The Vineyard Gazette – News from Martha’s Vineyard

This summer, the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club celebrates its centennial and honors its founder, one of the island’s first conservationists, Agnes D. Meikleham (1869-1953, pronounced “Meek-lam”).

Looking back on her accomplishments, it is no exaggeration to say that her many crusades played a significant role in the development of Martha’s Vineyard as we know it today. When she moved to Edgartown in 1908, faced with the garbage dumping on the beautiful beaches, the damage to trees and hedges, and the loss of historic buildings, she was determined to protect and preserve the beauty of the island.

In 1920, Mrs. Meikleham was dismayed to hear that the two stately elm trees on Edgartown’s main street were to be cut down because they were hindering the construction of the basement of the new movie theater. She sat on the curb next to these elms for nearly two days and petitioned to save the trees. She was successful.

Mrs Meikleham also raised her voice when numerous trees were said to be a “threat to life” and there were even rumours that the Pagoda tree was a “danger” and should be cut down and used as firewood.

“May Martha’s Vineyard escape the consequences of such thinking,” she urged in the Gazette.

Agnes D. Meikleham moved to Edgartown in 1908.

Knowing that she was an avid gardener, it was natural for a group of women in Edgartown who wanted to form a garden club to turn to her. Mrs. Meikleham agreed to form the club in 1924 and would only become its president if the whole island was represented. She stipulated that the club must be “a constructive civic force and not just an excuse for pink teas and purple plumes.”

The club’s mission was to preserve the island’s natural beauty, its trees, wildflowers and birds. She later admitted, “I harped on about it so much that ‘Our island is our garden’ became the club’s motto,” and it remains so to this day.

One area the club tackled was ending the destructive felling of trees along the island’s roads. Under the leadership of Mrs Meikleham, they managed to persuade arborists to be more cautious in their pruning, thus preserving the wild growth and natural hedges and making the Vineyard famous for its attractive green roadsides.

Mrs Meikleham and the club have devoted all their energy to eradicating tree-damaging pests such as the gypsy moth and the squirrel moth, by employing school children to collect nests or by lending sprayers to towns, with considerable success.

In 1928, the club raised money to send a Harvard Medical School expert to the island to look for ways to reduce the tick population – another project ahead of its time.

Mrs Meikleham was also the driving force behind a major campaign to ban billboards that were mushrooming to advertise products such as cigarettes and supplies. Even “some very obnoxious political posters had a rash effect,” she wrote in 1938. In a club yearbook, she described an oversized sign with its “vicious electric eyes so that even in the withering darkness it will not be forgotten.”

Undaunted, Mrs Meikleham persuaded all club members to boycott national and local businesses that advertised with billboards. Some members had to forgo buying their favorite cigarettes. Despite all the difficulties, the Garden Club was successful when it was finally recognized that the billboards were actually destroying the charm of the island. Their lasting effects were still being felt in 1974, when the crew of Jaws were firmly instructed by a club official that they were only allowed to put up and film the large “Welcome to Amity” sign for a period of 24 hours, or something would happen.

Even the lack of hot dog stands at Oak Bluffs State Beach is largely thanks to Ms. Meikleham, who was the first to advocate for state protection of the popular beach.

During the Depression, the Vineyard Gazette alerted the public that the old stone walls further up the island were being sold and taken away to be used to build bridges. Mrs. Meikleham and the members of the Garden Club lamented their demolition and worked hard to prevent further destruction. Thanks to their efforts, we can still admire the surviving stone walls today as we drive along the roads further up the island.

In 1938, Mrs. Meikleham noticed disturbing activity around the early 19th century Old Mill in West Tisbury and learned that it was slated for demolition. Again, Mrs. Meikleham could not stand idly by. She and her staff were able to lease the building with an option to buy, preserving this historic landmark. In 1942, it became their clubhouse, which it remains to this day.

Given her dockside address, one might assume that Mrs. Meikleham lived a comfortable life and had plenty of free time for her activism. However, her personal life was marred by the death of her youngest daughter and financial difficulties. By the late 1930s, after years of fundraising for good causes and instinctively “stripping off her clothes down to her shirt to give to someone less clothed,” Mrs. Meikleham fell into hardship. Only her daughter’s entrepreneurial efforts to set up a mail order jam, jelly and cake business enabled her family to remain in their beloved home with its manicured garden. Such problems would have slowed, if not stopped, other people, but Mrs. Meikleham continued her tireless civic leadership.

Henry Beetle Hough, former editor of the Vineyard Gazette, was a friend and admirer of Mrs. Meikleham. Speaking at the Garden Club’s 25th anniversary celebration, Mr. Hough noted that there are many cartoons mocking the ladies of the Garden Club. He firmly acknowledged, however, that this stereotype in no way applies to the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club. Mr. Hough gave them full credit for their efforts in making the island what it is today: free of large signs, visible dumps of garbage and thoughtless destruction of wild plants and trees.

The Club’s original focus has expanded to include many others, including Mr. Hough himself, who founded the Sheriff’s Meadow organization in 1958-59. Today, many other organizations continue their efforts to preserve the natural beauty and historic buildings of Martha’s Vineyard. As we know, their work is essential as overbuilding, excessive development, destruction of natural habitat, pond pollution and natural erosion are all detrimental to the environmental health of Martha’s Vineyard. In honor of Mrs. Meikleham and the valuable conservation and educational activities of Garden Club members over the past century, please attend these summer events to celebrate their efforts.

To raise money for the renovation of the Old Mill in West Tisbury and to celebrate the Garden Club’s centennial, several events are being held this summer. There will be a garden walk on July 25, starting on North Water Street in Edgartown. A festive centennial garden party will be held on August 1 in Mrs. Meikleham’s former dock garden. And throughout the summer, exhibits celebrating the Garden Club’s centennial will be held at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum and the Carnegie Heritage Center.

For event details, visit marthasvineyardgardenclub.org.

Jane Bradbury lives in Edgartown. She is a member of the Garden Club’s Old Mill Committee.