Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. The holidays are right around the corner. Before you hunker down at home and get caught in the wondrous beauty of Nantucket's other season, allow me to remind you that two of our banner exhibitions "Sometimes think of me": Notable Nantucket Women through the Centuries, featuring Susan Boardman's history-rich embroidered narratives, and Visions of Her: Portrait Photography by Nantucket Youth will be closing on November 8. A Passion for People: 40 Years of Nantucket Portrait Photography by Beverly Hall will remain open through the end of the year.

We also invite you to our very first Diversity Festival on Saturday, November 6. This free program will celebrate the diversity of Nantucket history with activities and tours offered in Spanish, Portuguese, and Bulgarian. We can't wait to see you!

We are deep into preparations for our twelfth annual Festival of Wreaths, which opens with a preview party on Tuesday, November 23, and runs through Sunday, November 28. It's a perfect way to begin your holiday season while also helping support the NHA. This year's Festival of Trees, one of our signature events, will feature over eighty trees and truly turn our museum into a winter wonderland; it will open the first week of December, and we are grateful for the wonderful underwriting support we have received from our island businesses.

So while you keep those home fires burning, just remember there is still much to see and do at our Whaling Museum. Come visit us!

Fair winds,

Bill Tramposch

Executive Director

P.S.

How Can I Say This?

Knowing that "Nantucket" has different meanings for different people, I often wonder what it is that attracts people to this special place "away off shore." Lately, I have taken to asking people this, and the responses have been so varied, and so often moving, that I now ask if you will share with us at the Nantucket Historical Association the particular attraction Nantucket has for you, be you seasonal or year-round, native or "washashore."

Now, here is the tricky part: Say it in one sentence!

It will be fascinating to get a sense of the attraction. Here are some examples of what I have been hearing: "I am here because of the rich community and cultural life"; "Memories draw me here"; "The longer I stay the bigger the island gets"; "History is in the air we breathe"; "Nantucket feels more like home to me than home itself"(a summer resident).

Please submit your sentence by December 14. If you don' want your name used, please omit it. At some later date, it will be fun to share these thoughts with the Nantucket community.

Bill Tramposch

Executive Director

Nantucket Historical Association

PO Box 1016

Nantucket, MA 02554

wtramposch@nha.org

Diversity Festival at the Whaling Museum

Saturday,

November 6, 1-3p.m.

Free admission

The Nantucket Historical Association invites the community to celebrate the wonderful offerings in the Whaling Museum at a free Diversity Festival on Saturday, November 6, 1-3 P.M., 13 Broad Street.

For the first time, the NHA will offer special museum tours in Spanish, Portuguese, and Bulgarian, and our family activities will include signage and instructions in those languages. The goal of the free Diversity Festival is to make the Whaling Museum and the NHA accessible to all islanders by offering our regular program offerings in various languages.

This exciting afternoon will include a twenty-minute museum highlights tour; hands-on activities:making sailors valentines, whirligigs, and faux scrimshaw; a curatorial table where guests may view and touch spermaceti candles and oil, harpoons, baleen, and sperm whale teeth; the opportunity to have a "Nantucket portrait" photograph taken and printed out while you wait; and singing sea chanteys. This program is supported by a grant from the M. S. Worthington Foundation.

Free for all visitors, 1 - 3 P.M.

Museum open Thursday - Monday, 11 A.M - 4 P.M. through December 20

Whaling Museum features changing exhibits about Nantucket history, decorative arts, scrimshaw, and numerous interactive, hands-on learning opportunities in the Discovery Room for children twelve and under. Daily programming includes the film The Bones of History, the Whale Hunt Lecture, the whaleship Essex Gam, and various gallery tours. The Whaling Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums. The museum will reopen exclusively for touring the Festival of Trees on Sunday and Monday, December 26 & 27, 1 - 4 P.M., and again on Sunday and Monday, January 2 & 3, 1 - 4 P.M.

The Whaling Museum will be closed November 29 - December 2 to prepare for the 17^th Annual Festival of Trees!

NHA exhibitions close on Monday, November 8 -

Don't miss them!

"Sometimes think of me": Notable Nantucket Women through the Centuries focuses on the colorful lives and histories of outstanding women from four centuries of Nantucket history. Such fascinating individuals as Wampanoag maiden Wonoma, whaling wife and journal keeper Eliza Brock, whaling wife and journal illustrator Susan Veeder, scientist Maria Mitchell, abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant, and several contemporary Nantucket women are presented in lively detail using the NHA's rich collections of artifacts, logbooks, and manuscript material.

An important feature of the exhibition is the accompanying book-length catalog, written by island historian and NHA Research Fellow Betsy Tyler. The catalog fills a major gap in the Nantucket literature as an accessible, thoroughly researched histor.y of a broad range of outstanding island women, past and present. This beautiful soft-cover book is available for $35 from the Museum Shop, or it may be purchased online at http://www.nha.org/shop/index.html or by calling 508-228-5785.

"Sometimes think of me" will be on display during museum hours through November 8.

Visions of Her: Portrait Photography by Nantucket Youth

Visions of Her: Portait Photography by Nantucket Youth Hadwen & Barney Candle Factory, Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

The exhibition Visions of Her: Portrait Photography by Nantucket Youth opened to a full house on May 28 and will be on display through November 8. The exhibition features modern portraits of Nantucket women taken by teens from the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club and Nantucket High School. The photographs showcase the essence of women that the young photographers admire as well as the island itself. Bonus film interviews offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative spirit of the project.

Visions of Her: Portrait Photography by Nantucket Youth will be on display during museum hours through November 8.

Please join us at the Seagrille on November 12

The NHA is pleased to invite friends and NHA supporters to go to the Seagrille - Nantucket's Distinctive Seafood Restaurant located at 45 Sparks Avenue - on Friday evening, where owners Robin and EJ Harvey will donate 10% of all food sales to the Nantucket Historical Assocation. They began their non-profit give-back evenings last year, and we are delighted to be included. The bar opens at 5 P.M., and dinner is served 5:30 - 9 P.M. Please call the restaurant at 508-325-5700 to make your reservations. We look forward to seeing you at the Seagrille on November 12!

Decorative Arts Trust/Nantucket Historical Association Curatorial Fellow

The Decorative Arts Trust and the Nantucket Historical Association have joined forces to create a curatorial fellowship at the Nantucket Historical Association. Sarah Parks, a graduate of Winterthur's Program in American Material Culture and the Mystic-Williams Maritime Studies Program, with work experience at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, has joined the NHA as the first curatorial fellow. Parks is working intensively with the NHA collections at the Gosnold Center Support and Collections Storage Facility; she will assist with exhibition preparation and help with all stewardship aspects of the collections.

Children and families invited to learn about the island's history during our Discovery Room Fall Program, November 2 - 16: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 2 - 4 P.M.

This program is free for Nantucket's school-age children and their families; children will explore Nantucket history through Nantucket stories, a hands-on look at artifacts from the NHA collection, and enjoy educational crafts and games. Groups of children are also welcome, but must be accompanied by adult companions. Participants are asked to enter through the Discovery Room door, to the right of the main Museum entrance, 13 Broad Street.

The program is supported by a grant from the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation.

Held Thursdays at noon in the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street. This year, we celebrate the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Nantucketers from all walks of life. Food for Thought is supported by a grant from the M. S. Worthington Foundation.

November 4: Liz Winship and Rebecca Jusko-Peraner, "The Art of Production: Hand-weaving and the History of Nantucket Looms."

November 11: Barbara White, "Anna Gardner: Teaching Freedom During and After the Civil War."

November 18: Robert D. Felch, "The Moving of SankatyLighthouse."

November 25: The Museum will be closed on Thanksgiving.

Each talk begins at noon and is free to the public. Bring your lunch. For additional information, please call 508-228-1894, ext. 0, or visit www.nha.org to view the full schedule.

Holiday Family Craft Workshop:

The Oldest House in Gingerbread

Saturday, November 13, 1 - 4 P.M., Whaling Museum

Families and groups are invited to work together and create a festive reproduction of Oldest House decorated with candy. Learn about the history of this important island landmark as you use your creativity to bring your artistic interpretation to the Oldest House and its landscape.

Preassembled structures and candy decorating materials are provided, and instruction will be offered. We will create a structure and coat it with graham crackers, icing, and candy. We will have many images of the oldest house to share with the group. Museum admission is not included.

Individuals, groups of friends, and families are invited to participate.

NHA members, $20 for a group of up to four; nonmembers, $25 for a group up to four; $5 for each additional person. Maximum of six per group.

'Tis the season to be jolly:

Festival of Wreaths & Festival of Trees

Wreath Join us for two events that have become island traditions! Mounted in the Peter Foulger Gallery at the Whaling Museum, the 12th Annual Festival of Wreaths silent auction features more than eighty wreaths made by community members and sponsored by businesses and nonprofit organizations. The ever-popular Festival of Trees, enjoying its seventeenth year, fills the Whaling Museum with a brilliant display of holiday trees, also decorated by community members. The Festival of Trees will remain open weekends until January 3, 2011.

Wednesday, November 24, 12th Annual Festival of Wreaths opens to the public. Peter Foulger Gallery, 15 Broad Street, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Join us for a silent auction of beautiful wreaths made by Nantucket artists, designers, merchants, community groups, and schoolchildren.

The Festival of Wreaths is free and open to the public.

Thursday, November 25, Whaling Museum is closed for Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 26, Festival of Wreaths, Peter Foulger Gallery, 15 Broad Street,

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Saturday, November 27, Festival of Wreaths, Peter Foulger Gallery, 15 Broad Street,

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday, November 28, Festival of Wreaths, Peter Foulger Gallery, 15 Broad Street, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Bidding will close at 2 p.m. Successful bidders announced at 2:30 p.m. If not present, winners will be notified by phone.

A Sneak Peek for December

Thursday, December 2,

The 17^th Annual Festival of Trees Preview Party will be held 6 - 8 P.M. in the Whaling Museum. This party sells out very quickly each year, so if you haven't responded to your invitation, you may want to do so today!

Friday, December 3, Festival of Trees opens to the public. Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, 11 A.M. - 8 P.M.

These are a few of my favorite things. . . . It's never too early to shop for the holidays at the NHA Museum Shop

The winter holidays are right around the corner, so visit our cozy shop to find distinctive gifts, books, and specialty food items (and, NHA members receive a 10% discount on all non-sale items).

The shop is OPEN Thursday - Monday 11 A.M. - 4 P.M.; you can visit our Web site or shop on line: http://www.nha.org/shop/index.html. You can also place orders by calling 508-228-5785.

Making a list and checking it twice. . . .

For those hard-to-buy-for on your holiday lists, try an idea that lasts a full year: Give the gift of an NHA Membership or an 1800 House Gift Certificate.

The NHA is grateful to have you as part of our organization, and we enjoy building longstanding relationships with you through our membership program. Receiving no operating support from state, local, or federal funding, the NHA relies on your yearly renewal to continue offering exceptional year-round exhibitions and educational programs for all ages, and to help develop and care for our collections and properties.

A one-year membership is the perfect holiday, birthday, hostess, or anniversary gift that will provide unlimited admission to the Whaling Museum, free use of the NHA Research Library; subscription to Historic Nantucket; 10% discount at the Museum Shop; and discounts for classes, events, concerts, and lectures. Should you have any questions regarding your membership, or would like to purchase a gift membership for family or friends, please call Michelle at 508-228-1894, ext. 116, or visit http://www.nha.org/membership. For those who enjoy early-American arts and crafts, consider giving a gift certificate in any amount that can be applied to the recipient's choice of a class during the 2011 season at the NHA's 1800 House. Please call 508-228-1894, ext. 128, or 508-228-7785 for additional information; or go to http://www.nha.org/1800house/index.html to learn more about the NHA's lifelong-learning programs in early-American arts and crafts; art inspired by Nantucket history!

Consider a Year-end Gift to the 2010 Annual Fund

We are grateful for your commitment to the Nantucket Historical Association and hopeful that you will continue to support our important work with a gift to the Annual Fund.

Unrestricted operating support from the Annual Fund nourishes everything we do-every program we offer, every visitor we inspire, every artifact we exhibit, and all twenty-two historic properties we maintain and interpret. It helps turn on the lights each day and enables us to fulfill our mission of education and preservation for our members, supporters, and the Nantucket community.

Our goal is to reach, or even exceed, last year's achievement of $280,000 by December 31. Your contribution, in any amount, will make a difference!

Please send your gift to: Annual Fund, Nantucket Historical Association, PO Box 1016, Nantucket, MA 02554, or contribute online at https://www.nantucketmuseumshop.org/Forms/Donation.php.

APassion for People: Forty Years of Nantucket Portrait Photography by Beverly Hall

Whitney Gallery, NHA Research Library, 7 Fair Street

A Passion for People showcases photographer Beverly Hall's outstanding eye for portraiture through four decades of Nantucket history. The retrospective opens a window on the remarkable changes that have occurred on Nantucket in the last four decades and features several hundred images on multiple presentation screens in addition to traditionally framed images. Hall's work captures an important chapter in Nantucket's postwar history, a time that is increasingly important to record and showcase as part of Nantucket's modern history.

The Whitney Gallery is open during library hours, Monday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Tuesday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Otherwise, the library and gallery are closed Wednesdays, weekends, and all holidays.

A Passion for People: Forty Years of Nantucket Portrait Photography by Beverly Hall

will be on display through December 31.

Whaling Museum participating in Blue Star program and offering free admission for active-duty military

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Museums is a partnership with more than 600 museums across America that are offering free admission to all active-duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010. The NHA is pleased to extend this program through December 31, 2010.

Free admission is available to active-duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members), including active-duty Reserve and active-duty National Guard.

Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World DVD

Ric Burns's American Experience/WGBH film Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, which features a number of artifacts from the NHA collections (on display in a special case in the museum) is now available for sale in the Museum Shop. The DVD costs $24.99 and includes deleted scenes and extra reenactment footage not shown in the full-length film version.

Relieve Holiday Stress. . . .Host your party at the NHA

Give your friends, family, colleagues, and/or clients the gift of a party in a winter wonderland at Nantucket's world-class museum. And . . . we have a gift for you: reduced 2010 holiday pricing.

Between December 3 and 20, the Whaling Museum will be transformed into a delightful holiday wonderland with close to eighty decorated trees - the perfect time and ideal location to treat your family, friends, colleagues, and clients to large or small gatherings - with ease.

Call Susan Beaumont at 508-228-1894, ext. 131, or e-mail sbeaumont@nha.org for details about hosting a memorable party in the Whaling Museum or at other NHA properties.

Exceptional events begin with unforgettable venues. . . .

Gifts that Give to the NHA

Ideal for weddings, holidays, and special-occasion presents!

www.giftsthatgive.com is an innovative online shopping site that donates 20% of your purchase back to the NHA.

You will recognize the brands from your favorite department and specialty stores. The items are those that you will want to own and will be delighted to give as gifts!

With many years of luxury retail experience behind it, www.giftsthatgive.com products have been carefully selected with you in mind. The Web site is user friendly and offers the same level of service you would expect from your favorite store.

All you need to do is to sign onto www.giftsthatgive.com to see what we're talking about and order your selections. In the shopping cart there will be a dropdown box from which to select the Nantucket Historical Association, and 25% of your purchase will come back to help the NHA!

You may also purchase Gift Cards to be sent in a box with a bow, or an E-Certificate for easy giving online. Please tell your friends and family to shop www.giftsthatgive.com, all while supporting our worthy cause.

In these difficult economic times, make every dollar count by shopping at GiftsThatGive. Thank you for supporting the Nantucket Historical Association.

Hours

Whaling Museum

The Whaling Museum is open Thursday - Monday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. through December 20. Call 508-228-1894, ext. 0, with any questions.

Historic Sites

The Historic Sites are closed for the season.

Museum Shop

The Museum Shop is open Thursday - Monday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. You can visit our Web site to shop on line: http://www.nha.org/shop/index.html or place orders by calling 508-228-5785.

Research Library
Located at 7 Fair Street, the library is open year-round: Monday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. and Tuesday, 11 A.M. -

4 P.M.; closed Wednesdays, weekends, and all holidays. Call 508-228-1655.

Administrative Offices
Located at 15 Broad Street, the administrative offices are open Monday - Friday, 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. Call 508-228-1894, ext 0.