Memorial Day 2011

Late May and Islanders have not quite put away their fleece pullovers; raincoats are hung by the backdoor at the ready for the next downpour and the fireplace has remained in active use on these chilly spring nights. The wood is well-seasoned by now, and frankly we’re feeling a little well-seasoned ourselves as the Vineyard turns the corner headed for another summer. We’re getting older, the latest numbers from the U.S. Census report tell us, but those who fall into this burgeoning demographic category hardly need the reminder. The Gazette, too, is getting older and turns 165 this year. That’s more than a century and a half of reporting the news to the Vineyard community. In years past we have marked the anniversary with the annual Invitation Edition, but that tradition quietly ended in this year of change at the paper and on the Vineyard.

The Island is a constantly changing place and that’s what makes it so endlessly interesting. The ebb and flow of humanity — there are more than sixteen thousand people living here year-round now — is like the Island shoreline, shifting with each turn of the tide.

And Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer on the Island, when thousands more will flock to these shores for their annual vacations. What will the season be like this year? Anticipation hangs in the air like the thick fog that blankets the Island in the early mornings.

The Island economy by most accounts remains in a fragile state amid the ongoing struggle to shift away from an economic base that has grown overly reliant on real estate and construction, two industries that have collapsed around the country. Collapse is too strong a word to use on the Island, which has been insulated from the dramatic economic swings on the mainland, but certainly a major correction remains under way. The real estate market is flooded with hundreds of properties for sale and comparatively few buyers, and the construction industry has seen a significant shakedown. For indicators, look no further than the early morning and late day ferries, which are conspicuously absent the crush of day laborers carrying lunch pails who had become so prevalent just a few short years ago.

And this may not be a bad thing; as the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s Island Plan reminds us, self-reliance is one of the strongest tools in the Vineyard’s economic tool box. This does not mean pulling up the drawbridge, but perhaps pulling up our collective socks as we work to craft a coherent vision for the Island of the future. It is going take hard work, leadership and commitment from every person here. But it can be done.

Already there are solid signs of some economic recovery. New businesses are opening in downtown Edgartown and Vineyard Haven, two towns that have seen their Main streets lose vitality in recent years. Bookings are up on the ferries and new air service is scheduled to fly in and out of the Island airport. The Vineyard will never lose its popularity but it also must maintain its balance, the mix of things that gives it its unique perch as a microcosm of America and a stage for all the same issues facing the nation: economy, health care, education, sound government, harmony among people of differing backgrounds and a clean, healthy environment.

Above all else, we cannot allow ourselves to become a community divided against itself; one of the Vineyard’s greatest traditions lies in its tolerance.

And on the eve of this Memorial Day weekend traditions associated with the national holiday abound. Today just after lunchtime, school children in Edgartown and Tisbury will march to the town harbors, where they will sing, recite the Gettysburg Address and throw flowers in the water to commemorate those who were lost at sea.

On Monday the many Vineyard veterans of foreign wars will march in a parade that begins at nine o’clock at the American Legion Hall in Vineyard Haven and ends at the Oak Grove Cemetery, where volunteers will have placed hundreds of flags that will flutter in the wind along the pathway known as the avenue of the flags. Following that, Islanders of every stripe will gather on the lawn overlooking Lake Tashmoo for the annual town picnic, an old-fashioned affair that may be the best example of regional planning on the Island. So pack a lunch, the grills will be fired up. Bring the kids and your houseguests too. Get to know your neighbors. Because we are all Islanders and all in this boat together. And even more than a parade, everybody loves a picnic.

Sending best wishes to all the Gazette readers near and far for a happy Memorial Day. Who will be brave enough to take a plunge in the ocean this weekend?

Next stop: Summer.