Last Monday, March 9, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank celebrated the long and fruitful tenure of Edith (Edo) Potter at a party at the Chappaquiddick Community Center. Ms. Potter is a longtime resident of Chappy with her husband Bob, and has served on the advisory board of the Land Bank for more than 20 years.
The party, reported Land Bank Executive Director James Lengyel in an email to the Times, featured speeches, cake, punch, a commendation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and a poem by Steve Ewing, which follows.
Edo
Walk the fields, the green meadows
and the lush woodlands
Fish the ponds full of shellfish
so healthy and clean
Hunt the deer to help fill
your rich Island larder
Reap sweet fruits of the vine
and the gurgling stream
Taste the goodness of plentiful
fresh Island harvests
Tilled up for years
from deep Island loam
Give thanks for this land and
all of its bounty
Say a prayer for the beautiful
Island that’s home
As you wander along the shores
and the marshes
The hills and the dales
the secretive glens
As you soak in the freshness
of our Vineyard landscape
Always remember
our true special friend
Remember a woman of persistent courage
Who stands up so proudly
for what she holds dear
Remember my friends our own
Edo Potter
Remember the work she’s
accomplished for years
She grew up with old time
rural traditions
She knows just exactly how good it could be
If you treasure the natural beauty
before you
All of our lives are enriched
don’t you see
Edo and Bob run their small farm
on Chappy
They are part of what’s left
of the old Chappy Guard
They both witnessed as changes
have swirled all around them
All the big fancy houses
with big fancy yards
They’ve accepted the future
and off island influx
With love and with hope and
old fashioned grace
Always expressing the strong Island commitment
Please don’t you trash the best of this place
So to Edith I stand up and
proudly salute you
for all you have done for
all of your life
Because of your efforts our Island’s still vital
Your legacy will clearly
forever shine bright
—Steve Ewing, March 9, 2015
Correction: A photo caption in an earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Tony Nevin as Glenn Hearn.