President John F Kennedy
If you are old enough to remember November 22, 1963 then you know where you were when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated and was dead. I had recently learned I was expecting my first daughter and so I gathered newspaper and magazine articles to save for my children and grandchildren.
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Tagged Events, history, Memories, Photographs
November 12, 1988
2013
With love to our daughter Patty & son-in-law Mike on their 25th anniversary
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Tagged anniversaries, Family, Memories, Photographs
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Tagged anniversaries, Family, Memories, Photographs
On Saturday, October 5th MV Obsession will be 6 years old. SIX. Six years of obsessing about the place that I love most in the world, that’s a lot of obsessing. Today’s post will be number 745 and it all began with these ten words…
Hi, my name is Joan and I’m a Vineyard-a-holic… ‘
Followed by…
My obsession/love affair with Martha’s Vineyard started early in my life. I was around 2 and a half in this picture and this was already my second trip.
My connection to MV was through my mother who although was born in Maine was raised on MV. She went to Oak Bluffs high school (there was no regional high school, each town had its own back then) and after graduating moved to NJ where she met my father and quickly converted him into an MV lover.
We stayed with my godparents in Oak Bluffs every summer. Life on MV was so different from Newark, NJ where I spent the other part of my existence. My mother and I would take the train from NY to Woods Hole in June, my dad would arrive for the entire month of August and we’d all sadly leave the beginning of September.
My summers were filled with trips to the beach in Oak Bluffs… endless rides on the Flying Horses… ice cream at the Frosty Cottage on Circuit Ave… popcorn at Darling’s… fairs and parades… at least one trip to Gay Head (Aquinnah)… visiting relatives in Indian Hill… movies… setting pins at the bowling alley in Oak Bluffs… endless hours at the Oak Bluffs library… Bible school at the Tabernacle… Illumination Night… and one especially painful memory of my first and only dance lesson at the Tivoli ballroom where the Oak Bluffs police department now stands.
These are just a few snippets of memories and stories I’d like to share. Hope whoever reads them finds them as enjoyable as I did experiencing them.’
MV Obsession isn’t strictly about the Vineyard anymore but like the header says it’s ‘almost all the time.’
Feel free to wander through the category links along the left side, visitors are always welcome 
To be continued….
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Tagged anniversaries, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, Photographs
It all began with this little snippet in the Vineyard Gazette in September of 1990. My daughter Deb likes Harry Connick Jr and I’m a huge fan of Carly Simon, I have been even before I knew of her Vineyard connection. This seemed like a perfect weekend getaway for us but how could I manage to get tickets when I live in NJ and they were only on sale on the Vineyard !
I did it. I was determined and when it involves the Vineyard my determination is un-stoppable. So off we went. There were a few glitches along the way concerning MV accommodations and ferry reservations so we decided to stay in Falmouth on the mainland and just go to the Vineyard for the day of the concert.
It was a spectacular September Sunday afternoon on the Vineyard, the Campground was filled with happy concertgoers bustling around.
Before the concert began we were talking with a woman sitting next to us who was going on and on about how excited she was to be seeing Carly Simon. She said she had chatted about it with her seat mate on the small plane she had flown over to MV on that afternoon. She told him she had no idea who Harry Connick, Jr was, but that she was mainly there to see Carly.
When Harry stepped onto the stage she gasped and said “oh my god, that’s the young man I was talking to on the plane.” Just a tad embarrassing.
At 3pm Harry stepped on stage and the concert began. His band was fantastic and Harry’s voice velvety smooth. After about an hour or so of great music the lights were turned off. The only illumination was the sun shining through the stained glass windows around the perimeter of the Tabernacle !! And out stepped…..
CARLY. I was beside myself. In actuality though the person beside me was Carly’s mother!! I have seen Carly in concert several times since then but seeing her on the Vineyard and at the Tabernacle was something really special for me. Harry and Carly sang a few songs together, their voices meshed beautifully.
Carly did a few songs alone and then way too soon it was over. What a fantastic day, one we’ll never forget.
The reviews of the concert were glowing, much like the talents of Carly Simon and Harry Connick Jr. as they stood side by side on the stage of the Tabernacle.
After the concert we had ‘drinks’ with the band at the Oyster Bar in Oak Bluffs… us and about 100 other people…
then we headed to Edgartown for dinner.
Too quickly our lovely day on the Vineyard was coming to an end. We drove back to Oak Bluffs for one last look at the now darkened Tabernacle. We had booked a late ferry and it’s one of the few times I’ve sailed at night. The sky was star filled, a cool breeze was blowing and a young man on board was strumming his guitar and singing softly. Perfect day.
I”ve seen Carly 6 or 7 times but this was the first time and there couldn’t have been a more perfect place.
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Tagged Campground, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, music, Oak Bluffs, Photographs, Tabernacle
Saturday Sep 14, 2013 is Tivoli Day in Oak Bluffs. For anyone who doesn’t know, or remember the Tivoli building in Oak Bluffs, I’m reposting a blog entry below of my memories of it.
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Every year in September, Oak Bluffs hosts its annual street fair and block party known as Tivoli Day. Where did the name come from… and where can you find the Tivol on MV ! You can’t, only memories of it remain.
The two story, full block Tivoli Dance Hall stood from 1901 until 1964 where the Oak Bluffs Town Hall is today. The bottom floor housed shops and an ice cream parlor. My godmother worked in the ice cream parlor and I always enjoyed visiting her there… one time in particular jumps to mind. I was 3 years old and had newly mastered winking and was anxious to put it to use. Sitting at a table behind my mother and facing me was a sailor. Being that I was wearing a sailor dress I figured we had something in common and so I began winking at him… it did not take long for my mother to notice. She turned around and as she did the young sailor headed for our table. He smiled and said he was alone on the Vineyard for the day and wanted to tell my mother how charming he thought I was. (Blushing here). Not only did my mother invite him to join us at the table but she invited him home for dinner (this was the mid 1940′s). I was amazed at how powerful this winking thing was. I don’t know if we ever kept in touch with him but obviously I’ve never forgotten him… but I do keep the winking thing to a minimum.
The entire second floor of the Tivoli Dance Hall was just that, the dance hall. It was huge, at least in the eyes of a 4 year old being dragged there against her will for a dance lesson. I loved all the windows and how far you could see out of them, I liked the clicking noise my shoes made on the floor, I liked the brand new sundress I had on… but, I did NOT like the group dancing part. I remember reluctantly getting in line with the other victims, er children, but my feet did not move, they planted themselves firmly in one spot and stayed there. Everyone danced around me but I did not care to join in. My mother was not happy with me… not only didn’t I dance or even talk… but we didn’t even come home with a sailor for dinner.
(CLICK HERE for Tivoli day info)
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Tagged architecture, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, Oak Bluffs, Photographs
Someone said to me that they thought I shouldn’t write so much about Martha’s Vineyard, that I should write about where I live, or other places I’ve been. That’s all well and good, and I do write about those things… but my blog is mostly about MV and my obsession with this 100 sq mile piece of land abounding with charm and in some cases, mystical qualities.
I got to thinking about something a teacher in high school said… ‘to write what you know about. I know how my heart flutters as it nears the ferries in Woods Hole. I know how no other place I’ve ever been delights my soul and makes me feel at peace and at home.
I know how I love to breathe deeply and fill my lungs with sea air. I know how many ‘traditions’ I have to experience each time I’m on MV. I know that it’s a hassle getting there sometimes, but that once I’ve driven onto the ferry it’s all been worth it. I know that whether I’m physically on the Vineyard or not that in my mind and soul I am always there.
What is it that makes a place so special to a person. I know in my case it’s that MV is where my mother grew up and where I’ve been going all my life. I know also that now my family feels the same connection, and I feel content knowing that fact.
How can sea, sand, grass and trees be so special in one place. It must be that each experience is a part of the sum of the whole.
It’s also the surprises each trip to MV holds for me. It’s starting a conversation only to find out that the person you’re talking to knew you or your family years ago. It’s dipping your toes into the water in the same spot you did when you were five years old and suddenly being transported back to that time. It’s remembering your loved ones who aren’t there in body anymore but definitely in spirit.
It’s all those things and more…. it’s Martha’s Vineyard
What does the Vineyard mean to you ?
- by Joan -
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Tagged Family, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, Photographs
The Possible Dreams Auction is being held this year on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Edgartown. The auction is held to help raise money for the Martha’s Vineyard Community Service organization. This fundraising event supports a wide range of human services to more than 6,000 Island residents and visitors each year.
Let’s back up to 2001, the one and only time I was at the Possible Dreams auction, which was then held at the Harborside Inn in the center of Edgartown.
Guests of the inn didn’t need to purchase a ticket which worked out nicely for my family as we were staying there. Many of the Island celebrities donate an “auction” such as a sail on a yacht, or behind the scenes at a TV show, or tickets to the Super Bowl, or dinner with your favorite author or actor. Walter Cronkite, Norman Bridwell the author of ”Clifford the Big Red Dog” books, Patricia Neal, Ted Danson, Mike Wallace… along with the late Art Buchwald as emcee are just a few of the names to donate their time and talents.
But the biggest name was always Carly Simon…
… I staked out my seat on the deck over looking the gardens hours before the auction was to start. There were 50 or so auctions and Carly was #34. Her auction was:
“NOBODY DOES IT BETTER… If you’ve ever wanted to WRITE A SONG… let CARLY SIMON help…co-write it and sing it with or without her at her home – in her private studio. CARLY will burn a CD for you to take home. This is for one lucky music-lover and a guest”.
The bidding began at $20,000. Three times she sang snippets of songs … she messed up the lyrics to “Jesse” which the crowd laughed at. People started yelling out requests and it turned into a short and sweet mini concert. The final bid was around $55,000.
Clifford the Big Red Dog below waving at the crowd as the sun disappeared and fog began rolling in.
If you’re on the Vineyard Sunday, July 28, 2013 go and be part of a fun afternoon and help the people of the Vineyard.
CLICK HERE for a list of the Possible Dreams.
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Tagged Events, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, Photographs, Possible Dreams Auction
In July 1984 I took my daughter Deb and her best friend Dawn to Martha’s Vineyard
Dawn and Deb – July 18, 1984
Dawn and Deb – December 29, 2007
The trip was a new experience in so many ways. I had never gone away alone with two teenagers, so that was different. I had never driven to MV by myself, so that was different. What I discovered was, that I liked being different sometimes.
We stayed here at the Kelley House.
We did a lot of things together but the girls also spent time doing their own things while I did mine. It was a nice mix of togetherness and apartness (is that a word).
We went to South Beach
Of course to Aquinnah to see the cliffs.
.
The girls rented bikes one day while I went to the kite festival in Oak Bluffs, we had great weather and we laughed a lot, which is not hard to do around Deb and Dawn.
One incident that sticks out in my mind is dinner one night at The Wharf Pub & Restaurant in Edgartown. We ate early and the restaurant was almost empty. We were in the middle of our meal when our waitress came over to us and said.. “you might want to eat slowly as Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley are on their way in and I thought the girls might get a kick out of seeing them.” GIRLS… forget the girls, I was the one getting all excited. So we nibbled and waited, and waited… and then THEY walked past the window next to our table and into the restaurant. We wondered if it would be possible to say hello to them (it wasn’t), but as we left the restaurant and walked past their table Billy Joel smiled and waved. We giggled all the way back to the hotel and then called home to share our exciting news.
Twenty nine years later Deb and Dawn are still best friends and they still laugh A LOT when they’re together. I’ll never forget that trip and know they haven’t either.
- by Joan -
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Tagged Family, Friends, Martha's Vineyard, Memories, Photographs
Today is Chappy’s 12th birthday.
He’s in this puppy pile somewhere !
As you can see he was being Vineyardized as soon as we got him home.
Soooooooooooo cute.
His first trip to MV at age 10 months.
All grown up.
Chappy with his favorite person, his mom Deb.
Happy birthday Chappy… we love you.
- by Joan -
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Tagged dogs, Family, Memories, Pets, Photographs
