From the Vineyard Gazette of October 20, 2006

In His Own Words: Gerry E. Studds (1937-2006)

What follows are excerpts from the remarks made by Congressman Studds when he traveled to the Vineyard in January of 1995 to announce that after twelve straight terms, he would not seek re-election to the tenth congressional district.

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I chose to discuss my plans here on Martha's Vineyard because, in a way, this is where that special trust I mentioned earlier began - in that first Open Meeting in 1973.

That is how you and I have always done our business - together, without fanfare, taking time to ask and explain and maybe even argue a little, and then rolling up our sleeves to get back to work.

That first trip home was a three-day swing through the Islands. In case your grandparents failed to mention it, we returned home that winter day feeling pretty good. In losing the 1970 election by the thinnest of margins, we had failed to carry a single town on either Nantucket or the Vineyard; in fact, we had won a total of one town in all of the Cape and Islands.

Then came the electoral earthquake of 1972. Not only did we win, again by a handful of votes, but we astonished everyone by taking Provincetown, Truro and West Tisbury!

I think it's fair to observe that times have changed.

What has not changed are the bedrock principles of wisdom, honesty and friendship on this Island, personified for me by two people who are not with us today: Betty Bryant, who could drown you in Portuguese guilt if you spent less than 20 of any 24 hours improving the lives of others - because she never had such days; and Gratia Harrington, proud Yankee daughter of an Island sea captain, whose strength, dignity and wit reserved her a front-row-center seat at every one of our Vineyard Open Meetings, well past her 100th birthday . . .

From the Irish moss gathered off Cohasset and Scituate ledges as a boy and the lobster traps I pull these days in Provincetown Harbor, to the marine environmental notches on our proud legislative belt, nearly everything of consequence that you and I care about derives from a deep love and respect for the ocean . . .

Not everyone, however, shares our devotion to salt water.

You may have noticed, for example, that the new majority has not only eliminated the congressional committee that makes ocean policy, but also targeted the federal agency that administers it.

This kind of "reform" will undermine everything from Pacific tsunami warnings to the million-dollar-a-year whale-watching industry on Stellwagen Bank . . .

This district is a microcosm of the nation - rich in human resources and rich in human problems. We are cities and suburbs, countrysides and islands – we are a living reminder of the origins of us all, with a substantial and continuing immigration of new Americans, whether they arrive speaking Portuguese or Vietnamese.

Never has an elected representative been so blessed by the beauty of his district and by the decency and common sense of his constituents. You have stood with me in times of triumph and in times of extraordinary personal challenge. For that I am profoundly grateful.

In turn, you and I both owe another debt of thanks to a small number of remarkable people whose labor, by definition, goes unnoticed and unheralded. The truth, however, is that so very much of the real work is done by - and the real credit for the considerable success we have enjoyed belongs to - the members of my staff.

I could not name a single accomplishment over the last two decades that would have come to fruition without the competence, creativity and sweat of these dedicated individuals. They are devoted public servants, who spend inhuman numbers of hours to see that the potential of this region is realized in the federal arena. These are my friends and colleagues, whom it has been a privilege to work beside. They have meant more to the cities and towns of this district than will ever be fully acknowledged.

As I gathered my thoughts to chat with you today, I thought a lot about an Island resident who taught many of us about things of lasting value, Henry Beetle Hough. Because my favorite of his books was Tuesday Will Be Different, I would always ask him whether he was really sure the next one would be different.

As if this surprises anyone, Henry now gets the last word. For me, at least, the first Tuesday of November 1996 will be very different indeed.

For the privilege of being allowed to speak and vote in your name - for the last 23 years and over the next 14 months - I thank you with all my heart.