Mrs. Perfetti’s Pizza Dough

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 15, 2020

I was married twenty-four years ago. My friends came from far and wide and near. Because everyone was so spread out – especially just a year after graduating from college – it was the first time I really ever had my high school and college friends together. What was so wonderful was to see how well they got along with one another – they acted as if they’d known each other for years and it was really heart-warming.


I was given a green-themed wedding shower – my favorite color. I was unaware that paper wedding bells and other wedding items came in green – but they were found! A really fun thing was that they all brought recipes to write for me – family ones, ones they loved – and put them all in a recipe box.


There are a few that I have never tried for some reason or another. In part, as newlyweds, funds were tight. My husband was a US Coast Guard lieutenant at the time and we were stationed in New Orleans – which while less expensive then New England still made shopping at the Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie difficult so some recipes were not indulged upon. Weirdly, I never made the recipe for pizza margherita that one of my best high school friends included – her mother’s recipe. I was pretty afraid of yeast – I still am which makes no sense as I make my Mother’s “Holey Bread” ̶ a story for another day. But faced with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic, I’m finding ways to use up what’s in the pantry and finding ways to stretch things. So, Mrs. Perfetti’s recipe came out – and boy! What was I waiting for? It was delicious (if I do say so myself). I have, embarrassingly, never made pizza dough from scratch – some (50%) Italian I am!


It’s times like these – even with cooking – that I think of what Maria Mitchell and all women went through when faced with shortages on food – and cooking from the very basics with no processed food to rely on as a back-up. In particular, when the harbor would freeze over for days and weeks on end so that ships and steamers could not bring in supplies from the mainland. I know you do not think of Maria as a cook but she did and she had to – especially when her mother was ill and she became her main caretaker.


JNLF

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Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • October 20, 2025
1854, Oct. 23. Yesterday I was again reminded of the remark which Mrs. Stowe makes about the variety of occupations which an American woman pursues. She says it is this, added to the cares and anxieties which keep them so much behind the daughters of England in personal beauty. And today, I was amused at reading that one of her party objected to the introduction of wood floors in American housekeeping, because she could seem to see herself down on her knees, doing the waxing. Throughout Mrs. Stowe’s book there is an openness which I like, no pretense in affectation, religious cant but it is honest habit and not affectation.  While this was written many years before, Maria Mitchell and Harriet Beecher Stowe must certainly have been at least acquaintances as they shared things in common. While Beecher Stowe was not a member of the Association for the Advancement of Women, as Maria was (a founder and a term as president), her sister was actively engaged in several of the organizations that Maria was a part of and there must have been some cross-pollination there. Harriet Beecher Stowe, while working towards women’s rights, focused on slaves’ rights and was not an active member of many of the women’s organizations that her sister was a part of. Maria and Harriet shared friends and acquaintances in common and Mitchell made sure that Uncle Tom’s Cabin quickly appeared on the shelf of the Nantucket Atheneum when it was first published. JNLF

A Gardener’s Woes

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • October 6, 2025
It used to be that whatever the deer or bunnies ate at my home garden, I could plant with relief in Town in the Mitchell House garden. But, over the years, it has become more difficult as we have a plethora of bunnies – multiple complaints made here in this blog – and deer that are now coming into Town year round. They have resorted, in winter, to eating ivy and while ivy is considered invasive, it has been a long-time, reliable ground cover in Town – as in a hundred or more years. Now, we have voles – which do have cycles where their population booms for a year – or two – but we have not had them in the MMA gardens at least in my memory. Now, we do and I worry about them devastating the garden in front of the Observatory which is a large, native species garden we have worked on for many years. I know climate change is definitely playing a role – it’s affecting the birth cycles of voles and allowing them to have potentially more broods. Its also potentially affecting some of their predators that may not be as prevalent and thus fewer voles are being eaten. In any case, we have tunnels galore, which is why I was happy to have ONE blossom on the heirloom morning glories I plant for Mitchell House every spring. Out of 500 or more seeds – I got one lonely blossom! The voles are attacking my own personal garden – the last two summers – and I have lost many of the mainstay lilies and perennials that have been there for forty years – or they have shrunken due to their root systems being undermined and eaten. Roses are failing too. So if anyone has better ideas then solar hummers, live trap, kill trap, or Juicy Fruit gum – let me know – poisons not allowed! JNLF Update: Got four more blossoms - but still!

Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Dr. Jackie Milingo, MMA's Director of Astronomy, as Featured October Science Speaker Series

October 2, 2025
NANTUCKET, MA— —The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host its new Director of Astronomy, Jackie Mlingo, PhD., as a featured presenter for its October Science Speaker Series. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, October 15 at 7pm in person at the MMA Research Center, 2 Vestal Street, and via Zoom. The event is FREE to all. Have you ever noticed the dark spots that sometimes appear on the Sun’s surface? These “sunspots” are just one example of star spots—mysterious patches that appear on stars across the galaxy. Far from being simple blemishes, star spots reveal the powerful magnetic forces at work inside stars, forces that also drive solar storms and shape the space weather that can impact entire planetary systems. In this talk, Dr. Milingo will share her research on star spots and how she uses them as a window into teaching undergraduates the process of scientific discovery. She will also explore how science can reach far beyond the classroom—bringing STEM into everyday spaces and sparking curiosity across communities, from kindergartners to lifelong learners. Dr. Jackie Milingo is an observational astronomer who earned B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Oklahoma. Her research is currently focused on understanding magnetic activity cycles in sun-like stars through long-term studies of starpots. Dr. Milingo joins the MMA after a year-long AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the U.S. National Science Foundation, where she was a Fellow in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, as well as the Astronomy Division in the Math and Physical Sciences Directorate. Before her fellowship, she was a professor in the Physics Department at Gettysburg College for over twenty years where her work included mentoring undergraduate research students. Dr. Milingo joined the staff of the MMA in early September after a year-long, worldwide search for a new astronomer. She becomes the eighth MMA Astronomer and Director of the Astronomy Department of the MMA since Margaret Harwood, the MMA’s first astronomer, served from 1916 to 1957. Dr. Milingo has spent her career committed to generating transformative experiential learning opportunities, contributing to public education and outreach, removing barriers for students, and changing the conversation and learning spaces in astronomy, physics, and STEM in general. This event will be held both in person and via Zoom. Pre-registration is required to attend either option. To register for the free, in-person event, use the registration link below: https://112458a.blackbaudhosting.com/112458a/October-Science-Speaker-Series--Dr-Jackie-Milingo To register for the free, Zoom option, use the registration link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5q4kXF2rRHi8iWbFPkLN5w The Science Speaker Series is generously sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association’s lead sponsor, Bank of America The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###
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