Martha’s Vineyard Jewish History Presented at Island’s Museum

For a number of years, my family and I have spent summer vacations on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. A popular New England destination, just south of Cape Cod, the island boasts a surfeit of sandy beaches, stretches of fertile farmland, charming old churches and historic harbor towns. Time there is spent bike riding, walking, swimming, grilling fresh fish, reading, and patronizing farmers’ markets and other local businesses. Many artists live or vacation on the island, lured by the special island light, and there are a generous number of art galleries, many of which I’ve explored. This summer, however, I branched out from my usual haunts and for the first time visited the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

Formerly in Edgartown on the eastern side of the island, the museum, which is poised to celebrate its centennial next year,moved in 2019 to its new home in the stunningly renovated historic United States Marine Hospital in the town of Vineyard Haven. Perched on a hill, the former hospital, which was built in 1895, has a commanding view of the sea, light- filled exhibition spaces and, somewhat to my surprise, a current exhibition on the history of the Jewish community on the island.

Titled “They Planted the Seeds: Creating Jewish Community on Martha’s Vineyard,” the exhibition, which features photographs, artifacts and delightful oral histories, has been on view since May and closes on September 18. The show tells the story of how the first Jews came to the island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily from

Eastern Europe. Although the The Cronig family Holshanetzkys (Hall) family was possibly the first to settle on the island, Lithuanian-born Sam Cronig, who arrived in 1905 after fleeing from the Cossacks, is recognized as the pioneer settler. The Brickman and Issokson families followed shortly thereafter, opening clothing and dry goods stores.

Coming to an isolated island, not speaking the language, with little or no funds, these men and women were somehow able, within a very few years, to establish some of the biggest and most successful businesses on the island—grocery stores, real estate businesses, shoe stores, tea rooms, inns and clothing stores. Children often worked in these businesses along with their parents and some took over after their parents retired. A number of those businesses, notably Cronig’s grocery and Brickman’s clothing, are still thriving today.