Sami Steigmann was born in three different countries. The town of Czernowitz where he was born is a physical testament to the horrors of war.

The Martha’s Vineyard Film Center was the scene of an unusual activity on Sunday when a group of people from every age and ethnic group gathered to listen to a radio play.

History is the human story that embraces all of us, but so often it is presented as a lifeless catalogue that leaves the learner to conclude that whatever history is about, it’s not something that applies to the lives of ordinary people.

Empty classrooms are strange places: silent rows of desks and artwork that once looked so pristine and was a source of pride now faded and lifeless without its proud creators. Schools so full of energy, sometimes muted and restrained like a force field and sometimes buoyant, but always humming from September to June, fall suddenly quiet and the business of winding it all down begins.

Through the years, hundreds of young Vineyarders have visited Ireland and have been charmed by its haunting beauty.

The freshman history classes recently traveled the Island’s African American Heritage Trail from Chappaquiddick to Aquinnah as part of their study of the history of Martha’s Vineyard. They visited the home of the Island’s only whaling captain, walked to his grave, paid their respects at the site dedicated to the life of Rebecca, the Woman from Africa and stood at West Basin visualizing the escape of Randall Burton, the man who had decided he would rather die than return to enslavement.