Browse: August 2007

Since 1929 (yes, 77 years) the thrift shop has been run by dedicated and hardworking volunteers on Nantucket. Last year, over $100,000 was raised for The Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

Year-round resident Carol Chaves has been managing the seasonal location for four summers. She also acts as the bookkeeper for the shop. The Hospital Thrift Shop, she said, is not run by Nantucket Cottage Hospital. Rather, she explained, it is the shop’s charity of choice, as per their original charter.

“The Hospital Thrift Shop owns this building, we are in no way affiliated with the Cottage Hospital,” she said, “We’re able to raise money to donate to the hospital over the years.”

“We try to offer all kinds of goods at reasonable prices for the community here in the shop,” said Chaves, “There’s no major department stores here. We get a lot of foreigners, community members, and other people who can’t afford the prices on the Island.”

Take your pick, because The Hospital Thrift Shop has everything you could ever need, from plates and bowls to couches and chairs to mystery books and ladies' suits. “The community generously supplies us with the products,” Chaves said, “Without the support of the volunteers and the community there wouldn’t be a thrift shop.”

“The best part of this is it’s a community service to both the volunteers and the community. We’re able to help a lot of people out there from all walks of life here, and without the support, we wouldn’t be so successful,” credited Chaves. Her rotating staff of about 95 volunteers are both seasonal and year-round residents, from young children to senior citizens and college kids. She added, “A gentleman volunteered his time to help me do pick-ups [for furniture]. That was huge for us this year.”

The Hospital Thrift Shop opens up for a month and a half of donation-drop-offs in the beginning of April, and then opens up for your shopping pleasure the end of May. If you’re lucky enough to be around in October, on 10/8-9 are half-price days, and 10/10-11 are their free days. “What we don’t clear out we bring to the dump,” Chaves said, “That way we start a new year with all new merchandise.”

For more information on donating to The Hospital Thrift Shop, please contact them at 508.228.1125 or take a look at The Hospital Thrift Shop's Web site.

If you didn't make it to our sold out event last weekend, Bookmark on the Beach, don't worry. We brought it to your on Channel 22 this morning during our MorningNoon&Night Show. Hosts Kate Brosnan and Mark Donato also talked about the amazingly successful event that took place at Jetties Beach on the perfect summer evening.

We also brought you a segment from Outstanding in the Field, a feast of local food that guests dined on at Bartlett's Farm. A percentage of the proceeds went towards supporting Sustainable Nantucket.

We also got a chance to chat with documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, who produced the popular documentary series New York. Comedian Susan Burns also showed up at our set to make us laugh. Nantucket AIDS Network Director Sara Wright and President Rhoda Meinman talked to us for a little bit about their upcoming silent auction this weekend as well.

We finished off our last Friday show of the season with the musical delights of Eric Wendelken and Chuck Colley.

Stay tuned all weekend long, and be sure to check out our last show of the season on Monday, live a 8:00AM, only on Channel 22. 

Anne Phaneuf is a quiet hero. She has made an impact on a population of Nantucket that is hard to reach, and even harder to establish trust with: high school students. But she sure has done it. Going into her 11th year as part of Nantucket High School, Phaneuf not only teaches English, but also currently sits as the English Department Head at NHS. Having started out in 1996 as a teaching assistant in the computer lab, she explained to us why she has remained a vital part of the fabric of Nantucket for so long.

Phaneuf didn’t intend to become a teacher starting out in her career. “I was a writer, I wrote for corporations and did a lot of marketing writing and speech writing,” said Phaneuf about her life at 29 years old, “I saw an ad in the Boston Globe; The Inky was advertising for a general assignment reporter. In April of 1990 I got here.”

After leaving and returning again because she “missed Nantucket so much that I wanted to come back,” Phaneuf did the Nantucket shuffle: “I worked 1000 jobs and lived in 1000 different places on Nantucket.”

In 1995, a friend asked Phaneuf to mentor her son with his writing exhibition at Nantucket High School. “I really liked the exchange,” she said about the experience, “It was wild to me that there was something that I could give him. I think that sense of giving back was very rewarding because it wasn’t about the paycheck.”

“I had no experience teaching when they hired me,” she said about her early days, “I had my bachelors and my masters, and there was an English and Social Studies opening. In the fall of 1997 I began teaching.”

Ever since then, Phaneuf has been a part of the high school here on the Island. She now has two children, Claire and Luke, with her husband David Mackay. Most recently, she is best known for winning Nantucket Golf Club’s first award for excellence in teaching. The Nantucket Golf Club also awards two students annual with complete four-year scholarships to college. “I’m very impressed by their dedication. They don’t have to give back to the kids of Nantucket, but they do,” said Phaneuf, “They look to every organization that supports children here and they support them.”

When Phaneuf, along with Nantucket Elementary School teacher Nina Slade, won the $15,000 award, she said, “It was overwhelming, all of the support I received from the teachers. The Nantucket Golf Club was so gracious to us,” she continued, “As much as the money was amazing, it was the people saying ‘Thank you.’”

Nantucket, she feels, is a special and amazing place. “I was living in Boston before I moved to Nantucket, and I was quote-un-quote successful, but I was lonely. If you work hard and if you make a contribution here, it’s felt. I think it’s recognized and you are embraced. I feel appreciated here,” she said, “I know what’s ahead of me is exhausting: it’s grading papers until 11:00 at night, it’s reading Crime and Punishment.”

“I really think the magical parts of teaching are those moments in the classroom that you don’t plan on,” she said, “People say as a teacher you have to give so much to your students, but really, the students give so much to me.”

Stay tuned to Plum for more on our Plum 98, highlighting the giving members of our Island community.

Click here for more Plum 98 on Nantucket.

Longtime Nantucketer Joan Craig moved to the island full-time in 1940 and has been dedicated to the island ever since.

She said, "I'm very grateful to be able to live in a place that I love. It's hard for me to find anything I don't like."

During her time on the Board of Directors at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, she noticed the need for elderly and independent people to have a place to live. Craig is one of the founders and President, of Assisted Living on Nantucket, an organization dedicated to providing a community for retired people.

August Dog Of The Month: Murphy

Ever wonder why Nantucket is one of the most dog-friendly places on the planet? Look no further than Plum!

Every month this summer Plum and Geronimo's pet store teamed up to bring you the coolest, cutest, fluffiest, most amazing dogs that we can find for The Dog Of The Month Contest.

Each MorningNoon&Night Show we showcased your favorite companions throughout June, July and August and allowed you, are awesome viewers to vote through our Plum Web site.

Check out our video below with Plum's Kate Brosnan and David Kuhn explaining the contest. Our Dog of the Month Contest was brought to you all summer long with the help of Geronimo's of Nantucket, the most fabulous pet store around! Take a look at their wide array of pet products down on 199 Pleasant Street, right behind Stop & Shop.

Take a look at our slideshow below to see August's furry contestants. We've also got July's contestants up on the web for your viewing pleasure. Though some tough competition, all of the dogs who participated did a great job coming down to our MorningNoon&Night Show set at The Ropewalk.

Congratulations to Summer 2007's winners! We can't wait to ruff it all up again next year!

After years of contributing to the success of numerous recording artists, urban storyteller extraordinaire Kenny White has finally set sail on a solo career. A master of commercial songwriting and a seasoned studio artist, it wasn't until his late 40s that White decided it was time for him to step forward from behind the scenes. And we're glad he did.

A natural storyteller, White has developed the ability to express heartaches, happiness and observations with guileless flare. It's refreshing and relatable songwriting because there's an honest maturity to his words. The New York native has something the youth-saturated radio lacks: experience.

Having worked with high-profile recording artists throughout his career (Shawn Colvin, Linda Ronstadt, Dwight Yoakam and Gladys Knight, just to name few), White was able to tap into his colleagues' support for his own musical endeavors. The result was two full-length albums, Uninvited Guest (2002) and his most recent effort, Symphony in 16 Bars (2005).

So, what took him so long to share his well-crafted tunes with the rest of us? We don't know, but it was worth the wait.

Tune into Plum on Saturday, September 1 at 10pm to watch the documentary on Kenny White featuring an exclusive interview and live performances. Get a peek at the trailer below.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Get a free download of "In My Recurring Dream." Right click and "save as" to download or click to play.

Like what you're hearing? Get the CDs at kennywhite.net or download his tracks at Rhapsody.com.

As a member of the Nantucket High School class of 1953, Frank Spriggs has seen a lot of changes on Nantucket.

Frank Spriggs said "When I was a kid I lived on Washington St. We used to go across the street to swim and dig up quahogs. Just having the freedom to swim in the nice clean pristine water [is my favorite memory]."

Frank Spriggs moved off the island for over 30 years to work for IBM, but always made sure to spend some time on Nantucket in the summers. After retiring, Spriggs has devoted much of his time to Island organizations that protect what he valued growing up on Nantucket.

He has been on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Nantucket, a Selectman, a President of the Town Association, and is also on the Planning Board.

Spriggs talked about what he loves most about Nantucket. "The small community is what I like. The ability to be quiet, particularly in the offseason, to enjoy the stars and moon at night. The way people treat each other is what I love, the way they respond to crisis."

With all of the controversy surrounding the issue of healthcare in the country today, you won't find a ruffled feather with the help of Nantucket Cottage Hospital's Health Care Advocate Kathryn Kennedy.

The former Nantucket High School Spanish teacher made a change in 2000, leaving the Island to finish her education overseas in Cordova, Spain. Kennedy said, "I left to go back to school and someone said to me, 'You know you've got the sand between your toes. You're coming back.'"

And sure enough, in 2002, Kennedy ventured back to Nantucket and began working as the new Health Care Advocate for The Cottage Hospital. She's now entering her fifth year in this role, and knows how important access to health care is these days. Orginally, she said, "When I was hired to work it was set up as kind of a community service."

Kennedy's objective with her job is to help families and individuals from all walks of life and income levels find the appropriate and most affordable health care. Most recently, Massachusetts has made health insurance mandatory in state law. "It's a hospital based operation because we're here to help our patients," said Kennedy, "I feel like I see a lot of diversity on Nantucket, more than I ever would have know had I not been here."

The diversity, Kennedy said, is something that she loves the most about the Island. "[I love] the people, for sure. They encompass the diversity and the language component. People wouldn't be on Nantucket if they didn't like to be on Nantucket."

"It's all around good to feel that people have health care access," she continued, "In the last five to six months, I've done more with a diverse population. It's really cool to talk to business owners about health insurance, not that it's very exciting. But everyone has different needs."

Stay tuned to Plum for more on our Plum 98, highlighting the giving members of our Island community.

Click here for more Plum 98 on Nantucket.

Stay tuned to Plum for more on our Plum 98, highlighting the giving members of our Island community.

Click here for more Plum 98 on Nantucket.

On Tuesday, guests at Bartlett’s farm strolled through the fields, sampled Cisco Brewers Beer, and tasted delicious Duxbury Island Creek Oysters. Jim Denevan and Katie Oursler, the directors of Outstanding in the Field, have organized 72 of these events throughout the country to celebrate local farming.

After a stroll through the farm, guests hopped on a hay wagon and headed to the corn fields to learn the secrets of picking corn from sixth-generation owner of Bartlett’s Farm, John Bartlett. They were also treated to a five course meal cooked by The Pearl's chefs Angela and Seth Raynor.

When speaking of the event, John Bartlett said, “It brings people closer to their food. We wanted to give a slice of what we do at the farm everyday. Everybody seems to move very fast here [on Nantucket]. It’s an opportunity for everybody to share a moment.”

Ten percent of the proceeds from the event were donated to Sustainable Nantucket, an organization dedicated to preserving Nantucket’s charm and self-sufficiency. Most recently, Sustainable Nantucket has helped to organize a farmer’s market on the Island.

For more information on Sustainable Nantucket, check out their Webs site at www.sustainablenantucket.org.

Make sure to catch our Outstanding in the Field segment on our MorningNoon&Night Show Friday at 8AM, replaying at 3PM, and 8PM.

When Nantucket Native Melissa Perry (better known at Missy) isn't coaching cheerleading or helping out with Nantucket's annual high school female scholarship pageant Junior Miss, you'll most likely find her managing Nantucket Bank's Orange Street branch.

Perry, who has lived on Nantucket her whole life, is well known in the community as being a positive influence on the younger generations with her assistance to the schools, particularly the high school. She has been a part of Nantucket Bank for 22 years as well. "I grew up here," she said, "[I stayed] because of financial reasons." She added, "My family still lives here, too, including my siblings."

When asked what she loves most about Nantucket, she stated: "The off-season. I love that Indian Summer, I love the weather."

Missy continued, "I love being in such a small place. People think you see the year-round people here all of the time, but that's not true."

Perry has been coaching cheerleading since 1990, as well as having a hand in the Junior Miss pageant. "I always have my cheerleading team involved in The March of Dimes," she said about her efforts in the community, "I like to help the Chamber of Commerce at Christmas Stroll with any little thing, too."

"[Nantucket] is a really giving community," added Perry, "Whether it's someone that sick or a supporting a sports team, it's a very giving community."

Stay tuned to Plum for more on our Plum 98, highlighting the giving members of our Island community.

Click here for more Plum 98 on Nantucket.

The acclaimed and popular film Row Hard No Excuses was given one more showing on Nantucket this past weekend. After its award-winning appearance during 2007's Nantucket Film Festival, Tom Mailhot brought it back for an encore to help raise money for next year's film festival.

Row Hard No Excuses is a film that takes its audience on a three-thousand mile journey across the open ocean, made of two person crews on one boat.

"We chose Row Hard because it won our Best Storytelling in a Documentary Award," said Jill Burkhart, Executi