The first day of summer arrives this week on June 21. The cars are already lined up at the Cliffs, sporting license plates from all over the country. It feels so good to watch people standing in awe as they look out at the views, as they read the signage telling them the history of this place we call Aquinnah. Most visitors know that this is an important part of the homeland of the Wampanoag, and are intrigued to learn that the shops are those of tribal members.
For generations, what is now known as the Aquinnah Shop Restaurant has been in native hands. The shop and the land it sits on are both currently for sale. Juli Vanderhoop, Wampanoag tribal member and member of the Aquinnah Select Board, wants to purchase them and keep them in tribal hands. She is the skilled entrepreneur who owns and operates the Orange Peel Bakery, serving up delicious pastries, soups, pizzas, and other delights year-round to locals and tourists alike. Her mother, Anne Vanderhoop, ran the Aquinnah Shop for years. Juli has not been able to raise sufficient funds for the purchase, so the place is still on the market. I am hopeful that somebody will step up to help finance the purchase for this family. This iconic place, on this hallowed land, must remain in tribal hands.
It’s graduation time. Last week, several of our Aquinnah kids graduated from high school. On June 15, my grandson, Emmett Taylor, graduates from West Tisbury School, along with Aquinnah residents Malia Bodnar and Seth Hyde. This week, Charlotte Bologna is among those graduating from the Chilmark School. I always get emotional at graduations, watching the proud, or giggling, or embarrassed faces of the graduates, watching the parents and grandparents tearing up as they strain to see their beloveds on the stage, everyone marking this moment of change, hoping that the next steps are glorious. Hearty congratulations to all — we can’t wait to see what comes next for you.
It’s also a crowded holiday time:
Father’s Day is June 18 (thank you, Charley; and thank you to Jack Olsen, the best Daddy a girl could want). I salute those dads I see out and about tending to their kids, teaching, watching, driving, hugging, playing. We are light years ahead of where we were even 50 years ago, when you seldom saw a man feeding or diapering a baby. This is cultural progress, folks. Be glad.
Juneteenth — short for June Nineteenth — marks the day in 1865 when slavery finally ended in Texas, two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This year’s celebration on the Vineyard, June 16 to 19, includes the arrival of a replica of the Amistad, a ship that became famous after a group of enslaved Africans ultimately won their freedom after they led a successful revolt against their captors in 1839. Bring the family for free tours of the ship at Tisbury Wharf in Vineyard Haven between 10 am and 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. A full weekend of other sparkling events has been planned throughout the down-Island towns with food, panel discussions, crafts, picnics, performances, and more. Go and learn and celebrate! Check it out at bit.ly/MVT_Juneteenth.
On your way to the Juneteenth celebrations, you have a rare chance to get inside the Old Mill in West Tisbury, a grand building that you likely drive by weekly, that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club is having a fundraiser there titled “Blooming Art.” It promises a fine collection of art, including floral interpretations of paintings, all for sale to benefit the charitable initiatives of the Garden Club, which include scholarships and the Old Mill Preservation Fund. Admission is $10. The doors are open Friday, June 16, from 10 to 5, Saturday, June 17, from 10 to 5, and Sunday, June 18, from 10 to 3.
You may have noticed the drop box for used inkjet cartridges at the Aquinnah Town Hall. The League of Women Voters of Martha’s Vineyard safely recycles these used inkjet cartridges. It keeps these toxic items out of the landfills, where it can take 1,000 years for them to decompose. Here’s a great way to help your planet, and get rid of a pesky item at the same time. Questions? Contact Irene Ziebarth at 202-680-8076, or ireneziebarth@gmail.com.
Gabbi Camilleri, our intrepid town clerk and community cheerleader, is looking for people to sign up as volunteers to help with the second annual Aquinnah Community Picnic, scheduled for Tuesday, July Fourth, at the Vanderhoop Homestead. Last year was the first for this event, and it was a roaring success. Beginning at 11:30 after the July Fourth parade, there will again be some great food, kite flying, and socializing. This year, there will also be a tent to provide some shade, and two grills. Food is provided, the grills will be fired up, and everyone is welcome to bring something to share. Gabbi will be bringing her homemade pickles and coleslaw. If you would like to help, they need people for setting up, decorating, grilling, and cleaning up. Please contact Gabbi at gabcamdesigns@gmail.com if you wish to volunteer.
Reminder: As of June 15, parking permits are required at Philbin and at the Cliff Lot. You can purchase your permits from 9 to 12 at the Town Hall every day but Wednesday and Sunday.
One last thing: The other day, I was getting ready to bake a lemon cake, and found that I needed another lemon. I hiked on up to the Gay Head Store, and voilà! there were lemons to be had! Jay and Missy Smalley want to be sure that you know that the Gay Head Store on the Cliffs is open for the season, from 8 am to 5 pm daily, but closed on Wednesdays. I am always astonished at the variety and quality of what they offer in their tiny space, and feel so grateful that I can purchase those staple and specialty items I run out of without having to spend 45 minutes driving to and from the bigger stores down-Island.
If you have any Aquinnah Town Column suggestions, email Kathie Olson, aquinnahcolumn@gmail.com.
