From the October 25, 1923 edition of the Vineyard Gazette:

There was a quiet but pretty wedding at the Parsonage on Saturday afternoon, when one of our popular clerks Albion Alley entered the matrimonial ranks. The bride Miss Mary A. Flight wore white silk crepe trimmed with narrow satin ribbon, and embroidered veil and carried a white rose shower bouquet. The ring service was used, her sister Miss Beatrice Flight being bridesmaid and the groom’s brother Norman Alley, best man.

Miss Lillian Alley, Miss Lee and Mrs. Woodamun and Miss Lucy Adams were among those present and the friends outside sprinkled the lawn plentifully with rice, while the wedding cortege departed to the music of the automobile horns.

If a James Russell Lowell had been on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in the first half of the month, he would have had to sing of October’s “perfect days,” and in one sense of the word, they were no “rare” days. Besides all the loveliness of air, sky and sea, there has been the loveliness of the autumn foliage, more wonderful this year, seemingly, than ever in its brilliance. Late stayers and weekend visitors greatly appreciate the favorable skies of October.

But during the past week the island has had another sort of “Vineyard weather” and to some people a more interesting kind, viz.: no’theasters which lopped off branches dead and alive, threw down trees (one or two), rocked and whirled the rocking chairs left out over night, hurled flower pots and their contents from their safety zones, blew down ladders left up by carpenters, carpeted the parks and avenues with soft greens, crimson and gold, and above all stirred “old Ocean” to reckless deeds. Even Sunset Lake, Oak Bluffs, had its “white caps” on, and on the beach of the little harbor were several “gone ashore” sail boats. The waves dashed wildly over the jetties on two or three days and it was a surprise to many that on Tuesday, the wildest of the wild days, both the Sankaty and the Islander made their trips. It would be interesting to hear the accounts of the trips from the various passengers to and from the islands. One gentlemen was almost sure that the waves dashed into the smokestack once or twice when the boat was rocking its liveliest.

And as to rain, there’s no doubt whatever that all ponds and brooks are full, and after the storm that seemed endless back cane the “perfect days” on Wednesday, somewhat spoiled, however, when still more rain came at dusk and continued well along into the night. Thursday brought another beautiful day with air as sweet and fresh and warm as one of the lovliest of June days, the Vineyard weather of our “rhapsodies.”

When the steamer Sankaty came up from Nantucket Tuesday morning she encountered the roughest weather of the fall season. Reaching a point off Oak Bluffs to take off the Vineyard passengers, Captain M. K. Sylvia made three attempts before finally making a landing there. The northeast storm had kicked up such a heavy sea that the wind and tide made the landing there difficult.

Among the passengers on the boat were Mr. and Mrs. Obed S. Cowing, of New Bedford, returning after spending several months at their summer home at Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs. Mr. Cowing, a veteran traveller on the Vineyard steamers, said he thought the morning’s trip across Vineyard Sound, from Oak Bluffs to Woods Hole, was about the roughest he had ever encountered. It was almost equally rough going across the bay.

The office of the C. C. Water Co. has been moved this week from the lower floor of the Arcade building to the rooms on the floor above the Pearson Drug Store in the same building. Below Mrs. Kingman, who has had a shop here for several seasons, will occupy the room made vacant by the removal, next season. Mr. Pearson is having considerable done to the Arcade building by way of repairs. Mr. Rice reported that in reshingling the building they pulled off cedar and pine shingles that had been on the roof since the building was erected in - no one seems to know what year, but certainly it has stood for fifty or more years.

What would become of daylight saving on a referendum in Massachusetts?

It is not to be believed that the thousands of Massachusetts farmers, who dislike the scheme for good and sufficient reasons, are going to delay very much longer in the matter.

A referendum in Massachusetts, as to the wisdom of “fooling annually with the clock” would, we believe, seal the doom of daylight saving. A measure which in time of war had some excuse for its existence, has since become a nuisance we think to a very large majority of the people of the State, especially to the farmers and other toilers on land and sea. In the words of the old farmer who called on Arthur G. Staples of the Lewiston (Me.) Journal a year or two ago: “Let’s do away with this cussed daylight saving time.”

Compiled by Hilary Wall

library@mvgazette.com