean. It was 1994, Farrell and a Resolve crew had left Rio Haina in the Dominican Republic aboard the 82-foot tug Hispaniola, headed out to search for survivors from the tanker Albinoni, which had exploded and broken in two, when their tug began taking on water in heavy weather. Farrell tried to save it but eventually had to come to grips with the inevitable. It was going down. He sent a final mayday, shut down the engines and told the men to abandon ship.
Not long afterward, Farrell noticed something appearing on the crest of the swells. It caught his eye because nothing had floated past them all day. He untied himself from the group and swam toward it. It was a piece of bamboo, roughly 14 feet long. Farrell brought it back, and the captain offered what remained of his orange life jacket. They tied it to the bamboo, hoisted it above the seas, and waited. Farrell, the man holding onto that bamboo pole and praying a helicopter would see it, already had an unbelievable resume: Coast Guard diver, explosives advisor in Vietnam, civilian diver recovering Navy torpedoes from helicopters and chief engineer of an ocean-going salvage tug.
Thirteen of them had no choice but to plunge into the sea. They had too few life jackets, two life rings and a small cork float. Farrell used rope to connect the men so they would not become separated. For hours they drifted in seas so violent Farrell said he could hear breaking waves coming up behind them in spite of the howling wind. “There was so much vapor in the air, you couldn’t breathe,” he said. “You couldn’t get air.” The first Coast Guard helicopter flew by four or five hours later, passing almost directly over them. It never saw them. “I knew it was going to be like this,” Farrell said, understanding how hard it would be to spot them. Several hours later, another helicopter passed in the distance without seeing them. Farrell asked Mauricio Garrido, one of the men with him, to translate. Together, some in English and some in Spanish, they recited the Our Father, the Padre Nuestro, twice. www.ACK.net
The blue-collar kid from Quincy ultimately turned that collection of skills into Resolve Marine. Resolve is called when something of massive scale has gone wrong on or near the water across the globe. The company, which now has more than 350 employees around the world, responds to burning and grounded ships, oil spills, collisions and wrecks. Resolve commanded more than 120 vessels during the Deepwater Horizon cleanup, the largest oil spill FALL 2026 13
in U.S. history. Resolve helped rig and sink the 911-foot USS Oriskany, a retired aircraft carrier sent to the bottom off Pensacola, Fla. with controlled explosives so it could become a giant artificial reef. It also helped refloat the Dali 55 days after it brought down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
But Farrell’s connection to Nantucket is much more personal than professional. He owns a home on Old North Wharf and keeps an office off Milestone Road, and his family has spent years on the island. His children grew up coming here, working summers as lifeguards as teenagers.
When a section of New York’s old Tappan Zee Bridge became unstable during demolition, Resolve used nearly 500 pounds of explosives, massive cables and hydraulic chain-pullers to bring it down without allowing it to topple into the shipping channel.
The story might have been much different if it wasn’t for that 14-foot piece of bamboo that appeared in 1994, as they bobbed for hours in the churning open ocean.
Its projects have also included submarine recovery, offshore wind-farm work, aircraft recovery and the removal of hazardous cargo and pollution from wrecks around the world.
Soon after they had rigged the makeshift flag, another helicopter appeared on the horizon, on a course that would take it away from them. Farrell and two other men raised the bamboo.
The helicopter passed parallel to them. Then it turned toward them. They had been spotted. It didn’t take long before there were three Coast Guard helicopters overhead, along with a C-130 cargo plane and a tanker standing nearby. Farrell was among the last to leave the water. By then, with aircraft everywhere, he had started doubting whether the bamboo had actually mattered. Inside the final helicopter, the crew chief told him the Coast Guard had already searched the area and was no longer looking for them
Locally the company was hired by GE Vernova to help remove the damaged Vineyard Wind turbine blade off the ocean floor southwest of the island in 2024.
Resolve Marine managed the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, on fire and gushing oil.
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there. The helicopter had refueled and was heading somewhere else when the crew chief saw something above the waves.
“Every time I was in trouble,I would turn to prayer,” Farrell said. “And it would get me out of it.”
“You’ve got to tell me, sir,” Farrell remembers him saying. “What did I see above the waves?”
How Farrell ended up spending a lifetime in situations that required that much prayer is a story that begins on the waterfront in Quincy.
Farrell looked out the window. A young Joe Farrell was in or under the water early in life.
As a young boy he went to work for Hurley’s Boat Rental, cleaning boats, carrying outboards, repairing engines and helping prepare 40 or 50 boats “Every time before weekend fishermen I was in trouble, arrived.
“Dear Lord,” he remembers thinking, “I’m gonna quit trying to doubt.” Farrell has had a number of close calls in decades of dangerous work on the ocean. That incident in 1994 off the coast of Santo Domingo, though, may have been the closest.
“It got me into the ocean,” I would turn he said. to prayer,” He was mechanically gifted as a youngster and earned the Farrell said. “Over 60 years I kept getting nickname “Gadgets.” killed,” Farrell said, “but it “And it would School didn’t interest him as never took.” get me out of it.” much as the water. Farrell He credits his faith.
For him, the connection came over time. Raised Catholic, Farrell said it was only in his early 30s, following one near miss after another, that he began “connecting the dots.” Whenever things went badly working on wrecks, from diving accidents to flooded engine rooms, he prayed.
admits he skipped far more school than he should have and says he once rewired the telephone at home so the family could call out but the school could not call in. By 18 he had owned several old Cadillacs and learned to swap engines to keep them running.
Another close call...
Farrell, seated in the raft jumped into the water with another crew member, right, to save a fellow member of the crew. At one point, he and the two crewmen were between a Resolve boat and the M/V Peljesac with the potential all three of them could be crushed between the hulls.
In Joe’s words:
“So, they came alongside the M/V Peljesac (ran aground and refloated), and one of the Resolve guys, Eric, got on the Peljesac’s gangway to board. In doing so, a wave picked up the Peljesac’s stern and the gangway with it; Eric held onto a gangway wire but was hit in the head by a crane and fell in. After a number of near crushing passes on and over us the guys on the crew boat threw this raft to us. I swam into it and pulled Eric on top of me. The other man is Chris, the Resolve diver who jumped in with me to get Eric. www.ACK.net
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set of double dive tanks, a sea bag and no real plan. A Boston Globe clipping led him to the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island in the Bahamas, where he spent about four years recovering Navy test torpedoes, often from helicopters. After that came a job as chief engineer on a 158-foot Dutch-built salvage tug. When its owners decided to sell, they let Farrell use the vessel to find work in the Caribbean. Two salvage jobs later, he had made enough to buy it. Resolve, Farrell’s first tug.
He wanted to become a Navy diver, possibly joining the UDT/SEAL program, but a broken nose caused him to fail the Navy dive physical. He joined the Coast Guard instead, eventually serving aboard the icebreaker Southwind, attending Navy dive school anyway and training as an engineman. Farrell later spent time in Vietnam as an explosives advisor, supervising the unloading of munitions ships around the Saigon River and Qui Nhon. “The machinery, the engines, the diving, the
explosives, that was really where it all came from,” he said. When he left the Coast Guard in 1972, Farrell wanted to end up somewhere warm. An older man needed his sailboat, the Vagabond, delivered to Florida. Farrell knew boats but not enough about sailing to talk his way into the job, so he went to the library, learned sailing vocabulary and was hired. He left Scituate in a November snow squall aboard the Vagabond with “500 bucks,” a
“I got the salvage business backward,” he joked. “I had a 158-foot ship, and I was the chief engineer and the captain.” He named the tug Resolve. Farrell met his wife Mary Beth around the same time. Resolve Marine would eventually operate around the world, but the early years were less glamorous. Farrell would leave on what he thought was a two- or three-week salvage job. “That could be a month or two,” he said. There were three children at home, no credit lines and little financial cushion.
Resolve helped refloat the Dali 55 days after it brought down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
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“She recognized that I was not a guy to do a 9-to-5 job somewhere else,” he said. “Everything we got came from the ocean.” When Farrell talks about those early years, and what Mary Beth endured, he looks at her and pauses. “You really went through some stuff,” he said. “And you’re still with me.” During the Hispaniola sinking, one of Farrell’s competitors called Mary Beth at home and told her Joe was lost at sea. “We didn’t have cell phones back then. It really sucked,” he said. Resolve began operating around 1980 and was formally established in 1984. Farrell said the company grew the same way he had, with one tough job teaching it something it could use on the next. “Every job we have is like a job with training wheels on it,” he said, “because the next job is going to be bigger.” In the early years Farrell admits he often did not know how to bid those jobs properly. His customers got inexpensive salvage work, he got experience and built a reputation. “I was always the guy that they knew I would do the job no matter what it took,” he
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The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, sinking to the bottom to become a giant artificial reef.
said, “even if I didn’t make a profit.” Resolve continued to grow, eventually taking on jobs from the ValuJet Flight 592 recovery and Deepwater Horizon to wrecks damaged by war in Sri Lanka, the battleship Texas and demolition work on the old Tappan Zee Bridge. Farrell credits longtime salvors like Frank Leckey with handling major jobs in the field which allowed him to concentrate on building the company. “We’re number one in ship rescues with
our teams,” Farrell once told an audience, before adding with characteristic qualification, “We’re like number one and a half in salvage.” Alongside the commercial work, Farrell used Resolve’s equipment and money for humanitarian projects. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he says he diverted money intended for repairs to one of his own vessels and sent it to Haiti with relief supplies and equipment. Relationships built through salvage work in Sri Lanka later led him to contribute to rebuilding St. Anthony’s Shrine after the
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2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Mission Resolve, formally launched in 2019, became the vehicle for that side of his life, encompassing humanitarian work, environmental projects, education, coastal restoration and ocean research.
Farrell said he never pushed Joey toward the company. In fact, for a long time, Joey did not want to take it over. Then one day he came to his father. “Dad, I’m ready,” Farrell remembers him saying.
Faith is a major part of it.
Farrell knew he was.
Today Farrell said he goes to church seven days a week and carries rosary beads in his pocket.
“He had lived the company and he knew it,” he said.
He says the rosary is not about fear. “I don’t worry,” he said. “If I worried, I’d have been gone long ago from stress. It’s just comforting.” His children all found their own routes into the ocean world. Joey spent years working his way through Resolve, including roughly two years on the Rena wreck removal in New Zealand. Farrell said his son sometimes caught grief for being the owner’s kid and went out of his way to prove he belonged.
The hand-off, Farrell insists, has not been difficult. He has deliberately stepped away from the company’s day-to-day operations so his son can run it without looking over his shoulder. “I needed my son to find his own way, make his mistakes,” Farrell said. Lana, a former nurse, now runs Resolve Academy, the company’s maritime firefighting and safety school. Summer became an ROV pilot and technician involved in ocean exploration, and her husband, Danik Forsman, became a pilot of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s deep-sea submersible Alvin.
Resolve belongs to the next generation now, and Farrell has another vessel on his mind: the Lana Rose, a 216-foot former fishing and seismic-research vessel he has spent years trying to give a permanent purpose. Mission Resolve has partnered with Nova Southeastern University’s Ocean Initiative, with plans to eventually home-port the vessel at NSU’s Ocean Campus near Port Everglades, Fla. and use it as a platform for marine science, education and conservation. Farrell still sees the North Atlantic right whale as a central mission for the ship. For a man who spent most of his career responding when something went wrong at sea, the project is a different kind of mission. “The ocean keeps spitting me back,” he said. “That’s why I respect it, but I have to pay it back.” ___________________________________ Dean Geddes is news editor of The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket’s trusted news source since 1821, and an occasional contributor to Nantucket Today.
During the demolition of the old Tappan Zee Bridge, one section needed to be carefully removed to prevent it from falling into the shipping lanes. 18 Nantucket Today
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Clean and Safe Oceans
Wildlife Protection
Humanitarian Aid During Natural Disasters
Lana Rose, Farrell’s vessel that is used in his humanitarian work, environmental projects, educations, coastal restoration and ocean research.
Orphanage Classroom & Dormitory Expansion in Sri Lanka
Above: The Mission Resolve Foundation focuses on several areas: The ocean, wildlife and humanitarian relief. Joe Farrell has sent aid to Dominica, the Bahamas and the St. Anthony’s Church rebuild, as well as other areas. Right: Farrell stands next to a huge anchor that adorns the front lawn of the Resolve Marine Group. His faith has kept him on his path and he feels called to pay it forward by helping others as well as the environment. www.ACK.net
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“Certainly we could handle double the amount of fishermen that are out there now. It’s just a matter of who wants it.” — Tara Riley, Town Shellfish and Aquatic Resource Manager 22 Nantucket Today
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A way of life on the wane
Nantucket’s Scallop Fleet Faces Uncertain Future BY KAIE QUIGLEY
N
antucket’s commercial scalloping industry has become a shell of its former self.
Fewer commercial scallopers, especially younger ones, are combing eelgrass beds each winter for Nantucket bay scallops, arguably New England’s most coveted shellfish. A fishery that once regularly produced more than 50,000 bushels per season now struggles to even hit the five-digit mark, largely due to a lack of fishermen. The harbor’s adult scallop population has been on the rise in recent years, but the number of people willing to spend a morning on the water in wintry conditions has, for the most part, been steadily decreasing. Close to 20,000 bushels were hauled out of Nantucket and Madaket harbors in 2012, one of the highest-yield seasons in recent memory, according to town shellfish and aquatic resource manager Tara Riley. In the 1980s, it was not unusual for the harvest to exceed 70,000 bushels. This past commercial season, which wrapped up at the end of March, about 7,800 bushels were harvested. The season before 20242025, was the first time more than 10,000 bushels had been caught in nearly a decade. That disparity, Riley said, largely comes down to participation. “The difference is that we don’t have the effort of people fishing out there,” she said during this past commercial scalloping season. “Could we have gotten 20,000 bushels last year? Maybe, if we had more people fishing.” The number of boats on the water per day this season capped out around two dozen, a far cry from the hundred or so that used to roam during the height of the fishery four decades ago. Furthermore, the once popular fishery is now mostly filled with people nearing retirement age, painting a bleak future for an already-depleted fleet. There aren’t many members of the new generation signing up to drag dredges and haul in near-frozen gear to make money in the off-season. “The fleet is aging out. Most of us are over 50, some of us are over 60. You could probably go around the fleet and count how many guys are under the age of 50. I bet there’s not more than 10 or 12,” commercial scalloper, charter fishing captain and Select Board member Bob DeCosta, 67, said after this year’s scalloping season wrapped up.
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“Eventually those guys all age out. My dad kind of aged out this year. He went a little bit, but he’s 81,” scalloper Jim Sjolund, 37, said, referring to his father Carl. An inflection point is on the horizon, in the eyes of some. “At some point there’s not going to be much of a fleet,” Sjolund said. “I think the way things are going, the fleet is going to just get smaller due to attrition and age, unless there is some sort of revitalization for getting people involved in the fishery,” Riley said. The habitat may not be able to handle 100 boats or more anymore, but Riley said there’s plenty of room for growth.
Retired scalloper Carl Sjolund
“Certainly we could handle double the amount of fishermen that are out there now,” she said. “It’s just a matter of who wants it.”
Scalloper Steve Lawrence
His investment has paid off so far, he said, but he characterized entering the scalloping business today as a leap of faith.
So what, if anything, can be done to spur a rejuvenation? How can the island’s last true commercial fishery be supported into the future?
“It’s something that’s a bit of a gamble and a risk that you have to be willing to take,” Wallace said. “I didn’t tell my parents (who both used to scallop) I was buying a scallop boat, because they were like ‘it’s a dying industry, there’s no money in it’.”
The answers to those questions aren’t clear, but one thing is: It’s time to put the thinking caps on and find ways to slow the erosion of one of the last vestiges of Nantucket’s working waterfront.
“You look at the cost of everything on Nantucket, it’s pretty hard to justify,” Sjolund said. “There’s no benefits, there’s no health insurance, it’s all on you what you’re making.”
Town natural resources director Jeff Carlson believes the fishery is as worthy of preserving as historic buildings and other parts of the island that are pillars of Nantucket’s decorated past.
A waning working waterfront
“The bay scallop fishery, to me, is like one of the greatest living pieces of history that’s still there,” he said. “I think it’s culturally significant in that way . . . It’s really rooted here and something that’s very important.” Riley agreed. “We should make every effort to preserve the fishery at a level appropriate for Nantucket,” she said. The problem, however, is that several barriers exist that make commercial scalloping much harder than it used to be.
It don’t come cheap While a viable scalloping setup costs far less than other commercial fishing enterprises, it’s still a pretty penny. “You have to have a truck. You have to have a trailer. You have to have a boat. A lot of people have trucks, but a boat and a trailer and the right equipment, that’s 25 grand for a good setup,” Sjolund said. And that’s not counting fuel and maintenance costs. Dylan Wallace, 40, made the investment to join the fleet four years ago. He told The Inquirer and Mirror that his boat, formerly used by longtime fisherman and former Downyflake owner Karsten Reinemo Jr., cost about $10,000. He spent another $5,000 to tune up the engine, and got much of his equipment through bartering, offering scallops in exchange for old gear. 24 Nantucket Today
Even getting a boat and the proper equipment doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing. You still have to find a place, and people to open your scallops, unless you’re willing to do it yourself after a day on the water. Then you have to find a buyer who is willing to pay a fair price for the meats. None of those things are as easy as they once were. As Nantucket’s working waterfront has dwindled, so has the number of shanties, the amount of so-called bench space available in them and the number of people willing to open. Opening scallops used to be a popular job in the off-season, but not so much anymore, said Andy Lowell, a member of the Nantucket Shellfish Association board of directors and chairman of the town’s Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board. He used to open scallops for fishermen after school in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the fishery was at its peak, but he doesn’t see many people looking for that work anymore. “Just like fishermen in the industry aging out, so possibly are several shanties aging out, shuckers aging out,” Lowell said. “How many people are getting into being a scallop-opener? How do you entice people into being a scallop-opener?” Even just 20 years ago, opening scallops for extra money was common, DeCosta said. “Guys opened after work for Christmas money. The restaurant people didn’t have work, so they opened,” he said. www.nantucketmag.com
“Let’s try to at least preserve what we’ve got, both for water quality, eelgrass and scallops, and find ways to preserve that history of the fishery, and maybe even find ways to take baby steps to make it better.” — Jeff Carlson, Town Natural Resources Director
The mornings can be bitter cold and sometimes icy, but dedicated scallopers continue to go out to harvest the scallops in Nantucket Harbor. www.ACK.net
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Now other industries have taken over. “The construction industry is so good. Nobody wants to go open scallops,” DeCosta said. Shanties, especially independent ones, were also plentiful decades ago, but several factors including financial viability and more restrictive Board of Health regulations have rendered back-yard shanties essentially extinct. A shanty Lowell’s father built in 1979 off the garage of the home he still lives in has been dormant for years for those reasons, he said. The same is true for DeCosta. His parents had a shanty off Waydale Road that no longer welcomes scallopers because it doesn’t comply with the regulations, and the cost to bring it into compliance was too high, he said.
it the rest of the year? With the price of things on Nantucket . . . how do I utilize that space for the remainder of the year to gain an income?” The shanties that do still exist, either independent ones or those at local fish markets, have limited space. Finding a spot at one of the half-dozen or so remaining doesn’t come easy, Wallace said. It often requires connections that aren’t made overnight. “That space on the bench is kind of passed on,” he said. “The fish markets, like Sayle’s and Nantucket Seafood, they have their own shanties, but they have their guys that fish and they buy from,” Wallace said. “Just because you want to fish doesn’t mean they’re going to take you.”
“That health department law really took away a lot of shanties,” Lowell said.
He was lucky enough to be mentored by legendary island waterman Neil Cocker, and has essentially inherited his bench space at Ginger Andrews’ independent shanty on Old North Wharf.
Rules require a three-bay sink, a sink with 180-degree water, refrigeration and a hand-washing station.
“I’m really lucky . . . That’s like so rare,” Wallace said. Even finding space at the local fish markets poses its own problems.
“When those rules came into effect, my dad stopped getting the shanty license,” Lowell said.
“You’re beholden to sell to them because you’re in their shanty,” said Sjolund, who opens at his own private shanty on Parker Lane.
He also hasn’t gone through the effort to resurrect it because he can’t see what the return on the investment would be. “It’s not like there’s a whole lot of money in that, renting our shanty to scallopers,” Lowell said. “And it’s seasonal. What do you do with
That means leaving money on the table in many cases. As recently as last year, local buyers were only offering $12-$15 per pound on the low end at points during the season, while off-island buyers were paying closer to $20-$25.
Walter Barrett, Harold Williams and Vila Souza open bay scallops inside Walter Barrett’s shanty, 1950s.
Stricter health regulations in recent years have made it more costly and difficult to open and maintain scallop shanties on the island.
Photo courtesy Nantucket Historical Association
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Scalloper Doug Smith brings in a good haul of scallops after spending the early morning out on the water.
Several scallopers estimated half the fleet or more now opts to sell their catch off-island where they can fetch a higher price.
as what work there is, that would be the only other reason that you’d ever see guys really go back to it,” he opined.
“If you’re lucky and you have your own shanty, you definitely ship off-island. There’s no question about it,” Wallace said. “When you’re on tight margins . . . That extra $10 a pound is a big difference.”
What to do?
He got his own wholesale license last season so he can sell directly to off-island restaurants, he said. “I’m so proud of these guys for finding these niche markets on their own, but what bothers me is it’s leaving some guys in the dust, or leaving some guys a little scared (if they don’t have an off-island buyer willing to pay more than local markets),” Lowell said. “They need to feel more comfortable.”
Why bother? The investment it takes to get started, paired with the obstacles and uncertainty of income act as a turnoff, especially when other lines of work onshore don’t require that level of cash up front, and provide a guaranteed paycheck. “It’s a lot easier to decide you want to be a painter,” Carlson said. “You can go and get brushes and rollers and cans of paint. It’s a lot cheaper than a boat, a truck, a trailer and slips and tie-ups. It can be a lot.” DeCosta and Sjolund shared that sentiment. “You can go bank $30 an hour dragging wood around a job site,” DeCosta said. “As long as there’s this much construction, it’s going to be harder to get guys (into the fishery).” “Guys went scalloping back in the day because there was nothing else to do,” Sjolund said. “Someone just told me they had the side of their house shingled and it was $85 an hour for shingling . . . And you probably get a coffee break.” “Unless there’s some drastic financial change on Nantucket, as far www.ACK.net
Some ideas are being floated for how to address issues with the fishery, but most are still in the brainstorming stage. For example, Lowell thinks the Shellfish Association should put its money toward efforts like loan programs to help fishermen buy boats and equipment. Doing so could relieve some of the financial burden that has been identified as a significant barrier to entry. While no such programs are actively in the works, he sees room for the NSA to provide help in that capacity. “As long as the support for the NSA remains strong, which it is, then the money should be there for programs like this,” Lowell said. He also believes there should be a more concerted effort to market Nantucket bay scallops as a luxury product worthy of a high price per pound, both on and off-island. While it’s not clear what the best approach to that would be, he sees it as necessary to make the dirty work worthwhile for scallopers. “Anything below $20 per pound is a slap in the face,” Lowell said. “There has to be compensation for what you’re doing, or why bother?” DeCosta supports the idea of centralized shanty space, perhaps owned by a nonprofit, that could provide more guaranteed space for fishermen to take their catch. Such a facility could serve the dual purpose of providing more bench space while also allowing fishermen to have more control over their own product. FALL 2026 27
Having easy access to freezer space could allow scallopers to freeze their product during the season and then sell it during the summer to island restaurants or high-end eateries off-island at a higher price, for example, DeCosta said. “It would be no different than what they’ve done with the caterers,” DeCosta said, referring to Remain’s kitchen incubator, The Hive on Amelia Drive, which rents out commercial kitchen space to island food artisans in an effort to help them grow their businesses. “We need something like that.” Carlson said The Hive and the Land Bank’s deer-processing facility at the Boynton Lane food hub could serve as tangible models for just that type of public-private partnership. He also theorized that there could be ways to incentivize bringing back independent shanties, perhaps through some type of zoning provision that allows them to be ground-cover exempt. DeCosta and Lowell also said they’d like to see some type of vocational program through the schools where students could learn how to open scallops or fish themselves. That could poten28 Nantucket Today
tially create a new pipeline of fishermen or openers outside of those who are choosing to follow in the footsteps of family members. Carlson agreed that engaging with the younger generation, educating it on the fishery and the opportunities available on the water, could be a logical next step to increase participation. Conversations around revamping the apprenticeship guidelines to make it easier for people to earn the required amount of days on the water to be eligible for a commercial license of their own have also been ongoing at SHAB. An average of about 15 people per year have taken part in the apprenticeship program the last six seasons, but of those, only two or three generally complete their required 25 days on the water each year to make them eligible for their own permit. It is unclear how many that have earned permits have actually gone on to get their own boat or continue fishing, Carlson said, though Wallace is an example of one who has. Sjolund would like it to be easier for young people to gain experience on the water. He believes any day someone spends on a scallop boat, regardless of www.nantucketmag.com
whether they have an apprentice permit, should count toward that 25-day requirement.
gone away, largely due to issues with water quality, but, “we still have it pretty good,” Carlson said.
Currently, regulations require someone to apply for and buy an apprentice permit before the time they spend on a scallop boat counts toward the 25 days.
“How do we make it better and keep it?” he asked. “Not to get all ‘Field of Dreamsy,’ but if you build it, people will come.”
There is also the question of how the wealth of knowledge among current fishermen can be transferred to younger generations, especially when most kids are tied up with school during the winter months. Riley suggested potentially sponsoring fishermen to teach younger generations, and/or allowing scallopers over 60 to go out on weekends for the purpose of teaching the trade to school-aged children, without having to worry about getting them back to school before the first bell. In any case, addressing the sustainability of the fishery and fleet will start with conversations within the community going forward, Carlson said. “How we evolve and kind of take those next steps, I think, is really a community thing, something that we’re probably going to have some hard discussions around,” he said. “I think there’s always a very romantic want to be on the water,” Carlson said. “Especially for the people who live out here. It’s a big part of our life. How do you take away the hurdles that are preventing that from happening?” “The phrase ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’ gets used a lot,” he continued. “But now we’re at a point where it has to be . . . how do we honor that, but adapt to meet what the current challenges are? Because the way we always used to do it may not be enough.”
Even with a booming adult scallop population, the island will likely never see a massive fleet of boats fishing for bay scallops again. Rather, Carlson says the goal is to turn the tide. “I think that’s always the goal, to say we’re done going down. Let’s at least hold the line and find ways to go up,” he said. “Let’s try to at least preserve what we’ve got, both for water quality, eelgrass and scallops, and find ways to preserve that history of the fishery, and maybe even find ways to take baby steps to make it better.” Wallace agreed that prioritizing harbor health and addressing other issues will be crucial to supporting the fishery into the future, but he also acknowledged that fighting Mother Nature is a losing battle. All other factors aside, the fishery’s days are likely numbered due to climate change, he said. “It’s kind of cool that my parents did it. And I love being out on the water and having that be my office for the winter,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s something I’m going to be able to see my grandkids doing.” “It’s sad, but it’s just what’s happening,” he said. ______________________________________________________ Kaie Quigley is a staff writer for The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket’s trusted news source since 1821.
The future of the fishery also depends on the state of the harbor, and ensuring there are still scallops to catch, he said. Similar fisheries off Martha’s Vineyard and Long Island have all but www.ACK.net
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A Global Conversation Is Coming to Nantucket This October, Counterpart International brings together women entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers whose leadership is reshaping opportunity across the globe. For more than 60 years, Counterpart International has partnered with communities around the world to turn local vision into lasting impact. Our work is grounded in a simple belief: the people closest to the challenges are best positioned to solve them. Through our immersive leadership and entrepreneurship program, Counterpart invests in women leaders and entrepreneurs who are strengthening organizations, expanding economic opportunity, creating jobs, and helping communities thrive. Their stories offer a powerful lens into the challenges and opportunities shaping our shared future.
"Our aspiration is to build a global network of women leaders who become mentors, connectors, trainers, and champions within their own communities, creating a multiplier effect that expands opportunity far beyond those who participate directly in the program." — Ann Hudock, President & CEO, Counterpart International
Join Counterpart International An evening on women’s leadership, entrepreneurship & global opportunity. Wednesday, October 7 | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Sister Ship Restaurant, 29 Centre St, Nantucket Join Counterpart President & CEO Ann Hudock and Women’s Economic Advancement Director Lida Hedayat for a conversation about how investing in women leaders can create lasting economic and social impact across generations.
WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Women Leaders. Local Solutions. Global Impact.
These women are four examples of the entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers participating in Counterpart's 2026 immersive leadership and entrepreneurship program in Washington, DC, October 19-30, 2026. Their work demonstrates the type of locally led impact the program is designed to accelerate.
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Director, Women Centre of Excellence
competitions annually,
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engaging 20,000+ young
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people across Central Asia.
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70%
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Jobs per participant
Lake Powell and Sedona PHOTO ESSAY BY SCOTT THOMAS
A parting shot from the park road looking down on the winding canyon that connected the marina area to the more open reservoir. 32 Nantucket Today
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I’ll admit, Lake Powell was never on my bucket list – until a friend invited me on a destination birthday trip in April. My response was simple: why not? It’s an easy flight to Phoenix, arriving with just enough time to make it to the Sedona area for a late dinner. We overnighted in Oak Creek and enjoyed morning coffee with a view of Bell Rock before heading out for a short hike to Cathedral Rock. After lunch in Sedona, we took the scenic drive through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, followed by the less scenic desert highway to Page, Ariz. The Glen Canyon Dam in Page holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Powell. Most of the reservoir’s roughly 1,900 miles of shoreline and 100 major side canyons are actually in Utah, and that puts much of it in a different time zone (your devices will love it). Red rocks near Oak Creek, just south of Sedona, Ariz.
At the marina, we joined the “guest of honor” and her family and boarded our home for the next few days: a 50-foot, double-decker houseboat. The flat-bottomed boat, powered by two outboard engines, was essentially a comfortable floating condo. To say the dock staff throw you the keys and wish you bon voyage would not be an understatement. But after a little practice maneuvering our mini Hy-Line through the channels and along the canyon walls, it was actually kind of fun. The hundreds of shapes and shades of red rock rising from the deep blue water were incredibly beautiful. We had much of the park almost to ourselves. With few additional ports of call along the way, you need to be properly provisioned.
Arriving at the marina at Wahweap Bay near Page, where the lack of snow and drought have dramatically reduced water levels.
Bringing the stern ashore and laying out anchor lines for the night. After a big dinner, an adult beverage and the gentle rock of the boat, sleep came pretty easy. www.ACK.net
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Enjoying a beach campfire under a million stars. There may have been a few ghost stories too. 34 Nantucket Today
A gorgeous sunset almost matches the color of the sand at our overnight stop. www.nantucketmag.com
Paid Promotional Content There’s also no dockage or moorings, so each evening we would look for a sandy beach, run the stern ashore, and secure the boat with a few anchors. I’ll just say it added to the adventure. Great friends, good food, a few bottles of wine and amazing scenery. What more could you look for in a bucket-list trip? __________________________________________ Scott Thomas has been a year-round resident of Nantucket since 1989. Originally from Pennsylvania, he graduated from Penn State before beginning a career in hospitality, which ultimately brought him to the island. His first big adventure was a two-month trip to Europe in 1998 and since then he has stamped more than 50 countries in his passport.
Preparing to forge Oak Creek, on our way to Cathedral Rock. The entire Oak Creek Canyon — almost to Flagstaff — is laid out with hiking trails and scenic vistas.
Gunsight Butte graced the entrance one of the many side canyons. The colors of the rock and sand would change with the sun.
The shear rocky canyon walls surround the dark blue water of Lake Powell. It’s hard to judge the normal water levels but as of this writing, the Glen Canyon dam may soon cease the ability to provide hydroelectric power. www.ACK.net
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Nantucket
Happenings Brought to you by
Festivals &
Nantucket Island Fair September 12-13 Cross Island Hike September 19 nantucketlandbank.org Hike across the island from the beach in Tom Nevers to Madaket Harbor. Race for Recovery Fall Restaurant Week
September 27 September 28 - October 4
Wet Paint Weekend October 9-11 An art-filled weekend featuring an opening reception, artists working en plein air and an art auction open to the public. Proceeds from Wet Paint support arts education programs, galleries, year-round public programs and the artist-members of the Artists Association of Nantucket. 15th Annual Nantucket Half Marathon
October 11
Fall Festival & Batacular Bike Race October 25 Middle Moors This free community event offers hayrides, kids’ games, a Nanpuppet show, live music and more fun for all ages. Running alongside the festival is the Batacular Bike Race – a loop through the beautiful trails of the middle moors. nantucketconservation.org/fall-festival-and-batacular-bike-race
Annual Halloween Parade and Costume Contest October 30 Main Street Join The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Nantucket Office of Culture & Tourism for the annual Main Street Halloween Parade and costume contest. Trick or treating to follow.
Photo: Kate Benjamin
36 Nantucket Today
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& Special Events Festival of Wreaths November 25-29 Whaling Museum, Nantucket Historical Association
Nantucket Christmas Stroll December 4-6 The Nantucket Christmas Stroll, hosted by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, is a festive weekend featuring caroling, holiday shopping and a visit from Santa, bringing holiday cheer to the island’s historic downtown
Cold Turkey Plunge November 26 Children’s Beach nantucketatheneum.org/turkey-plunge-2026/ The Nantucket Atheneum’s Cold Turkey Plunge provides the funding necessary for Weezie Library for Children to offer free, year-round access to programs, services and materials to all library users. Festival of Trees December 4-31 nha.org/join-give/benefit-events/festival-of-trees/ Each year, community members, local merchants, nonprofit organizations, artists, artisans and schoolchildren decorate magnificent trees displayed in the Whaling Museum for visitors to enjoy throughout the season.
December Delight December 12 Stop by Nantucket High School and support the senior class. December Delight is a fundraiser for the senior class and a great place to shop for holiday gifts. Local vendors will sell their wares and Santa will be there for photos with the kids.
For more special event listings, check out our app:
The Inquirer and Mirror Founding Sponsor of the
HALLOWEEN PARADE Costume Contest
Friday, October 30
Contest Registration begins at 3:00pm Judging Begins at 3:30pm at the Fountain on Main Street Prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place
Winner of the Pet Contest will lead the Parade in Town!
Enter your pet’s Halloween photo at
ack.net/contests
from Oct. 1 - Oct. 28 www.ACK.net
Prize for
Parade begins at 4:00 pm
Best Group Costume
pre-register your group by visiting ack.net/promotions AUGUST 2026 37
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I&M
Best Theater 2026
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Mah Jongg:
Like a book club without the book STORY BY ANNA POPNIKOLOVA | PHOTOS BY KAIE QUIGLEY
Hotel, Nobadeer Cafe at the Nantucket Inn, the Summer House, the Saltmarsh Senior Tiles clicking. Glasses clinking. Women Center, Legit, the Atheneum and other busilaughing, their voices carrying down the ness on the island hosted pop-ups, open play stairs. events and classes. It is a Thursday evening, which means mah A player of any level can find a place to jongg open play at Lemon Press. The room is play, and a group of women – almost always a grid of four-person tables, every seat full, women – to welcome them to the table. every surface a sea of white tiles, the dots The real draw is the friendships made across gazing up from the tables like eyes. the tiles, said Robin Slick, a long-time islandThis game was originally named máquè, er and organizer of Nantucket’s first mah meaning sparrow. The name mahjong, jongg tournament benefiting Theatre Workmájiàng in traditional Chinese, evolved later shop of Nantucket, which took place in June. from that root. It is said that the shuffling sound of tiles being placed is reminiscent of Slick, who has been playing for 25 years, was searching for a mah jongg group when she a sparrow’s wings fluttering. was moving to the island in 2019. Once mahjong was introduced to the United States, the American version of the Slick found her group through Congregation game came to be known as mah jongg, to Shirat HaYam, the local Jewish community, distinguish it from the different versions and when she reached out to the local synagogue during her move to see if there were any rules of the originally Eastern game. players on the island. Sandi Wright, the co-founder and president of Center & Spring, a company that produces From that group, she watched the community game tables and accessories, greets me at the bud and bloom over the years. Slick began door. We have a seat at the bar, and she shows teaching, playing with a regular 25-person me a spread of Center & Spring’s Nantuck- group at the Summer House and the craze took off from there. et-inspired Mah Jongg sets. Wright said the Nantucket summer of 2026 “I cannot even tell you how many new friends has been one of “mah jongg mayhem” the I have made through this game,” Slick said. “People you would never meet in any other likes of which she hasn’t seen before. ways, and then you gather around this mah “Last summer, there was not the momentum jongg table and all of a sudden it just grows that we’re seeing now. I never thought I would from there, and your friendships are really say this: I was coming here when I was 21, lovely. It’s such a nice way to meet people going to Dave Matthews Band at The Muse, and connect, especially on an island like this but this has been the most amazing summer that is so small.” I’ve ever had. I pinch myself when I think about how work, life and fun has become Kathe Pate, who plays at the Great Harbor Yacht Club, learned mah jongg in Texas. intertwined for me,” Wright said. According to Pate, the culture is very differThis summer, there was a mah jongg game ent between the North and South. somewhere on the island almost every night of the week. Lemon Press, the Nantucket “Mah jongg, even 10 or 11 years ago, was
You hear it before you see it.
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huge in Texas. I kept getting invited to meet ladies – I had to learn mah jongg and shoot clay pigeons. I learned both, but mah jongg was a lot more fun. I had never shot before or played mah jongg, and it was fun for me to learn these new fun things and socialize,” Pate said.
really enjoy the competitiveness and just the level of difficulty. It’s not something you’re going to learn in a day. You have to keep coming back to it, but it’s such a great reward when you have your a-ha moment.”
Great Harbor Yacht Club experienced the same trend as other groups on the island, Her biggest surprise, Pate said, was the num- hosting a small weekly game and seeing it ber of younger women playing mah jongg explode over a short time. This summer, it in the South. During sorority rush season, hosted mah jongg twice a week. many girls entering their first years of college Pate said the game brings together a wide took mah jongg lessons or played in groups, variety of women of all ages, a trend she saw because knowing the game could increase in Texas and has seen continue on Nantucket. their chances of getting into their sorority of “The group in Texas was very young, like choice. high-school age, and up to women in their “In the South, it’s very much a young per- 80s, some of whom played all their lives. I son’s game, where I feel like, in the North, think the multi-generational thing is very people have the idea that it’s an old woman’s unique to mah jongg.” game,” Pate said. Wright agreed. Having learned from her “I think it’s just wonderful. It’s like a book mother, and then having taught her three club without having to read the book. At daughters to play, she said the game is a spethe higher levels, it really requires a lot of cial way to meet women you wouldn’t usulearning, it speaks to a lot of skill sets that ally meet, and brings together people of all we as women don’t often, especially if you’re ages over a common love. retired, get to use. I think a lot of women 42 Nantucket Today
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“It’s age-agnostic. I have met so many amazing women, and I’ve been coming here for a long time, this summer because of mah jongg, I have met so many women and I count them as friends. This is incredible, because we never would have crossed paths. These are women who are younger than me, who are older than me,” she said.
New York City – but I just think it’s a great opportunity to build friendships and meet new people.”
Sofia Scully-Power has been teaching mah jongg on the island and runs the Nantucket Mah Jongg Instagram group, which brings players across the island together, whether they are local, summering or just visiting for “You’re friends with these women, and then the week. you find out that they play mah jongg. It’s Power, who plays often with her siblings at been such a breath of fresh air. You can be home, decided to start teaching her friends any age to play, but also from the financial mah jongg, and the business grew from there. investment standpoint, you don’t even have Wright said mah jongg offers unique opporto buy a set to play.” tunities for entrepreneurship. “A lot of people look at Nantucket to be really exclusive. I think mah jongg is such an “Sofia’s a great example of what I love about equalizer, and you don’t have to be in a club mah jongg: this creative space for micro-ento play. The fact that hotels and restaurants trepreneurs. She started the mah jongg club are embracing the opportunity to open their and said I’m going to do events and teach doors and set their tables, I just love the way lessons, and she’s all over the island, and it’s that it doesn’t have to be exclusive,” she con- great. The sandbox is big enough for everyone,” she said. tinued. “I just think it’s another way for the commu- Power, who also plays backgammon, thinks nity to come together, and I just love the idea the draw to tabletop games for young people of women meeting more women. There’s no is a desire to connect away from technology. men up there – don’t take this the wrong way, “It’s the connection without being on your I love men who mahj, I do play with men in phone, the casual setting. It’s similar to going
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“A lot of people look at Nantucket to be really exclusive. I think mah jongg is such an equalizer, and you don’t have to be in a club to play. The fact that hotels and restaurants are embracing the opportunity to open their doors and set their tables, I just love the way that it doesn’t have to be exclusive.” – Sandi Wright, co-founder and president of Center & Spring
FALL 2026 43
From left, Cindi Galiher, Lesley Silverstein, Robin Slick, Tanya Forman, Kimberly Kozlowski, Gina Mercogliano, Sarah Powers and Jane Corwin.
on a walk with someone. You just have a different kind of conversation,” she said. Power also hosted a tournament earlier in the summer, benefiting the Maria Mitchell Association’s planned new aquarium. The tournament will continue, she said, hopefully next summer. Mah jongg was a very popular game in Jewish women’s circles in the 1920s. A group of Jewish women founded the National Mah
Jongg League in 1937 in New York City, which releases an annual card for mah jongg game-play. The central difference between American mah jongg and Chinese mahjong is how a player might win the game. Mah jongg is based on a card, released annually by the NMJL, which determines a set combination of hands which a player must achieve in order to win.
American mahj is also standardized based on the set of rules and the cards released by the NMJL, whereas the Chinese game tends to vary based on region. There are more than 20 variants of the game in Asia. The style of Chinese mah jong that currently tends to be played in the United States is Hong Kong Old Style, while Chinese Classical is the style that was exported to the U.S. in the 1920s, when Americans first started playing. The game tiles contain three suits – Cracks, Dots and Bams – numbered 1-9 in each suit. Additionally, the game contains honor tiles of the four winds and three dragons, and some bonus tiles. In American mah jongg, the game also contains joker tiles. The setup and layout of the game slightly varies from version to version. In general, the games are relatively the same, said Dennis Glassmeyer, a family friend of Wright. Glassmeyer, who learned Chinese mahjong first after spending time traveling in Asia, said the Chinese game tends to be “less complicated” with fewer strict rules. Either way, he said, the game is fun to play once you pick up the rules. “We play the American mah jongg. I don’t know how to play Chinese mahjong, I’m going to learn this year,” Wright said. “I will teach her when the time comes,” Glassmeyer said.
44 Nantucket Today
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In Texas, Pate said, both American and Chinese styles of the game are popular, as well as a style called Blanks: “a very sneaky game” in which players have to try to substitute their blanks with discards while other players aren’t looking. Younger women, Pate said, play Blanks as a drinking game. Pate, over the years, has become a collector of tiles. “I think I have 10 sets, nine American and one Taiwanese set. That’s crazy right? You only need one set. I had a set made for me.
Instead of Joker it says Kathe,” she said with a laugh. The main investment is the tiles, but mah jongg doesn’t have to be a large investment. More serious players splurge for nicer tiles, but beginner tiles are always an option, and the community is very welcoming to players just starting out. The games themselves have minimal buy-in, so it’s difficult to rack up debt, Pate joked. “You play for money, but the money is a quarter, so big bucks. My Texan friends,
we all play for money, we all have little quarter bags. I don’t see that here. Maybe ladies from New York or Florida might play for money when they’re home, but I don’t see that on the island.” “Some people have a table limit. When this poor person has lost $5, we stop charging them. Even if you’re playing for hours, it’s pretty hard to lose even $5 a quarter at a time. It’s a good way to cut our gambling losses,” Pate said with a laugh. ___________________________________
“The draw to tabletop games for young people is a desire to connect away from technology.” — Sofia Scully Power
Anna Popnikolova is a student at Harvard University, a former intern at The Inquirer and Mirror, founder of the Nantucket Poetry Festival and a frequent contributor to Nantucket Today.
The Nantucket themed Mah jongg tiles shown with lobsters, Nantucket Red pants and a map of the island. www.ACK.net
FALL 2026 45
Support the Inky Local Journalism Fund The Inky Local Journalism Fund was established to help maintain a vibrant, informed and connected Nantucket by ensuring the long-term strength and independence of local journalism at The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket’s trusted news source since 1821 and the island’s only locally-owned, independent, multi-platform news organization that incorporates print, digital and special publications into its content portfolio. The Fund supports reporting on the issues that matter most to our island community – including health, education, the environment, development, arts and culture. Your gift supports core priorities, including developing the next generation of storytellers through summer internships for high school and college students. This provides meaningful mentorship and hands-on newsroom experience at The Inquirer and Mirror while cultivating future leaders in journalism. Through the Community Foundation for Nantucket, you can help make an impact on local journalism by making a tax-deductible contribution.
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Hunger on Nantucket is Real. Here’s how you can help. The high cost of living poses a challenge to island residents from teachers and nurses to Coast Guard members and service industry workers. Without those who make Nantucket work, the island simply cannot function.
Nourish Nantucket is addressing the hunger crisis on the island by coordinating 14 food agencies along with our new Food Hub. With your support, we can end hunger on Nantucket once and for all.
For further information scan the code, visit nourishnantucket.org, or call Meg Browers at 508-825-6872.
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FALL 2026 49
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8/14/2026 9:06:06 AM
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...
52 Nantucket Today
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Ecological Follies Past: From Prairie Dogs and Raccoons to Rabbits, Deer and Squirrels STORY BY GINGER ANDREWS
Islands are special. We know this instinctively. No matter the size there is a line, a natural boundary of water, a sort of magical limitation. But this does not stop what appears to be another human instinct: to carry things from one place to another. Motivations differ: sometimes nostalgia, sometimes misplaced helpfulness, sometimes sheer accident. When it comes to introducing live animals where they never were before, we do not always think through the consequences. My sources include local newspapers, “Nantucket Argument Settlers” from both 1920 and 1966, and personal communications. Not everything makes the paper, of course. Probably first and arguably one of the most destructive mammals introduced to Nantucket without any special mention was the Norway rat, which infested shipping in its earliest transatlantic form. But with exploration comes the urge to bring back a trophy. “Argument Settlers” mentions “a live Greenland Bear,” brought back by Nantucket whalers under Captain Atkins who was using Davis Straight in 1732. It lived for about a year. The Weekly Mirror, March 28, 1846, contained a letter headed “Coon Hunting in Ohio.” It noted the ease of getting a dozen and that at 75 cents apiece that would bring in $9, equivalent to a month’s wages for a teacher. The Mirror’s next mention of raccoon hunting was Nov. 29, 1851, when “some hunters came down last Saturday on the steamer upon a coon hunt . . . they captured eight or 10 of the varmints . . . one of which, weighing between 30 and 40 pounds, no doubt was the ‘same old coon’ that we have heard of. The hunters were well pleased . . . the farmers were well pleased to get rid of so many corn and chicken-stealing varmints.” That was not the end of the story, of course. A 1938 story in The Inquirer and Mirror says that Trott’s Swamp was “infested” and “hundreds were shot in 1858. A ‘coon hunt’ with trained dogs was held in September on the Bailey Cornish Farm adjoining the swamp.” The “last” one was reported killed by William H. Wyer in the winter of 1893. But there’s always a next. In recent years there have been one www.ACK.net
or two escaped pet raccoons, eventually recaptured. But on June 11, 2015, a wild raccoon apparently found a hiding spot on a fuel truck. It rode over on the freight boat and escaped at the first delivery. Where is it now? Unknown. In 1886 “five foxes were brought to the island and by some evil-minded person.” A later entry notes “foxes “were numerous . . . and many were shot during the winter of 1887-8.” Prairie dogs, also called gophers, are first mentioned in 1842 in a newspaper account of a visit to Texas. Nothing was said about importing any, but an 1899 story says that “a summer guest on Nantucket introduced rabbits and Prairie Dogs about ten years ago. Both species rapidly multiplied. Rabbits have furnished game for sportsmen and are good food . . . Prairie dogs are a nuisance and quite destructive . . . they have no value . . . a universal pest at Nobadeer Farm where they were first introduced.” A Jan. 24, 1900 story notes an upcoming Article 30 “to see what action the Town will take in regard to the extermination of Prairie Dogs.” The town voted to pay a Mr. Nutt, the contractor, who ultimately poisoned them at a cost of $509.95. But the pain was soon forgotten. In 1910 a writer complained, “rats living on the public dumping ground just beyond town limits are more of a nuisance and do more damage than Prairie Dogs ever did.” FALL 2026 53
NANTUCKET, MASS., SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 31, 1925
Nantucket’s Solitary Deer to Have a Mate. Nantucket has for three years had a lone deer roaming about the island—seldom seen by anyone, yet often enough to warrant the statement that the animal is still living and hale and hearty. This week the Selectmen received a proposition from Breckinridge Long, a summer resident on the cliff, offering to purchase one or more female deers as mates for the lone buck, if the town authorities passed approval. Mr. Long, in his communication, could see no harm from the presence of the few deer on the island; in fact, he thought an occasional glimpse of one of the animals might prove an attraction. The selectmen agreed in his opinion. That there is plenty of good feed for the deer and plenty of “cover” is certain, and the authorities had no objection to Mr. Long’s proposition to bring a mate or mates here for the one deer, and have so informed him, as well as the local game warden, William H. Jones. The island has many miles of thick swamps, as well as dense pine groves, and it is probably there the deer has remained secluded for more than three years. It is only occasionally that anyone has seen him, and each report of his presence has come from different parts of the island, showing that the deer roams around at night. He has been reported, at different times, at Wauwinet, at Coskata, at Miacomet and Surfside, and also on the north shore of the island, but only one or two persons have been privileged to see him at close range. When the deer was landed on Nantucket on the 3rd of June, 1922, it was in an exhausted condition, having been rescued by the fishing boat Antonina many miles off shore, and pulled aboard the boat with great difficulty. The deer was nearly dead from exhaustion when taken from the water, but several hours later, when brought ashore, it had recovered its strength and was liberated by Game Warden Jone in the pines near the second mile-stone. At that time it was estimated that it weighted about 110 ponds, It was a young deer, with its antlers just growing. Those who have seen it the past year say that it now has well-developed horns, the prongs indicating that is about four years of age.
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In 1891, there were 50 letters in response to a question by the editor, whether rabbits were good or bad for the island? Fifty responded: 43 in favor, seven neutral or opposed. The cotton-tails are still here. “A male deer was rescued several miles off Nantucket by a fishing boat, June 3, in an exhausted condition,” says a 1922 Inquirer and Mirror. “The deer was revived and liberated on the island.’’ In 1925 jackrabbits were “liberated” on the island in October, perhaps at the behest of the local hunt club. Over time their numbers declined. At least one was still living in the central moors some 30-odd years ago, but they appear to have disappeared since. In 1926, “two female deer purchased by Breckenridge Long were brought to the island from Michigan, and liberated Feb.23 in a swamp near Squam.” Recent genetic studies indicate that at some point perhaps two more deer were introduced. So, our current herd is descended from those five individuals.
During last winter’s hunting season 999 deer were culled. Road-kills were not counted. Anecdotally a car hits one every day. Despite this toll, deer remain numerous, with 10-foot fences becoming increasingly common as homeowners attempt to protect their landscaping. That excluded deer are unusually hungry is noted in browselines around the island, and that outside fenced areas deer are eating formerly less palatable or poisonous plants: English ivy, pokeweed, milkweed and Oriental bittersweet among a few. What would Mr. Long say, if some highly qualified crystalgazer had told him that in 100 years more than a 1,000 deer could be harvested or killed by car every year on Nantucket without noticeably reducing their number? Eastern gray squirrels first appeared during the energy crisis of the 1970s, when many Nantucketers turned to woodstoves as an alternate source of heat. Speculation at the time suggested that they had arrived with
NANTUCKET, MASS., SATURDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 27, 1926
Deer Liberated in Swamps Near Squam. Not since Cointon S. Folger brought his automobile to the island in November 1923, has there been a similar aggregation on Steamboat wharf to extend greetings to a new arrival, until on Monday afternoon last, when a motley crowd of boys and sportsmen assembled at the gangplank to welcome the two female deer which were on board the Islander on the last state of their journey from the forests of Michigan. The arrival of the deer had been anticipated several days, for word had been received by wire that they had been shipped, and it was quite an event for the boys when the truck bearing the two crates was rolled off the forward gang-plank onto the dock. There was a grand skirmish as the youngsters followed the deer along and watched the crates being lifted into Irvin Wyer’s truck. Probably many of the lads were disappointed because the deer were not set free on the dock, but the Game Warden Jones had the right idea, and he placed them in Wyer’s stable for the night, where they were fed and watered and allowed to rest as much as the narrow crates would permit, after their long ride from Michigan. The deer were secured by Breckinridge Long, to serve as companions for the buck deer which has been roaming about on the island nearly four years, seldom seen by anyone and the only animal of his kind here. Mr. Long some time ago conceived the idea of securing a couple of doe and the islanders took www.ACK.net
kindly to the proposition, so that the selectmen felt that they were expressing the wish of their constituents when they voted to formally accept the deer, upon their arrival, in behalf of the town of Nantucket. It was not alone the boys who were interested in the arrival of the deer, apparently, for when Game Warden Jones stated out from town about 9:00 o’clock Tuesday morning, with the two crates of deer in the truck, three or four cars trailed on behind bearing some folks who passed their boy-hood years ago, but were still boys, nevertheless. It was a chilly morning, too, but that did not make any difference and the deer had a real enthusiastic escort as they took their ride out to the east end of the island to “liberty.” The Game Warden decided that the swamps in back of Squam would be a likely place for the deer to find shelter and an abundance of food at this season, so the animals were liberated in the large tract of land at the rear of the Backus farm-house on the road to Wauwinet. Just what would happen when the animals were released was only guess-work. Some claimed that they would make a wild dash to freedom; others that they would—frightened as a result of their long confinement and the tortures of travel. But not so. When the front was raised from each crate, the deer surveyed the strange scenery for a moment, but did not seem in any particular hurry. The crowd gathered about
probably kept the doe guessing and it was not until there were on or two vicious kicks on the back of one of the crates that the first ventured out. The other followed suit. Both were evidently stiffened from the cramped quarters where they had been kept for a week or more, and it took them a moment or two to get full realization that they were again free. Then they headed for the swamp and lost no time in getting beyond the reach of man. A high fence and some bushes were in the way, but the deer jumped over with ease and with tails erect they trotted up the hillside in the distance and, after a momentary survey of their surroundings they made a dash for the thicket and were lost to sight. The male deer has not shown itself for several months, but it is fair to presume that it is still on the island. During the last four years it has been seen in various localities, sometimes at Coskata or Wauwinet, again on the north bluff near Long Pond, and more recently in the pines near Miacomet, which indicates that the buck does not make his home in any particular swamp or grove. How long it will be before he locates his new chums no one knows. Animal instinct may, however, tell him of the arrival of the two doe and he will probably deeply appreciate the companionship after his four years of loneliness.
FALL 2026 55
Hunters in gear at Eel Point, on the lookout for deer.
A Sconset rabbit hunting party sponsored by the Holdgate family. Back row, from left: Fred Egan, Casey Fields, Albert “Bud” Egan, Charles Cahoon, Ken Holdgate, Allen Holdgate, Earl Coffin, Bobby Fields.
Photo co
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urtesy o
ket His f Nantuc
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Front row, from left: Albert Marsh, Gibby Burchell, Ed Perry (with pipe), Francis Holdgate, David Moyer.
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THE INQUIRER AND MIRROR, NANTUCKET MASS. VOL. 137. No. 19
Saturday, November 2, 1957
Nantucket’s Rabbit Season Is Different!
trucks of lumber or firewood. But I can personally attest to the arrival of at least three. I was home on a winter break from college and shocked to see three gray squirrels in a tree outside my window. It was just like Central Park in New York City.
The impression has been given recently through articles in mainland papers that the rabbit season on Nantucket Island is the same as in other counties in the Commonwealth. This is not the case, as the local season begins five days after the rabbit season starts on the mainland. Here the open season on rabbits and hares runs from November 20 through February 28, while on the mainland it is the from November 15 through February 28. The local season thus does not overlap the pheasant season, which is the case elsewhere. The daily limits are two snowshoe rabbits, three cottontail rabbits, and one jack rabbit.
Out for dinner that night with friends, I recounted this shocking vision, when a man at the next table interrupted and said, “yeah, they’re not coming back from here.” He was bothered by squirrels eating bird food at his home in Connecticut. He had tried trapping and relocating them on the mainland but “they” always came back. He thought he had found a fool-proof solution. They would not be able to swim back from Nantucket. He seemed quite pleased about it. But once introduced there is no going back. Here, they lack natural predators, and were documented breeding in Squam by the mid-1980s when the State Environmental Police officer shot a female. They are extremely prolific, making winter nests in some of the taller trees near Milestone Bog, or in nestboxes meant for owls. They are also potentially damaging to wildlife and seasonal homes. But, like the deer, they’re here. ___________________________________________________ Ginger Andrews writes the weekly Island Bird Sightings column for The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket’s trusted news source since 1821. She is a regular contributor to Nantucket Today.
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WHO’S WHO IN REAL ESTATE MARY D. MALAVASE
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WHO’S WHO IN REAL ESTATE Ann Maury
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5 Bartletts Farm Road 508.325.5929 ciscobrewers.com www.nantucketmag.com
MEXICAN
Something for everyone APPETIZERS • FAJITAS MEXICAN SPECIALTIES SEAFOOD • BREAKFAST DESSERTS Breakfast • Lunch & Dinner Take-Out Available
16 MACYS LANE NANTUCKET, MA 02554 casarealrestaurant.com
We invite you to enjoy Chef Manny’s innovative bistro cuisine in a variety of dining settings, from our spacious outdoor garden to our lively 22-seat oak bar and dining room! Lunch 11:30 am - 2:00 pm Dinner from 5 pm Sunday Brunch 10:00 am - 2:00 pm visit
www.otwnantucket.com for current hours and menus! www.ACK.net
Nantucket’s home for elevated comfort food with a global twist. Executive Chef Kieran Thornton delivers scratch-made dishes with warmth and intention. Open daily from breakfast through late night Easy Street is everybody’s place. • • • Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner 7:00 am to 10:00 pm | Bar opens till 1:00 am Handcrafted Cocktails | RSVP: Open Table 774-333-5303
31 Easy Street | Corner of Easy & Broad Streets
Serving Lunch & Dinner 7 days | 11:30am - 10pm Entertainment 7 Days a Week Bar open until 1:00 am House Specialty Gourmet Burgers
23 South Water Street 508-228-2595 If you can’t have fun here, you can’t have fun anywhere! theroseandcrown.com
Did someone order a spectacular harbor view? Visit the newly renovated Brant Point Grill at White Elephant, where the menu is rivaled only by the sunset over Nantucket Harbor. Enjoy al fresco dining in our fresh new outdoor bar and deck space, where our chefs use local flavors to prepare lobster, grilled steaks and quintessential New England dishes. Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Sunday Brunch Reservations Recommended 50 Easton Street | 508-325-1320 BrantPointGrill.com
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Last Look Photo: John Seip
72 Nantucket Today
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ROASTD NANTUCKET
BEACH DAYS GET SHORTER. SWEATERS COME OUT. BUT YOU CAN BET ON ROASTD TO KEEP CREATING EXCEPTIONAL COFFEE AND SEASONAL OFFERINGS. New Ravors and new favorites happening this Fall. Whether you call Nantucket home or just visiting, there are many delicious reasons to stop by!
10 AIRPORT ROAD I 159 ORANGE STREET I BARTLETT'S FARM I MID-ISLAND STOP AND SHOP I WWW.ROASTD.COM I @ ROASTDNANTUCKET www.ACK.net
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Custom Doors and Garage Doors WINDOW & DOOR GALLERY 4 Bayberry Ct. • marinehomecenter.com • 508-228-0900