There is a centennial house on East Chop, and last week the owners put on an afternoon birthday party for the old girl. Robert S. Blacklow and his wife Winifred (Wini) dressed up for the occasion; the house was dressed up too.

The house at 143 Munroe avenue looked the part. Set back from East Chop Drive, the old summer bungalow has a wide porch furnished with classic wicker furniture. Inside there is more period furniture and a huge fireplace.

The party was a social gathering on the porch with plenty of ice cream and topping choices for sundaes. Two 24-by-18-inch birthday cakes with vanilla and chocolate frosting were made by Betsy Perrine, a caterer. Each cake was topped with a black and white photograph of the house. The Blacklows set the dining room table with 1910 cups, silverware and saucers. Much of the furniture in the house has remained unchanged through the years, adding to its charm.

In a bedroom, a bed was neatly made and covered with a 1920s flapper dress. On one side of the living room wall there was an untouched collection of Agricultural Fair posters dating back to the 1970s.

Mr. Blacklow, 76, has owned the house with his wife for 33 years. They live in Lincoln. He is a retired medical educator and a visiting professor at the Harvard Medical School, where he teaches medical ethics.

Each summer they come to the Vineyard as soon as the weather allows and they stay until it gets too cold in the house, which is not insulated. Mr. Blacklow and his wife love the old house and cherish the many stories that go with it.

The house was built by a New York investment banker, Melville B. Fuller, who first came to the Vineyard in 1910 with his family and rented a house near where the Blacklow house now stands. “They had such a good time that he [Mr. Fuller] said to his family: ‘If you promise to summer here for the next five years, I will build you a house.’ The house was built in the fall of 1910.”

Mr. Blacklow found the story of the house from a book written by Mr. Fuller’s daughter, Dorothy.

He said the second owner of the house, Fred Farnam, bought the property in 1957.

About 80 people attended the house party; there was singing, with printed lyrics passed around. The party-goers cheerfully sang along to the old tune Meet Me in St. Louis.

Mr. Blacklow said he and his wife gave a lot of thought to the event. “Ice cream socials and sing-alongs were the passion of the day. We asked our guests to wear vintage period clothing,” he said. Quite a few did. Straw bowlers were in evidence.

Mr. Blacklow timed the party to coincide with the visit of the great-grandchildren of the original builder; brothers Jim and Peter Park of Utah and their families were on hand for the occasion. “Every June they rent the house next door,” Mr. Blacklow said. The families gave the Blacklows a gift, plus a new piece of information about their house: they said the house had the nickname of Kemah.

“That was the nickname. It is an Indian word that means wind in your face,” Mr. Blacklow said.