West Tisbury: Tweed Roosevelt’s relatives

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—MV Times

By the time you are reading this the 159th Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair will have begun. Exhibits inside the hall will have been catalogued, arranged, and displayed. Judges will have decided which dilly beans were the best, which flower arrangements the tiniest or most lavish, which quilts and baby sweaters the most perfectly constructed, which family project the most inventive, which zucchini the largest, which painting or piece of furniture the most carefully crafted. At the far end of the fairground, chickens, geese, ducks, pigs, rabbits, cows, sheep, and goats will have been carefully examined and winners declared. The Fiber Tent will have begun a full schedule of demonstrations of craft projects extraordinaire. Clams, oysters, and corn will be shucked in record time. Rides and games of skill will attract enthusiasts of all ages, as will all manner of fair food. Bands will perform for the crowds. Dogs will show off their best manners and tricks. Skillets will be tossed and weighted pallets pulled. For four days in August everyone will come to West Tisbury to have fun at the fair.

I am writing this column on Saturday. When I drove past the fairgrounds earlier, there were already booths set up and trailers from far abroad parked along the edges of the field. The dark green sign has been up for weeks announcing this year’s dates: August 19, 20, 21, 22. Ag Society members have been busy getting everything planned and prepared, happy to be doing so after missing last year. Masks will be required and tickets sold online, but otherwise, it feels like the Fair will be much as we expect it to be.

Plan ahead for traffic to be heavy around town. We will surely see extra cars and extra people. Drive and walk along the roads with care.

The West Tisbury library has its usual list of regular classes and meetings, as well as some special events. Monday, August 23, 4:30 to 5:30 pm, there will be a reception for August artist-of-the-month Sheila Fane. On Friday, August 27, the Pinkletinks will perform at an outdoor rock concert for families and kids at 3:30 pm. No sign-up is required for either event.

Saturday, August 28, there will be an in-person book talk at 4 pm, when Felton Earls and Mary Carlson will discuss their book, “Voice, Choice, Action: The Potential of Young Citizens to Heal Democracy.” Reserve your seat at wt_mail@clamsnet.org. A video will be made available for anyone unable to attend.

Tuesday, August 31, the Cleaveland House Poets will read from their new anthology, “In the Company of Poets, Cleveland House Poets Anthology 2021.” The online event will begin at 4:30. Get the Zoom link by emailing wt_mail@clamsnet.org.

Two events on Wednesday, Sept. 1. At 4 pm, Tweed Roosevelt will give an in-person lecture about his family, “TR’s Fascinating Relatives — Saints and Sinners.” Reserve your seat at

wt_mail@clamsnet.org. At 6:30 pm, also in-person at the library, representatives from the Charter School will host an informational session about the school’s International Baccalaureate program. To attend, email lhearn@clamsnet.org.

As you are driving around town, take time to stop and look at the resplendent array of white-flowered mallows that are blooming around the much-diminished edges of Parsonage Pond.

I had written everything above early on Saturday morning. By mid-morning and throughout the weekend, I was watching the world fall apart in real time on TV news. An earthquake had devastated Haiti, Afghanistan was in chaos, California continued to be enveloped by smoke and wildfires, COVID continued to wreak havoc everywhere with overfilled ICUs and ERs and people fighting about vaccines and masks. I have probably left a lot out, but this is all enough to make me feel like I was living in an out-of-reality dream in my peaceful West Tisbury home.

I also found the following quote in an article that was displayed when I opened up my computer. It kind of put things in perspective for me, so I am printing part of it in the hope that it may bring everyone reading here some comfort. It’s a quote from Pema Chodron:

“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart, then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”

Here’s another one, from Winston Churchill:

“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

If you have any West Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Hermine Hull, hermine.hull@gmail.com.