Letters have gone out to a number of Vineyarders seeking support for a new organization devoted to preserving the natural splendors of the Island. The organization is a committee of the Natural Area Council Inc., and its letter is self-explanatory:
“An organization is in process of formation under the name, Friends of the Island. Its purpose is to preserve the natural beauty of Martha’s Vineyard. If it is to accomplish its goal it will need the support and cooperation of all segments of the Vineyard community.
The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation figures this year for the first time in the list of tax-exempted property in the town of Edgartown. The property so designated is the old ice pond known for generations as Sheriff’s Meadow Pond, and the land immediately around it, now assured of preservation for all time in its present native state.
Prominent conservationists announced yesterday that they have acquired Barnard’s Inn Farm, a 60-acre parcel of land in West Tisbury that is highlighted by the arboretum created by Mary Louisa (Polly) Hill.
The property is important for several reasons. The farm is considered a key element in the rural stretch in the north part of town. It links several important pieces of conservation land.
Since the founding of Sheriff’s Meadow in 1958, Martha’s Vineyard has become a world leader in conservation, with a several nonprofits working together to preserve the natural environment.
A representative of the state Department of Conservation made an investigation on the Island on Friday, in company with Rep. Joseph A. Sylvia, in order to prepare a report on the matter of state purchase of the beach between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The sentiment of those who were approached was strongly in favor of the project, which is for purchase of the beach with stipulations that no buildings shall be placed upon it. There seemed no doubt that the preliminary report would be favorable.
The structure on the Old Mill River, West Tisbury, had its second birthday on Tuesday. And this seems strange, for the building, staunch as the day it was built, and preceded on the site by other buildings devoted to the same purpose it fulfilled so long, has a long and honorable history.
The sides of the weatherbeaten old mill at West Tisbury fairly bulged with the throng who gathered there to participate in the silver jubilee celebration of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club on Tuesday afternoon. Including those who stood outside and listened through the windows, attendance at the meeting was close to the three hundred mark with others dropping in later at the Open House.
Twenty-five years of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club leave us wondering a little what the Island would have been without this active force. It is easy to recall dozens of times when the traditional understanding as to billboards would have been broken, when trees would needlessly have been cut down, when road work would have ravaged the countryside without need, when many unforeseen contingencies of the kind have arisen, and the good sense and courteous firmness of the Garden Club have prevailed.
