BETTYE FOSTER BAKER
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This place of sun, sea, friends and most of all respite from mainland worries belongs to all of us. Our season begins with ritual, when we make that first visit to the Inkwell to meet friends, or go to that favorite spot to get the first lobster roll, or double-dipped ice cream cone. Our summers also end with ritual — sunsets at Menemsha, the Oak Bluffs annual fireworks, and that final Island destination with family or friends. It is a time when all things formal are abandoned for three months in favor a more relaxed routine; when the Polar Bears form their first circle in the water, and their last, and do so until their closing ceremony. We have taken the time to savor the softness of the morning light, to gaze into the placidness of Farm Pond, mirroring the grasses and birds that inhabit there, to enjoy guests and grandkids, to walk the shoreline determined to defend our gift of time which we value and enjoy.
As we move toward the end of our summer, I’ve been thinking of the value of old friends, new friends who come here and how special it is to be with them. I must hasten to add it is not just about parties, but about social communion.
Carol and Richard Washington are examples of building friendships of social communion when hosting their delightful fifth annual Lawn Games, where each year guests dress in white and sit along a fenced meadow surrounded by mature oaks and stone walls in Tisbury, an idyllic life we would like to enjoy more of, yet how wonderful it is to have it if only for a day. Guests compete for trophies in croquet and horseshoes games. This year trophies were awarded to Tomar Waldman for croquet, and David Edmonds for horseshoes. David and Lynn Edmonds are always there and this was David’s third year winning the horseshoe throw in spite of the fact that he says he plays once a year — here!
The Washingtons serve great hospitality and this year was no exception. Their guests included: Don Brown, Tina Grosselin, Rupert and Rozetta Hughes, Lee Van Allen of historic Shearer Cottage, Jane and Steve Edmonds, Ken Gross, Joyce Rickson, Roger and Myrna Morris, Jane and Steve Edmonds, Louise and Paul Johnson, Gus and Millie Anglin, Gretchen Tucker Underwood, Wayne Johnson, Basil and Stephanie Browne, Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard, Leonard C. Dabney, Margaret Harrison, Alvin and Thelma Johnson, Cheryl Grimes, Walter Lowe, and Laura Lovely Horn! Yes, Richard is one of those “First Achievers,” as Hollywood’s first black stunt man, and his daughter, Kym Longino, followed him into the same profession, working with Whoopi Goldberg and other well-known actors. Kym’s husband, John Longino, was there to host as well.
How well do we remember that dream to own, restore, or rebuild a Vineyard home and summer here? For a few years, Alona, a museum curator, and Louis Wilson, professor of African American history at Smith College, shared their dream of rebuilding their house on Vanessa Way, a quiet dirt road a block from my cottage, with views to Farm Pond and beyond to the Sound. This week they celebrated their move into their newly built Vineyard dream house with surrounding porch and beautiful views out to the sea with a champagne hour. It was an evening of rich conversation. Guests included doctors Bob and Helen Moore, who is working on her great-grandfather Robert Small’s upcoming celebration in Charlestown, S.C., in May 2012, where among other museum activities there will be a reenactment of his capture of the Confederate ship, the Planter. Helen brought us up to date on the celebratory plans. Other guests included: Dr. Adrienne Childs, who is an independent scholar, nonresident fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University. Her jewelry, Zelda Designs, will remain on sale at Cousen Rose Gallery through Labor Day weekend. Her husband, Ronald C. Childs, and son, Clayton Childs, a recent Emerson graduate who will be working at National Geographic TV in New York, were also guests.
How interesting that such gatherings can turn into Presidential election focus groups! Case in point was an evening with Calvin Paris and his friend Arlene Sealy. Calvin lives in a lovely Victorian on New York avenue which has been completely restored. What an evening of great conversation. Such occasions say much about why we come here. There is no place in the world where inspiring and accomplished people, particularly African Americans, can come together for personal, engaging and thoughtful conversation. Guests included: James Lowell Gibbs Jr., Martin Luther King Jr. professor of anthropology emeritus, of Stanford University, and his wife, Jewel Taylor Gibbs, retired professor, school of social work, at University of California, Berkeley. She is on the board of trustees of Radcliffe College and author of four books. Her latest title is to be published this year. Their four-year-old grandson, whose stay was brief, was the charmer of the evening. Calvin’s brother in law, Hayward Wheaton, and his daughter, Adrienne, were also guests.
Finally, the high season has its own momentum, and what better way to end our summer than on Gwen and Peter Norton’s wrap-around porch enjoying watching the spectacular fireworks, surrounded by hundreds of revelers in Ocean Park. It’s a celebration of another wonderful summer in Oak Bluffs. The Nortons’ intent is always to bring thoughtful people together in community and the evening is always memorable. Guests meet on the porch and in the yard and talk about why they love it here and what things they’re doing, that they prefer to dismiss for the moment in preference to enjoying the night sky explode. It can only happen here and it does. I hadn’t seen Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor at the Harvard Business School, since the reception at her home in Edgartown in 2008 to honor the survivors of the Tulsa Oklahoma Race Riots of 1921, following professor Charles Ogletree’s historical documentary film, Before They Die, and his efforts to obtain reparations for the victims who were children at the time. Professor Kanter’s latest book is SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good. The book is all about “leadership of sustainable enterprises,” and cited as one of the 10 best business books of 2009 by Amazon.com.
Here on this Island these gatherings serve to bring people together in ways that promote civility and understanding which is laudable when you consider that these traits are often sorely lacking in our national discourse.
It’s hard to believe that I first met twin girls Jillian and Sydney Medina 10 years ago when the babies and their mother, Rhonda Medina, vice president of MTV, brought them by the house in the stroller! Today they are becoming teen leaders. On Tuesday, August 17 ten-year-old twins Jillian, Sydney, and their siblings, Brandon and Gabrielle, raised $126 selling fresh-squeezed lemonade and hand-painted shells and rocks outside their house at 43 Narragansett avenue to people on their way to Illumination Night. Yes! They had an important goal: To raise money for the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign (girlup.org), a “by girls, for girls” initiative that seeks to help American girls raise awareness and funds for needy girls in developing countries.
Jillian and Sydney were selected from girls around the country to be two of seventeen girls to be Girl Up Teen Advisors. For the past year, they have been leading the UNF efforts in international girl empowerment. As teen advisors, they were selected from girls around the country to embark on a year-long partnership with the UNF to act as the faces of the campaign during its first formative year. They served with girls around the country from California to Kansas to New York city who ranged in age from 10 to 17. As teen advisors, they were invited to meet with Queen Rania of Jordan, attended the United Nations Youth Summit and the Glamour Magazine Women of the Year Awards in New York city. They have spoken to 250 enthusiastic student Girl Up pep rallies across the country, and addressed UN diplomats and Wall Street business leaders. They led Girl Up tour campaigns in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Ill. The highlight of their year was when the First Lady invited the teen advisors to the White House and Jillian and Sydney got a chance to meet Michelle Obama. They have been featured in such publication s focusing on “Philanthro-teens,” as Crain’s (Jan. 30, 2011; USA Today (March 4, 2011. The articles reported that the twins gave away their birthday presents to foster children when they turned seven, and created a Web site (simplysyndeycards.com) where they sold Sydney’s artwork and donated 100 per cent of the proceeds to Girl Up. Last year, for their 10th birthday, they threw a Girl Up fundraiser, and raised $2,900. Congratulations to both girls!
At Union Chapel this Sunday, August 28, the Rev. Cliffe Knechtle, senior pastor at Grace Community Church in New Canaan, Conn. will speak. His Give Me the Answer ministry and straightforward answers to questions of the day are intended to empower people to act on their faith. The service is preceded by organ preludes by Garrett Brown at 9:40 a.m. Union Chapel is located at the foot of Kennebec and Circuit avenues in Oak Bluffs. It is nondenominational and welcomes all to participate. Summer attire is acceptable.
August 28 is the final worship service of the summer at the Tabernacle. Rev. Mary Jane O’Conner-Ropp, retired pastor, will preach at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome.
Trinity Episcopal Church in Oak Bluffs is pleased to welcome back the Rev. Canon Edward W. Rodman as celebrant on the next two Sundays, August 28 and Sept. 4. Canon Rodman is the John Seely Stone professor of pastoral theology and urban ministry at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge. He is also the denominational counselor for Episcopal students at Harvard Divinity School. Over the course of a 40-year career, he has served as assistant minister at St. Paul’s in New Haven, as Canon Missioner for the Diocese of Massachusetts, and is a member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. Trinity Episcopal Church, a summer chapel, is located across from the Steamship Authority in Oak Bluffs. Services are at 9 a.m. and all are welcome.
At the Oak Bluffs library, author Wendy Moore will present her stories, Maddie’s Moon and A Tune for Maddie, on Saturday, August 27, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Children are invited to join in group story-based songs and drama with singalongs. All ages are welcome. The program is presented by the Martha’s Vineyard Library Association and is free.
Harry N. Seymour will exhibit new and recent works of egg tempera and scratchboard etchings tonight at L’Elegance Art Gallery. The reception will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Mr. Seymour draws his inspiration from the Island’s beauty and the diverse multicultural community. His paintings typify the beautiful tonal and illuminating quality of this medium but his method and style of painting show a unique softness. In his scratchboard etchings the light and dark contrasts dominate like no other medium. His works show children at play on the beach, where calming and tranquil images of water, boats, and a majestic lighthouse are magical.
All the best!
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