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The Dukes County Intelligencer, Winter 2012 Journal of History of Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands THE DUKES COUNTY INTELLIGENCER WINTER 2012 The Editors A Sampler of Historical Writing From the Editors Of the Intelligencer Membership Dues Student ..........................................$25 Individual .....................................$55 (Does not include spouse) Family............................................$75 Sustaining ...................................$125 Patron ..........................................$250 Benefactor...................................$500 President’s Circle ......................$1000 Memberships are tax deductible. For more information on membership levels and benefits, please visit www.mvmuseum.org To Our Readers his issue represents a retrospective on the contributions of the five Tprevious editors of this journal. For two of these editors, just putting it together every quarter was enough. For three others, writing was the key contribution and a labor of love. In going through the more than fifty years of the journal one by one, I was taken with the evolution of the journal itself from an all-encompass- ing, one-size-fits-all compendium of annual reports and accessions with bits of history thrown in, to a scholarly journal replete with think pieces and filled with images. Styles change, and, especially, technology changes. From typesetting and paste-up to Adobe InDesign® each editor put his or her own style to these pages, not out of ego, but in an effort to improve the quality of the Dukes County Intelligencer. Along the way the DCI matured and became an invaluable resource for generations of researchers, students, academics and lovers of Island history. Susan Wilson, editor THE DUKES COUNTY INTELLIGENCER VOL. 54, NO. 1 © 2012 WINTER 2012 Introduction: Editors of the Intelligencer by Susan Wilson .................................................................................. 3 Dragging, 1934: ‘Off shore, out of sight of land and on our own’ by E. Gale Huntington ..................................................................... 7 The Hallucinations of Rev. John Adams: God’s General, the Island His Battlefield by Arthur R. Railton ...................................................................... 19 A Season in Full: In 1908, the Vineyard Had It All by John Walter .................................................................................. 37 A Note from David Nathans, Executive Director ....................................64 Founding Editor: Gale Huntington (1959-1961, 1964-1977) Dorothy Scoville, Editor (1961-1963) George Adams, Editor (1977-1979) Arthur R. Railton, Editor (1979-2006) John Walter, Editor (2007-2008) The Dukes County Intelligencer is published by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Subscription is by membership in the Museum. Issues are available for purchase in the Museum gift shop or by emailing frontdesk@mvmuseum. org. Back issues may be requested. Membership in the Museum is invited. Visit www.mvmuseum.org and go to the “Support” button. Author queries and manuscripts for this journal should be submitted electroni- cally to [email protected], subject line “Dukes County Intelligencer.” Articles in the Intelligencer do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Museum or its officers. Every effort is made to confirm dates, names and events in published articles, but we cannot guarantee total accuracy. ISSN 0418 1379 Martha’s Vineyard Museum Board of Directors Sheldon Hackney, Chair Elizabeth Beim, Nat Benjamin, Robert Blacklow Marcia Mulford Cini, James T. Curtis, John R. Ettinger Gail Farrish, Dale Garth, Lorna Giles Mark Charles Lapman, Douglas Leavens Phoebe Lewis, Calvin Linnemann Mark Alan Lovewell, June Manning Christopher Morse, James B. Richardson III Mark Snider, Elizabeth Hawes Weinstock Denys Wortman Honorary Director John A. Howland Staff David Nathans, Executive Director Chris Bahara, Administrative Coordinator Jessica Barker, Assistant Manager for Development & Membership Services Anna Carringer, Assistant Curator Nancy Cole, Education Director Noelle Colomé, Development Director Katy Fuller, Marketing, Membership, & Events Manager Linsey Lee, Oral History Curator Betsey Mayhew, Finance Director Bonnie Stacy, Chief Curator Dana Costanza Street, Assistant Librarian Catherine Merwin Mayhew, Genealogist* Chris Murphy, Vanity Skipper* Dawna Phaneuf, Housekeeper Charles Tucy, Caretaker Susan Wilson, Editor, Dukes County Intelligencer * Volunteer • INTELLIGENCER • Introduction To a Retrospective Five Editors Have Presided with Distinction Over This Journal of Island History by SUSAN WILSON or more than half a century, the Dukes County Intelligencer has Fthrived as a respected journal of the history of Martha’s Vineyard. Within its covers professional and amateur historians, storytellers and buffs have explored the who and what we are of Vineyard history. None more so than its several editors. Gale Huntington, Dorothy Scoville, George Adams, Art Railton, and John Walter each put his or her imprimatur on these pages. Dorothy and George were guides and editors, if not contributors to the body of knowledge. Gale and Art were prolific writers, delving deep into the history they foraged from the ever-growing archives. John’s tenure was tragically cut short, but he, too, rooted in the boxes and files and pulled a wealth of new information out to be reported on, as became his back- ground as a newspaper man. Gale Huntington, for whom the library at the Museum is named, was founding editor. He served as editor from 1959 through 1961 when he signed off with a slightly tongue-in-cheek apology. “The editor wishes to apologize for the many typographical errors in the last issue of the Intelligencer. This is how it happened. The printer sent the editor two sets of proofs, one of which he corrected very carefully. He then sent the printer the uncorrected set….This is the last issue of the In- telligencer for which the present editor will be responsible, as he leaves the Island in September….” Dorothy Scoville, the Society’s curator, became the de facto editor. By 1964 Gale had been enticed back to the job. “Lastly, the Intelligencer has a new editor, or rather, it has its old editor back again. Miss Scoville asked to be relieved of this duty in order to be able to devote full time to her work as curator.” Although he was ever careful to list himself as ‘acting’ Gale 3 Art Railton at work in his basement office in the Gale Huntington Library. remained as the Intelligencer’s editor for another twelve or thirteen years, until George Adams took the helm. “After eighteen years of service,” as Director Thomas E. Norton wrote in DCHS News when Gale Huntington stepped down again, “. Although we regret that Gale will not be working as closely with us as in the past, we wish him a pleasant retirement from his strenuous duties. The new editor is George W. Adams of the Vineyard Gazette, who has accepted the chal- lenge with great enthusiasm. We wish him the best of luck.” George Adams edited the journal for exactly one year: February 1978 through February 1979. Norton notes the latest changing of the guard: “This issue of the Intelligencer is the last one under the editorship of George W. Adams, who has left the Vineyard to resume his career in ma- rine architecture. During the year that he edited the magazine many ma- jor changes were made in the format and typography, improving it greatly. The Society is grateful for the work he has done and we will miss him. Arthur R. Railton of Edgartown and Chilmark has agreed to take over the position and we welcome him.” 4 Arthur R. Railton was seduced into taking the helm by Gale Hunting- ton who essentially promised him that it would be a temporary gig. It was. For twenty-eight years. Art’s years as editor culminated in the best history of Martha’s Vineyard to be written since Dr. Charles Banks’ three-volume history published in 1911. The History of Martha’s Vineyard: How We Got To Where We Are comprised the serialized history that Art began the year that his wife Marjorie passed away; exploring the Island’s history chapter by chapter, quarter by quarter, over the course of several years. He wrote in the May, 2006 issue, his last: “Some words are easier to write than oth- ers. These are among the hardest. After 28 years of being wedded to this journal and to this cluttered basement office, I am retiring as editor… “As many of you know, in 1978 I was asked by my good friend, the founding editor of this journal, Gale Huntington, to take over as editor while the Society looked for a permanent one. ‘It will be for a year at the most,’ Gale said. I asked him why he didn’t do it. ‘I am too old,’ was his response. ‘I’m 72, that’s too old for the job.’… Well, at 90, I am beginning to feel too old.” In John Walter, the long tradition of creative and dedicated editors con- tinued. Like Gale and Art, John was a contributing editor, taking on the dual responsibilities of managing the content and adding to the wealth of knowledge with articles on heretofore unexplored topics. Seven issues were produced under his watch, and the last was essentially press-ready at his death from complications from surgery. Each one of these editors put his or her mark on the journal that is criti- cal to the mission of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. They’ve guided it through changes in the organization’s name: Dukes County Historical So- ciety, The Vineyard Museum, Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society, Mar- tha’s Vineyard Museum; through advances in the technology of printing,
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