Parks and Cape Women Online

Before I get to today's "P" post, I wanted to share that my article entitled "A Midwesterner's Love Letter to Martha's Vineyard" was published in the Spring issue of Cape Women Online this week. I was a little nervous about this article because it's one of the most personal things I've ever written, but now that it is finished I'm super excited to have it on the site. I'm celebrating its publication for this week's Celebrate the Small Things hop!

If you'd like to read the article, please visit the magazine site here.

Now on to P and the parks of Martha's Vineyard.

Since Martha's Vineyard is a beautiful island, it's no surprise that it is the home of some beautiful parks.

Owen Park, named for William Barry Owen, who is known for purchasing the rights to Thomas Edison's Victor Talking Machine, is one of those. After his death in 1914, Owen's widow gave the land the park is situated on to the town of Vineyard Haven and the park was born. Located on the Vineyard Haven harbor, it's a picturesque park that is also close to the town's shops and restaurants. Clancy and I enjoyed our visit there last year.

Another charming park is Ocean Park in the town of Oak Bluffs, which was featured in yesterday's "O" post.

Ocean Park gazebo (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The gazebo shown above is the centerpiece of the park. When I was a kid, band concerts were held at the park every Sunday evening in the summer. While the band played inside it, kids would run around the gazebo.

When my niece was a baby in the early 1980s, my dad would pick her up and take her around and around to the music. What I remember most about this is that our dog couldn't stand it if she was not included. She would insist on accompanying my dad and niece and wouldn't be left out. I can't remember if other dogs joined in, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did because the island has always been very dog-friendly.

I can't see the gazebo now without thinking of our little beagle/dachshund dog with her big ears flapping in the wind and her little legs going like crazy to keep up with the concert runners.

My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme is inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.

O is for Oak Bluffs

Oak Bluffs Beach and Harbor (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Oak Bluffs is the home of both the gingerbread cottages I wrote about in my "G" post and the Flying Horses featured in my "F" post. It is also known as the party town of Martha's Vineyard.

In keeping with New England's Puritan beginnings, many of the towns on Martha's Vineyard are "dry," meaning no alcohol can be purchased in them. Diners who go to restaurants in these towns are invited to bring their own wine or beer to dinner but they will not find any alcohol on the menus. Oak Bluffs is one of the exceptions to this rule.

As a result, Circuit Avenue, the town's main street, is lined with bars. If you are looking for night life on the island, Oak Bluffs is the place to go.

But the town is not just about partying. It is also a diverse community that has been the preferred summer resort for many African-Americans for generations.

Oak Bluffs has been called the "Black Hamptons," and it has been a vacation destination for wealthy African-Americans since the 1800s. A popular beach in the town is known as the "Inkwell," reportedly named by Harlem Renaissance writers who visited the town and were inspired by its beaches. One of the Renaissance writers, Dorothy West, wrote a novel about the Oak Bluffs community called The Wedding, which was made into a movie starring Halle Berry and produced by Oprah Winfrey in the 1990s.

The African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard chronicles the history of African-Americans on the island and runs a tour dedicated to this effort. Dorothy West's home is included on the tour, along with 15 other sites of historical significance.

My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme is inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.

G is for Gingerbread Cottages

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The town of Oak Bluffs, home of yesterday's Flying Horses, is also home to more than 300 brightly colored gingerbread cottages.

The cottages were built in the 1800s by members of the Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association in an area known as Wesleyan Grove. Founded in 1835 by a man named Jeremiah Pease, Wesleyan Grove eventually became the most famous Methodist camp meeting site in the country. In 1860, as many as 12,000 people attended the week-long meeting and more than 500 tents were pitched on the site.

The camp members built the original cottages to replace the tents as the meetings became more social and the Grove continued to expand. The "Martha's Vineyard cottages" are architecturally unique and are considered an invention of 19th century island carpenters. Between 1859 and 1880 the association built 500 cottages.

A stereoscopic view of Crane's Cottage in the late 1800s (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

(One of the cottages today (Source: Wikimedia Commons))

The Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association is still active today and now presides over 34 acres of land. Members conduct a Campground Cottage tour every summer and run a museum which showcases the history of the Campground. The Campground is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme is inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.

F is for Flying Horses

Photo by Melanie Speight

The Flying Horses Carousel is located in the Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs and is the oldest platform carousel in the United States. It was built in the 1870s and originally resided in Coney Island, but was moved to Martha's Vineyard in 1884.

The carousel is housed in a distinctive red wood barn and is one of the few carousels left to include a brass ring for riders to grab as the carousel rotates. My main memory of the Flying Horses is wanting my dad to get the brass ring and win a free ride for me. Since I was the youngest of five kids, I imagine he rode the carousel many times over the years trying to get that ring for all of us.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The carousel found itself in danger of being dismantled and sold to collectors before being purchased by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust in 1986. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

If you take a trip to the Vineyard, be sure to take a ride on the Flying Horses.

My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme is inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.