Harold Walmsley, of the Oak Bluffs bakery of the same name, was quite the doughnut maker, according to Joseph Chase Allen in the June 23, 1967 Vineyard Gazette. Waxing euphorically about the confection generally, Mr. Allen posited that the hole of the doughnut was believed to be invented in New England by either a schooner captain hanging them on his wheel for convenience, an arrow shot through a settler’s snack, or a housewife using its absence to hasten its cooking. He wove the story through the Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam (New York) identifying them and their love for fried food as the probable developers, thereby again crediting New England, along with the Vineyard since we were once a part of New York.

This then, in Allen’s words, “supplies a reasonable explanation of the origin, in America, of the doughnuts, the gradual addiction of the race to the making and eating of the same.”

Of Harold Walmsley’s skill he wrote: “The important thing is, he has it.”

Mr. Walmsley also first baked those amazing raspberry-filled jelly doughnuts (without the holes) covered in granular sugar, and he made sure Peter White received the recipe when he reopened Walmsley’s in Post Office Square as the Old Stone Bakery in 1971. And it was Mr. White who made the back door available for late night, hot-out-of-the-oven doughnuts and apple fritters. Thirty years later it was new owners of the Martha’s Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery, Rita Brown and Janice Casey, who capitalized on the Back Door phenomenon. This year, once again, they won the Best Bakery award in the Martha’s Vineyard Magazine Best of the Vineyard contest. Sweet!

Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., Heather Gardens hosts a reception featuring one-of-a-kind art quilts and handmade artisan gifts from Haiti, including jewelry, bags and other products. Laughing Bear on Circuit avenue sells a few products from Haiti but the quilts and other goods are not usually available. Heather Gardens is a great place to showcase the collection and you’re invited to attend the special sale. Visit HaitiPeaceQuilts.org or call Jeanne Staples at 508-274-1104 for more information. PeaceQuilts creates jobs for women in Haiti.

Saturday, Oak Bluffs celebrates Harbor Fest as the marina fills up for the season.

For Father’s Day, celebrate Dad with card-making and moustache games at the Oak Bluffs Library Dapper Dads party on Saturday, June 20, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

The historic Episcopal Trinity Church (opposite the Steamship Authority terminal) has its first service of the season Sunday at 9 a.m. The Rev. Deborah Warner, from the Church of the Messiah in Woods Hole, officiates.

Following an invitation-only event on Friday, the Strand Theatre opens Saturday thanks to the efforts of the Martha’s Vineyard Theater Foundation and founder Mark Snider. This is my third anniversary writing the Oak Bluffs town column for the Gazette, and of the 155 columns I have written, I have castigated the Strand Theatre in about 50 columns for not having the T and R in its sign. Who could have imagined that in one calendar year not only would the sign be fixed but the theatre would be opened. Bravo Mr. Snider, and to all who contributed. Fingers crossed for the Island Theatre.

Farm Neck’s Shelley Stewart received another prestigious award, the Lifetime Achievement from Procurement Leaders in London. The organization includes 27,000 executives from 750 of the world’s leading companies. Shelley is the third person to receive the award. Congratulations!

The jaw-dropping Lois Mailou Jones exhibit at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum exceeds expectations. The exhibit full of work from private collections is a treat not to be missed.

A recent Yankee Magazine lists Oak Bluffs among the 10 Prettiest Coastal Towns in New England, noting, “The brightly colored gingerbread Victorian cottages make this laid-back enclave on Martha’s Vineyard a true New England confection. And on one night each summer, the cottages light up with Chinese lanterns, making it likely the loveliest place on earth.”

There’s an Oak Bluff in Manitoba, Canada and an Oak Bluff Township in Arkansas, neither of which, like ours, has an “s” at the end of Bluff. I regret to report that there is actually an Oaks Bluff Drive in Little Rock and an Oaks Bluff on Pender Island in British Columbia. So when someone says ‘Oaks’ Bluff, you can tell them where to go.

Keep your foot on a rock.

Send Oak Bluffs news to sfinley@mvgazette.com.