Letters have gone out to a number of Vineyarders seeking support for a new organization devoted to preserving the natural splendors of the Island. The organization is a committee of the Natural Area Council Inc., and its letter is self-explanatory:

 

“An organization is in process of formation under the name, Friends of the Island. Its purpose is to preserve the natural beauty of Martha’s Vineyard. If it is to accomplish its goal it will need the support and cooperation of all segments of the Vineyard community.

 

“Martha’s Vineyard’s beauty is unique. It has a picturesque coastline with combinations of bluff and beach offering unparalleled natural vistas, an aesthetically appealing interior with hills, plateaus and ponds and coves that provide sheltered refuges for boating enthusiasts. Add to these a remarkable variety of fauna and flora and we have a brief suggestion of the extraordinary attributes of the Vineyard.

 

 

“On the mainland civilization has so devastated the natural world with its congested communities, its polluted air and water and its population pressures that many people are beginning to look to the Vineyard as a haven of sanity.

 

“Others, however, would bring ‘progress’ to the Island by carving up the land into monotonous little house lots, with look-alike houses planted in the middle of each and with the joys of modern living being blatantly proclaimed by billboards and neon signs hiding any part of the pastoral scenery which might remain. Many parts of Cape Cod have over-commercialized this way and have suffered the consequences of it.

 

“Friends of the Island hopes to prevent similar mutilation of Martha’s Vineyard. It plans to work with both summer and permanent residents and with both landowners and local public agencies to that end.

 

“The organization needs eighty to 100 founding members at $100 per year to support a vigorous, meaningful program. Membership is open to all who love the Vineyard. Memberships and requests for further information should be addressed to Buce A. Blackwell, Executive Director, Friends of the Island, Box 1302, Vineyard Haven, Mass.”

 

The organizers of Friends of the Island are Dr. Leona Baumgartner, Thomas Hart Benton, Walter Charak, Miss Katharine Cornell, Louis G. Cowan, John R. Helm, Henry B. Hough, Allan R. Keith, Mrs. Daniel Lang, Mrs. Albert Leventhal, Eliot Noyes, John B. Oakes, Frank H. Platt 2nd, Richard H. Pough, Julius Rosenwald 2nd, Mrs. Anthony R. Silva, Mrs. Robert E. Simon Jr., Ruel S. Smith, Michael W. Straight and Jerome B. Wiesner.