August 19, 2025

157. Salem Islands (part 2)

1 hour 8 minutes

Fall may be approaching, but we're still living the island life! Salem Sound has so much to offer and Misery and Bakers were just the tip of the... island? In part two, we'll venture to Children's (or Cat) Island and hear about how it went from small pox to summer camp. Sarah reads us the long lost tale: “The Desperado of Cat Island.” And we've got a Spanish ship wreck at Tinkers! Join Jeffrey and Sarah, your favorite Salem tour guides, as they hop back on the boat and explore like the maritime sailors of old!

Tolles, Bryant Jr. Summer by the Seaside: The Architecture of New England Coastal Resort Hotels, 1820–1950. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2008, 97.

Knight, Russell W. “The ‘Headers in Life and Legend.” Marblehead Magazine.

Bentley, William. The Diary of William Bentley. Vol. 3. Salem: Essex Institute, n.d., 274.

“Free Summer Pleasures for Boston People.” New England Magazine, New Series, vol. 6 (March–August 1892), 791.

Thirty-Ninth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1908, 71.

“Marines Landed—For Y Campers.” The Marblehead Messenger, June 17, 1971.

Hercher, Gail Pike. “Cat Island: A History of Kings, Captains and Children.” Marblehead Magazine. https://www.legendinc.com/Pages/MarbleheadNet/MM/Articles/CatIslandHistory.html.

Firger, Chris. Tinker's Island. Painting. Posted on Instagram, July 8, 2021. https://www.instagram.com/p/CfsCFNsp9SB/.

Jasper, Jack. "The desperado of cat island." Newspapers.com. The Pittsfield Sun, August 9, 1849. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsfield-sun/177628359/.

Gorstein, Sam. Tinkers Island Marblehead 4K. YouTube video, September 18, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia5tH1-PWPU.

Tinker’s Island. Salem Links and Lore (Salem Public Library), last modified April 1, 2025. https://salempl.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tinker%27s_Island

Peterson, Pam. "Marblehead 101: Tinker’s and the Outer Islands." Marblehead Reporter, March 28, 2013. Accessed [today’s date]. https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/marblehead-reporter/2013/03/28/marblehead-101-tinker-s-outer/39845920007/

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Intro/Outro Music from Uppbeat:

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/unfamiliar-faces

License code: NGSBY7LA1HTVAUJE

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By Sarah Black & Jeffrey Lilley

4.8

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