George Mathiesen Dies at Age 84

Vintner and Farmer Led Commission in Early Days

George H. Mathiesen, a well-known Vineyard figure who with his wife
Catherine founded Chicama Vineyards in West Tisbury, the first bonded
winery in the commonwealth and the first successful winery on the
Atlantic coast, died Monday at the age of 84.

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A retired broadcast executive who moved to the Vineyard in 1971, Mr.
Mathiesen forged a life on the Vineyard as a farmer, family man, quiet
conservationist and political leader. He was a charter member of the
Martha's Vineyard Commission and served as chairman of the
commission for a number of years. He also served as chairman of the
board of directors at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.

He and his wife built Chicama Vineyards from the ground up, clearing
the land themselves.

"There are no vineyards of any size producing wine grapes in
Massachusetts," he told the Vineyard Gazette in a 1972 interview.
"So if we're successful it will be the first time since the
late 1600s that they will be an important Massachusetts product."

Three years ago he told Hollis L. Engley in an interview with the
Martha's Vineyard Magazine: "It's been hard.
We've fought the deer, who love grapevines; and fought the frost,
which can be deadly. You fight for recognition of your product . . . and
it takes a long time to be good at what you do. There are a lot of
hardships connected with it, but we're out the other side and
indeed it is a success."

George Harry Mathiesen was born in Centerville, Calif., the son of
George Washington and Luella Mathiesen.

Fascinated by radio and television, George went to work at KSFO in
San Francisco as a transmission engineer. During World War II he served
as a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy, focusing on radio
and radar countermeasures. Stationed in England, Italy and Morocco, he
surveyed the coasts of France and Italy, gathering information about
German radar installations. He served on the USS Ancon during the
invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

After the war, George was a research engineer at the Naval Research
Laboratory in Washington, D.C. where he met Catherine Frances Ryan. They
were married on Sept. 15, 1945.

George returned to San Francisco after the war where he was
technical director at television station KPIX. In 1951, he was the chief
engineer for the first live coast-to-coast broadcast of the Japanese
Peace Conference. While at KPIX, he received an Emmy award for the first
live telecast of open heart surgery and also for the news programs he
later developed.

Fascinated by wine and grapes, George and Catherine and their six
children moved to Martha's Vineyard in 1971 to start Chicama
Vineyards, the first bonded winery in the commonwealth.

He loved the Vineyard and cared deeply about its future. He was
elected as a member of the first Martha's Vineyard Commission in
1974. Records in the Vineyard Gazette show that he received 1,250 votes
in the at-large election. He later became the second chairman of the
commission. Mr. Mathiesen presided over the commission during a time of
controversy and uncertainty in the aftermath of the furor over the
Kennedy Bill, an unprecedented proposal for federal legislation to
protect the two Islands. Developers had just begun to carve the Island
into grid-style suburban communities, and the first commission had to
feel its way amid much skepticism.

"Whatever else it has accomplished in its first two years, the
Martha's Vineyard Commission, anyone can see, has nourished its
critics," the Vineyard Gazette mused in an editorial in 1976.

Through it all, Mr. Mathiesen kept a steady hand on the tiller.

"He was a wonderful chairman. He seemed to just have a natural
ability for it," said Edith W. Potter, a Chappaquiddick resident
who served on the commission in the early years alongside Mr. Mathiesen.
"I thought the world of him and I think he was very instrumental
in getting the commission on its feet. Because he was quiet people
responded to him. Those were the years that we were creating the
districts of critical planning concern and it took a tremendous amount
of work and he was very supportive of all the committees that were
working so hard. When I look back now it is amazing what was
accomplished, especially by a bunch of amateurs."

Mrs. Potter also recalled Mr. Mathiesen as a conservationist and
farmer who loved to be out on his tractor.

"He loved the land around him and I think he did an awful lot
for the Vineyard," she said.

In the Martha's Vineyard Magazine interview Mr. Mathiesen
reflected on the subject of land use and conservation.

"We all want it to stay the same," he said. "We
want it to be like it used to be, whatever that is. We all think,
wouldn't it be nice if we could pass it on to future generations?
And we know we can't."

Mr. Mathiesen is survived by his wife Catherine, his children Kris,
Lynn, Paul, Mike, Tim and Sean; their partners Stewart, Alex, Dana,
Robin, and Delphine; and his grandchildren Chance, Wyndham, Hugo, and
Rosemary, and her partner Chris.

Donations in his name may be made to the Martha's Vineyard
Hospital. A private service will be held at a later date.