An intimate glimpse of Martha's Vineyard

Houses are lined up so that porch-sitting and visiting just naturally happen.

Unbroken Circles — The Campground of Martha’s Vineyard, text by Mary-Jean Miner and photos by Betsy Corsiglia, published in 2000 by David R. Godine, Publisher in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, 122 pages, hardcover, $35.

reviewed by Jennifer Hersey

Meet John Lowe, who is fond of porch-sitting, and Meredith Thayer, who remembers working in the movie theater in her youth, and Tom and Nikki Surr, whose cottage sports the biblical message, "We’ll Camp A While In The Wilderness and Then We’re Going Home."

Get to know them in Unbroken Circles — The Campground of Martha’s Vineyard, a dreamy voyage through quaint Oak Bluffs through photos and richly descriptive text that look and sound like a reminiscence.

Oak Bluffs, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, is not a typical town. Most residents are on the island only for the summer, living in gingerbread-like cottages, with trim so delicate it looks more like icing than painted wood. Alcohol is not sold in Oak Bluffs; many residents don’t drink alcohol and are only mildly tolerant of those who bring alcohol in from the mainland.

Carpenter Gothic-style houses, painted in wildly happy colors, grace tree-lined streets dotted with flowers that match the trim. Many houses are so close together that one could borrow a cup of sugar just by reaching out the window. And if you get too loud at night, beware. There are quiet hours in this community, and you don’t want a lecture from Barney the Shoosher. In Oak Bluffs there are more doors propped open than locked, and visiting is the mainstay of the social scene.

Elwood Priesing resting.                          Photos by Betsy Corsiglia

In the photos by Betsy Corsiglia, one sees a man sleeping in a rocker, a child reading a book, friends talking over a cup of tea, always on their porches, always dressed casually with sincere smiles. What you don’t see are cars marring the view, children playing video games, or people just walking by without saying hello.

That is just what Mary-Jean Miner describes as the atmosphere in Oak Bluffs. She describes families who have lived in the area for years, young couples trying to reserve space for themselves and their children in this land that bears closer resemblance to 1950 than 2000.

Possibly that is because of the history of Oak Bluffs, once known as Cottage City. Settled by Methodists in the mid-1800s, Cottage City was a remote area perfect for large religious services held by what is now called the Martha’s Vineyard Camp-meeting Association. Originally folks would come in by boat from neighboring states and stay in tents set up around the open-air tabernacle. They would listen to frequent preaching during their stay of a few days.

As the tradition continued, summer after summer, more permanent structures began to emerge, first in the form of platform tents, and then in prefabricated houses shipped in from the mainland. Most of these houses built from 1859 to 1864 still exist although they were not intended to be permanent.

The Camp-meeting Association owns all of the land, so campers only pay taxes on their dwellings. The association hosts many religious programs throughout the year, hosting thousands of interdenominational visitors. Newcomers are asked to provide a statement from their ministers, as a testament to their willingness to participate in Camp-meeting activities. As Ms. Miner writes, "The sense of community is strong, deeply felt, and widely shared."

Grand Illumination

 

Grand Illumination

Now signaling the end of the camping season, Grand Illumination was once held during the weeks before camp-meeting started. Paper and silk lanterns are painted the day before and are hung on the eaves of all the houses. Ms. Miner writes, "And, reminiscent of earlier times, many dress in period costume, serving tea or peanut butter cookies and punch on the porch to visitors who are often invited inside. Illumination is best experienced rather than described, as the Campground takes on a glow and the hospitality reaches out to thousands of passersby."

The lantern lighting begins at the Tabernacle then extends outward to the perimeters of the town. The townspeople walk around, taking in the glowing colors, visiting with neighbors, and taking photos.

Ms. Miner wrote about the special feeling of Illumination, and the special deeds it evokes, "A few years ago the family in one cottage had suffered a recent death, so their neighbors, anticipating the sorry prospect of a sad, dark home, made certain that a pitcher full of flowers was placed on the porch by the time the band began to play. On another occasion, when the cottage owner died suddenly just before Illumination, two of the summer tenants called the family and volunteered to come over to hang lanterns. It was a warmth shared, a life honored."

It is not long after Grand Illumination that the summer residents of this cozy little community begin to head back to wherever they came from, but don’t worry, it’s only for the winter.