History BINGO: The Vineyard in the Revolution!

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome local historians Norah Van Riper and Bow Van Riper for a fun, fast-paced game of BINGO with a twist. This event will be held on Tuesday, October 13th, at 6:00 PM at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

In honor of America’s 250th birthday, this edition of History BINGO is all about the American Revolution on Martha’s Vineyard. Come play along and learn about the facts, the fictions, and the in-betweens of the Revolution here on the Island!

Itinerant historian Norah Van Riper has been in the museum and living history trades for the better part of twenty-five years. Her focus is primarily on historical agriculture and domestic life in New England before the Industrial Revolution, however, she’s known to dabble in a number of other subjects and periods. Her real passion lies in giving voice to the forgotten and misunderstood people of the past. She lives in Vineyard Haven.

A historian for 40 years (so far) A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014. A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

War for the Dawnland: Reimagining King Philip's War

Philip, King of Mount Hope,
line engraving by Paul Revere
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome Wôpanâak citizen and lifelong educator Brad Lopes for a Wôpanâak retelling of the events surrounding the historical conflict often referred to as King Philip’s War (1675 - 1678). This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 11th, at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

The events commonly known by scholars and settlers as King Philip’s War (1675 - 1678) have been largely told through settler-colonial perspectives. Viewing events “from the land” instead of “from the boat,” participants will hear a retelling of the events leading up to, during, and after this historical conflict from a Wôpanâak perspective that takes into account written historical sources, oral history, and continued cultural epistemologies. The presentation will explore Metacom's (Philip’s) life, Indigenous resistance against English encroachment, violent and nefarious treatment by English settlers and courts, and the northern theater. Participants will come away with a greater understanding of the local and international context behind this war, often considered the bloodiest conflict in “American” history and a global moment of reverberation.

Brad Lopes is an Aquinnah Wampanoag citizen and life-long educator currently working within the traditional homelands of his people, the Wampanoag Nation. He currently serves as the Education Director for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department (TED) and as the Education and Public Programs Manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center, an Aquinnah Wampanoag museum located on Nôepe (Martha's Vineyard). Brad has a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Maine Farmington, located in Wabanaki Homelands. After graduation, he went on to teach Social Studies for five years to students in grades 7 - 12. In his time in education, Brad has sought to decolonize the pedagogies, content, and ways of understanding education, including the ways in which public education can reinforce stereotypes and harmful understandings of Indigenous people.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Re-Engraving Paul Revere: "The Boston Massacre" with Andy Volpe

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome living history presenter Andy Volpe for a presentation on Paul Revere’s "Boston Massacre” print. This program will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, July 28th at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required. 

Revere's "Bloody Massacre" print is arguably one of the most infamous propaganda prints in American history. Better known today as the "Boston Massacre," its image has found its way into hundreds of publications, history books, and video. While the event itself is heavily analyzed and debated, the plate and print have an interesting backstory that is not often talked about. Andy will also touch on his own work replicating Revere's prints, including how he went about producing a hand-engraved, full-size replica of the Massacre—one of only two such replicas created in the 21st century—which he created for the event's 250th anniversary.

Andy Volpe is an artist, printer and living history presenter in Worcester MA. Since 2010, he has collaborated with Gary Gregory of the Printing Office of Edes & Gill, which replicates important American Revolutionary documents and images, notably the Declaration of Independence, using the same techniques and replica presses. Andy’s work focuses on replicating prints by Paul Revere as well as other notable 18th century prints. He is also involved with the Museum of Printing in Haverhill MA, where he gives tours, presentations and printing demos, and focuses on intaglio, graphics and illustration printing, spanning the years 1450-1800.  He holds a degree in Fine Arts from Westfield State University, where he fell in love with the printers in the Renaissance and Early Modern periods. He also regularly presents at the Higgins Armory Collection at Worcester Art Museum on various Arms & Armor periods with a few living history groups.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Nôepe: A Wôpanâak History of the Island

Source: Painting by Bear, student at the New School, Kennebunk, ME

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome Wôpanâak citizen and lifelong educator Brad Lopes for a presentation on the Wôpanâak history of the island. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 23rd at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

To understand the history of the island from the Wampanoag perspective, we must look to the land and waterways that make up Nôepe and seek to understand the stories they hold. Nôepe is Wôpanâak Homelands and has been for thousands of years. By utilizing both oral tradition and primary source documents, participants will engage with island history from the Wampanoag perspective and gain an introductory understanding to Wampanoag continuance in this place and space. This presentation aims to dispel myths and misunderstandings of land ownership and use, Wampanoag history, continued existence, and more. Participants will explore ways to support Wampanoag histories and communities, and leave with a new understanding of the island.

Brad Lopes is an Aquinnah Wampanoag citizen and life-long educator currently working within the traditional homelands of his people, the Wampanoag Nation. He currently serves as the Education Manager for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department (TED) and as the Education and Public Programs Manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center, an Aquinnah Wampanoag museum located on Nôepe (Martha's Vineyard). Prior to this, Brad went to the University of Maine Farmington, located in Wabanaki Homelands, and graduated with a degree in Secondary Education before spending five years teaching Social Studies to students in 7 - 12 grade. In his time in education, Brad has sought to decolonize the pedagogies, content, and ways of understanding education, including the ways in which public education can reinforce stereotypes and harmful understandings of Indigenous people.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard, presented by Bow Van Riper

Promotional photograph of Katharine Cornell as
Countess Olenska in the Broadway production of
The Age of Innocence. Source: Wikimedia Common

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Bow Van Riper for a presentation on Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, September 23rd at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Katharine Cornell's connection to the Island began as a child when she visited the Innisfail hotel at the headwaters of the Lagoon with her parents. Bow will present an overview of Cornell's life and career, focused primarily on her lifelong love of the Island, her contributions to it, and her part in the Island "celebrity culture" of the 1940s. 

“Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard” is the final in a three-part series of talks relating to the Katharine Cornell Theatre and presented by Bow Van Riper in 2025. On May 27th, Bow delivered a presentation entitled, “Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven,” and on July 22nd, he presented “History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals.”  

A historian for 40 years, A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014.

A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

Fauxlore: A Myth-Busting Romp through Colonial Vineyard History with Norah Van Riper

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome back local historian Norah Van Riper for an interactive program about the history of Martha's Vineyard, entitled “Fauxlore: A Myth-Busting Romp through Colonial Vineyard History.” This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, September 9th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

We all know that “back then" everyone — especially Islanders — grew all their own food and made all their own clothes and never bought anything from anyone… Or did they? Play along as we tackle some of the most pervasive myths about pre industrial life on Martha's Vineyard and across New England in this highly interactive, very lighthearted myth-busting presentation. We’ll dissect everything from the houses they built to the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and the lives they actually lived, all while uncovering how the myths began and how they replaced the realities. Presented by Norah Van Riper. 

Itinerant historian Norah Van Riper has been in the museum and living history trades for the better part of twenty-five years. Her focus is primarily on historical agriculture and domestic life in New England before the Industrial Revolution, however, she’s known to dabble in a number of other subjects and periods. Her real passion lies in giving voice to the forgotten and misunderstood people of the past. She lives in Vineyard Haven.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals with Bow Van Riper

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Bow Van Riper for a presentation about the history and content of the celebrated murals painted on the walls of the Katharine Cornell Theatre by Stan Murphy. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 22nd at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

The Stan Murphy murals in the Katharine Cornell Theater are among the Island's most impressive pieces of public art. They represent Murphy's attempt to capture the history and ambience of life on the Island in just four panels. This talk takes a deep dive into their content and significance.

“History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals” is the second in a three-part series of talks relating to the Katharine Cornell Theatre to be presented by Bow Van Riper in 2025. On May 27th, Bow delivered a presentation entitled, “Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven,” and on September 23rd, he will present on “Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard.”  

A historian for 40 years, A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014.

A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

Our Queer Elders in History and Song

In celebration of Pride Month, the Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome singer, songwriter and storyteller Katie Castagno for an evening of music and storytelling. “Our Queer Elders” will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 10th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Katie Castagno uses storytelling and original song to celebrate and elevate the lives of people who have queered social and gender norms throughout history. At a time when queer history and voices are increasingly erased, “Our Queer Elders” is both informative and cheeky, whether it’s an account of Rachel Carson’s whirlwind romance with Dorothy Freeman, a sweet love song about Mary Oliver, or an imagining of the night Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt took a joyride after dinner in 1933.

Katie Castagno is a geologist by day and a singer-songwriter by night. Drawing on roots in rural New England and collegiate a cappella, Katie writes about people, places, and geological phenomena. Katie has released several singles, including “High Tide,” an exploration of life as a menstruating field scientist. Katie’s first full-length album, Every House I’ve Known, is a collection of songs reflecting on what it means to call somewhere home, with each based on a different place of residence. When not making music, Katie is the director of the Land-Sea Interaction Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA, and spends most of the time in the salt marsh.

The Remarkable History of Penikese Island

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome Kimberly Ulmer at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 3rd for a presentation on the remarkable legacy and ongoing contributions to conservation and science education of Penikese Island. This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Penikese Island, a 75-acre wildlife sanctuary at the southwest end of the Elizabeth Island chain, has played many roles throughout its rich history. Once home to a natural history summer school and later a leper colony, it now serves as a vital refuge for endangered seabirds. For 150 years, botanical surveys have been conducted on the island, documenting the island’s ecological changes. Today, the Penikese Island School uses this living classroom to inspire environmental literacy and stewardship.

Kimberly Ulmer is the Executive Director of the Penikese Island School. Kimberly is a scientist, educator, and all around hydrophile with a passion for science education and outreach. Her scientific research background spans genetics, neuroscience, and marine biology, with fieldwork conducted aboard sailing vessels investigating microbial genomes and ocean plastics. With experience in both formal and informal education, Kimberly taught biology, aquaculture, and environmental science at Tabor Academy and has also led programs for the Woods Hole Children's School of Science, Falmouth Academy's summer program, Sail MV, and Habitat Kids.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org. 

Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven with Bow Van Riper

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Bow Van Riper on Tuesday, May 27th at 6:00 PM for a presentation on Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven. This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Van Riper’s presentation will focus on the history of Vineyard Haven—from back-of-beyond outpost to gateway to the Island, from schooner port to summer-resort community and center for the arts—through the lens of the many uses to which the 1845 building that houses the Katharine Cornell Theatre has been put. 

“Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven” is part of a three-part series related to the Katharine Cornell Theatre to be presented by Bow Van Riper in 2025. Future talks include “History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals” and “Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard” (dates to be announced).  

A historian for 40 years (so far) A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014.

A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

 

Author Talk: “Into the Amazon” with Mass Book Award-honoree Larry Rohter

Join the Vineyard Haven Public Library at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, May 20th for a book talk with Mass Book Award-honoree Larry Rohter! Rohter will discuss his thrilling new biography, Into the Amazon, which celebrates the great indigenous Brazilian explorer, scientist, statesman, and conservationist, Cândido Rondon. Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and Conservationist is at once a traditional adventure yarn, an introduction to modern Brazilian history, and a meditation on race and exploration. 

This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). The program is sponsored by the Mass Book Awards Speakers Bureau and is presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Free and open to the public. No registration required.  

Between 1890 and 1930, Cândido Rondon navigated scores of previously unmapped rivers, traversed untrodden mountain ranges, and hacked his way through inhospitable jungles. In 1913-14, he led Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit on their celebrated “River of Doubt” journey. Upon leaving the Brazilian Army in 1930, Rondon devoted the remainder of his life to writing about the region’s flora and fauna, advocating for his fellow Indigenous people who inhabited the rainforest, and lobbying for the creation of a system of national parks. Rondon’s many achievements earned him three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, yet he has never received his due. Originally published in Brazil, Into the Amazon is the first comprehensive biography of the greatest tropical explorer in history.

Larry Rohter was the Rio de Janeiro bureau chief for the New York Times from 1998 to 2008 and held the same role at Newsweek from 1977 to 1982. He is the author of two previous books about Brazil, one in Portuguese and one in English: Deu no New York Times and Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed. He divides his time between the United States and Brazil.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211. 

The Way We Wore: Island Textiles & Fashion Before 1850

At 6:00 PM on Tuesday, March 18th, local historian Norah Van Riper returns to the Vineyard Haven Library for another interactive program about Martha's Vineyard History, entitled “The Way We Wore: Island Textiles & Fashion Before 1850.” This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. 

Today, wool and linen are considered luxury fabrics, but for most of Western history, they were the fibers that everyone of every social status wore and used on a daily basis. Sheep arrived on Martha’s Vineyard with the earliest English colonizers and flax became an important crop on their farms. The sheep were so successful that wool became the Island’s premier cash crop for nearly two hundred years! But what changed, and why? This interactive program demonstrates (almost) the entire process of taking raw wool and flax and turning them into useful textiles by hand. This program is presented in historical costume from a modern perspective. 

Itinerant historian Norah Van Riper has been in the museum and living history trades for the better part of twenty-five years. Her focus is primarily on historical agriculture and domestic life in New England before the Industrial Revolution, however, she’s known to dabble in a number of other subjects and periods. Her real passion lies in giving voice to the forgotten and misunderstood people of the past. She lives in Vineyard Haven

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Culinary Series Sponsored by the Library Friends!

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are kicking off summer programming with a series of special culinary events, to be held in-person at the library.

All events are free to attend, but may require advance registration, and class size may be limited.
 

Film Screening: The Taste of Things [In-person] 6 pm Thursday May 30th This sumptuous award-winning period love story set in France in 1889, follows the life of Dodin Bouffant as a chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie. They share a long history of gastronomy and love but Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin, so the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her. 2 hours 16 minutes. In French with Subtitles. Rated PG-13.

History in Crust: Pastry and Power in 17th-Century New England [In-person] 6 pm Tuesday June 4th Food historian Paula Marcoux will share stories of the first colonial pastries—one French and one English—baked on the shores of Massachusetts. You’ll learn what is known of their bakers, the singular situations in which the baking occurred, the most probable types of ovens to have been used, and best of all, how the pies were likely to appear and taste.

Cheese 101 with MV Cheesery [In-person] 6 pm Tuesday June 11th Join us for a "Cheese 101" workshop where you can ask a monger your most burning cheese questions and sample artisanal cheeses! Presented by Morgen Schroeder of Martha's Vineyard Cheesery and Catboat Coffee. Registration required - REGISTER HERE

Induction Cooking with Cathy Walthers  [In-person] 6 pm Tuesday June 18th Local chef and cookbook author Catherine Walthers will demonstrate using an induction cooktop and talk about the advantages, for cooking, health, and the environment. The class will include a cooking demonstration with food samples.  Registration required - REGISTER HERE

A Culinary History of Martha's Vineyard [In-person] 6 pm Tuesday June 25th Martha's Vineyard is a culinary melting pot, with Native Americans, Blacks, European settlers and Azoreans contributing to a diverse culinary history. Local authors Tom and Joyce Dresser share the history, ingredients, recipes and images of this flavorful island. Book signing and refreshments to follow the talk.

Enjoy books? You will enjoy being a Friend of the Library! Annual dues of $25 to provide financial support for the library and its programs. Volunteer opportunities are also available -- volunteering is an great way to meet island neighbors while helping to support the library! Our monthly meetings are open to all, so come and learn what you can do to support and help.

For more information or to join the Friends, download our brochure and membership application.

Virtual Event: The Amistad Trials: What Price Freedom?

Register: https://bit.ly/3Udct6q

Join us online at 6pm Tuesday February 7th, for a virtual talk presented by the Honorable Dennis J. Curran, retired Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. 

The issue of slavery versus freedom rears its ugly head in this first civil rights trial in American history, more than two decades before the Civil War explodes in 1861. This case pits the American government against the Spanish government, the President against his own Secretary of State, the executive branch versus the judicial branch, and abolitionists against slave traders. It even prompted a former President to appear before the Supreme Court to condemn the policies of a present Administration. This case finally received the recognition it deserved from Stephen Spielberg’s 1997 Academy Award-nominated feature film, Amistad.

The Honorable Dennis J. Curran was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, appointed to the seat by former governor Mitt Romney in 2006. He has taught the practice of Political Science and Law at Tufts University and Roger Williams University of Law. He was born and raised in Boston.

This free event is sponsored by the Vineyard Haven and Chilmark Public Libraries.

Register: https://bit.ly/3Udct6q

Sept 10th Vineyard Haven's "Writer's Row," a Literary Walking Tour

 PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE TO SUNDAY, SEPT 10th

Take a stroll through Vineyard Haven and West Chop and hear stories about some great American writers who lived there: William Styron, Lillian Hellman, John Hersey, and Art Buchwald, with sprinkling of neighbor Mike Wallace. This tour features the former homes (from a distance along Main Street) and favorite haunts of these amazing accomplished writers, their friendships and Vineyard stories. Tour ends at the 1790’s historic graveyard on West Chop where 4 of the 5 writers are buried! Led by Native Islander and Amateur Historian Wayne Nichols. No registration or sign up required. Meet in front of the Bandstand at Owen Park off Main Street, Vineyard Haven, 4:30 to 6 pm, Sunday September 10th 3rd. 

Library Building Fund Presents William St History with Bow Van Riper

On Wednesday July 19th at 6:30pm, the Vineyard Haven Library Building Fund presents a talk by A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper, who will share stories from the history of the William Street Historic District, neighboring the Vineyard Haven Library in Tisbury. This event will be in-person on the main floor of the library, and is free and open to all. Attendees are invited to stay after the talk for light refreshments hosted by the Vineyard Haven Library Building Fund, and learn about plans for the library addition and renovation.

The streets adjoining the Vineyard Haven Library are known for their beautiful nineteenth-century houses, but behind their shingled and clapboarded walls lie a wealth of stories: millionaires and misers, whaling masters and steamboat captains, a merchant prince whose daughter was a wartime saboteur, an ecclesiastical arms race, and a tabletop fleet of 15,000 ships. A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper, Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum, explores those stories and more in a fast-paced talk that explores the extraordinary lives of some of the residents of these seemingly ordinary streets.

About the Speaker
A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper first came to the Vineyard as a "summer kid" before he could walk, and returned for part or all of the next 48 summers before moving to the Island full-time in 2011. A former university history professor and the author, editor, or co-editor of more than 20 books, he has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014. He lives in a nineteenth-century house on Hatch Road where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

This event is sponsored by the Vineyard Haven Library Building Fund, Inc. (VHPLBFI), a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization made up of community volunteers. VHPLBFI is undertaking a capital campaign to support the ongoing effort to enhance the library building with the addition of a multipurpose meeting room. To learn more, visit https://www.vhlibrarybuildingfund.org/

Virtual: Vineyard Voices with Linsey Lee

 

[Online] 6 pm Tuesday May 9th
Vineyard Voices with Linsey Lee, on Zoom

It is the people of Martha's Vineyard who give voice to the Vineyard "sense of place." Here, in their own words excerpted from interviews with oral historian Linsey Lee, chronicling a way of life that has continued for generations and is fast disappearing.

Linsey Lee is the oral history curator at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. She has conducted interviews with people on the Vineyard for more than 30 years and has a significant collection of stories connected to the Island. Please contact amcdonough@clmasnet.org for the Zoom link.

More about Linsey and 'Vineyard Voices' from this MV Times article by Abby Remer a year ago: https://www.mvtimes.com/2021/03/03/island-women-tell-stories/

For Zoom access, contact library Program Coordinator Anne McDonough at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Free History Class from the Martha's Vineyard Museum!

 Introduction to Martha’s Vineyard History

Tuesdays from 3 PM - 4:30 PM July 19th - Aug 23rd
In-person at the Museum

A fast-paced overview that covers 400 years of Island history, this course takes participants from Bartholomew Gosnold to the present in just six weeks. It explores seldom-told Island stories — why is there a ship buried under Five Corners? why is the deadliest hurricane in Vineyard history nearly forgotten? and what, exactly, happened to Captain Orrock’s clothes? — and examines familiar ones like Grey’s Raid, the whaling era, and Nancy Luce from new angles. MVM research librarian Bow Van Riper uses his storytelling skills and thirty-five years’ experience as a historian, as well as seldom-seen documents and objects from the Museum’s collections, to bring Vineyard history to life.

Thanks to a generous donor, this class is offered free of charge. Space for the class is limited. To register, click here. 

"North of Havana" author Martin Garbus at Vineyard Haven Library

Martin Garbus, one of the country’s leading First Amendment lawyers, has just published North of Havana: The Untold Story of Dirty Politics, Secret Diplomacy, and the Trial of the Cuban Five (New Press; June 18, 2019). Mr. Garbus will be at the Vineyard Haven Public Library on Monday August 19th at 5PM to talk about his new work, followed by a book signing. Refreshments will be served. "North of Havana" is a riveting look at the U.S.-Cuban relationship seen through the lens of a nearly impossible case, that Kirkus Reviews has called “both an indictment of the legal system and a plea for prison reform – a harrowing chronicle of a fight for justice.”

During his distinguished career, Martin Garbus has established himself as a well-known trial lawyer representing the likes of Daniel Ellsberg and Leonard Peltier. But there is no story Garbus wants to tell more than that of his most challenging case: representing five Cuban spies marooned in the U.S. prison system and his efforts to get them out.

North of Havana tells the story of a spy ring sent by Cuba in the early 1990s to infiltrate anti-Communist extremists in Miami. Erroneously charged by the U.S. government in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two planes circulating anti-Castro leaflets over Havana, the spies—in the absence of evidence—were convicted in 2000 of conspiracy to commit espionage and murder. Caught up in the sweep of history, the Cuban Five, as they became known, played a central role over the next decade in the recent thaw in Cuban-American relations.

Set in Miami and Havana, North of Havana is a mesmerizing tale of international intrigue, espionage, and political gamesmanship that continues to play a shaping role in American foreign policy and presidential elections. In the process, the books shows how the justice system can be, and is, subverted for political purposes and gives readers insight into one of the most fascinating legal cases of our times.

Author Talk with Frye Gaillard, Author of A Hard Rain: America in the 1960's

On Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM at Vineyard Haven Library, author Frye Gaillard will give a talk based on his newest book, 'A Hard Rain: America in the 1960's, Our Decade of Hope, Possibility, and Innocence Lost.' Books will be available for purchase and signing, and refreshments will be served.

'A Hard Rain' focuses on the 1960's, pivotal decade in American history. With graceful prose and a storyteller's eye, Frye Gaillard captures the hope and tragedy of the 1960s, beginning with the idealism of the civil rights movement, and ending with the violence brought about by the war in Vietnam. He also examines the cultural manifestations of change – music, literature, art, religion, and science – and so we meet not only the Brothers Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, but also Gloria Steinem, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Harper Lee, Mister Rogers, Rachel Carson, James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Billy Graham, Thomas Merton, George Wallace, Richard Nixon, Angela Davis, Barry Goldwater, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Berrigan Brothers.

“There are many different ways to remember the sixties,” Gaillard writes, “and this is mine. There was in these years the sense of a steady unfolding of time, as if history were on a forced march, and the changes spread to every corner of our lives. As future generations debate the meaning of the decade, I hope to offer a sense of how it felt to have lived it. A Hard Rain is one writer’s reconstruction and remembrance of a transcendent era — one that, for better or worse, lives with us still.”

Frye Gaillard, writer in residence at the University of South Alabama, has written extensively on southern race relations, politics and culture. He is former Southern Editor at The Charlotte Observer, where he covered Charlotte’s landmark school desegregation controversy, the ill-fated ministry of televangelist Jim Bakker, the funeral of Elvis Presley, and the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Gaillard has written or edited more than twenty-five books, and his award-winning titles include Go South to Freedom, Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America; The Dream Long Deferred: The Landmark Struggle for Desegregation in Charlotte, North Carolina; Watermelon Wine: The Spirit of Country Music; If I Were a Carpenter: Twenty Years of Habitat for Humanity; Prophet from Plains: Jimmy Carter and His Legacy; and As Long As the Waters Flow: Native Americans in the South and East.