Packed harbors, crowded ferries, maskless Main streets and indoor dining — after 15 months of pandemic lockdown, Martha’s Vineyard is readying for Memorial Day.
Veterans, active service people and ordinary citizens gathered in Vineyard Haven on Memorial Day to remember those who dedicated their lives to a sacred purpose.
Wesley R. Winston, an army veteran of the Viet Nam era, read the names of fallen comrades. Four families received gold stars, a tradition that dates back to the First World War when mothers of fallen soldiers began calling themselves gold star mothers.
Seen in West Tisbury this week: a steady flow of pickup trucks in and out of the parking lot by Alley’s General Store driven by landscapers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians. Fueled by coffee and breakfast sandwiches, iPhones pressed against their ears, Island tradesmen were on the move. There were windows to hang, screens to repair, painting touchups to do once the May sunshine burned through the fog, seaside gardens waiting for a top coat of compost.
“One.” Parents leaned close and readied their cameras.
“Two.” Seventh-graders looked at each other in excited anticipation. They had waited all day for this, waited for years, watching as older students took their turns. They had led the procession from Edgartown School down Main street to Memorial Wharf, and now stood at the water’s edge, clutching a garden, ready to pay tribute to generations of fallen soldiers.
Memorial Day Weekend Marks Traditional Start for the Summer Season
By MAX HART
The handwritten sign taped to the window of the Martha's
Vineyard Gourmet Cafe and Bakery in Oak Bluffs says it all: "Rain,
rain, go away! Come back in October. We beg you!"
That about sums up this week on the Vineyard, but Island residents
fear not: Memorial Day weekend is upon us. The start to summer 2005 is
here.
With Memorial Day comes the unofficial start to the busy summer season. Across the Island, store owners are unboxing new merchandise and home owners are putting one last coat of paint of the fence.
