A lot has changed in the six decades I have been visiting the island, but the tradition of throwing pennies overboard as the ferry rounds Brant Point to ensure a traveler’s safe return remains.
In the 60s the winter population was 4,000 and swelled to 10,000 in the summer. You had to explain to people where the island was. People named their houses- nobody knew their house number. There was Postal service only. The fire horn blew at noon. One gardener for the whole village. Not easy to get to, never easy to leave. There used to be a comforting sameness, year after year.
Today, the winter population has grown closer to 15,000 residents and the summer population is 80,000. UPS and FedEx have joined the hundreds of landscaping and service trucks that run around daily.
Even though 53% of the island is held in conservation, the roads and beaches are overwhelmed with vehicular traffic and PFAS has leeched into wells.
I still revert to using the names of shops and the owners of houses I knew as a child, so only a select few know what I am talking about:)
At least Erica Wilson and Mitchel’s Book Corner are still on Main Street to keep me grounded while so many other things change. It took me days to find The Bake Shop-but the original proprietor was still there, as gracious as ever.
Who knows what I’ll find next time around.