When congregations return at last to Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs, they will be greeted by an old acquaintance as they’ve never seen — or heard — it before.
On Jan. 6, 1961, U.S District Court Judge W. A. Bootle ordered the immediate admission of two black students to the University of Georgia, ending 160 years of segregation at the school.
The new pews are still empty, and the fresh pine they are built from won’t begin to creak until parishioners arrive later this month, adding their imprint to the long history of the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs.
The Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust confirmed this week that it will buy Union Chapel, the storied Oak Bluffs chapel whose rich history forms a distinct chapter in the annals of the Vineyard as a summer resort.
