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Amber Hinds

Nantucket, MA
Nantucket Island
/
June 5, 2010

More Than Sand

One of my new favorite places to walk is an unexpected park just a few blocks from our house.  On the map, it’s called Mill Hill Park and doesn’t look to be all that special – it even has roads running through it.  Well, Chris and I decided to check it out anyway to give Pip a change of scenery, and now I’m hooked on meandering the cow paths and trails through the fields and woods that make up this “park”.

Because the native vegetation is actually really beautiful.  And the park is amazingly large for the location.  And I’ve only seen another person there once.  And the roads that run through it?  They look like this:

Oh yeah, that’s right, a lot of roads on Nantucket are dirt roads.  I don’t think anyone drives on this road; Nora and I followed it for a while today and discovered the Colored Cemetery.  (I know, I thought about calling it something else, but that’s the name on the sign.)

Most of the graves appear to be from the 1800’s.  There were a few from the early 1900’s and some that were too worn or damaged to read, and a lot of fenced off land with no markers.  The historic marker plaque said that the earliest known burial was in 1798 and that the town voted in 1805 to give one acre of land to “the Black People or People of Color” for their burying place.

There were a few Memorial Day flags, so it was nice to know that it wasn’t a completely forgotten place, though it certainly seemed that way when we stumbled upon it.  It makes me curious to know more about the history of African American’s on the island.

By the way, Did you know how Chris’ restaurant got its name?  Brotherhood of Thieves is taken from the title of an 1844 pamphlet that vigorously attacked those who continued to support the institution of slavery, even as the tide of abolition rose.  (There’s a piece of random trivia for you.)

After visiting the cemetery we headed back along another trail, stopping to take some obligatory Nora and Pip pictures:

Can you believe she’s going to be 9 months old tomorrow?

And, of course, near Mill Hill Park is the old mill.  Of which I took plenty of pictures, too. 

I’m really fascinated by the fact that the whole top of the building spins so that it can always be facing into the wind.  I guess that makes sense, but it never occurred to me that windmills could do that.  And, this one still does apparently, because last week when I walked by here it was facing the other direction.  I wish I could have seen it being turned (I was a little tempted to give the wheel a spin myself, but decided that might not be such a good idea).

I continue to be amazed by the history and beauty here – Nantucket is more than just beaches, that’s for sure.  Just don’t tell the tourists – Nora and I like having the park to ourselves.

6 Comments
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  • John Hinds
    June 6, 2010

    That windmill must require someone to manually orient it to the wind. I don’t think the windmills in Holland have this feature. Not that I recall.

    Nice post. Do something on Melville sometimes.

    Reply
    • Amber
      John Hinds
      June 6, 2010

      Yeah, I’m pretty sure that they use the wheel to turn it. There’s a stone circle built into the ground all the way around the windmill for the wheel to follow. A lot of work went into building this, that’s for sure. I couldn’t see a historical marker, so I’m not sure how old it is.

      I will have to write something on Melville. After I finish Three Cups of Tea, I’m planning on rereading Moby Dick.

      Reply
  • Anne
    June 6, 2010

    All right, you’ve sucked me in, and I’ve started reading your blog from the FB links. You’re writing some lovely stuff (you’re moving ever closer to nonfiction from poetry, my friend).

    Take a look at my friend Jane Kokernak’s blog, Leaf, Stitch, Word: http://leafstitchword.wordpress.com/
    She has published stuff she’s begun on the blog. She’s been writing a lot about teaching and writing lately but these are all interspersed with her family.

    Keep writing well.

    Reply
    • Amber
      Anne
      June 6, 2010

      Hi Anne! It’s fortuitous that you mention the move from poetry to nonfiction, as I was just thinking that last night. I have to admit I have done very little writing of poems since Nora was born – it just takes so long for me to get in that mode and with working full-time it sort of fell by the wayside. But, with the job gone, I’ve decided to commit myself to writing more – at least during nap time! Or who knows, maybe next time I come to SWI it’ll be for non-fiction.

      Thanks for the link. Her blog looks really interesting. The piece about audience and not writing about one’s children (or how to write about one’s children) is something to think about…

      Reply
  • Megan
    June 6, 2010

    How pretty! And Nora looks amazing – she’s so beautiful! I promise I will blog about our move soon… there’s just too much going on right now. *Sigh*. And I need to call you at some point – which is much more convenient now that we are BOTH on Eastern time! <3

    Reply
  • Play « Au Coeur
    July 29, 2010

    […] we go down to the playground at Children’s Beach, but lately we’ve been heading over to Mill Hill Park so Pip can run around […]

    Reply

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