Change Is a Constant, So Is Love of Place

John Rosenmiller Thursday, July 31 2014 - 6:05pm

I came to the Vineyard as a six year old whose idea of bliss was reading Archie comics and baseball box scores.

I came to the Vineyard as a six year old whose idea of bliss was reading Archie comics and baseball box scores. Except for changing storefronts and the absence of GTOs, the Island towns still seem to me much the same. Sure, changes have happened. But this is the secret of summer — it doesn’t really change. Summer on the Vineyard is a mythic season whose best quality is timelessness.

The Vineyard is a place that is both mythic and real for a vast cross section of people, both summer and year-round. Arguably, the Vineyard surpasses other East Coast islands and seaside towns because it has greater diversity and acceptance. Where else can you find such a variety of landscapes and lifestyles and social communities?

Sometimes people declare the end of the real Vineyard. Clinton ruined it. Obama ruined it more. The one per cent are ruining it. McDonalds would have ruined it. Cape Wind will surely ruin it. The longer you’ve been here, the worse the Island seems to have gotten. The introduction to a recent book proclaimed the arrival of Joni Mitchell’s paved paradise: “Our Island way of life, relatively unchanged for centuries, is gone.”

We can lament the disappearance of nature and freedom and blame progress for destroying a way of life. Or we can acknowledge that the Vineyard works because it occupies a prominent role in many lives and minds, and inspires people to stay and keep coming back. When people say “the Vineyard,” they’re often referring to their collective experiences here, not simply a location. My Vineyard is not your Vineyard or his or hers. Thousands of Vineyards exist side by side. For many, the Island’s significance is not just in its natural, quaint and diverse geographical landscapes and variety of lifestyles and communities, but also in the special spot it occupies in the senses and the heart.

The Vineyard’s powerful lure comes in part from its history of open-mindedness, its accepting and egalitarian nature and its diversity. The Island was never dominated by a uniform landscape, industry or homogeneous group of people. Various religious, racial, cultural, economic and seasonal communities existed side by side for generations. Towns developed their own distinct characters. Families worked the land and raised livestock, while others went whaling and were gone at sea. Methodist revivalists formed a summer colony in Oak Bluffs, middle class Black families were prominent in the early tourist trade, and Portuguese immigrants joined the fishing trade. A deaf community thrived in Chilmark at one time. Islanders lived divergent, separate lives that led to conflicting views. But greater than any differences was their common identity: an us-against-all-else mentality often found on islands, a unique blend of individualism and collectivism.

Other tangible qualities improve the Vineyard for summer and winter people, such as the strong tradition of participatory democracy and high degree of activism and community involvement that stem from a heritage of Yankee self-rule and true grit. In a world increasingly defined by excess at the expense of others, the Vineyard is a breakwater. Dogs on beaches generate passionate town meetings. Controversial proposals like Cape Wind are aggressively debated. Historical traditions are fiercely defended. Agencies like the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services look out for Islandwide interests. A high level of community-wide giving reflects a genuine desire to help others.

The desire to protect and preserve the natural Vineyard is perhaps the most significant ongoing issue. However, nature means different things to different groups. Certain Island businesses depend on natural resources and animals, fishing and farming being the obvious ones. People cherish the unkempt nature, solitude and isolation of more rural areas. And for many, the Vineyard landscape, an interplay of natural settings and historical places, is its most evocative quality.

In a recent essay in a national magazine, journalist Devin Friedman observed that the Vineyard is “a facsimile of something that is also the authentic version.” He got that right. No place does quaint like the Vineyard. Like a postcard come to life, the Island is abundant with picturesque places so vivid they could be exhibits at the Old Sturbridge Village living museum. Yet they are as genuine as the corn at Morning Glory or the lobsters at Larsen’s and the jobs and income these businesses generate.

What binds people to the Vineyard and helps drive the tourist industry is the overall landscape and the favorite places people return to time and time again. People expect these places to remain quaint and unchanging, symbols of a simple life. And the Vineyard responds, folding into itself and seamlessly shifting from one symbolic landscape to another.

These symbols include real homes, stores, roads, beaches, harbors, barns, churches, fields and stone walls that are part of daily life. The mythic Vineyard is the real Vineyard and the Island maintains itself in a state of functioning history.

Of course a quaint Vineyard was certainly not a thought of early Islanders. It just happened, was recognized at some point and is now an important commodity. Even quaint takes on different shades, though they exist side by side. Island quaint is the Allen Farm and a fieldstone fence missing its top courses. Summer people quaint is the Grey Barn and a new stone wall built by an artisan stonemason using off-Island stones.

Preserving the Vineyard means maintaining a fragile balance between the mythic and the real. Without the mythic Vineyard, the real Vineyard suffers. There is no formula. It’s more of a tipping point. For summer people and Islanders alike, looking out for the other group’s needs may actually be supporting your own.

The same way there are many Vineyards, no one group has a sole claim on determining the Island way of life. If at any point, a particular version wins, then everyone loses. The real Vineyard is the middle road — neither too authentic nor too quaint.

The Island needs more stewards: wealthy individuals, community leaders, summer and winter people who can coalesce and guide growth rather than prevent it. It requires looking to the future while protecting the past.

Prolific changes brought by the digital era and the global economy are not going away. The Island can avoid being changed by off-Island forces it cannot control, but this requires the wisdom to select and integrate beneficial aspects of a new way of life while safeguarding critical elements of the historic past.

John Rosenmiller lives in New York city and West Tisbury.

Comments

Just gorgeous. Wish I was

Julia Sydney

Just gorgeous. Wish I was there - summer or winter.

Hi! My parents met here on

Judy Potter Oak Bluffs, Mass

Hi! My parents met here on the Vineyard eighty years ago. As a black child growing up in Norwood, Mass, my sister and I were fortunate enough to spend zummers here on this Island and obtained our negritude through life-long friendships. Our family came to stay the month of July and we were able to attend the t Sailing Camp each August, as both campers and counselors. Thhave returned for years with my own children! I love getting on the ferry and remembering a storied past!

In my earliest years (0-6),

JOAN B SAFFORD Chilmark, MA

In my earliest years (0-6), we always went to New Hampshire in the summers, but when we returned home after World War Two and two and a half years of living in the high desert and mesa country of Los Alamos, our father felt penned in by New Hampshire trees. Chilmark and Martha's Vineyard provided the perfect mix of quiet beauty and open horizons. We children loved the trip across on the ferry and loved to spot herons and fish and crab in the ponds and streams, as did our children and now our grandchildren. If one just looks out across the ponds, dunes and oceans, it is little changed and one can ignore the heavy traffic. Now we have three generations of family and many friends in Chilmark cemetery, so I guess you could call us rooted in the Vineyard.

My girlfriend and I have been

Rick Tutt Springfield, IL.

My girlfriend and I have been coming to The Vineyard off and on for 15+ years. People have asked us why keep going back to The Vineyard. We try to come up a concrete reason to satisfy peoples curiosity, but we usually end up with words and phrases like quaint, a step back in time, peaceful. But after we have offed up these words and phrases, I feel like in my explaination I have never captured the true character and essence, of The Vineyard that we both love. Thank you Mr. Rosenmiller for coming far closer to characterizing and quantifying this beautiful little island than me and my girl friend of 16+ years could have ever have come. I intend to keep your very meaningful words in print close at hand for those times that I find myself back in the midwest, but always looking forward to the next Vineyard escape and step back in time. Thank you, R. L. T.

grandfathers playing checkers

M.A. Tarpinian Acra, New York

grandfathers playing checkers on the porch with their grandchildren...families eating dinner outside on the expansive porches.children flying kites and riding their bikes...homes that have been lovingly preserved and maintained by so many generations whose voices can still be heard within the walls...small businesses that welcome loyal customers every summer..concerts in the campground, Illumination,O.B. fireworks.... these are the images that I keep in my heart and in my head as they are what I experienced my first visit on island...and continue to enjoy each and every time I visit.. my time on the Vineyard is reminiscent of my childhood vacations here in the Catskills.. family..long summer days, str filled summer nights.is it any wonder that I hope to become a full time resident in the near future? The Vineyard is timeless...

Thank you John Rosenmiller

Caitlin Edgartown

Thank you John Rosenmiller for such a beautifully written and impactful article. I will keep it close to remind myself of the power we all have as individuals to be advocates for the island's natural beauty and future prosperity. How lucky are we to share the responsibility of sustaining such a magical place.

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Lets have a bit of a

Reality Check MV

Lets have a bit of a perspective check shall we? I was born here, an Island native since the 1950s. While I agree with what you describe regarding acceptance and being a very diverse community, that has always been the case. But towards the end of your writing,where you state the island needs more stewards and the first ones you mention are wealthy people, And you certainly come across as one of those, You are out of touch beyond belief regarding the average working person Islanders current status. There is no where for average folks to rent to put a modest roof over their head. You can rent a ROOM for 700 to 1000+ a month....yes I said a room.... a small 1 bedroom, unfurnished, if you can find it, will run you 1600-2500 a month. To be clear, average workers do not make the kind of income to such demands. Your vision of what you would probably call your Vineyard, is observed through rose colored glasses. People can be as blind as they choose to be, certainly much easier to do when finances are not an issue. Now, open your eyes a little further and observe one of the last remaining public beaches, State Beach between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown.....yes. public beach, not the 1.000.000.000 beach key to the gate padlock of Chilmark kind of beach.....and what you will not see, anywhere, is a shower or bathroom of any kind..50.000 people and more jammed into 6 miles of beach and no facilities. Beautiful tourist/Vineyard conditions! People dumping trash, furniture and the like on the sides of the road, abandoning animals on the roadsides at the end of summer as little buffy is done playing with it now and we must leave the island...Illegals renting what limited property there is available and destroying the septic system after they invite everyone they know to come over and do laundry and charge them like a business....prices of everything on average 60% more expensive than even on Cape Cod. I could go on and on. Sure, I realize everywhere changes. But this is NOT the island I grew up on. It is visited and abused by arrogant angry people who treat the service works like dirt under their shoes, and this is why so many of my fellow islanders have no choice but to pick up and move away. Pretty soon, you all will be the only ones left, with no service people at all. I wonder if you will still come here and have the same opinions then? My guess would be the well to do folks at that point, realizing the Island has been pillaged to oblivion will simply say, The Hamptons are nice this time of year.....

Reality - You raise good

John Rosenmiller New York and West Tisbury

Reality - You raise good issues which, had i been given 3000 words, could have addressed. The focus of my piece was on how much better the Vineyard is in many important respects better than most other places. You think its bad here, go visit the Hamptons. You'll be lucky to see a potato field amidst 30,000 sf McCottages. There is a whole level of entitlement and arrogance that you've been fortunate never to meet.

As for State Beach, we are about the same age, do you recall it being different before? Its always been the island's most crowded beach and groups of people tend to leave stuff and litter places....whether summer people or islanders.
The significant issue you raise is affordable housing and the ability of next generation Islanders to remain here. Since Clinton, real estate prices have shot up dramatically. But this has also caused a significant boom in the building and maintenance trades that has provided a great deal of work for many people. And a number of Islanders have made good money renting their houses and selling their land. The conflict is that the more houses that are built, and money spent on trades dominated by islanders, the less land is available. The more the Island chooses to stay rural and undeveloped, the less housing there will be. There still is a significant amount of undeveloped land on the Vineyard; far more than other places. The issue which so far seems very unresolved is how to provide affordable housing for Islanders while doing so in a way that doesn't do to the Vineyard what happened to the corn fields of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, namely the building of homogenous tract housing. I am not a planner, but I think the lack of affordable housing and the issue of affordable housing vs. open land is a major challenge that the Island needs to step up and face with greater urgency. If you run out all the rich people, you'll end up like New Bedford. And if all the Islanders leave, it'll be like Vail or Aspen. Nobody wants this; neither you nor I.

My whole point is that the challenge is faced by summer and winter people, or as you put it, rich people and Islanders. The reason I listed wealthy people first as stewards is because I think the Vineyard has attracted a group of people with means and influence who deeply care about the island, and would do more to help bring about substantive change here than just go to social events. It is not only because they care about the island, and though you may not believe it, about Islanders as well, but it is also in the very interest of wealthy people not to be surrounded by box-cutter, mail order housing erected by some large off-island company. Again, I didnt have the space to elaborate on these thoughts, but I threw that out as hopefully a spark to get people thinking and maybe coming up with new approaches and ideas.

Just last week I read that a number of people donated $25,000 help a certain Island non-profit group (sorry, I dont recall the name right now as I write). $25k is not chump change! And I dont think these are the only people who would willingly give to help develop the Vineyard into a more equitable place for people of all income levels. Call me naive. Call me an aging hippie wearing rose colored glasses. Call me someone who doesnt see this possibility in many other places, and loves the Vineyard for its possibilities and refuses to give up on the potential of what it can be.

I grew up in New York. I was there when the city went broke, when crack viles and empty needles were all over the parks, when kids were given "mugging money" when they went to school, when no one wanted to move there. And I was there when a group of people who stuck it out...black, white, Spanish, rich, poor...revitalized the city and made it once again the mecca of creativity that it had been for years. And I am now witnessing the total dismantling of New York by the cyclonic forces of obscene money (far far greater money than reaches the island) and "Starchitects" erecting glass towers that ruin all sense of scale, history and continuity. My city has sold itself to the fabulously wealthy and an urban Disneyland vision. Our leaders are not stewards; their interests are pretty much to maximize their wealth regardless of impact on the city and average New Yorkers. Be thankful the rich people on the Vineyard aren't the same and dont make the mistake of thinking they all are. I understand your feelings about the Vineyard changing during your lifetime. It has. I've experienced the same thing. Only two restaurants in my neighborhood have been there for over 20 years. Virtually all of the small businesses are gone, and many buildings were razed and open spaces filled up with really ugly buildings. It's like New York put a target on itself and said to the world (yes, the world), "Give us your wealthy and we'll let them do what they want." The Island has built such a strong system of defenses and shielded itself from many forces of growth and development. Few places have done this well. Are there problems? Yeah there are, and you've illustrated some. But these problems can be solved or at least improved upon in significant ways. People here, winter and summer, need to coalesce in doing that, not let differences divide people who all love the island.

In regards to a reality check

I wish Edgartown

In regards to a reality check, I am tired of the "summer people, some are not" attitude that prevails and quite frankly ruins our beautiful island. As a person who has lived on and off-island I am well aware there are mean, arrogant, and angry people everywhere. We rely on tourism and summer residents to support our communities, condemning all because of the few is ignorant. At times when I overhear the complaints I wonder, are they ALL really that bad? Can we say all islanders are delightful, kind, and considerate? Always?
People come here because they love the island. We live here because we love the island. If we show respect and lead the way something good will happen...

"Preserving the Vineyard means maintaining a fragile balance between the mythic and the real."