Commentary
The first itinerant preacher to travel as far as Chilmark was the Rev. Joshua Hall, in 1797. A small Methodist “class” was formed and continued to meet in the home of Capt. Francis Tilton, until 1827 when the old Methodist meetinghouse in Edgartown was purchased and subsequently moved piece by piece to the intersection of Middle Road and Meetinghouse Road, which was then the center of town. Sometime in 1843 the sanctuary was replaced and the church moved across the road.
On Saturday night, Nina Violet celebrated the release of her new CD, We’ll Be Alright, at the Pit Stop on Duke’s County avenue in Oak Bluffs. Catty-corner to Tony’s, in the town’s Arts District, the place has been a garage, a jazz joint, a consignment shop for art, a recording studio and more, so it has a homey industrial feel to it — a spot for getting all kinds of creative things done. It’s owned by Nina’s father, Don Muckerheide, who hosted the celebration.
Since I am in the holiday spirit (and, having just consumed a mug of hot toddy, a glass of eggnog and a nip of cheer, the holiday spirits are in me), I have once again decided to follow in that great tradition of boring everyone silly by writing a Christmas letter.
That is why I am pleased as punch (which I also drank) to present the following chronicle of the Zezima family, which includes Jerry, the patriarch; Sue, the matriarch; Katie and Lauren, the childriarchs; and Dave and Guillaume, the sons-in-lawiarch. Happy reading!
Dear Friend(s):
Juniper
juniperus communis
called jenever by the Dutch
green and young, female seed cone
a fleshy berry used in gin
another life when you mature
piney and resinous
your berries beautiful blue
for seasoning, aromatherapy, medicine
native tribes chewed you to ward off hunger
your seeds become beads
Navajo necklaces for protection
I cut boughs from your strong trunk
like the ancients I bring you inside
Seminars Revival
It was the Vineyard’s first and only institution of higher learning, founded by three retired Island academics in 1974. Their idea was to create a small liberal arts college centered around a tall old house on North William street in Vineyard Haven. The first full academic year was in 1975.
Tomorrow morning, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum will host a gathering of book authors at the Pease House on School street in Edgartown. Among the distinguished lineup will be Tom Hale, who at 11 a.m. will sign copies of a newly printed edition of a 19th century book, Mr. Hardy Lee, His Yacht. The book, Drawn by Chinks and originally published in 1857, is widely considered the first on yachting in America.