So, You Think You Know Nantucket?: People, Places, Folklore, Trivia and Treasures

Fondly referred to as “The Gray Lady,” the island of Nantucket draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. Yet for the 14,000 year-round residents, the island is much more than a popular tourist destination. Known for its beautiful beaches, cobblestone streets, offshore fishing, and maritime history, Nantucket is a close-knit community with a strong connection to the past.

The book lays out a significant base knowledge for each community, including famous men and women who have made significant contributions. A section entitled “Do You Know?” provides some lesser-known information that contributes to the distinctness of each town; some photographs that will test the reader's knowledge of buildings and objects that are commonly seen but not necessarily recognized for what they are, and some trivia that tests some well-known and lesser-known facts. There is a section on beaches with special attention paid to the hidden or secret beaches on Nantucket.

The book ends with the "Treasures" of the Nantucket. These are the institutions and places that make Nantucket a remarkable place to visit, live in and work. Melissa has made these determinations herself and realizes that others may have a different list, but that is ok. Some are cultural, some are natural, but each contributes to a quality of life that is unique to Nantucket. And its places and people who have something distinct and appealing to offer everyone.

Melissa K. Bigelow, a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Boston University and certified financial planner, is a resident of Mashpee, MA. She is a native Cape Codder, born at Cape Cod Hospital and raised in Yarmouth. She worked in banking and finance for 12 years, ten of which were spent at a local mutual savings bank and the last two at a national financial services firm. She is currently the owner of Seagull Treasure Chest, an online retail establishment specializing in pre-1900 antique books. The business, which she operates out of her home in Mashpee, is in memory of her late father, Tom Hague’s, brick and mortar antique store of the same name, which he operated during the 1970s in West Harwich.

Her life’s greatest accomplishment is her twelve-year old daughter, Sophia, a frequent high honors student who plays tennis and soccer for the Monomoy Regional School District.
You can catch Sophia on stage during the summer at one of Cape Cod Theatre Company’s musical productions.

A lifelong writer, Melissa’s dream as a child was to become an author. She has written two books in the So You Think You Know series, So You Think You Know Cape Cod, and So You Think You Know Nantucket?