Mary Oliver
The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. —Mary Oliver
July 29, 2011
A Healthier YOuth
Childhood obesity is one of the nation’s fastest growing problems. At this point in time, almost one out of every three young Americans is overweight. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled over the past three years. In order to have a healthy America in the future, we must start with the youth and teach…
At Home in the Kitchen and the Bushes
By REMY TUMIN
Max Eagan has always known the kitchen is where he belongs. He’s worked in restaurants since he was 14, studied under Island chefs such as Joe DaSilva and now he’s the executive chef of the Lambert’s Cove Inn, all without ever stepping foot in a culinary school.
Comedy Delights as Lost Boys Reunite
First, let it be said that on the evening this critic attended the Vineyard Playhouse’s outdoor performance of The Comedy of Errors, Friday, July 22, when the weather was so warm it felt as if the entire Island was holding a Bikrum hot yoga class (for those unfamiliar with the workout, the purpose is to…
Ninety-Nine Per Cent Perspiration Plays Major Role in Show’s Genius
Acting is an endurance sport. Don’t believe it? Go to the Grange Hall any Thursday, Friday or Saturday night for the rest of the summer and see one man’s theatrical version of the Ironman Triathlon.
Beaded Necklaces to Steam Punk , What a Long, Creative Trip It’s Been
Cynthia McGrath has always followed her heart — and at one point, the Grateful Dead. “I had started beading before college as a hobby,” Mrs. McGrath recalled in a telephone interview. “It was a way to make enough money follow the Dead around. That’s how it started in the very, very beginning. I was a…
Comedy Delights as Lost Boys Reunite
“Hi, is this Tim Conway?”
“Depends. Are you a bill collector?”
Already I’m laughing over the telephone. The comedian, star of movies and two of television’s most successful series of all time — McHale’s Navy which aired in the 1960s, and the 1970s Carol Burnett Show — is most likely older than 25,…
Where the Wild Things Rest: Periwinkle Textiles, Art Return
Chickadees flit through the chicory as wrens weave through rugosa, and monarchs quake the milkweed with each tremor of their small wings. But this isn’t where the wild things are — rather, it’s Periwinkle Studio in the Arts District of Oak Bluffs.
Judy Drew Schubert, the owner, opened her gallery to the public…
Come Sing a Song With Your Neighbors
Eleven-year-old Sophie Donohue doesn’t have far to travel for the Community Sing each week. During the summer she lives with her family in the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground. Sophie’s Vineyard experience could be described as a time to swim, sail and, of course, sing.
On Wednesday, July 20, at the third Community Sing…
Caring for the Ties That Bind, Whether Books or Soundboards
In an ever more digitized world, Mitzi Pratt and Flip Scipio still work by hand. On separate levels of their two-story Moshup Trail studio, these artisans rely not on machines but on their knowledge, skill and experience. Though their mediums are different — Ms. Pratt is a bookbinder and Mr. Scipio makes guitars — their…
Looking Back on Always Moving Forward
Chilmark artist Jules S. Worthington believes the creativity that drives him is fundamental. It is the breath of life, in good times and not so good times.
His home off Tea Lane overflows with signs of it. Every wall, from the kitchen to the den, has his paintings on display. They are bright,…
Black Dog Sailing Dash Weathers Storm
The Coast Guard marine radio weather alarm sounded 20 minutes after race organizer Dave Koshiol had started Saturday’s 22nd Black Dog Dash multihull race: “Severe thunderstorm front with lightening fast approaching. Take immediate cover.”
From the committee boat, Mr. Koshiol gave the abort race command. Fifteen New England Multihull Association skippers and crews were…
Catching Fish and Fun Aboard the Skipper
Fishing may not be for everyone, but the Skipper certainly is. A charter boat operating out of Oak Bluffs, the Skipper is a cheerful vessel that takes out two fishing charters every day of the week except Sunday, which just has one. Helmed for the past 24 years by Capt. John Potter, a ride on…
Mink Meadows Links a Community The Old Vineyard Way: No Jacket Required
To the newly arrived hacker on the Island, Mink Meadows sounds like some kind of luxury fur farm. But Vineyard golfers know better.
For 75 years now, the Mink Meadows Golf Club has welcomed players who appreciate its layout, condition and laid-back culture. The nine-hole track on West Chop — just a drive…
Long and Winding Road of Art
Jessica Pisano once owned the Belushi-Pisano Art Gallery in Vineyard Haven and Edgartown. She now paints full-time in Newport, Rhode Island. The results of this change to complete immersion in her art can be seen this week, July 28 through August 3, at the Dragonfly Gallery in Oak Bluffs where she will be the featured…
All the Island’s an Art Show
All the Island’s an Art Show
There is art being made on Martha’s Vineyard Island. Or to be more precise, there is a lot of wonderful art being made here. And while there are numerous galleries to visit, and some days an Islandwide gallery crawl is the perfect vacation experience, other times you…
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Are Only the Start at Old Sculpin
Artist Ned Reade will be busy at the Old Sculpin gallery this week. On Sunday, July 31, he is taking part in an art opening at Old Sculin Gallery that will also feature Rosalie Shane, Sharon McCann Daly, and Ann Howes. On Thursday, August 4 at 6 p.m., he will present a gallery talk about…
Carol Barsha, Truly
Carol Barsha, Truly
Last Friday, the Gazette highlighted the opening of an art show by Carol Barsha at the Chilmark Library. Ms. Barsha’s exhibit is entitled Twenty Years at Beetlebung Farm and features paintings that chronicle two decades spent looking at and recreating on canvas the extended life of the farm.
…
First In, Best Dressage
First In, Best Dressage
The Martha’s Vineyard Horse Council is offering a dressage show on August 14 and clinic with Bill Warren and Bill McMullin the day before, August 13.
On show day Bill McMullin will host Ride on the Side. Participants will sit with Bill during the show and he…
Celebrating Art and Life, the Della Way
Celebrating Art and Life, the Della Way
The last Saturday in July has traditionally been called changeover weekend, the time in the summer when the July people leave and the August people arrive on the Island.
Jamal Jackson’s Company To Take Teens for Residency
On Saturday, August 6, the Jamal Jackson Dance Company (JJDC) will present a program of dance entitled Footprints from My Head’s Rhythm, at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs. The dance troupe was founded in 2004 with the purpose of fusing various traditional African dance styles with contemporary movement and music. If you have ever seen…
David Crohan Plays 88 Keys to Cherie’s Recovery
On Sunday, July 31, at 8 p.m. at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, David Crohan and friends will perform a benefit concert in support of Cherie Stannard, an “Island girl” who has spent all of her summers at her family cottage in the Camp Ground. In 2010, Ms. Stannard was left paralyzed from her shoulders…
Island Piano Man
Island Piano Man
Tonight, July 29, at 8 p.m. the documentary, Miracle in a Box — A Piano Reborn, will screen at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. The movie was directed by Oscar-winning documentarian John Korty and explores the life of a prize Steinway grand piano, the diverse group of workers who restore…
Bed, Board and Bus Alerts: Youth Hostel Style Ages Well
The sign on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road is nondescript, as far as signs go. It is square, with a blue triangle painted on a white background; inside the blue triangle are pictograms of a tree and a house.
Island Idols Kahoots: Season Countdown
Rob Myers lay down his head at his kitchen table on a recent summer night, hot, frustrated but determined as ever to get the song right.
He listened intently to the sound coming from his computer.
“It’s an A to E flat,” he said to cofounding band member Elisha Wiesner, pausing…
Filmakers Catch Wave of Perseverance
A collage of shots brings a wave crashing across the prow of a sailboat; a spiraling view of a skier speeding down a gleaming white trail; a paddle reaching above the crest of a wave, easily propelling a surfboard of sorts over its peak.
Canine Consigliere Tom Shelby Does Search and Rescue Service
Mark Twain once said, “If dogs could talk, no one would own one.” Tom Shelby, a lifelong dog trainer with a specialty in search and rescue dogs, chuckles at Mr. Twain’s quote. Mr. Shelby understands canine thinking better than anyone, and still loves them.
“If we could even grasp a dog’s sense of…
Cheerleading Signups
Cheerleading Signups
If you are interested in having your daughter or son participate in the Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools junior high cheerleading program, please contact Sue Costello this summer at 508-627-9568. The program is open to students in grades six through eight. Sign up now for the fall season.
Holmes Hole Sailors Run Hot and Cool
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association continued its summer season of handicap sailboat racing from Vineyard Haven Harbor with two harbor races on July 24, 2011.
Front Line Defender of Free Speech
The overflow crowd gathered at the Chilmark Public Library to hear renowned Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz on Wednesday evening did not know it going in, but they were about to hear from an indicted felon.
An international criminal, if you will, for his offense was not committed in this country but in…
Pictures Tell the Story, People Change But Land Remains Much the Same
Fifty years ago last month, National Geographic did a full spread on Martha’s Vineyard. There were beautiful photographs and an article written about the iconic character of the place. The June 1961 issue, edges worn, cover faded, is still tucked onto bookshelves in many old Island family homes. Copies have passed from one generation to…
Meals-on-Wheels
Meals-on-Wheels
Got wheels? The Meals-on-Wheels program really needs you. Regular and substitute drivers are needed to deliver Meals-on-Wheels on Martha’s Vineyard. Drivers are needed Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Individuals, teams of two or more, or groups and businesses may adopt a route. Delivery routes include up-Island, in and…
When Going Viral Meant Passing Posters, Folkies All Flocked to the Moon-Cusser
In the summer of 1963, America was on the brink of being split apart by the tumult of the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights movement and Bob Dylan going electric.
The folk music revival was in full swing and was making a big impact in the popular culture. Martha’s Vineyard got caught…
Vineyard Haven Man Charged With Rape
A Vineyard Haven man is being held without bail on charges including rape of a child under 16 with force, following a series of incidents at his home on Saturday.
Winning Swimmers
Winning Swimmers
Three swimmers from the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA’s Makos Swim Team, 11 and 12-year-old category, recently competed in the Bay State Games, held July 9 and 10 at Harvard University and featuring swimmers from around the state.
Patrick Best took a bronze medal for third place in the 200-meter breaststroke,…
Oak Bluffs Closes Books, Looks Ahead
Oak Bluffs finally closed the books on fiscal year 2010 on Tuesday after selectmen conducted an exit interview with town auditors from Powers and Sullivan.
It wasn’t an altogether damning report from the accounting firm given the town’s recent fiscal woes but accountant Jim Powers did single out some areas that may still…
Quick CPR Response Saves Young Conch Crewman
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
An 18-year-old conch crewman was revived after being pulled overboard from his boat, submerged and brought back onboard on Wednesday morning, a few miles from Lambert’s Cove Beach.
The youth was pulled underwater from the 34-foot fishing boat Helen Irene, when his leg became entangled in the…
Drawbridge Delay
Drawbridge Delay
Traffic on the Lagoon Pond drawbridge will be limited to one lane, alternating traffic each way, from about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2, as MassHighway workers install an auxiliary motor on the drawbridge lift. Police will be on hand to direct motorists until the installation is complete.
The…
Edgartown Library Options Are Varied in Post-Grant Landscape
Edgartown selectmen expanded the duties of the library building committee this week to include the issue of the dilapidated Capt. Warren House and future use of the Carnegie Library.
Selectman and building committee chairman Michael Donaroma suggested at Monday’s meeting that now that the state library grant decision was done, the committee should…
Tisbury Considers Changing Firms After Costly Grant Writing Error
The town of Tisbury is pushing to have the Island stop using the grant-writing company whose mistake cost the Vineyard $2 million in state community development block grants for next year.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the town selectmen expressed anger and frustration at the failure by the company which made the grant applications…
We Can Make a Difference
To solve the problem of childhood obesity here on the Vineyard and throughout the nation we must start with ourselves. Everyone should make a healthier lifestyle a priority. Parents should be educated on the right food choices they should be feeding their families and exercise should be a must. As the young people of Martha’s…
Living Healthier
We the young people of Martha’s Vineyard can help promote healthier living, especially among young Americans, by teaching parents to buy healthier food, getting kids motivated, and helping kids to exercise. By using all of these techniques we could really help a lot of kids lose weight and eat healthier.
Letters to the Editor
LISA’S ORDEAL
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
I would love to talk about how Lisa Scannell, known to many as Lisa Ben David, is a dedicated member of the Martha’s Vineyard equine community, about how her passion and discipline is contagious, or how her knowledge of all things horse related is never ending.…
To Protect and Serve: Wetlands On Point, Time to Reciprocate
Neither surf nor turf, land or sea, salt marshes are a spongy, mucky, stinky in-between zone full of biting, stinging, snapping creatures. Yet they are stunning to the eye — think Poucha Pond, Mattakesett Bay, Nashaquitsa Pond. And more importantly they are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth.
Salt marshes —…
Erosion Does Not Erode Ownership
House bill 254 is not constitutional and if up held would set a dangerous precedent, potentially affecting all waterfront landowners.
Mother Nature Just Reclaiming Hers
I moved to the Vineyard in 1966 and have been passionate about fishing from the beaches for more than 35 years. Over the years, I have seen many changes on the Island and have been especially affected by the loss of access to too many of these beaches.
Kid at Heart Just a Stone’s Throw Away
When you’re a kid and are near water and see a stone, you skip it. Maybe you are lucky one day and you find a slate mountain. To a kid it seems to be a mountain, but it is a pretty big hill — or maybe it’s just a piece of a hill. You are…
Community Services at Half-Century Mark
Community Services at Half-Century Mark
Union Chapel
Union Chapel
Rev. Kate Braestrup, New York Times best-selling author of Here If You Need Me and one of the first chaplains appointed to the Maine Warden Service, will preach this Sunday, at 10 a.m. in Union Chapel, Oak Bluffs The widely-known writer and author’s sermon title is Hope Is a Thing With…
Wampanoag Testing Lab Found Clean
The Wampanoag water testing lab has a clean bill of health this week after a visit from the state Department of Public Health. The lab has been under scrutiny after test results for beaches in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs last week showed levels of the bacteria enterococcus at levels high enough to close South Beach…
Auction Makes Dreams Come True
Some children want to grow up to be ballerinas or astronauts, maybe a firefighter or a zookeeper, but then life takes a different path and the dream floats away. There’s one night of the year when the young at heart are celebrated and an important Vineyard institution benefits, a night when dreams are no…
Community Services Turns 50 As Demand Hits Record High
If there is one statistic that attests to the way in which Martha’s Vineyard Community Services has become crucial to the to the well-being of Islanders, it is the one board president Wiet Bacheller now recites.
Some 6,000 people — a number equal to about one-third of the resident population — come into…
Big Welcome Home for Sergeant Brown
As soon as he rounded the corner to walk down to the dock, dozens of blue lights began to flash, sirens wailed and trumpets, nearly silent by comparison, tootled those age-old American anthems. Sgt. James (Chris) Brown had just returned to the Island from a nine-month tour of duty as a member of the Army…
Tisbury Mosquito Trap Detects Presence of West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus has arrived on the Vineyard. On Thursday the Massachusetts Department of Health announced that a single mosquito collected in Tisbury tested positive for the disease and health officials are asking Islanders to take reasonable preventive measures.
Survey Begins Of Katama Bay
This month scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will descend on Edgartown with a sonar-equipped waverunner to map, in unprecedented resolution, the ever-shifting sands and currents of Katama Bay. While the bathymetry of the body of water, where change is a constant feature, is of special scientific interest to the Woods Hole scientists, the…
Wind Turbine Focus Shifts Farther Offshore
A state government plan to open waters close to the south shore of Martha’s Vineyard to industrial-scale wind power generation now appears unlikely to proceed, following the release of a draft wind energy plan by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
Gazette Around the Island
Good morning! The Gazette is being sent to every postal box on the Vineyard this morning. The subscriber sections of the newspaper Web site (mvgazette.com) are also free until Tuesday. We hope you enjoy the read; tell us what you think.
Hello Michaela
Hello Michaela
Shawn K. Shaw and Neil B. Shaw of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Michaela Keagan Shaw, born on July 21, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Michaela weighed 7 pounds, 11ounces at birth. She is welcomed also by big sister Mackenzie Shaw.
Meat Lovers
Sundews prove that the adage, “You are what you eat,” doesn’t always apply.
These plants do the unexpected: They eat animals. No vegetarianism here, and photosynthesis only goes so far with them. Sundews are carnivorous plants and will devour insects for sustenance and survival.
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
The weather for July has been fantastic and the weekend weather was great except for the surprise thunder and lightning storm early Saturday afternoon. We had at least four days with a temperature over 90 degrees, high humidity for a good part of the…
East Chop
Rick Herrick
508-693-8065
(herricklr@verizon.net)
Tall, statuesque with steady ground strokes and terrific angles, Margaret Berzins is the most improved women’s player at the East Chop Tennis Club. Despite these impressive credentials, she was unable to defeat the Granny who has somehow, miraculously, made all of her gray hair disappear.…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Gazette Chronicle: Saving Grace
Saving Grace
From Gazette editions of July, 1956:
I didn’t know that I would ever want to see salt water again,” mused Dr. Robert Boggs of West Chop as he and his family prepared for the beach. Dr. and Mrs Boggs, their daughter Barbara, 16, and son Robert, 12, are all…
Correction
Correction
The headline on a story about a new coalition of nonprofits coming together to purchase the former Thimble Farm property in Vineyard Haven misidentified the mission of the group. The Martha’s Vineyard Farm Project wants to buy the land the Whippoorwill Farm CSA currently uses, not the business. The Gazette regrets the…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
I think we are all still talking about Saturday’s thunderstorm. I don’t remember a storm like that ever. Things were knocked out and some of our electronics are still being repaired. But everyone is okay, and that is what counts.
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
July 22 77 70 .00
July 23 88 68 .00
July 24 88 70 .32
July 25 86 64 Trace
July 26 75 63 .00
July 27 76 65 .06
July 28 83 64 Trace
…
August Moon and Meteors
The best meteor watching takes place in the nights ahead, but don’t wait. The full moon comes in the second week of August and it is a spoiler.
Larry Mollin 02568: The Story So Far
By HOLLY NADLER
A trademark of the boomer generation is that we never follow a straight line for a career path. It looks more like a privet hedge labyrinth in old English country gardens.
Not Shying Away from Dissonance Leads to Album of Resonance
Singer-songwriter Michele Zaccone and drummer/keyboardist J.B. Lamont of the band Tethered are tied together by a host of similarities. They were born on the same day three years apart, they are Geminis, and they have both been burned; Mr. Lamont by the music business, Ms. Zaccone by love.
Chamber Music Society in Key of Kindness
Recently the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society chose singer Emily Lowe as the recipient of its annual Caroline Worthington Scholarship. Emily graduated from the regional high school this past June and is the daughter of Cheryl and Erik Lowe of West Tisbury, and the granddaughter of Ernest Mendenhall and Kathy Logue.
Gentle Art of Audience Seduction
The audience is the boss. Performance is a seduction. Never give up something for nothing. Livingston Taylor eagerly passes along all this and more to his students at the Berklee College of Music, and now to readers who pick up a copy of the new edition of his book, Stage Performance.
No Reservations on Art of Picnicking
As summer turns the corner from July to August, it’s easy to find yourself yearning for a respite from the high temperatures, traffic and long lines of the hectic summer season. A picnic can be a great way to slow down, appreciate your surroundings and remember why so many people choose to visit, or make…
Political Stretch
Political Stretch
Take me out to the … Tisbury Democratic town committee meeting? Yes, at the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks baseball game. The brief meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, at the picnic tables adjacent to the playing field. Then the Sharks take on the Torrington Titans at 5…
Great Combinations
I I’m much happier in the sixties. I’m talking temperature not the decades, although that works, too! What a week — nationwide. I am very grateful to live near a large body of water. I can’t imagine being trapped in some sweltering river valley somewhere in the Midwest. Let’s not even talk about Texas.
Weekly Bird Walk
It was a small group of birders from the Chilmark Community Center that met Tuesday morning for the weekly bird walk. Luckily Lanny McDowell came along bearing his camera as well as his binoculars. The flats at Quansoo were covered with chattering shorebirds. It was difficult to determine which species were the most abundant; least…
