Thomas Craven was the leading art historian of his day, and his Vineyard friend Thomas Hart Benton was his favorite artist.
Elizabeth Hawes
Ranking the world’s top water views is an apples-and-oranges challenge of unfathomable proportions. Yet surely the Vineyard, with 125 miles of tidal shoreline and a host of great and less great inland ponds, has its contenders: the epic vistas from Chilmark hilltops, the broad sweep of ocean from the upper decks of upside-down homes in Katama, the still coves and busy town harborfronts. The list goes on and on. Without question, the Island has picturesque farms and meadows, forests and townscapes, but are they the cover models of Vineyard resort propaganda? Not so much.
Shelley Christiansen
The people at the Home & Garden Television network like to say they didn’t choose Martha’s Vineyard as the location of their nineteenth Dream Home giveaway; it chose them. About a year ago, when the HGTV team was scouting potential sites, the Vineyard was an easy sell. “This is an ideal location. It’s beautiful here,” said Jack Thomasson, the official house planner for the HGTV Dream Home. “People are really friendly on Martha’s Vineyard. The Island has a lot to offer.”
Sydney Bender
Most of the year I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and when it comes up in conversation that I own a house on Martha’s Vineyard, people always get that look. “Oh, I see,” the look says, “you’re one of those rich East Coasters with a vacation home on that exclusive little island.”
Elizabeth Nordlinger
We’ve all heard the complaints – some Island towns are saddled with higher property taxes, while others are among the lowest in the state. The residential tax rate in Chilmark is a mere $2.48 per thousand dollars of property value, for instance, while over in Tisbury it’s more than three times as much at $8.39. Pop into any Vineyard cocktail party and you’ll hear plenty of theories. Chilmark offers fewer municipal services than other towns, some will say. Others claim it pays less than its fair share for education.
I first met Albert back in the eighties. My then-future wife rented his house in Edgartown one summer and I used to bump into him from time to time. Albert was a little rough around the edges and a bit of a free thinker, but basically a straight-up guy.
Geoff Currier
For the true enthusiast, owning a home alongside an Island golf course can be as exciting as a hole in one.
Joyce Wagner
