Nantucket: whale of an island

Author: By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, May 3, 1998

Page: N13

Section: Travel

-- Captain Bartholomew Gosnold is credited with discovering Nantucket in 1602. But if he discovered it, how come 1,500 Native American Wampanoags were already in residence? In any event, Gosnold charted the island.

-- ``Nantucket'' comes from the Native American word ``Nantocket,'' meaning ``Land Far Out to Sea.'' The name of the village of Siasconset means ``Near the Great Bone.''

-- In 1692, Thomas Mayhew sold his substantial interests in the island to nine men for ``thirty pounds . . . and two Beaver Hatts one for myself and one for my wife.'' He would probably have gotten a bit more today.

-- Whaling was so important that in the industry's glory days, Nantucket was the third-largest city in Massachusetts, behind Boston and Salem, with 10,000 people. (Today there are 6,000 year-round residents and more than 40,000 in summer.) At the industry's peak, 88 whaling ships sailed around the world.

-- The association with whaling was so strong that when a harpooned whale pulled a boat filled with pursuers, the phenomenon became known as a ``Nantucket sleigh ride.'' Herman Melville's ``Moby-Dick,'' meanwhile, was based on the tragic, true tale of the Nantucket whaleship Essex.

-- Women traditionally ran the town while the men were off whaling and naming Pacific islands after their families. Women owned and operated so many shops that one area was named Petticoat Row. America's first woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell, was born on the island. So was Benjamin Franklin's mother, Abiah Folger.

-- The island has more than 82 miles of sparkling beaches. It is usually 10 percent cooler than the mainland in summer and 10 percent warmer in winter, thanks to the Gulf Stream.

-- Nantucket is an island, a county, and a town. It's the only place in America that can claim the same name for all three places.

And speaking of Nantucket: The MV Finest, a high-speed Hyannis-Nantucket ferry, has just been launched by the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. The trip takes about an hour. Adult fares are $22 one way and $40 round trip. Children 5-12 get 25 percent off those fares, and those under 5 are free. Bikes can be brought aboard for $5 one way. So why not leave those cars behind when you visit Nantucket. For reservations, call 508-495-FAST.

Travel Trivia: What do Katharine Hepburn, Leonard Bernstein, Nelson Rockefeller, Robert Benchley, Fred Allen, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ward Beecher, Susan B. Anthony, Edgar Allen Poe, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Horatio Alger, Horace Greeley, Jack Lemmon, Bette Davis, Stephen King, J. Pierpont Morgan, Horace Greeley, Clara Barton, P.T. Barnum, Estelle Parsons, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Walters, George M. Cohan, Ruth Gordon, Cecil B. De Mille, and Richard P. Carpenter have in common? (Answer at end of column.)

In a name: True Rhode Islanders pronounce the name of their state as ``Roe Dyelin.''

Quotable: ``New England has a harsh climate, a barren soil, a rough and stormy coast, and yet we love it, even with a love passing that of dwellers in more favored regions.'' -- Henry Cabot Lodge.

A Web site blooms: A Web site for garden lovers, www.bostongardens.com, has been launched by garden authority Hilda Morrill of Milton. ``My ultimate goal,'' she says, ``is to provide information and inspiration for gardeners and garden lovers in Greater Boston.'' Right now, the site contains a calendar of gardening events, articles about gardening, tips, and links to related Web sites.

Running and running: Vermont and New Hampshire are the only two states with two-year terms for governor.

Museum of the month: These trolleys and streetcars once plied the streets of the great cities of America and, indeed, the world. Now they're at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, which lays claim to being the oldest and largest museum of mass transit vehicles on the planet. Restored electric trolleys carry passengers through the Maine countryside on a four-mile guided tour, which continues into the exhibit barns that show ``A Century of Streetcars'' (1873-1973) and through the trolley restoration shop. For more information, call 207-967-2800.

Advice to go: Here's a tip from the editors of Yankee magazine's annual Travel Guide to New England: When you're strolling along the wharves in, say, Portland, Maine, or poking around in a Vermont general store, never say ``Quaint.'' That will be your first step toward fitting in.

Event to remember: Llama lovers, rejoice: You can meet and greet the woolly creatures and their cousins at the Llama and Alpaca Festival, Aug. 14-16 at Topnotch Field in Stowe, Vt. Visitors can learn how easy it is to work with the animals by leading them through an obstacle course. Or you can watch a shearing. Or you can buy llama-fiber blankets and sweaters. Or you can even buy a llama! Admission is free, but donations will help the North Country Animal League.

On the menu: The Jackson House Restaurant in Woodstock, Vt., now has as its chef Brendan Nolan, formerly of the award-winning Aujour'hui restaurant at Boston's Four Seasons Hotel and a proponent of fresh, natural ingredients. At the Jackson House, Nolan's entrees may include maple glazed squab with soft polenta, dates, and white port; grilled Chilean sea bass with timbale of shrimp, fennel, and eggplant, and a saffron shellfish broth; and herb-roasted veal loin with truffled fingerling potatoes and roasted red pepper sauce. And then there are the dessert delights whipped up by pastry chef Bernice Fehringer. Suddenly we're very hungry. (For reservations or more information, call 800-448-1890 or 802-457-2065.)

Did you guess it? All were born in New England.

Family Fun Day includes a time for sightings, safaris to see moose, a photo contest, and MooseTales, a time to learn moose callings along with facts and lore. And moose d'oeuvres will be served.

Springtime is the ideal time for moose watching, and it's almost as simple as driving down any road in the Greenville area because moose need salt in their diet and often visit roadsides to lick the leftover salt laid down by highway crews in winter.

For more information, call the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce at 207-695-2702. And who knows: Maybe you'll spot the flying moose shown above.

Travel Tidbits is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, books, magazines, and the deepest recesses of the author's mind. Send comments and questions to Travel Tidbits, Boston Globe, Boston, MA 02107. Send e-mail to carpenter(at sign)globe.com. Include your name and community.