Somewhat frustratingly, there are several plausible stories about how Town Beach came to be called the Inkwell. Perhaps tops among them all is Dorothy West’s version that light skinned black folks in the 1950s who used the beach wanted others to know they too were black and proud, as James Brown’s song, Say It Loud, intoned almost 20 years later.

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan was once told the name was derived from the many black Cottagers who used it along with the Polar Bears.

Still others recall it as having been a pejorative for the black people who congregated there after the demise of Highland Beach, something not out of the question in the 1950s. Those were the days when our annual sojourn was an arduous trip from Long Island of nine or ten hours in Dad’s Pontiac station wagon crammed with a season’s worth of clothes and supplies without the benefit of Routes 95 or 195. The truly tortuous trip for the Mom and Dad of three kids under the age of reason was worsened because there were few stops — one or two for gas and maybe another couple for the restroom, often at the same one or two gas stations in upper Connecticut or just past the Rhode Island border. We were well into adulthood by time we translated the prophylactic fiction of the few stops “in order to make the boat.” In those less than enlightened days, a black man not stopping long or often on a car trip with his family was the better course of valor.

Despite the Inkwell having become a term of endearment and source of pride for many African Americans, I’ve always thought of the name having been popular since the late 1800s because of the seaweed that gets caught between the jetties after storms causing it to resemble an inkwell. While possibly another fiction I still like seaweed about as much as average toddlers do.

To their credit, brothers Greg and Dan Martino, the enterprising young gentlemen behind Oak Bluffs’ new Cottage City Oysters, are trying to change seaweed from yucky to lucky, having obtained one of Massachusetts’ first two commercial permits to grow seaweed for food. They’re speaking with local restaurants to determine the appetite for the product which they believe can be served just like spinach or lettuce. Self-taught, like their oyster business, the Martinos have spent time at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute with scientists to determine best practices to follow for good crops. They plan a complementary plan to use the same area of Eastville Beach as the oysters to grow kelp off of ropes from November to April when the oysters aren’t. Over time they expect to come to a conclusion if they’re fishermen or farmers, the line not being too far apart right now. At a moment in the past, some genius came up with the idea to call uncooked food sushi. With the Martinos’ efforts that notion may be of help to kelp. I’m not counting them out.

The Mopeds are Dangerous Action Committee is making a presentation to the Oak Bluffs Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 4:30 p.m. in the Oak Bluffs Library meeting room to review numerous bylaws violations. Something tells me the conclusions are contained in the committee’s name.

The Oak Bluffs Library mini golf is this Friday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. for the big kids, and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for families. Fore!

The Oak Bluffs Town Hall Building Committee invites everyone to its meeting on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the downstairs public room. There is more information to come later about upcoming plans for two open house meetings on Feb. 1 and March 1. Their website is oakbluffsma.gov/301/Town-Hall-Building-Committee.

Barbara Meade Twiss’s Martha’s Vineyard Real Estate has moved and renovated the office on Circuit avenue. Social media evidences pictures of a brick accent wall, smart workstations and comfy décor at the spot formerly held by the MV Allston boutique. Rumor has it Twiss’s former site will be of interest to kids.

Oyster and Seaweed magnate Greg Martino was recently quoted saying he and Dan always had an interest in going into seaweed. Dude, anytime, stop by the Inkwell after a storm when the water gets back to 70 degrees.

Keep your foot on a rock.

Send Oak Bluffs news to sfinley@mvgazette.com.