Memories
April 12, 2026
Eighteen years ago, Joyce moderated a panel discussion among six Oak Bluffs residents who had lived long lives in town. Growing Up in Oak Bluffs was filmed at the Oak Bluffs Library on May 8, 2008, for the Oak Bluffs Historical Commission.
The 90-minute DVD was stored in the library and promptly forgotten. Yesterday, it was unearthed and shown to a very receptive audience at the Library. Joyce offered a brief introduction of the program to an audience eager to hear the stories and banter of life from long ago. Over thirty people enthusiastically enjoyed watching the old timers kibitz and share their memories.
The stalwart panel was made up of Kerry Alley, Don Billings, Bert Combra, Catherine Deese, Virginia Costa Hall and Billy Norton.
What emerged was a snapshot of growing up in the shadow of World War II in a tight knit neighborhood on Vineyard Avenue, affectionally known as Chicken Street. Everyone worked hard and families supported one another whenever necessary. Memories emerged of Lover’s Rock at Pay Beach and the bathhouses, destroyed in the Hurricane of 1944. Walking home from school for lunch was de rigueur. Childhood memories, from delivering telegrams by bicycle to eating store-bought meat once a week, were shared.
Joyce moderated the discussion which was occasionally animated in the delivery of the memoirs. Her questions kept the panel focused, and it proved a well-delivered summary of their collective recollections.
Three of the half-dozen panelists were in yesterday’s audience and very pleased to have participated in the original program. They savored their comments from nearly two decades ago. Now that the video has been retrieved from the archives, the Library plans to post the production on their website.
What memories!
Tom and Joyce Dresser
