Some four decades ago, the Massachusetts legislature recognized Martha’s Vineyard as one of the state’s crown jewels by creating an agency with special powers to protect the Island’s unique ecological, archeological, historical and human resources. That body, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, has distinguished itself over nearly forty years as the Vineyard’s sole regional planning agency, sitting in the often-uncomfortable role of arbiter of Island values.

There was a time when if someone said you don’t look Jewish, I took it as a compliment. It was the 1950s and our parents spent every ounce of their energy working to assimilate, to get a teeny corner of the American dream.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of August, 1906: One of the most important moves for the benefit of the town since its incorporation, is on foot, and has gained much headway within the past week.

I moved to the Vineyard in 2006 and still feel like a washashore.