C. Baer
@cbaer.bsky.social
Teacher, columnist, nerd. Oak Bluffs, MA.
Church at Nomans Land, August 1912.
December 5, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Church at Nomans Land, August 1912.
Students of the Locust Grove School, a public school on Indian Hill Road in West Tisbury, Mass., circa 1885-87. Horace Lovell, the teacher, vanished mysteriously in May 1909. Eight months later a trapper discovered his skeleton face down in a brook, a short distance from a path used by the children.
November 25, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Students of the Locust Grove School, a public school on Indian Hill Road in West Tisbury, Mass., circa 1885-87. Horace Lovell, the teacher, vanished mysteriously in May 1909. Eight months later a trapper discovered his skeleton face down in a brook, a short distance from a path used by the children.
"Freddie Punk" in West Tisbury, Mass. Frederick Lee "Punk" Norton (1879-1948) was a Vineyard Haven fisherman + day laborer who worked as a West Tisbury farmer for a spell during the 1910s and '20s. His brother Luther had a hen farm on Mill Road, near the Chilmark border, where Fred lived for years.
November 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
"Freddie Punk" in West Tisbury, Mass. Frederick Lee "Punk" Norton (1879-1948) was a Vineyard Haven fisherman + day laborer who worked as a West Tisbury farmer for a spell during the 1910s and '20s. His brother Luther had a hen farm on Mill Road, near the Chilmark border, where Fred lived for years.
View east over Vineyard Haven, MA, toward Cottage City, 1880s-90s. Taken from a house on the hill near the corner of Center Street and what's now Pine Street.
November 14, 2025 at 11:03 AM
View east over Vineyard Haven, MA, toward Cottage City, 1880s-90s. Taken from a house on the hill near the corner of Center Street and what's now Pine Street.
Samuel Mead of New York, a wealthy young firearm inventor, organized a “shark-shooting frolic” on Martha’s Vineyard in 1875. As he rushed to leave home with his new homemade machine gun, his hair-trigger weapon struck a piece of furniture, firing a bullet into his forehead and killing him instantly.
June 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Samuel Mead of New York, a wealthy young firearm inventor, organized a “shark-shooting frolic” on Martha’s Vineyard in 1875. As he rushed to leave home with his new homemade machine gun, his hair-trigger weapon struck a piece of furniture, firing a bullet into his forehead and killing him instantly.
1915. “Big as a man, but rather short” with big white teeth, hairy body, and long tail, reported Forrest Bosworth. It "made for" Welcome Tilton, who fled. George Eustis watched it rob his henhouse. Martha Murray saw it off North Road and declared, “It wasn’t a man.” Remarkable stories were rife.
May 12, 2025 at 11:35 PM
1915. “Big as a man, but rather short” with big white teeth, hairy body, and long tail, reported Forrest Bosworth. It "made for" Welcome Tilton, who fled. George Eustis watched it rob his henhouse. Martha Murray saw it off North Road and declared, “It wasn’t a man.” Remarkable stories were rife.
MY Mom saved a ton of cartoons she drew on index cards in high school. Here's one she drew in 1948, as a sophomore at Tisbury High School.
May 12, 2025 at 12:01 AM
MY Mom saved a ton of cartoons she drew on index cards in high school. Here's one she drew in 1948, as a sophomore at Tisbury High School.
The life and death of Myra (Blankenship) Reehle (1866-1893) of Edgartown, Mass. and her husband Jacob, who was sworn to secrecy by U.S. President Grover Cleveland for his actions afterward.
April 30, 2025 at 10:15 PM
The life and death of Myra (Blankenship) Reehle (1866-1893) of Edgartown, Mass. and her husband Jacob, who was sworn to secrecy by U.S. President Grover Cleveland for his actions afterward.
A racially-fuelled fight broke out on Martha's Vineyard in 1958 between 21+ teenagers carrying switchblades, pipes, and broken bottles. It made national news. Among those acquitted was Lloyd Weaver, 17, g-g-grandson of Frederick Douglass, who later became a producer at CBS News and Nigerian TV.
April 20, 2025 at 11:17 AM
A racially-fuelled fight broke out on Martha's Vineyard in 1958 between 21+ teenagers carrying switchblades, pipes, and broken bottles. It made national news. Among those acquitted was Lloyd Weaver, 17, g-g-grandson of Frederick Douglass, who later became a producer at CBS News and Nigerian TV.
In 1883, Richard G. Shute of Edgartown, Mass., filed patent #284338 for a set of eight android shoemakers.
April 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
In 1883, Richard G. Shute of Edgartown, Mass., filed patent #284338 for a set of eight android shoemakers.
Providence gangster Joseph Fisher, one of two men charged in the 1929 robbery of the steamship company in Oak Bluffs. The Labor Day safe heist was probably the first time explosives were used on the island for criminal ends. By 1935 Fisher had become “Rhode Island’s Public Enemy No. 1.”
February 28, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Providence gangster Joseph Fisher, one of two men charged in the 1929 robbery of the steamship company in Oak Bluffs. The Labor Day safe heist was probably the first time explosives were used on the island for criminal ends. By 1935 Fisher had become “Rhode Island’s Public Enemy No. 1.”
Interior of Bill Ripley’s diner, “Nonpareil” on Oak Bluffs Avenue, Oak Bluffs, MA. "This was a very popular place for the young night set in the 1920s," recalled my grandfather.
February 7, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Interior of Bill Ripley’s diner, “Nonpareil” on Oak Bluffs Avenue, Oak Bluffs, MA. "This was a very popular place for the young night set in the 1920s," recalled my grandfather.
The 632-foot Edgartown-Chappaquiddick bridge, designed in 1925. The 20-foot-wide cement slab roadway would rise 50 feet above the water and provide conduits for water, gas, electricity, and telephone wires. Chappy residents “will have the advantage of fire and police protection,” it was promised.
January 30, 2025 at 12:34 AM
The 632-foot Edgartown-Chappaquiddick bridge, designed in 1925. The 20-foot-wide cement slab roadway would rise 50 feet above the water and provide conduits for water, gas, electricity, and telephone wires. Chappy residents “will have the advantage of fire and police protection,” it was promised.
Elijah became a carpenter + city watchman in Troy, NY until his death in 1845 upon "blowing out his brains with a pistol", according to the papers. His teen daughter married a whaler 21 years her elder and moved to Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven), Mass. What became of her two brothers is unknown.
January 27, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Elijah became a carpenter + city watchman in Troy, NY until his death in 1845 upon "blowing out his brains with a pistol", according to the papers. His teen daughter married a whaler 21 years her elder and moved to Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven), Mass. What became of her two brothers is unknown.
My g-g-g-grandfather's math schoolbook, 1808, Nassau, NY. Many pages are dedicated to practicing conversions between New York dollars, New Jersey dollars, Massachusetts dollars, etc. ...At that time, every state had its own currency system, and their dollars were not equal.
January 27, 2025 at 12:33 AM
My g-g-g-grandfather's math schoolbook, 1808, Nassau, NY. Many pages are dedicated to practicing conversions between New York dollars, New Jersey dollars, Massachusetts dollars, etc. ...At that time, every state had its own currency system, and their dollars were not equal.
The Improved Order of Red Men (and its ladies' counterpart, The Degree of Pocahontas) was popular here in the early 20th century. The members, none of whom were Native American, wore long black wigs, feathered war bonnets, and fringed buckskin outfits. Until 1974, it was open to white members only.
January 25, 2025 at 1:22 PM
The Improved Order of Red Men (and its ladies' counterpart, The Degree of Pocahontas) was popular here in the early 20th century. The members, none of whom were Native American, wore long black wigs, feathered war bonnets, and fringed buckskin outfits. Until 1974, it was open to white members only.
Roaring Brook, Chilmark, MA. Ruins of the old brick factory.
January 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Roaring Brook, Chilmark, MA. Ruins of the old brick factory.
In 1860, the teacher, Mr. William West, of the Chilmark (Mass.) Southeast District School, was openly transgender. He had grown up as a girl named Rebecca. But in 1850, with the help of his father, a storied whaling captain, he legally changed his name at age 15. He later became a Quincy realtor.
January 20, 2025 at 11:38 AM
In 1860, the teacher, Mr. William West, of the Chilmark (Mass.) Southeast District School, was openly transgender. He had grown up as a girl named Rebecca. But in 1850, with the help of his father, a storied whaling captain, he legally changed his name at age 15. He later became a Quincy realtor.
The first passenger elevator on Martha's Vineyard was steam-driven. It was built in 1872 for the Sea View hotel, next to the steamship wharf in Oak Bluffs. “All rooms are provided with speaking tubes, water, and gas,” reads an 1873 report. The Sea View burned down in a massive 1892 fire.
January 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The first passenger elevator on Martha's Vineyard was steam-driven. It was built in 1872 for the Sea View hotel, next to the steamship wharf in Oak Bluffs. “All rooms are provided with speaking tubes, water, and gas,” reads an 1873 report. The Sea View burned down in a massive 1892 fire.
In 1818, John Symmes published a theory that “the earth is hollow, and habitable within,” with openings at the North and South Poles. Inside was a “warm and rich land, stocked with thrifty vegetables and animals, if not men.” They became known as "Symmes Holes", or after 1861 as "Holmes’ Hole".
January 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM
In 1818, John Symmes published a theory that “the earth is hollow, and habitable within,” with openings at the North and South Poles. Inside was a “warm and rich land, stocked with thrifty vegetables and animals, if not men.” They became known as "Symmes Holes", or after 1861 as "Holmes’ Hole".
It arrived in Vineyard Haven Harbor just after midnight on August 8, 1888. “The Joggins” measured 592 feet in length, and was said to be the largest raft ever constructed. Composed of 24,000 logs from the Bay of Fundy, it was 55 feet wide and bound with 45 miles of cabling, bound for New York.
January 5, 2025 at 11:44 PM
It arrived in Vineyard Haven Harbor just after midnight on August 8, 1888. “The Joggins” measured 592 feet in length, and was said to be the largest raft ever constructed. Composed of 24,000 logs from the Bay of Fundy, it was 55 feet wide and bound with 45 miles of cabling, bound for New York.
The first open-ended ferry to visit Martha's Vineyard was in 1876, decades before the first automobiles. It was a railroad steamer, with tracks laid directly onto its deck. Trains rolled right on, and at the end of the sea voyage, rolled right off again onto the tracks on the other side.
January 3, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The first open-ended ferry to visit Martha's Vineyard was in 1876, decades before the first automobiles. It was a railroad steamer, with tracks laid directly onto its deck. Trains rolled right on, and at the end of the sea voyage, rolled right off again onto the tracks on the other side.
The Pagoda on the boardwalk near Ocean Park in Cottage City (Oak Bluffs), MA. Sea View hotel in the background. Built in the early 1870s. Customers were served at the octagonal-shaped counter at its center, and a set of stairs led to the bottom floor which opened up to the beach.
December 28, 2024 at 8:03 PM
The Pagoda on the boardwalk near Ocean Park in Cottage City (Oak Bluffs), MA. Sea View hotel in the background. Built in the early 1870s. Customers were served at the octagonal-shaped counter at its center, and a set of stairs led to the bottom floor which opened up to the beach.
1923. Santa beard malfunction, Vineyard Haven, Mass.
December 26, 2024 at 1:41 AM
1923. Santa beard malfunction, Vineyard Haven, Mass.