For All and Sundry

From Gazette editions of November, 1934:

Oak Bluffs went goldfish conscious in a big way on Monday. Men, women and children walked through the streets carrying vessels of all sorts in which reposed goggle-eyed goldfish varying in size from tiny creatures to great fish of half a pound. The occasion was the seining of Richard L. Pease’s ice pond to remove the carp which increase periodically until they become a nuisance. This work was performed by H. Weston Chase and his son William. In drawing the seine, the goldfish were taken along with the carp. Many were too large to escape through the meshes, and there were many small ones that were held by chance and the presence of weed or other substances. As soon as it became known that there were plenty of goldfish for all and sundry, there was a stampede for the pond and everyone returned with fish.

One of the best indications of whether the Vineyard is getting along well in winter is the presence or absence in the chilly air of the sound of the carpenter’s saw and hammer. We need a business in building to maintain employment between seasons. This year the better housing program of the Federal Housing Administration should make it easier for homeowners to remodel and improve their properties.

Any property owner with a regular income from salary, business, commissions or other assured source may apply for a loan under the housing program. The application should be made to any bank or building and loan association. Borrowing is not from the federal government, but from the bank, with the backing of the government. The borrowers note may run from several months to three years. The only security required is that the borrower have a regular income and a good credit record in the community. He must own the property to be improved.

There has been considerable talk about the forty odd catch basins on the new Katama Road, and a great deal of skepticism has been expressed as to whether many of them will ever be used. Some Islanders declare that there will never be any water in them unless it is poured in with buckets, or unless water starts running uphill, both contingencies appearing to be unlikely. One of the basins received a tryout last week and was found to be in good working order, although it was not completed at the time. True, the catch basin did not catch water, but it did catch a cow.

The scene was peaceful and industrious. The plains stretched away in gorgeous emptiness, and the autumn breezes cavorted as is their wont. The work on the road was going ahead steadily. And then came a note of alarm. Observers looked around and saw the after portion of a cow disappearing into a catch basin. They considered this odd since there was already a man in the catch basin, an Oak Bluffs member of the road force, wielding a shovel. The cow and the man had no misunderstanding: both wanted to get out, and both did so, the cow having received no injury.

Chief No-ho-no, Harrison L. Vanderhoop. of the Gay Head tribe, was virtually deposed at a powwow attended by the majority of the tribe. Differences as to tribal policies and certain political matters, it is said, have continued to cause dissension among the tribesmen and when the meeting was called, a motion to request the chief to present his resignation was carried and the resignation was received. Rev. Leroy Perry, Chief Yellow Feather of the Wampanoags, who is pastor at Gay Head, was elected chief pro tem to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Vanderhoop. The tribal secretary, Mrs. Nettie Webster, also resigned, and her office was filled by David Vanderhoop.

While none present who has been interviewed has cared to go into details of explanation regarding the happenings of the evening, it is quite evident that the meeting waxed hot and heavy for a time and that the old braves who sleep beneath the Gay Head hills must have worried as they looked on from the Happy Hunting Grounds. However, all ended peaceably with the acting chief and Lorenzo Jeffers appointed a committee to see if Indian Day cannot be adopted in this state.

Oak Bluffs has obtained an allotment of $300 for the moving and protection of seed scallops. The seed is to be taken from shoal water to deep water. Eighty bushels were moved this week from the Lagoon to Lake Anthony.

The initial experiment of the town last year proved highly successful. As the result of transplanting seed in Lake Anthony, at least 100 bushels of large scallops — the largest ever taken in Oak Bluffs — have been harvested. No scallops have been found in Lake Anthony before. This year it is planned to continue transplanting until the whole bottom area of the harbor is seeded. Mr. Woodard, of the Oak Bluffs selectmen, said that it was not hard to get allotments for this sort of work.

Compiled by Cynthia Meisner

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