Returning to the Island

Erin Holdgate • March 7, 2023

By: Erin Holdgate, MMA Marketing Director

 

Growing up in landlocked Denver, everything I knew about the ocean I learned slowly over time, one week a year, when my family would visit the birthplace of my father—Nantucket. 

 

Nantucket is a natural wonderland to me. It's where my deep gratitude, respect, and love for the ocean was born. It's why I dreamt of becoming a marine biologist despite living some 800 miles from the closest coastline. And when I was laid off from my corporate marketing job in the early months of 2022, after spending two-plus years working from my compact Seattle apartment, Nantucket is where I knew I had to be next.

 

As a kid, everything about the island felt so foreign, and so hard to explain to my school peers back in the Rocky Mountain state. Although getting here is a journey in itself, the two-hour ferry ride was magical for me and all five of my senses. I'd get a seat on the top deck just to lean over the railing and watch the frothy waves slap against the side of the vessel; to feel the humid air take shape as beads of moisture on my forehead. And the salty air? It was unlike any other scent my olfactory system had the pleasure of knowing back in semi-arid Colorado.

 

I never became a marine biologist like little-kid me planned, but I was able to curate a college education that combined my love of natural sciences with my writing skills. This launched me down a career path that ultimately led me to my current role as the MMA's Marketing Director—a job posting that felt more like an empty seat at the proverbial table that I swore was waiting for me, and I it.

 

I came to Nantucket in May of 2022 in search of a post-pandemic reset, a summer job that didn't involve Zoom calls and my less-than-ergonomic home office setup. Through family, I was connected with the owner of Garden Group, who offered me a spot with his crews for the summer. As I became quicker at potting flowers and pulling weeds, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was handling roots all day, all the while getting in touch with my own.

 

I have a local last name, and had I been born here, I'd be a sixth-generation Nantucketer. But the longer I live here, the more I realize I don't know—about the island, its history, its people, its way of going about life. Let alone the endless natural areas, trails, parks, and beaches I have yet to explore.

 

I try to remind myself I'm in no rush to see it all, however. Mid-summer, when I told a friend I wanted to stay on the island beyond my summer job, she encouraged me to do so, telling me to be patient and "let the island show me" all of its opportunities.   

 

In the six months I've been at the MMA, I've used this as a mantra a time or two. Slow down, and allow the Grey Lady to reveal herself to me. 

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Spring Has Sprung!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 27, 2026
And with it, some of the heirloom daffodils I purchased for the Mitchell House last fall. A place was recommended to me by two longtime friends of the MMA and gardeners extraordinaire. It is called Old House Gardens. I ordered a small amount as we now have a plethora of voles on Vestal Street – I believe I complained about them here last year. They won’t eat daffodils so I got a few of “Butter and Eggs” (1777) and “Conspicuus” (1869) as either of these could have appeared in William Mitchell’s gardens. They were not listed in a letter from John Quincy Adams that I have mentioned before. But, Adams was not here visiting the Mitchell family when the daffodils would have been in bloom. The one pictured here is “Butter and Eggs” not completely unfurled. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 13, 2026
April 1878. The conference of Woman’s Congress officers met in Washington. Because we had one member in Washington we were invited to meet in that place. I went on at a great expense of time, money and strength . . . . We were in session at least nine hours. I think that more than half of that was used by Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. Sayles. The only motion which I carried through was to pay the Secretary $200 . . . In 1878, that was a long train(s) ride to Washington, DC from Poughkeepsie, NY and Vassar College. If Maria seems perturbed, I am sure she was. As president of the Association for the Advancement of Women, and thus the Congress, she had to be at the meeting. But it appears she did not get much say in the nine hour meeting. This was also a long trip to take when she had another, even longer trip coming up in July of 1878. In that month, she would travel with students and her sister, Phebe, out west to Colorado to view the eclipse and that train and wagon ride I am sure was weighing on her mind – not just the physical trip but making her way for an important eclipse viewing event. JNLF

Raise The Roof!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 6, 2026
Well, actually replace the roof! With funding from the Community Preservation Act and the work of Lydon and Sons, Inc. the Mitchell House is getting a new roof. The current one had come to the end of its useful life. A cedar roof can last a long time – longer than asphalt – and is more historically accurate. The roof we are removing was installed in about 1992 – replacing a roof from the 1930s that was not cedar but a combination of materials that actually yes, did last sixty years. The unfortunate issue has arisen that the roofwalk (walk) has to be replaced. This is NOT the original walk – nor that old of a walk. It’s likely from the 1970s or so and has been cobbled at over time. It’s not a functioning walk – no one is allowed on it – but the Mitchell House needs it none the less. Maria Mitchell and her father, William, likely used the walk for astronomical observations – in addition to the yard – but the walk is also protected as part of the preservation easement on the House. Walks – NOT and NEVER called widow’s walks – were used for preventing and putting out chimney fire and roof fires. In a place where wood was expensive and had to be brought from “the main” these were purely utilitarian. What good Quaker (or non-Quaker) would build a platform for his wife to stare out to the harbor to see if her husband was on his way home? The other issue is that the walk was completely resting on the ridge board – and actually was notched to accept the pitch and tip of the ridge board so they couldn’t work around it. I suspect this may have been the ways walks were once built – and also a crafty and smart thinking carpenter who came up with the idea. It makes the walk lower. But between that issue and the age of the walk and then the blizzard of February 2026 that packed gusts over 83 MPH (that’s Category 1 hurricane winds) the walk gave in. Balusters had been knocked out and the railings were loose and pulling away from the posts. So, we will also be working with Barber and Sons to create a new roofwalk – and they agreed to do this for us quickly which is also no small feat given how busy everyone is these days. So from the bottom of the Mitchell House’s heart (and mine) a big thank you to Chris Lydon and Lydon and Sons and crew, Barber and Sons / Beau and Nate Barber, the Community Preservation Committee, and Nantucket Preservation Trust (our easement holder)! JNLF
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