Farewell, Marianne

To the editor: It is with a large degree of sadness that I bid farewell to Marianne Stanton as she ends her stint as the "Here & There" columnist in the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror. Marianne’s column was a must read for me, a feature of the paper that I always looked forward to reading, along with the letters and editorial. I frankly suspect that her column will be difficult to replace because it was a unique mixture of gardening reports, restaurant recommendations, and sharp but incisive comments about Nantucket’s capitulation to the moneyed interests.

I have welcomed many of the changes implemented by the new ownership of the I&M, especially the facsimile copy online of the printed newspaper. But sometimes change can be taken too far, and the very identity of a publication can be lost in the process.

At a time when so many community — and even city — newspapers have folded or been absorbed by newspaper conglomerates, the I&M has remained viable and independent. As the former publisher, Marianne Stanton deserves her share of the credit. I could sense how much of a responsibility this was for her as the daughter of the former publishers. Under her direction, the I&M has served as a vital organ of news, information, and, perhaps, most important, communication for an island undergoing rapid and transformational change.

I hope that the I&M will find a way to honor her years of service and stewardship. Yes, because of current ownership, the newspaper is fully independent, but there would be no paper to hand off to them if not for Marianne Stanton’s leadership. It obviously takes a talented team to produce a community newspaper like the I&M. I commend them, too, but without Marianne Stanton at the helm would Nantucket still have this essential community resource for civilized discourse? The social media is no substitute.

I will follow Marianne Stanton to Substack to see what she is up to. I welcome more
reminiscences about how Nantucket was when she was growing up, interspersed with a sharp comment or two about island life currently.

Thank you, Marianne Stanton, for all you have done for the Nantucket community. I will miss reading you in the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror.

Maureen Searle