Thirty years ago on Christmas Eve, as we were celebrating our eldest son’s birthday at our annual Christmas Eve gathering, our friends who were not going to be able to use their Nantucket rental cottage that summer asked us if we wanted to use it as we loved the ocean. Times were different then as there were not a lot of rental properties and if you gave up the rental there was no assurance that you would ever be able to get it back. We said that it would be terrific to experience a different island adventure as we had often visited my father in law in the Bahamas. The rest is history. Like so many others we fell in love with the island, rented in Wauwinet for a number of years and finally decided that this was where we wanted our second home.
I have often reflected on what it was that made us fall in love with the island. First of all it was the beauty of the island and the peacefulness. We would often go to the south shore and sit in the dunes and listen to the surf crashing on the shore. And the people. It was so unpretentious then. And you met people from all over the country and the world who gravitated to this solitary spit of sand. But you were never alone. There was always someone interesting to meet, or listen to. Having lived in many different parts of the world, it was so special because in the summer you could have the chaos of the tourists (of which we were one early on) and in the fall and in winter you could have the peacefulness of spending time with friends, or books. I always remember when we first arrived, a “year rounder” told me, In the summer it takes a half an hour to get from the bottom of Main street to the bank because of all of the tourists. And in the winter it also takes a half hour to get there as everyone stops to talk with you and catch up.
We purchased in town on the advice of my father in law who had retired to the Bahamas. Earlier than we had expected we decided to move here full time, bought Nantucket Real Estate Company and got involved in the community. Our home on Fair Street became our passion and we raised the house, added a full basement, finished off the second floor, restored our two hundred year old house while updating the bathrooms and kitchens. It has been fabulous to live in town during all seasons and now we are looking to downsize as our family is spread all over the country. The video displays all that we have created in our home and we look forward to the next owners enjoying it as much as we have these past twenty some years.
-Ken Beaugrand