When the magazine began

Today he’s better known as William “Waterways” Marks, a man who crusades for water issues, who plays Native American flute, and who writes poetry. But here at Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, we think of him as the founding publisher.

The launch cover in 1985 with Walter Cronkite.

In 1985 William published the first of sixteen magazines under his leadership. Then in 1990, he sold the magazine to the Vineyard Gazette. In his farewell address in the Spring 1990 edition, he wrote, “The idea for starting Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, as well as the magazine I created on Nantucket (Nantucket Journal), was to bring people a vehicle for embellishing the cultural heritage on each of the islands. In so doing, the underlying motive was to convey a subliminal environmental message in each issue of the magazines.”

The early magazines addressed serious environmental issues such as coastal erosion, but William published a well-rounded magazine, with profiles of Vineyarders and articles on other issues such as real estate and history. He also had a propensity for putting celebrities in the magazine. The first edition featured Walter Cronkite on the cover and an essay by the newsman and Edgartown sailor, who died last year, opened the magazine. As a nod to that first edition, we open this anniversary issue with that same essay.

We’d like to thank William for his continuous support of the magazine and for his cooperation as we’ve put together this anniversary edition.

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