The chatter started in early December, chatter of a Christmas surprise. Vineyard Transit was to dedicate a special bus on a Saturday before Christmas to take nondriving Vineyarders on an after-dark tour of holiday lights and other festivities. The highlight was to be a stop to view the famous Gatchell house ablaze with lights after dark — a sight bus-dependent riders are deprived of, because no regularly scheduled bus route passes the house at night.
The VTA bus marked “Special” started loading just after sunset, promptly at 4:30 in the flagpole circle on the Woodside campus of Island Elderly Housing (IEH). Driven by VTA operations manager Peter Koszuta wearing a Santa Claus hat and a big smile, the bus was joined by a second smaller VTA van, with passengers picked up in Vineyard Haven.
Joined by MV Times freelance photographer Dena Porter, they were off: First stop the Edgartown library, where a spread of holiday sweets was laid out along with hot cider and coffee. Riders were entertained by IEH resident Joe Haertel, mimicking Elvis Presley’s rendition of “Blue Christmas.”
Sustained by holiday goodies, the tour continued on, circling onto Main Street in Edgartown twice to catch the glory of the town specially lit up for the Christmas in Edgartown events; making a right onto South Summer, where a quick stop was made to view the stunningly beautiful Untameable Photo Gallery snowy popup photo studio. There the mock snow falling looked for all the world like the real stuff. Lights at the Edgartown Fire Department were viewed, as well as the Dukes County Jail, all ablaze. “The jail?” one onlooker inquired. “I wonder if the inmates did it — sort of a job like picking up roadside trash.” The Times inquired and got back from the sheriff’s office:
“The holiday decorations and lights at 149 Main St. are a labor of love and true expression of pride by our staff at the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office. We are definitely a unique house, granted, but are eager to participate along with our Edgartown neighbors in maintaining tradition and bringing a sense of community to visitors and residents alike.”
The bus left Edgartown with a view of the lighthouse, and a discussion of how nice it would be to view the lighthouse from the Harbor View Hotel porch. But maybe wait until summer weather for that outing.
Star of tour: the Gatchell house
Upon alighting from the bus at the Gatchell house, rider Skip Petersen summed up the crowd’s sentiment: “I was bowled over.”
Porter took Sheri Thomas and other amateur photographers under her wing, dispensing photo-shooting tips when the bus riders swarmed the grounds of the Gatchell house, exploring many nooks and crannies filled with uniquely lighted scenes 45 years in the making: More than 20,000 lights are strung about the house, around trees, and over bushes; over 20 reindeer dot the grounds, nine taking flight pulling a sleigh over a pond. There are soldiers and carolers, angels and snowmen, and a map of the Island outlined in blue lights.
Back on the bus, the driver made an important stop — something the nondriving passengers had not yet seen: the newly enlarged Stop & Shop.
The tour was put together by Andrew Grant of the VTA and IEH’s service coordinator, Mary Gosselin, who meet once a year to explore how the VTA can best serve its IEH riders. As service coordinator, Mary is involved in health concerns of some 170 IEH tenants spread over four campuses in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, involving things like making sure tenants have timely access to flu and COVID shots. Her job description also includes overseeing healthy community meals, as well as some fun and recreation for the tenants, like this holiday lights bus tour, and one of the better-known community gardens on the Island. You can read about the garden at bit.ly/MVT_FlowersFriends, bit.ly/MVT_GardenFriends, and bit.ly/MVT_LetItGrow.
