Waking Up

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 29, 2019

Well, it’s that time of year. I always feel like I have ALL this time – and I do – but I always panic too.


After the 200th’s festivities – there were a LOT – I felt like it would be a bit quieter this year but frankly, it is not.


I have been contending with the weather so finally bit the bullet so to speak and basically gardened in the rain and wind and cold. I have lots of native plants and heirloom plants coming for both the Mitchell House garden and to finish up the garden in front of the Vestal Street Observatory which we were able to re-do last fall – thank you to our landscaper and a donation. The onion grass grew in with wild abandon – and I thought I would get a spring off! – Ha! But I did have a sunny day to do that garden thankfully. The wintergreen has arrived – that is the image you see here – for Mitchell House.

Now, it’s “off to the races” for the Mitchell House – some minor winter mildew remediation as always is my first step. Then the vacuuming, moving of furniture, cleaning, moving in fine art and instruments, and putting everything back into its place. I may have said it before but I kid you not. Everything I do at home, I do at work! Just with a MUCH closer attention to the historic artifacts and collection items.


And I do have a few events coming up for the House. On May 4, I am leading a “Daring Daughters of Nantucket” walk at 10am. Please call me to register – 508.228.2896. The cost is $10 Member/$15 Non-Member. And then on May 11, I have the Four Centuries Walk with Nantucket Preservation Trust and the Nantucket Historical Association. Suggested donation is $10. We meet at the Oldest House – no reservations necessary – and walk through Town needing at the Hadwen House. The point of the walk and talk is to show how the neighborhoods, streetscapes, and architecture changed – or did not change – over time as life changed. It’s a lot of fun and we always have a huge crowd. And then June 1, I will be doing another stone monument conservation workshop with the Prospect Hill Cemetery Historian. Reservations are also necessary and it’s the same pricing as the Daring Daughters Walk. All the info can be found on the MMA website and calendar.


Join us!


JNLF

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Hoop Rolling

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • September 14, 2026
Do you know what these Mitchell House Junior Historians are doing? It is a good old-fashioned round of hoop rolling. And, they had a lot of fun learning how to use them down at the Coffin School one day. Hoop rolling or hoop trundling were popular from very early on and well into the twentieth century. By early on I mean Ancient Greece even. It’s on ancient pottery and was not limited to children! Native Americans, ancient Rome, 16 th century England – it’s been known by different names, taken various formats, played by various ages, and played through various ages. In the nineteenth century, both boys and girls did hoop rolling – and it was likely seen as a more “ladylike” active game that girls could play. I’m assuming that is likely the reason why several women’s colleges still have I tradition of rolling hoops. We use these sometimes in the summer during our weeklong Mitchell House children’s program – Junior Historians. Do not be too surprised if you see me out on the lawn on Vestal Street practicing on warm days this fall, winter, and spring! Got to get up to speed! JNLF

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