Eight decades of fellowship 

It’s been 80 years. Eighty years of the Martha’s Vineyard Polar Bears wading in the water and finding sustenance in fellowship with new and old friends. Every morning, from July 4 through Labor Day, the Polar Bears gather at Inkwell Beach for water aerobics, meditation, and socializing. This year, Zita Cousens will honor the anniversary at her gallery with a special exhibition inspired by the group, on view July 3 through 8. 

Three iconic Vineyard photographers immediately convey the transcendent nature of the experience, with participants throwing their arms up in sacred salutation. Michael Johnson’s “JOY” is synonymous with the Polar Bears; he took the photo from the jetty in 2010. He recalls the magical moment when he saw two ladies start to wade into the water: “It was very flat and calm. I photographed them, and it just hit me: What they are doing is really important.” Alison Shaw anchors the group further down in her composition, silhouetting them against an atmospheric blue sky and water, with the sun breaking through the early morning haze and casting an angelic light over the circle. In Michael Blanchard’s “Inkwell Polar Bears: Veil of Morning,” members are farther away, with moody clouds filling half the photograph, drawing our eye back to the group in the far distance.

The Polar Bears began in 1946, when the two Black O’Brien sisters bought a cottage in the Campgrounds and moved it to the end of Circuit Avenue to run it as a bed and breakfast. Nine Black guests who had come to the Vineyard to work became the first Polar Bears. Given everyone’s schedules, the only time they could swim was very early, almost at sunrise.

Social justice activist and lead instructor Caroline Hunter has been with the Polar Bears for 38 years. She notes that the original members were deep-water swimmers. Elisa Cohen’s striking, bold print depicts today’s swimmers as they stroke through the water, with the group in front of them in their morning greeting.

Hunter says, “The Polar Bears created the exercise group so non-deep-ocean swimmers could participate. It has evolved to include meditation, cardio, and water aerobics, and I do a little bit of preaching about being good citizens and looking out for each other. And also, that the Vineyard is paradise to many of us, but it’s not paradise for a lot of people who live here year-round. So we should be good tippers and give to the Food Pantry here and at home. And if there isn’t one there, create one, because we’re all in this together.” 

Food and fellowship were important to the founders, with Polar Bear members returning to the O’Briens’ house after being in the water to break bread. Hunter recalls, “When I joined, someone would sometimes call for a breakfast at their home. We eventually got to be too large, and not everybody who comes has a place to host people, so a breakfast on the beach has become the next iteration.”

Hunter is proud to be part of the Polar Bear’s historic legacy. Jeanna Shepard’s photograph “In Remembrance” captures Hunter at the precise moment she honors a member who has passed, standing knee-deep in the water and tossing glorious blossoms into the air. Asked what keeps her coming back for nearly four decades, Hunter responds, “It is the camaraderie, healthy aspirations, and the water.” 

Vineyard historian, president of the Charles Ogletree Public Forums, and author Richard Lewis Taylor says, “The water represents healing, purification, renewal. There’s something spiritual about water. Some people swim or do yoga, and some come just to commune. In August, there are hundreds of people. The Polar Bears are symbolic of the spirit of coming together that the Vineyard represents for so many. Nobody cares where you work or what you do. It’s all about releasing any weight from your back and your mind and finding some peace.” We see this sensibility in Harry Seymour’s digital painting, where he’s arranged the figures to spell out the word love, illuminated by the rising sun just peeking over the horizon.

Some 20 artworks at the Cousen Rose Gallery on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs visually reflect the enduring spirit of the Polar Bears’ experience. Cousens reflects on the rich exhibition, “I hope people come away with that feeling of joy and understanding that for 80 years, people have gathered on the beach every morning at 7:30 for community and fellowship, making connections. I wish the feeling people get from doing the Polar Bears could spread nationally and worldwide. When they do the Polar Bears, they feel not only joy but also hope.”

The exhibition is on view at the Cousen Rose Gallery, 71 Circuit Ave, in Oak Bluffs, from July 3 through 8. The pieces will be available by request in the gallery afterward.