Martha's Vineyard Alexander Trowbridge

Not Your Grandmother’s Summer Holiday

Alexander Trowbridge | Thursday, September 11 2008 - 8:00pm

I don’t think the statute of limitations for many of my adventures this summer has quite yet passed. Thus an autobiographical essay published in a community I’ve come to know over the last three months and to which I plan to one day return naturally has to be somewhat censored. As I write this, I debate the prudence of publishing the story of my arrest after celebrating its removal from my record. I was arrested for trespassing, swimming in a pool after hours.

Vineyard Celebrates Fourth of July Holiday

Alexander Trowbridge

On the Fourth of July a couple of centuries back, the United States was founded on compromise, taking the good with the not so good.

It’s appropriate that today on the Vineyard, the fireworks, parades, flags and cookouts are served up along with traffic, crowds and chance of rain.

And for those involved with safety, service or transportation, it’s a day of continuous motion.

Auction Raises Funds for Vineyard Habitat

Alexander Trowbridge

Suits and gowns floated around a crowded room at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown Friday night, their occupants casually inspecting the art that covered the tables. Occasionally they’d put their cocktails down to sign their names next to a price.

Chris Rasmussen moved with more purpose, weaving through the dapper group, making sure everything was in the right place.

Music to Connect With, not to Categorize

Alexander Trowbridge

Trying to define the musical blend of Citizen Cope is a difficult and perilous exploration into the depths of a nearby thesaurus.

The musician’s voice often is described with frequent uses of the words soul and folk. His guitar has the whine of the blues as it slopes across the scale over the steady pulse of a hip-hop beat... Something like that, plus more adjectives.

County Will Review State Beach Rules

Alexander Trowbridge

The Dukes County commissioners found themselves on the defensive last week when about a dozen residents crowded a public hearing to voice their discontent with existing and proposed rules for Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach.

The commissioners had said they wanted to strike a balance between preserving the beach and protecting its nesting birds while also allowing public access.

Also, due to an increase in requests to use the public beach for large private functions, the commissioners sought to update the beach rules so as to discourage such events.

Schooner Captain Turns Movie Hero in Zeb

Alexander Trowbridge

Paul Bunyan the lumberjack. John Henry the steel-driver. Giacomo Casanova the womanizer. And Zeb Tilton the schooner captain.

That last name may not be as well recognized as the others, but for many who have heard the stories of the famed mariner, Capt. Zebulon Tilton is the Vineyard’s own folk hero. He was very much real, as was his vessel the Alice S. Wentworth. But in the first half of the 20th century, accounts from newspapers all along the Northeast coast made him out to be larger than life.

Improvising Along the Way, Two Women Block Out Theatre Careers

Alexander Trowbridge

They are accidental partners in crime — two theatre teachers, both formally educated in the dramatic arts, who wound up on the Vineyard. Each has long ties to the Island. Kate Murray, who is the daughter of Capt. Everett and the late Virginia Poole, was born here. Donna Swift was a summer kid-turned year-round kid who has a familiar Vineyard story: just one more summer on the Island before a real job in the real world.