Recently on the Chappy Chat Facebook page, Julie Tummino posted a photo of a group of Chappaquiddickers at the ferry point, standing in front of a large sign with the first two houses clearly visible right down to ground level. The sign reads, in capital letters: Welcome to Chappaquiddick. These Beautiful Island Roads are Not Designed for High Speed Driving. Extreme Caution will Protect our Children and Animals. Please Drive Carefully.

In the bottom corner of the sign is the town seal and the signature, again in capital letters, Board of Selectmen Edgartown. Julie notes that the year is 1966.

Folks had two threads of responses to the photo: how can the sign be put up again and how can we get back the open view that the photo shows?

The sign itself is of interest. Something must have really drawn attention to the behavior of motorists on Chappy in the summer of 1966. The process of appealing to the select board and having the sign painted and installed would have taken at least a couple of weeks. Many drivers still treat Chappy as a lawless frontier when it comes to speed limits.

I propose that the Chappaquiddick Island Association consider replacing the sign. Its message is relevant today and we generally feel nostalgic for the old days. That sign brings to mind the big sign that Peter Valenti Sr. mounted on the side of the Chappy ferryhouse at the beginning of hunting season in the ‘70s. Peter’s sign explained that permission was needed to hunt on private property on the island.

The open view is also of interest. People often bemoan the loss of the clear vistas that existed back then.

Chappy has become overgrown. At the time of the photo, I recall that all of the houses along the north side of the road were visible from the ferry as far as Hotel avenue. The south side of the road was the site of the harbor dredging spoils and remained practically bare for a decade.

A few years ago, when the black pines and Russian olives were cleared from the property adjacent to Caleb’s Pond, folks expressed approval. Invasive species tend to be more lush and view-blocking than native species. Perhaps the conservation commission can provide guidance and encourage landowners to keep invasives in check, which would allow natives to return.

According to historical accounts from a century ago, a person could stand atop Sampson Hill and, from that vantage point, could count all of the trees on Chappy. Apparently there were fewer than one hundred.