March Madness

Hints of Spring, Unnecessary Pain, Rev. Ted, Scotch-Irish Cake and The Flake

The sun rose at 6:04 this morning and set at 5:37 this evening.

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night as we “spring forward” into Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 9.

Signs of spring were in the air – literally – this week, when I spotted a Red-Wing Blackbird at the feeder on Tuesday. I guessed a week ago that the northern migration had begun because I was filling the feeder almost daily. Birdwatching can be an expensive hobby.

However, in the yard there was nary a crocus nor snowdrop to be found, not even their green leaves. And I planted plenty of bulbs by the front door last fall. Our very cold winter has kept these first flowering signs of spring in hibernation. The same goes for the daffodils. They are still sleeping.

Women Rock

Nantucket has a long and storied history of women as leaders in the community, running the show. Two hundred years ago women ran many of the businesses in town while the male population was chasing whales on the other side of the world.

My great-great grandmother Mary Riddell Nye had a shop on Petticoat Row. A photo of her outside the shop is in the NHA archives. That tradition of leadership continues today – among many others we have a woman harbormaster, hospital CEO, police chief, and town manager, and once upon a time we had a woman with the dual roles of editor and publisher at the I&M – and is celebrated all month during Women’s History Month.

Friday is International Women’s Day, something that was never really observed on the island until the Chamber of Commerce picked up on it and began hosting a breakfast and panel discussion. We were in Italy on this day about 10 years ago, and wherever we went – cafés, shops, trattorias – I was presented with a sweet little nosegay of mimosa flowers, as was every other woman.

This year’s celebration is on Friday, March 7 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Nantucket Inn featuring a panel discussion with some of the island’s best female leaders: Carlisle Jensen from Egan Maritime, Police Chief Jody Kasper, Pauline Proch from Our House, Maria Partida, a leader in the island’s Spanish-speaking community, and Rev. Althea Smith from the Unitarian Church.

The very smart Denese Kronau, chair of the FinCom and a retired CEO, is moderator. It should be a good session.

"Moving Forward Together: Women Educating & Inspiring Generations," is the theme of this year’s discussion. Contact the Chamber to register. Women only. Sorry guys.

The Hurt Locker

This year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration just got a lot more expensive, thanks to Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada. Increases in the prices of avocados and tequila are the least of the problem.

The cost of building on the island, one of our biggest industries, just skyrocketed thanks to these dumb – and yes, they are indeed dumb – tariffs. Anne Applebaum, a writer for The Atlantic, who I follow on Substack, called them “angry and arbitrary,” and I think that sums it up pretty well. These tariffs will hurt all of us.

While some lumber comes from the Pacific Northwest, many of the products Marine Home Center sells including spruce framing lumber, red cedar trim boards and shingles, white cedar shingles, and plywood are all sourced from Canada. Marine put a message out to that effect when Trump made the announcement pof tariffs earlier this week.

Before those of you who are tired of the overbuilding on the island get all excited and consider rejoicing – thinking that this will stop building – it won’t. At least not for those surfing the tidal waves of wealth that have swept over Nantucket in the last decade. But what these tariffs will do is hurt affordable housing efforts and those on the cusp of just being able to to build a home a home of their own.

These tariffs will also affect the cost of any capital building projects on the horizon, whether for the Town of Nantucket or non-profits. Lumber is not the only import being affected. Steel and aluminum, big imports from Canada, will be slapped with that tariff as well.

There’s already a fair degree of skepticism among voters about the economic wisdom of supporting a $100-million nursing home at May’s Annual Town Meeting, and now it just got a whole lot worse.

The same goes for a $70 million new DPW facility. We’ve got to start making hard choices on where we spend our tax dollars. We are not made of money and cannot afford every capital project that shows up on the warrant. Maybe this is the year that the runaway spending comes to a halt.

Sobering thoughts.

Remembrances

In the space of two weeks Nantucket lost two icons: Rev. Ted Anderson and The Downyflake.

Rev. Ted died on February 18 at the age of 90. A towering figure, he was noted for his jovial self and deep, booming laugh as well as his unfailing dedication to the people of Nantucket. The photo here by Beverly Hall captures his exuberance and love for life.

From 1972 to the new Millenium, Ted was the face of the Unitarian Church. He took his work out into the community where he was compassionate and politically active. There were few lives he didn’t touch.

He married us in 1989, the day after the Berlin Wall came down, and he christened our two youngest children with his silver scallop shell. I think he called it a naming ceremony. For one child, it was in June in our garden, and for the other, it was November in the church.

Both ceremonies were meaningful and memorable in the way Ted performed them. Anyone who knew him for any length of time has their own “Rev. Ted story,” and we have ours. Rest in peace, Ted. We were all lucky to have you in our lives.

Lastly, during school vacation week the Downyflake building on Sparks Avenue was torn down to make way for a developer’s vision of a “new downtown.” The “Flake” is a restaurant that held many memories for islanders and visitors over the years.

For me, the old Downyflake on South Water Street, and then at Children’s Beach were the most special. I loved the roast beef sandwiches to go that Karsten Reinemo’s mother made when the restaurant was on South Water Street, and sitting in those high-backed booths and sinking my teeth into a Downyburger was an indulgent pleasure.

Bob Barsanti, former NHS teacher who writes a column, “Barr’d for Life,” on Substack had an excellent piece on The Downyflake from his own experiences, and it may resonate with you. It did for me.

Whether owners Patty Kennedy and Ron Oldham reopen at another location is the million-dollar question. What restaurant space would be available, and where? Before the Downyflake closed in October, I went in for my last piece of Scotch-Irish cake, that square of oatmeal cake topped with a decadent broiled coconut-pecan frosting.

I spent the last month working on a recipe for that which I could share with you. The good news? I think this iteration is even better – moist, more fragrant with warm spices and a decadent frosting. I ate three squares of it in quick succession before I wrapped it in foil and put it out of my sight. It’s dangerously good. Here you go. RIP Downyflake.

SCOTCH IRISH CAKE

Cake Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups boiling water

· 1 cup old fashioned oats

· 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

· 1 cup dark brown sugar

· 1 cup sugar

· 2 eggs at room temperature

· 1 tsp vanilla

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 tsp baking soda

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

· ¼ tsp nutmeg

· Pinch of ground cloves

Topping Ingredients:

· 1/2 cup butter unsalted butter

· 1/2 cup light brown sugar

· 1/4 cup whole milk

· 1 tsp vanilla

· 3/4 cup shredded coconut

· 3/4 cup chopped pecans

· Butter for greasing the pan or cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS

For the cake:

· Preheat oven to 350° and grease or spray a 13" X 9" pan

· Pour hot water over the oats in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set both aside.

· Cream butter, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and eggs with an electric mixer.

· Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with oat mixture.

· Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

For the topping:

· Combine butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to boiling and boil 3 – 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in coconut and pecans. Spread over warm cake. Broil until coconut is toasted, 3-5 minutes. Watch carefully as this topping can burn quickly. Check after 3 minutes.