Tee up! A Guide to Vineyard Links
Gallery Grazing: An Edgartown Art Stroll
5 Things to Eat and Drink at the Airport Marketplace
Portrait of an Artist:
A Q& A with Harry Seymour
25 Years on the African American Heritage Trail
Alasdair Watt, Teaching Pro at Farm Neck Golf Club
12 ON THE TRAIL FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
Thirty-six stops and counting.
By Thomas Humphrey16 THE OLD MAN AND THE LINKS
For this lifelong golfer, Vineyard courses are the Goldilocks of golf.
By Stephen Goodwin20 BLOCK ART
No car or bike required; an Edgartown gallery tour is easy to do on foot.
By Louisa Hufstader
4 EDITOR’S NOTE
5 ON THE ROCK
6 Q&A
Portrait of An Artist: An Interview with Harry Seymour
8 VINE & DINE
5 Things to Eat and Drink... at the Airport Marketplace
24 INSTA ISLAND
Fuller Street Beach
26 BY THE NUMBERS
Counting Down to Summer
Cover Photo: Farm Neck Golf Club teaching pro Alasdair Watt
EDITOR
From the Editor
I think of June as a perfect time for Islanders to play tourist – or just to play – on the Island. Before the craziness of high summer begins, we can explore new opportunities or reconnect with things we love about the Vineyard. The possibilities are wide open.
If you’re a golfer or would like to be, you’ll love Stephen Goodwin’s opinionated – but reverent – look at the five golf courses on the Island (page 16). If strolling around Edgartown is more your thing, Louisa Hufstader has a suggested art gallery tour you can do on foot in a few square blocks (page 20).
June is a celebratory month, too, and we’re excited about the second annual Juneteenth Jubilee on June 16-19. For more information and highlights, turn to page 5. The African American Heritage Trail is celebrating 25 years this month; on page 12 Thomas Humphrey talks to founders Elaine Weintraub and Carrie Tankard and puts a spotlight on six stops on the trail.
Don’t miss Sissy Biggers’ interview with artist Harry Seymour on page 6. Harry is a lifelong activist and his body of work perfectly embodies the spirit of inclusivity and celebration.
We hope you find plenty to celebrate this month. Cheers!
- Susie MiddletonSusie Middleton
ART DIRECTOR
Jared Maciel
CONTRIBUTORS
Elizabeth Bennett, Chris Burrell, Ray Ewing, Stephen Goodwin, Laura Holmes Haddad, Louisa Hufstader, Thomas Humphrey, Jeanna Shepard
PUBLISHER
Jane Seagrave
GENERAL MANAGER
Sarah Gifford
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
Skip Finley | sales@vineyardgazette.com
SALES TEAM
Frederica Carpenter, Garrett Burt, Carrie Blair, Serena Ward
MARKETING MANAGER
Alessandra Hagerty
AD PRODUCTION
Jane McTeigue, Jared Maciel, McKinley Sanders
Copyright 2023 by the Vineyard Gazette Media Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
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P.O. Box 66, 34 So. Summer Street, Edgartown, MA 02539 thevine@vineyardgazette.com | 508-627-4311
C
reating and Maintaining Dynamic Landscapes with the Right Approach
Defending their New England Collegiate Baseball League championship title, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks will meet the North Shore Navigators at the Vineyard Baseball Park — a.k.a. the Shark Tank — to open the season on June 7. With a roster of “big guys with big bats and big arms,” according to sportswriter Aaron Wilson, the team hopes to reinforce its potent offense.
New this summer: The team will host a series of charity nights, including a veterans’ night, a Pride night, and a night to benefit The Island Autism Center. Last summer’s addition of a beer garden will be back, so fans can look forward to the perfect summer trifecta of burgers, beer and baseball. For more information, visit mvsharks.com.
Returning this summer for its 49th season, the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market will be welcoming five new and former vendors. Selling veggies, Island Autism Group will make its debut appearance, and Whippoorwill Farm will return after a year-long hiatus. In the flower department, bouquets from Vineyard Landscape Design will be for sale, and Morning Glory Farm will spin off a second stand just for their flowers. Seafood caught by local fishermen will be for sale at the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative booth.
The Saturday market opens on June 10 at 9 a.m., followed by the first Wednesday market on June 14 at 9 a.m. The Saturday market runs through October 28; the Wednesday market through August 30.
Looking for a beautiful spot to launch your kayak this summer? Good news: The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank has completely rebuilt the recreational dock on northern Duarte’s Pond at the Blackwater Pond Reservation in West Tisbury. Park at the trailhead off 100 Lambert’s Cove Road.
June 16 – 19, 2023
This year’s Vineyard celebration of Juneteenth – the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Americans – will be a packed, three-day holiday weekend of speakers and events with the theme of Free as the Wind, celebrating escapes on the high seas. In addition to the highlights at right, visit vineyardgazette.com/Juneteenth for a full calendar of events and the latest updates.
The schooner Amistad, a replica of the ship that became famous after a group of enslaved Africans led a successful revolt and won their freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841, will drop anchor on the Island on Friday, June 16. It will be open to the public on Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunny June days are perfect for cycling, and Jon Malone of Edgartown Bikes has some tips to keep your bike — and yourself — in working order:
“Make sure your brakes work well, keep a lubed-up chain and move off to the side to check for directions. Also, put your eyes where you want to go. That’s a good one for life too.”
Artist Harry Seymour’s life on Martha’s Vineyard is a portrait of activism and beauty. His work in the unique mediums of scratch art and egg tempura, along with the poetry he writes, depicts the African American and Martha’s Vineyard experiences with a strong message. His commitment to social change began when he was a doctoral candidate in speech and hearing at Ohio State University; it grew and flourished when he became a professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Harry successfully took up the cause to increase the number of Blacks at both institutions. His work in speech pathology and audiology improved the lives of African American children who were over-diagnosed as language
impaired, and it began a career-long mission for social justice for, in his words, the “underdogs” — a mission that thrives in his art as well.
This year Harry and his wife Charlena will celebrate their wedding anniversary on the Island they now call home – and where they honeymooned 57 years ago.
Q. How did you find your way to this unique specialization in speech pathology?
A. My early career aspiration was to be an entrepreneur and make a lot of money. I soon realized that I did not have the temperament to be a successful businessman. My wife Charlena was getting her masters in speech and hearing at Ohio State
University and I looked at what she was doing and realized the compassionate and emotional side of me was longing to come out.
Q. Do you recall a first artistic inspiration in Oak Bluffs?
A. I fell in love with the beauty of the Island, as most people do, but the diversity of the Island has meant so much to me, too.
Q. When did you officially retire and take up art fulltime?
A. I took early retirement in 2002, and one of the reasons I retired from my profession as an academician was because I wanted to paint. I never had any formal training, but I knew I loved doing it.
Q. Today your art is featured in many private collections and the celebrated installation at the [Mass General Brigham] Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Who first took a chance on this untrained retiree fulfilling a life aspiration to be an artist?
A. The All-Island Art Show! I remember the excitement and enthusiasm of people coming by and seeing my work – my work that had never been shown any place formally. Many other people were significant in my development as an artist. Holly Alaimo practically launched my artistic career at Dragonfly Gallery. Other Oak Bluffs galleries and Carol Craven in Vineyard Haven supported me. The publishing of my poem/painting commentaries in the Vineyard Gazette is among the highlights of my Island experiences. And the inclusion of two of my paintings in the hospital’s public spaces is particularly gratifying.
Q. Are you an activist or an artist first?
While the issues are serious, I don’t take myself too seriously. I’m not going to eliminate racism. It’s here, we live with it, we have to deal with it. I don’t care if I sell anything. I don’t do art for that reason. What I do I do to satisfy a need I have to express certain issues. I’m not going to change the world. I want to produce something that matches my creative muse.
Q. Is the Island your muse?
A. I would say the Island is the catalyst for fulfilling my muse. There’s something inside of me that I can’t explain. There was always something driving me to these kinds of issues and these kinds of problems, and it was natural and unavoidable that when I became a painter, it would be more of the same. Martha’s Vineyard has nurtured my art in ways that probably no other place could.
Q. One of your most recognizable pieces is your Oak Bluffs Fireworks painting in the scratched art style.
A. It’s gotten a lot of attention. It just keeps popping up and it never seems to go away, and I don’t want it to. That’s the best compliment you could ever give an artist — that a piece of work has legs and is remembered.
Q. It’s a wonderful piece; a gift that keeps on giving.
A. Well, you can also measure it by the number of people who buy the prints. In fact, India Rose is going to feature it on the cover of [the print version of the] Martha’s Vineyard Black Owned Business Directory this year.
Q. What is the most satisfying aspect of making art?
A. Art is extremely meditative. If you want to really shut out the noise, do something like art. It focuses you for that time and gives your mind a rest. We all can be creative but sometimes we are afraid to let it flourish within us. If you allow yourself to let your creative drive take hold you would be amazed. Most of the things that I have done that are successful were not intentional. They just happened.
Q. How has Juneteenth influenced your work?
A. Juneteenth commemorates our need and our aspirations to be free,
whether you’re Black or whether you’re white. One of the things I try to convey in my art is that we, as Black Americans, are not in it alone. We’re not going to solve the issues that face us without the help of our allies, white Americans. If we look back on history, aside from the heinous act of slavery and the role that whites played in that, much of the progress that we’ve made in fighting racism and discrimination was done with allies who’ve been white. Even going back to slavery — the abolitionists who risked their lives to fight slavery — and going forward to the civil rights movement, there were whites who were also marching and white students in Mississippi who also died. I hope when people look at my work, they’re looking at a statement that says that we have to defy injustice but we also have to be allied in that fight against injustice.
Q. How would you spend a perfect June day on the Island?
A. First and foremost, I would give my beautiful, lovely wife a kiss and a smile and then I would go out and play 18 holes of golf! Then I would come back and finish the day off working on a painting and listening to music.
To learn more about Harry’s art, visit hseymour.artspan.com/home.
Sissy Biggers is a regular contributor to The Vine and a frequent contributor to Martha’s Vineyard magazine.
There’s a hidden gem smack dab in the middle of the Island called the Airport Marketplace. Where there once was a nightclub, there are now three thriving food and beverage spots: Black Sheep, The Fish House and MV Wine & Spirits. Miraculously, there is plenty of parking here too. You can find the three stores by taking your first right off of Airport Road – the main entrance to the airport.
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or libations for you or 50 of your closest friends, you can get pretty much anything you need at the marketplace. And if you go there often enough – as some of us do – you’ll quickly discover your favorites. Below and in the photos, we’ve called out five of the things we love, but there’s much more to discover.
Husband and wife team Tyler Gibson and Shane Laderoute opened The Fish House in 2018 with a wholesale business plus retail fish and seafood and prime-grade beef. Chef and Island native Everett Whiting joined them in 2019 as a partner with the plan to develop a seafood-focused takeout menu. The menu has turned out to be a hit. In addition to fresh fish sandwiches, lobster rolls and fish tacos, look for new seafood-focused menu items this season, including lobster boils. Tyler, Shane and Everett are self-proclaimed foodies and “the goal was, and is, to showcase the local fishermen,” says Shane.
The refrigerated cases have specialty items. Don’t miss their creamy cilantro green sauce, a Peruvian sauce that
complements meat or fish, and their smoked bluefish and lobster dips.
When I’m in the store picking up a beautiful piece of striped bass, some local scallops, or a dozen littlenecks, I often leave with my favorite takeout order too: a poke bowl ($15.99 to $24.99). Available with raw or seared fish or tofu, the generous portion is bursting with flavor and topped with crispy shallots.
Open May – Dec.
Hours May 15 - Sept. 1: seven days, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Online ordering recommended thefishhousemv.com
508-693-0055
@thefishhousemv
Black Sheep relocated from downtown Edgartown to the marketplace in 2018. Owner Mark Venette’s background in hospitality is on full display in the welcoming space with a team turning out breakfast, lunch and dinner with daily specials and both to-go and onsite catering. The prepared food section includes cheese and charcuterie, a wide range of pastries, side dishes, main dishes, dips and more. Pastry specials rotate and I recently had a delicious individual banana caramel tart. Black Sheep even has a section of pantry essentials that will save you the extra trip to the grocery store. This is a one-stop experience, with beautiful housewares and linens for hostess gifts to a weeknight take-out dinner. Black Sheep catering menus feature fresh, seasonal items for every celebration; booking ahead is essential.
While I often can’t resist their sweet
treats — especially those drop-dead gorgeous cupcakes ($5 each) — my goto take-out order is grilled lemon honey shrimp (6 for $24) with aioli. I also always grab one or more of the house made dips ($8.95 per half pint). The creamy roasted leek dip, zippy better-than-blue-cheese dip, and (4) spicy buffalo blue dip are on every veggie platter I serve — for guests or my family.
Open April – Dec. Spring hours (through June 30): 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday - Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday)
July 1 - Labor Day: Open seven days, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. blacksheeponmv.com 508-338-7770
@black_sheep_mv
Black Sheep participates in the Island Eats program.
MV Wine & Spirits offers a broad but curated selection of wine, spirits and beer with a knowledgeable staff headed by store manager Brion McGroarty Jr. and wine manager Liz Beauchamp. “As a year-round business we try to take care of everybody,” says owner Brion McGroarty Sr. No stranger to the package store business, Brion Sr. opened Town Provisions in 1990 in downtown Edgartown until he built the new store in 2013 and re-named it.
MV Wine & Spirits offers discounts on wine by the case: 10 per cent off a mixed case and 15 per cent off an unopened case of one wine. They also take special orders if you’re looking for something specific. The store stocks non-alcoholic beverages and ice in addition to beer, wine and spirits.
While I’m always tempted by new
wine varietals and beautiful bottles of spirits at MV Wine, my go-to is bubbly — Champagne, sparkling wine and everything in between. Last year Brion Jr. introduced me to what I think is the best value sparkling on the market, a cava made from a blend of Spanish grapes. Crisp, lemony and elegant, this (5) Raventos i Blanc 2020 Blanc de Blanc ($19.99; $17.99 on sale) is my choice for a hostess gift, a party, or just a Friday night on the porch.
Open seven days a week, year-round; closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday
Hours: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday mvwinestore.com
508-627-7557
@m.v.wineandspirits
Carrie Tankard and Elaine Weintraub had modest goals when they started the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard with four stops. But now they're at 36 - and still counting.
When Elaine Weintraub and Carrie Tankard first envisioned what is now the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard, their plan was modest: erect four bronze plaques, each commemorating an untold story of African American history on the Island.
That was 25 years ago. Today, an ever-growing group of staff and volunteers have added more than 30 landmarks to the trail — for a current total of 36 — while expanding their work to educational initiatives and
BY THOMAS HUMPHREY • PHOTOS BY RAY EWINGAfrican American history tours onIsland. With each new plaque, another untold story is written into the pages of Island history.
“The trail began as a response to the lack, in the school system, of anything within African American history, or native history, or just inclusive history in general,” said Elaine, a retired Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School teacher. In the ‘90s, a mutual friend connected her with Carrie, an active member of the NAACP of Martha’s Vineyard, who also had a
keen interest in local history.
“We did it all together,” Carrie recalled of those early days. And there was, indeed, enough work for two. Among their first planned landmarks, some had well-known histories, like the first African American-owned guest house on the Vineyard, The Inn at Shearer Cottage. To unearth some of the lesser-known stories, however, they had to do a bit more legwork.
“We spent a lot of time at probate court, looking at wills,” said Elaine. That was their starting point for
uncovering stories about slavery on the Vineyard. It was in one of those wills that they first encountered the name Nancy Michael, a six-year-old girl sold at the event of her slaveholders’ death. “From there, it becomes a lot more difficult, because enslaved people don’t leave trails.”
They would then scour archival microfiche, scanning deeds, censuses, court and jail records looking for further clues about the person’s life. “That part wasn’t too much fun, but it was interesting,” Carrie said.
For Nancy Michael, the group got a boost when they found her 1857 Gazette obituary, describing her influence on the Edgartown community and reputation as a witch who swayed the fortunes of whalers. (Read more about Nancy on page 14.) In concert with last year’s Juneteenth celebration, the group realized a long-standing dream and installed at Memorial Wharf a bronze sculpture of Nancy Michael which they had commissioned from artist Barney Zeitz.
Alongside their historical research, the group organized early efforts to beautify some of the neglected sites. For instance, Carrie said, the Eastville cemetery site in Oak Bluffs had not been maintained in years, becoming overgrown. “We had a group from the school help out and they all wound up with poison ivy,” she said with a smile.
In the process of discovering the Island’s African American history, Elaine and Carrie found that the stories would constantly intersect with those of the Vineyard’s Wampanoag tribe. Trail tour guide Christy Vanderhoop described one of these, commemorated with a plaque in Menemsha.
“One Vanderhoop woman found a runaway slave. And she dressed this man in her own clothing, like a woman, and gave him her dinghy so he could continue on the Underground Railroad. He eventually made it to freedom,” she said. “Tribal women embraced all people, not just Black people, everyone from all over this world.”
Landmarks on the trail run the gamut of Island history, from the era of slavery to the diverse sailors of whaling voyages to the historic role of the Oak Bluffs Highlands as an AfricanAmerican vacation destination.
And even 25 years on, the trail continues to grow. The team has big plans for expansion in 2023 with the addition of a Black Business Trail in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, highlighting historic and current black owned businesses. They also plan to erect a trail plaque at the Oak Bluffs home of Rev. William Jackson, a Camp Ground resident and town crier in the 19th century. Their plans extend beyond the trail as well, including a continued educational initiative with the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School, teaching about the Vineyard’s
role in the civil rights movement.
Larry Jones, director of outreach for the trail, emphasized the Vineyard’s many connections to the greater story of Black history in the U.S., from its role in the Underground Railroad to the many civil rights leaders who visited the Island. “It wasn’t always milk and cookies, and there was a lot of pushback, but this whole area was a center of that,” he explained.
But for Elaine, the most fulfilling part of the job is bringing the trail’s local history to local kids, many of
whom can name folks on the trail among their ancestors. “It gives them a sense of pride, I get to see them raise their heads up high about their past,” she said. “And of course, we get to learn too. We learn every day.”
Editor's note: Turn the page to find a complete list of stops on the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard and spotlights on six of those stops.
Nancy Michael Memorial Wharf, Edgartown
One of the first stops to be added to the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard, and still one of the most famous, Nancy is a subject of fascination to all who hear her story. Born enslaved, Nancy became a fixture of the Edgartown whaling community, known to seamen as a witch who could bless or curse a particular voyage.
Esther and the Underground Railroad Memorial Wharf, Edgartown
With her plaque located on the upper deck at Memorial Wharf, not far from that of Nancy Michael, Esther is one of the newest honorees of the trail. Little is known about the enslaved woman who escaped from North Carolina and made it to Boston before she was captured. But this much is known: In 1743, while she was held aboard the ship that would return her to enslavement in North Carolina, and while that ship was docked in Edgartown, she made her escape in the dark of night and was never held against her will again.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a program of the National Park Service, has designated Esther’s story and Edgartown harbor as part of their network. It is the first Vineyard site designated as such.
The Federated Church
Main Street, Edgartown
A plaque at the Federated Church in Edgartown celebrates one of the most influential African American luminaries to speak on the Island, Frederick Douglass. In 1857, the author and abolitionist who escaped slavery in childhood gave a speech
on the unity of man at the Federated Church, which was then the Congregational Church. His visit is now commemorated annually at the church on each Fourth of July with a reading of the seminal speech he gave in 1852 to an anti-slavery society, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? The speech calls out the United States for espousing freedom and equality while keeping millions of its people in bondage.
Though always living on the margins of society, Nancy was still able to exert broad influence on the townsfolk. Her 1857 Gazette obituary sums up her life: “She was a most singular character, and it will doubtless be a long time before we shall look upon her like again...May her good deeds live long in our remembrance, and her evil be interred with her bones.” In 2022, a new Barney Zeitz sculpture of Nancy (above) was installed near her plaque at Memorial Wharf in Edgartown.
Oak Bluffs
Located near the shores of Lagoon Pond, Eastville Cemetery once served as the Island burial place for immigrant mariners and people of color in the 18th and 19th centuries. The site was long neglected, covered in litter and
overgrown with brush before more recent efforts to clean it up.
The African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard has also installed a memorial to Rebecca Michael at this location. A plaque on a bench recognizes Rebecca, who was the daughter of Nancy Michael (Stop No. 3, above) and the mother of whaling captain William A. Martin, who may be buried in the cemetery.
The Overton House
Oak Bluffs
The Oak Bluffs home once owned by Harlem union organizer Joe Overton was the hub of summer activity for the
John Saunders and the Pulpit Rock
Oak Bluffs
As the new faith of Methodism first found foothold on Martha’s Vineyard in the late 18th century, charismatic preacher John Saunders, a former slave, was among the first to sermonize this faith to people of color on the Island. He was known to preach at Pulpit Rock, now part of Pecoy Point Preserve in Oak Bluffs, where a plaque on a rock memorializes his religious endeavours. He and his wife lived in
1. Rebecca Amos
2. Menemsha
3. Nancy Michael
4. William A. and Sarah Martin Homestead
5. William Martin Gravesite
6. John Saunders and Pulpit Rock
7. Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School
8. Bradley Square Memorial Church
9. Eastville Cemetery
civil rights movement in the 1960s. A number of activists and prominent African Americans, from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Joe Lewis to Jackie Robinson, all visited the Overton residence, which served as a summer retreat away from the life-threatening activism they engaged in.
10. Shearer Cottage
11. Gospel Tabernacle
12. Powell Cottage
13. Athletic teams of the early 1970’s
14. Edward Jannifer
15. Wampanoag Tribe
16. Landladies of Oak Bluffs
17. Overton House
18. Edward Brooke
19. Cottagers’ Corner
20. NAACP Martha’s Vineyard
21. Pioneer Educators
22. Dorothy West Home
23. Barber Hammond
Eastville until 1792, when they moved to Chappaquiddick where she died. John met an unfortunate fate on the little island as well. He remarried to a Wampanoag, and was subsequently murdered by tribe members who objected to the union.
24. Coleman Corners
25. George and Carrie Tankard House
26. Emma Maitland
27. Anne P. Jennings
28. Grace Church, Vineyard Haven
29. Federated Church, Edgartown
30. Edgartown Courthouse
31. E. Jacqueline Hunt
32. Esther and the Underground Railroad
33. The Nameless Trail
34. Dunmere by the Sea
35. Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association
36. Widow Rocker
To view the stops on the trail, you can take a guided tour or a self-guided tour with a map of the trail. For more information, visit mvafricanamericanheritagetrail.org.
For this lifelong golfer, Vineyard courses are the Goldilocks of golf – not too hard, not too easy, just right.
The links of which I speak are the five courses of Martha’s Vineyard, and the old man, alas, is me. I’ve been around the game so long that I remember spiked shoes, wooden clubs, and Arnold Palmer putting with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Although I retired from my day job (English professor) two years ago, I had a shadow career in golf — as a writer, course developer, course rater, and long-suffering player aptly described as a “dogged victim of inexorable fate.”
From my perspective, golf on the Vineyard is an ideal place for anyone’s valedictory rounds. The courses have all the charms of the Island — the salt air, the sea breezes, the landscapes of pine and sand, the dazzling views,
BY STEPHEN GOODWIN • PHOTOS BY RAY EWING
the relaxed attitude. They’re not at all like the stern, self-important “championship courses” where I used to want to do battle. Island golf is designed to refresh your energy, not deplete it. It’s Goldilocks golf — not too hard, not too easy, just right.
Like the towns on the Vineyard, the five courses differ from one another in obvious, striking ways. Each one has its own proud identity.
Let’s first consider Royal and Ancient Chappaquiddick Links, or Royal Chappy, the quirkiest layout on the Island. Before you even reach the
course, the name tells you that this is an establishment with a sense of humor.
You’ll want to laugh or scratch your head when you step onto the first tee and see a cedar tree in the middle of the fairway. The second hole is a blind par 3, and so it goes on this nine-hole layout, 1,352 yards in total length.
Some might call it gimmick golf. I call it Chappy golf. These shots are fun to play and the whole experience is an adventure, from crossing over on the ferry to depositing your greens fee in the honor box in the 10’ x 12’ pro shop. The merchandise shed is even smaller, offering stylish garments that display the course logo, a crow with a crown, a.k.a. Sir Reginald.
Golf has been played at Royal Chappy since 1887. The first holes were laid out on property owned by the sporting Marshall family and ever since, with short pauses for major global upheavals, the family has kept the game alive on the sandy plains of Chappy’s North Neck. The current operator/manager/factotum is Brad Woodger, a great-grandson of the founder.
Brad is a writer, too, and this iteration of Royal Chappy is his vision and his creation. His take on the future for the course: “We can continue this funky, precious, precocious, funny, challenging nine holes another three decades and beyond. Just keep loving it.”
Edgartown Golf Club (EGC), founded in 1926, is another homegrown nine-hole layout, and it also avoids pretension and grandiosity. The spirt of the place is no-fuss, no folderol.
Club manager Mark Hess has been at EGC for 35 years; the club is his career, his cause and his calling. With the support of a like-minded membership, he’s cemented the EGC as a local institution. A private club with a hardy core of Island members, EGC hosts three annual charity events that are open to all.
Mark describes the course in terms of what it’s not: “No bar, no restaurant, no pool, no tennis courts. People come here to play golf and get together with each other. It hasn’t changed much — and there aren’t many clubs like that.”
He’s especially proud of preserving the practice of no tee times. “The club wants to maintain spontaneity. That’s an Island tradition we want to keep.”
Another point of pride: The EGC course is ranked No. 8 in the world on Golf magazine’s list of best nine-holers.
The Mink Meadows sign on Golf Club Road in Vineyard Haven says “Public Welcome.” As a summer visitor in the 1980s and 1990s, I regarded the
Mink as my home course. Local, down home, egalitarian in spirt, the Mink hosts a true cross-section of golfers. My experience there has included encounters with doctors, developers, school boys, housepainters, Hollywood types and presidents. (I got shooed off the course by President Clinton’s Secret Service.)
In those days, you could count on getting same-day tee times. Now increased demand from both the public and members — Mink Meadows is semi-private — means that you’d better book well in advance.
The upside of this prosperity: Mink Meadows, always an inviting, challenging nine-hole layout that can be played from different tees as 18 holes, is in better shape than ever, and the greens might be the best on the Island.
The very private and exclusive Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown got off to a litigious start when community members, fearing pollution to the Island’s aquifer, stipulated that the golf course would have to adopt organic turf management practices. Now, 20 years later, the club has established a reputation as an environmental trail blazer, the only course in the country that is 100 per cent organic.
A few other things to know about the Vineyard Club: former President Obama plays there. The initiation fee is
north of $200,000. The present course, designed by an architect renowned for his respect for the natural features of a site, is actually the second course, built when the original course was deemed unsatisfactory and plowed under. Those who dine there rave about the food.
Also, the place is hard to find. Members of the club value their privacy — they’ve paid a lot for it. Let’s respect that. Moving on…
Many people are smitten with Farm Neck Golf Club, and I’m one of them. With sensational views over Sengekontacket Pond in Oak Bluffs, the front nine of this 18-hole layout is a thing of beauty.
The whole place is charming, classy, intimate. I could go on and on about the welcoming staff, the appeal of the shingled clubhouse, the brick paths, the food — even the shady parking lot deserves praise. Disclosure: I am not a member, nor has the club paid me to gush.
From its inception, Farm Neck was intended to be a private club accessible to the public, and it remains true to this original vision. But if you’re not a member and want to play in prime season, get started early — increased demand has made tee times rare and pricey.
The overall excellence of Farm Neck extends to the teaching tee,
where you’ll find Scotsman Alasdair Watt. When you see his ruddy face and hear his accent, you’ll think of St. Andrews, bagpipes, standing stones and Outlander.
Introduced to the game as a caddy at Royal Troon Golf Club, one of the host courses of The Open Championship, Alasdair blossomed into a fine player, reaching the finals of the 1987 Scottish Amateur.
Though he continued to compete, his instincts and interests drew him toward teaching. By temperament, he was a student of the golf swing, a subject that combines both Newtonian physics and metaphysics.
As an intellectual discipline, it can be compared to alchemy, with its effort to convert something base — clumsy human efforts with crude implements — into something pure and exalted. Sorcery!
The genius in this field is Ben Hogan; Alasdair’s first mentor, Scotsman Bob Torrance, was a friend of Hogan’s, and the teacher of many of the top European pros.
More recently, Alasdair’s tutor has been Mac O’Grady, the Dr. Strangelove of golf, a brilliantly talented player whose occult inquiries into the mysteries of the golf swing are legendary.
In a lesson with Alasdair, this body of wisdom informs the instruction. He doesn’t preach about it, but listen carefully and you’ll realize that he sees the golf swing as a microcosm of life itself. As he says, those who’ve “succumbed to their suckiness” don’t come to him for lessons.
All his students are serious golfers — not always good players, but serious
There’s more to golf than birdies and bogeys. Here are nine things to do on Vineyard courses that can’t be quantified on a scorecard.
1. Play a round of night golf at Royal Chappy, with illuminated balls and fairways marked like runways with LED lights.
2. Immerse yourself in stories of Vineyard golf by reading Mark Hess’s book, You Don’t Have a Prayer.
3. Take a lesson from Alasdair Watt at Farm Neck.
4. Play a round of winter golf at Mink Meadows. Helpful hint: warm your golf balls in the car defroster before playing.
5. Have lunch at the Vineyard Golf Club. Don’t ask me how to manage this because I haven’t figured it out myself.
6. Sign up to play in the Edgartown firemen’s association Golf Tournament at the Edgartown Golf Club.
7. Make your way to the third tee at Farm Neck and soak in one of the best golf views in North America.
8. Visit the merchandise shed at Royal Chappy and treat yourself to The Sir Reginald Extra Fancy Needlepoint Hat ($40). Or order online at royalchappy.com.
about learning. “I had a 97-year-old student and people would ask, what’s the point? Why does he need a lesson? It’s obvious — he can still learn. He believes he has a few good strikes left in him, and he wants to enjoy them.”
I’m several years shy of 97, but I can share the old man’s desire not to leave any good shots unplayed.
Having now spent two winters on the Island, Stephen Goodwin has completed the first probationary period for washashores. He's the author of three novels and four golf books, including Dream Golf and The Nature of the Game.
9. Especially for other seniors: In the spirit of honoring the golf gods and asking them to grant you many more rounds, turn and face the Atlantic Ocean when you reach the 8th tee at Farm Neck. Tee one up and belt it as far as you can toward the horizon.
No car or bike required: from Main street to Winter street, from South Summer to North Water, you can hop from one Edgartown gallery to the next simply by crossing the street.
BY LOUISA HUFSTADER • PHOTOS BY JEANNA SHEPARD
Famous for its whaling history, stately homes and water views, Edgartown is also home to a lively art scene, with galleries and studios on just about every downtown block — and you don’t have to be a serious art patron to enjoy them.
“There’s no reason art should be stuffy,” says North Water Gallery director Robin Morse Nagle, who welcomes all ages to explore an everchanging collection of fine art and contemporary crafts.
That’s not just lip service: The gallery has kid-height easels, so young visitors can engage with paintings and prints at eye level, and Robin doesn’t flinch at placing small bronzes and other sturdy sculptures within reach of little hands.
A series of colorful ceramic horseshoe crabs by Mark Rea, foundobject sculpture by Stephen Datz and striking canvases by Island painters are among the other offerings at North Water Gallery, which is located at the corner of North Water and Kelley streets.
Look out the gallery’s front door and you’ll see another Edgartown favorite, Eisenhauer Gallery, directly across North Water street in Vineyard Square. Visiting this gallery can feel like entering a rich new realm of treasures: The roomy showroom holds an exuberant collection of contemporary art in many media, from artisan jewelry to larger-than-life sculptures and paintings, curated by owner Elizabeth Eisenhauer.
Paintings of swimmers by artists from around the world are a particular specialty at the gallery, which also shows beach scenes, landscapes, colorful still lifes, abstracts and bronzes.
On Thursday evenings in high summer, Eisenhauer Gallery hosts weekly dance parties with Island bands on the Vineyard Square plaza.
Closer to Main street, in the historic John Coffin House, Kin showcases the work of a photographer and fashion designer who are aunt and niece.
On the gallery’s first floor, photographer L.A. Brown’s vivid color images mingle with Gareth Brown’s dresses and other wearables, while an atelier upstairs offers fashion customers a place to consult on commissions.
Just around the corner on Winter street, a pair of galleries offer two very different art experiences.
At The Christina Gallery, owner Christina Cook specializes in traditional paintings by contemporary artists, which you’ll find on the gallery’s first floor. Upstairs, the gallery holds an unexpected secret: antique maps from as far back as the 16th century and a collection of classic and vintage prints.
While The Christina Gallery is one of Edgartown’s oldest, founded nearly a half-century ago, its neighbor across the street is among the town’s youngest.
After opening Winter Street Gallery in 2020, Ingrid Lundgren and George Newall quickly established their seasonal showroom as an Island outpost for cutting-edge contemporary art.
In their first two seasons, the couple have presented rising stars such as
Anna Weyant and students in Yale’s MFA photography programs as well as work by pathbreaking artists of the previous generation.
Through June 4, Winter Street Gallery is showing James Nares’ 1976 experimental film Pendulum, which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s film collection, alongside works by three young artists responding to the Nares piece. Also on display are a pair of Nares paintings, created in a single huge gesture using brushes hand-made by the artist. Winter Street Gallery’s next group show, On Genres, opens June 8 with a reception from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
At the corner of Winter and Summer streets, turn left and look across Summer to find Penumbra Vintage Photographs, a showroom for photography from before the 21st century. Founded more than 30 years ago by collector Eugene Goldfield, the
gallery is packed with black and white views from the past, from antiquities that were already crumbling when cameras were invented to sculptural views of machine-age equipment. Penumbra Vintage Photographs opens July 1 for the season.
New to the Edgartown art scene on N. Summer street is Mariner Gallery,
specializing in maritime fine art. Continue along Summer street, across Main street, to find photographer Lucy Dahl’s Untameable Gallery, another 2020 addition to the Edgartown art scene. Originally on Dock street, Untameable opened May 19 at its new location, where Lucy has planned an allnew collection of her own photographs
as well as a revamped selection of gifts and impulse items. Many of her most popular images from previous seasons have sold out their limited print runs, Lucy said, but she is considering posters and cards of her older work.
On the far side of Summer street, the Charlotte Inn is home to the Edgartown Art Gallery, showing traditional paintings both old and new.
For even more vintage paintings, head further out of town to the Edgartown Public Library, where the walls are hung with museum-quality works bequeathed to the library by 20th-century Nabisco tycoon Charles Simpson. The library’s children’s room features a wraparound mural of sea life by Island artist Margot Datz.
Finally: no trip to Edgartown is complete without a visit to the Old Sculpin Gallery, the home of the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association and a landmark in its own right. The
historic boat builder’s shop that houses the gallery was famous in the age of sail for the wooden catboats designed by Manuel Swartz Roberts.
In a later era, it became the model for an iconic structure in the blockbuster movie Jaws: the shack inhabited by shark-killer Quint, portrayed by Robert Shaw. In 1974, the film’s crew built a replica of the Old Sculpin building in Menemsha, where it stood for less than a week of filming before it was torn down as part of the producers’ agreement with the town of Chilmark.
But across from Memorial Wharf in Edgartown, you can walk the weathered floorboards, take in group art shows by association members and even sign children up for a summer art class or two.
Louisa Hufstader is senior writer for the Vineyard Gazette.
North Water Gallery, 27 N. Water street, northwatergallery.com
Eisenhauer Gallery, 38 N. Water street, eisenhauergallery.com
Kin, 12A N. Water street, @kin.MV
The Christina Gallery, 5 Winter street, christina.com
Winter Street Gallery, 22 Winter street, winterstreetgallery.com
Penumbra Vintage Photographs, 12 N. Summer street, penumbraphotographs.com
Untameable Galllery, 10 S. Summer street, @untameablegallery
Edgartown Art Gallery, 27 S. Summer street, edgartownartgallery.com
Mariner Gallery, 31 N. Summer street, mariner.gallery
Edgartown Public Library, 26 W. Tisbury Rd., edgartownlibrary.org
Old Sculpin Gallery, 58 Dock St., oldsculpingallery.org
Walk, don't drive, to this gem at the end of Fuller street in Edgartown. Shallow water is a draw for parents with kids, and a long stretch of sand makes for lovely beach walks, morning or evening. The beach connects with Lighthouse beach to the south, and both have views across the harbor to Cape Pogue and Chappaquiddick. A quieter — and gentler — setting than the roar of South Beach, Fuller street beach is also home to a collection of kindness rocks. Why not decorate your own and bring it along the next time you go?
BE SURE TO HYDRATE. The annual cross-Island hike had Vineyard nature lovers trekking across 18.9 miles of Island conservation land last June. Hikers ended at Long Point beach, which will be the starting line for this year’s walk.
MERRY GO 'ROUND. 20 newly restored antique wooden horses are ready to be saddled-up at the Charles Dare-constructed Flying Horses Carousel this year. The attraction is in its 147th year of operation.
14:38
ONE FOR THE BOOKS. No competitor has ever completed the Chilmark Road Race faster than 14:38, a record set back in 1996 by Art Smith. However, the 2022 winner, Charlie Ortmans, came close, with a time of 14:56.
CLOSE HAUL. Last year, 51 boats in six classes raced in the Vineyard Cup Regatta, the annual two-day event that benefits SailMV.
Farms are located in the rolling, rural acres of the three up-Island towns.
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Emerald-green parks pepper the town of Oak Bluffs.
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Ponds of fresh, brackish and salt water punctuate Edgartown’s dry land.
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Boats can find safety at town moorings in Vineyard Haven harbor.
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