A lot of Island people have been sidetracked lately. Full-time and seasonal residents have been behind closed doors, getting ready, tying up loose ends. School-age kids added refinements to their favorite art projects. Garden club members were whispering, “You’ve got this,” to the buds on their dahlias and delphiniums. Quilt makers tied that last knot. The delivery of entries into the hall competitions at the Agricultural Fair were due Thursday, August 6 by 7 p.m. Suddenly it’s too late.
This degree of concentration is much the same for the fair’s many other competitors. The oystermen are flexing their wrists, the swine herders motivating their piglets to run a race. Lumberjacks have been smoothing the edges, cleaning the powerheads and sharpening the blades of their chainsaws. Drovers are feeding more calories to their oxen, to bulk them up for the pulls.
And womenfolk are out in the yard throwing their biggest frying pans as far as they can. These contenders are also gearing up to compete in the fair, which is a week earlier this year. It will be here next week, Thursday, August 13 through Sunday, August 16.
So soon, we are all thinking. In the old days, from its start as a one-day cattle show in 1859 until the onset of World War II, the fair was held in October. The fairgrounds in those years was located inside the Grange hall and in the field behind the building. The West Tisbury school was directly next door, where the town hall is now located. The school moved to its new location in the 1970s; the fair to its new grounds in 1995.
The fair, still in October over the years, expanded to include games, food, rides, music. Imagine being a school child of the Greatest Generation years, literally incarcerated next door, having to listen to the calliope music and the laughter, smell the cotton candy while being held captive in a classroom. No wonder that was such a sturdy generation.
The fair was suspended during the war but returned in 1946 to the more congenial dates in late August. So now it is a week earlier – we will soon get used to it.
Last week’s column took a confusing turn. The column I wrote was posted online. But one I wrote a year ago ended up on Friday’s printed page. Too complicated to explain, except that it was my fault. I still intend to blame my computer.
The column that didn’t appear in print was an acknowledgement of a remarkable woman, Barbara Scherlis, who turned 101 years old in mid-July. She swims, she plays bridge, she attends concerts, lectures, gallery openings. And she thrives in her active, year-round, West Tisbury life. I apologize to Barbara and her family for my blunders.
Happy birthday on Saturday, August 8, to Nettie Kent Ruel, to Matt Pelikan and to Tom Hodgson. Best wishes for a happy birthday on Wednesday, August 12, to Amelia Smith.
Congratulations and happy wedding anniversary to Tim and Elaine Barnett on Saturday, August 8. The same good wishes and kudos go to Gary and Dionis Montrowl on Tuesday, August 11.
This article appears in August 7, 2026.