Dr. Jack Thomas Family

I first came to Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1969, the year that Ted Kennedy proved himself to be such a good swimmer. That was the year in which traffic jams caused by morbid curiosity seekers trying to see the infamous Dike Bridge, stretched all the way back through Edgartown, sometimes as far as the triangle. It was also the year, if I remember correctly, that men first landed on the moon. Which was the most significant event? Certainly not my coming to the Vineyard. One of the other events may have changed the course of American presidential history; the other, who knows?

 

I came to the Vineyard at the urging of Allan McDowell, the father of Ba Dutton and Lanny McDowell. Allan had been a patient of Benjamin White, the senior partner in our medical partnership. When Ben retired, Allan, even though he lived way out in Kent, Connecticut,continued to come to Hartford to see me for medical advice. In the spring of 1969 it came out in conversation that my family and I were planning a summer vacation on Cape Cod. Allan expostulated " Oh no, Jack, come to the Vineyard instead ! "

 

Fortunately I was able to extricate myself from the Cape Cod arrangements, and we rented the main house at Crow's Nest for three weeks that year, and the Mess House for the next two years. Russ and Barbara Hart were our landlords

 

Allan was a tireless advocate for Harthaven and eventually convinced me to buy the lot back here in the woods where my house now is. I have been coming here ever since.

 

A few more words about Allan McDowell. He was a courtly Virginia gentleman who used to speak fondly of growing up near the North Fork of the James River. I think he would have found me some property there if I shown any interest. He was an accomplished artist and architect. His small house, perched between Seaview Avenue and Ice House Pond, was a masterpiece of design. Its interior reminded one of the interior of a yacht, with custom designed storage areas for almost everything in the house. It was similar in design to the Lehmann house in Harthaven, which he also designed.

 

Allan was a great raconteur, and appreciated the finer things of life. Among these fine things was a cocktail called a Negroni, named after some obscure Italian nobleman. For those who don't know, a Negroni is made of equal parts of gin,sweet vermouth and Campari over ice. Orson Welles also liked Negronis, and was once quoted as saying that the bitters are good for your liver, the gin is bad for you, but they cancel each other out. Allan's yardstick for judging the quality of a restaurant was to be able to walk in, order a Negroni, and have the bartender know how to make one without having to look it up. Only a few restaurants made the cut.

 

I once had a piece of laboratory glassware known as a graduated cylinder which I presented to Allan. He was greatly pleased, knowing that he would henceforth be able to make Negronis with absolute accuracy. Jack Thomas.