November 04, 2015
In June of 1941 a book of lyrics was printed by Star Island for use by island guests and even for mainland engagements. This book, while just a small dot on the timeline of Star Island’s history, speaks to the power of music that so many people have felt when visiting the Isles of Shoals…. Read more >
February 26, 2015
The creative spirit on Star Island, ever present in our summer programs, is equally ingrained in our summer staff. Before work starts, between shifts, or when a day is over our staff can be found painting on the rocks, strumming their guitars, or taking photographs of the beautiful scenery. Even during work you might find… Read more >
February 19, 2015
Amongst our artifacts we recently found this poem written by Sewell Hayes. The poem captures the community aspect of Star Island, which has been the hallmark of our summer gatherings since the start of conferences in 1897. The poem is undated, but is most likely from the 1920’s or 30’s based on the year of… Read more >
February 10, 2015
The middle of the 20th century saw a bit of a building boom on Star Island. Buildings went up made of stone, wood, or both. Some were meant to last, some designed as only temporary. All of these buildings still remain and are put to good use. The year of 1953 saw three buildings completed… Read more >
February 05, 2015
Sour cream. On Star Island, that’s not just a condiment for the chili lunch. Sour cream is also the name of the paint used in guest rooms and meeting spaces throughout the island’s 32 buildings. The rooms, often painted by volunteers during the spring, have not always been so uniform. The photos below, shared with… Read more >
January 29, 2015
On July 2, 1969, a letter was sent to Shoalers seeking their opinion regarding a proposed addition to the Star Island grounds. That addition being a salt water pool. This pool, let’s be clear, never came to be, but it did provide ample opportunity for people in the Star Island community to think about such… Read more >
January 22, 2015
Every year we publish a catalog providing a description of the upcoming summer programs on Star Island. With the 2015 program catalog currently at the printers, getting ready for a mid-February arrival in your mailbox, we decided to take a look back in our archives at earlier program catalogs, once called the “Blue Book” for… Read more >
January 13, 2015
We recently came across a pile of work request notes that guests filled out in 2008 and, for a reason we’re not too sure of, were kept in an envelope in our office. Granted, not as exciting as the recent opening of the time capsule left by Samuel Adams in 1795, these almost seven-year-old notes… Read more >
January 08, 2015
Before the recent holiday break we sent our latest winter newsletter to the printer. This newsletter will be arriving in your mailboxes before the end of the month. As we prepared the masthead of this latest newsletter, which involves figuring out roman numerals once a year, we discovered that we’ve hit a milestone — 40… Read more >
October 16, 2014
Maybe your favorite Star Island softball team will never make it to the World Series because, well, that’s for professional baseball. But it’s fall, baseball is on our minds, and we’ve uncovered a little bit of Star Island history in the office today as we are going through some of the Vaughn Cottage archives to… Read more >