The Atheneum in Winter

On the outside, the Nantucket Atheneum is one of the island's most stately structures with its striking Greek Revival style architecture. It's especially beautiful this time of year as the centerpiece of a winter wonderland, with a blanket of snow covering its surrounding gardens.

Inside, the Atheneum is even more important to those of us who live here year-round. Even in the wintertime it provides a full schedule of lectures, film, music, arts and crafts, children's activities and other programs. Books are available not only in English but in Spanish as well to meet the needs of the island's growing population of service workers for whom English is a second language.

Last month I was recruited by our good friends Les and Joan Ottinger to become a volunteer tutor in the Atheneum's Literacy Program, which offers free tutoring and books to islanders who want to become fluent in conversational English. The program was begun by Les, a retired Harvard Medical School dean, two years ago and it now boasts over 50 tutors and even more students.

My student is a wonderful 24-year-old Guatemalean native who, with her husband, has two young children. We spend an hour a week together talking about shopping, children, the weather and life in general. This week we went out shopping at my favorite Nantucket spots--the Seconds Shop and the Consigment Shop--to practice English and look for a double stroller. We picked up a few books for the four-year-old for my student to read to her when we returned to their home. It's a rewarding experience for me and I look forward to many more visits with hot chocolate, conversation and reading in the new year.

By the way, if you're not sure what an Atheneum is, Atheneums (named for Athena the goddess of wisdom) were established in the 18th and 19th centuries as private literary societies and centers of learning.

From its founding in 1834, the Nantucket Atheneum has always been much more than a library. The Atheneum serves also as Nantucket’s literary and cultural focus of ideas and information resources. It also attracts the top thinkers and speakers of their day ranging from Henry David Thoreau to David McCullough, David Halberstam and Nathaniel Philbrick.

For more information, you can make a virtual visit to the Nantucket Atheneum at http://www.nantucketatheneum.org/. If you're here to visit Nantucket, be sure to stop in and enjoy the warmth and welcome of this island landmark serving all of the islanders year-round.

Christmas Stroll 2007

Christmas Stroll has been a tradition on Nantucket for 34 years, a relatively short time by New England standards. According to the local Inquirer and Mirror, the Stroll was started by local merchants and the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce in response to the opening of the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis. The opening of this traditional department store-anchored shopping center, owned and operated by one of my former employers, Simon Property Group, was a big deal back in 1974 since it was just a short ferry ride away from Nantucket and provided islanders a much broader selection of merchandise and prices for the first time. So the first Christmas Stroll was designed to entice Nantucketers to shop local. Today the Stroll draws crowds of off-islanders who either own second homes on island or who come over as tourists for the weekend--many of whom are dressed from head to toe in their furs--for shopping at Nantucket's tony shops and dining in the trendy restaurants. Other are daytrippers who come early in the morning in time for Santa and Mrs. Santa's arrival by Coast Guard boat but who get all their shopping and strolling completed in time for the final depature of the ferry or plane at the end of the day. Craig was a member of this year's Christmas Stroll caroling group (center of back row of carolers with top hat in photo) and braved the chilly winds to entertain the island's visitors strolling up and down cobblestoned Main Street and adjacent areas. Temperatures dipping down into the mid-20's, along with a few occasions of snowflake surprises from the sky, created a true holiday scene. Christmas trees decorated earlier in the week by local nonprofits, school groups and merchants provide a small town picture postcard. Now we'll see if the snow comes as forecasted for tonight to create a true winter wonderland before Christmas! Brrrr....