Movie Theatres …

The Island Theatre (Eagle Theatre) circa 1910.

The Island Theatre 2009 – Oak Bluffs.

The Strand 2009 – Oak Bluffs.

The Capawock 1996 – Vineyard Haven.

Movies  have been a big part of Island entertainment since the early 1900’s.   At one time there were as many as 8 theatres down-Island… of those only the Island, The Strand and The Capawock remain.  In 1927 the Island theatre in Oak Bluffs was showing the talkie “Wings” starring the “It” girl Clara Bow.  The price of admission was 50 cents on a Saturday night, 30 cents if you sat in the balcony.

For me, as a summer kid on the Vineyard in the 1950’s, a night at the movies was a very big deal.  The movies I remember the clearest are the musicals, like “Summer Stock” with Judy Garland,  and “Showboat” with Howard Keel.   Before even getting to the theatre there was a stop at …

…Darling’s for popcorn.  A bag would be fine for an afternoon treat but for going to the movies the choice was always a popcorn bar in such flavors as chocolate, strawberry,vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch.  After the ’show’ a stop at the Frosty Cottage on Circuit Ave for a pistachio ice cream cone finished off the evening.   Many nights on the way home I morphed into a singing, dancing movie star…at least in my head

Coming in July …

July 4 -Edgartown Fireworks

July 4-Edgartown 4th of July Parade (5pm)

July 4-Children’s Parade at the Tabernacle (10 am)

July 4-Bunch of Grapes Grand Re-Opening

July 8 – Tisbury Street Fair

Check out www.mvol.com and the Chamber of Commerce

for the gazillion other things happening on MV for the month of July.

Anchors …

How often have you walked past these anchors by the harbor in Edgartown and  given any thought to how or why they are there…

…other than being used as a great photo-op.

I know I never gave it much thought until I saw a little article about them in the Marthas’ Vineyard Magazine a couple of years ago.These four rusted anchors belong to the Norton family who owned a home across the street.  But why are they there?

According to the article in MV Magazine:

“in the 1930’s coastal schooners would sometimes lose their anchors to accidents or storms… town fisherman would also occasionally snag and damage their nets on them.  Whenever possible, the fishermen raised the offending anchor and brought it ashore.  “

“Samuel Norton collected these anchors and sold or gave them to summer people who put them on their lawns or near their boathouses as ornaments.”

I guess now when I walk past them I’ll think about where they came from and about how many people have taken pictures by them over the years.

A Harbor View …

Edgartown

Dad …

This is me with my dad on Martha’s Vineyard.  Notice how with most dads he’s letting his daughter crawl all over him.  And notice too what a great seat a dads lap is.

My dad, at 6′2 was literally and figuratively someone I  looked up to.  He was born in Newark, NJ and became a police officer there.  One of the memories of my dad is how handsome and proud he looked in his uniform.  Part of his time in the police force he worked in the emergency squad, he loved helping people and was always good at it.

My mother grew up on Martha’s Vineyard and after his first trip to the Island my dad was hooked.  Every summer my mom and I would head to MV the beginning of June and my dad would join us for the month of August.  He seemed so happy and at home there… he did yard work, painted the house, cooked, read, went clamming and crabbing,  relaxed, went to the beach… just simply enjoyed himself.

My parents made their last trip together to the Vineyard in 1975.  My dad went back to MV a couple of times after my mother died but of course it wasn’t the same.  Funny thing is that everytime I’m on Martha’s Vineyard I feel the closest to my dad and mom…  I guess the spirit resides where it was the happiest.

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Just to show that the sitting and climbing on dad thing is generational, or inborn or just a fun thing … here’s a picture of my husband Bob with Deb & Patty when they were little.

Rocking On The Porch …

Ocean Park ~ Oak Bluffs

Bunch of Grapes Re-opens …

The time has finally arrived.  The Bunch of Grapes is re-opening after the devastating fire of last July 4th, 2008.

As reported in the Vineyard Gazette and The Martha’s Vineyard Times the Bunch of Grapes is open for business at 9am, Saturday, June 13th. Hooray.

Grand opening hoopla is set for Saturday, July 4th.

The Nobska …

Another Ferry Tale …

The Islander wasn’t the first of the ferries that plied the Vineyard waters to find its potential new lease on life dashed (read article from Gazette here.) There was the Nobska.

The Nobska was launched on March 24, 1925.  She made her maiden voyage on April 9, 1925 and sailed the waters between New Bedford, Woods Hole and Martha’s Vineyard until 1973.

As this article from the June 2, 2006 Vineyard Gazette mentions, she was state of the art for her time and the Islanders immediately fell in love with her.  The Nobska was one of the last coastal steamers in America, she made her last run in September 1973…the following May of 1974 she was listed on the National Register of Historical Places.  In June of 1975 she was sold and stripped of everything except her main engine and became a restaurant in Baltimore.  The restaurant failed and the Nobska sat alone and neglected for several years.

In 1988 the Friends of the Nobska acquired her and she returned to New England.  During the next 10 years support for her ebbed and waned but eventually efforts to restore her came to an end. In 1995 the Nobska was towed from New Bedford to the Charlestown Navy Yard and there she stayed until June 2006 when the dock was needed for the Constitution.

The Friends of the Nobska changed their name to the New England Steamship Foundation you can visit their website and read about the Nobska by clicking here.

I remember trips on the Nobska and the Islander and to me they were vessels of dreams and promises of adventures to come.  There’s just something about that 45 minute sail from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard that transports you not only physically but mentally to another time and place.

MV Picture Trivia …

For the fourth in my series of MV trivia questions I thought I’d do a photo one.  I’ll try and make this one easy.

1 –

2 –

3 –

4 –

5 –

Think you know the answers ! Leave a comment to find out if you’re right

Harbor Morning …

Edgartown Harbor from my room.