2009 Special Exhibition:                                  Thoroughly Madaket Millie: The Lore and Legend of a Nantucket Institution

To anyone who grew up on Nantucket prior to 1990, the name "Madaket Millie" instantly calls up a visual and verbal recollection far removed from everday life on the island today. Mildred "Madaket Millie" Jewett left a lasting impression on anyone who met her during her 82-year life on Nantucket's west end, and her memory continues to bring smiles to those who remember her fondly. Although Millie seldom ventured away from her home on Hither Creek, she left a lasting impression. She was an honorary commissioned Warrant Officer in the United States Coast Guard (the highest rank an enlisted member of the Service can reach). In a final gesture of respect, the service distributed her ashes from a helicopter when she died in 1992. Millie was a subject of a children's book, Madaket Millie, and was featured in a picture and story in a National Geographic article on Nantucket. During her life in Madaket, she also became friends with Nantucket seasonal resident Fred Rogers (yes, Mr. Rogers!), and was the subject of an interview with him on his nationally televised show Mr. Rogers and Friends. For someone who only left Nantucket a handful of times, she also left an impression in the publishing world, in the Halls of Congress (where her name was read aloud when she received her commission), in the Brant Point Station history and in the hearts of the generations who have heard her stories passed down by relatives and friends.

We invite you to walk in Millie's world this summer and follow her life through photographs, her conversation with Fred Rogers, illustrations from the children's book, and the vast collection of her ties not only to the United States Coast Guard, but to life-saving on Nantucket.