From the March 22, 1963 edition of the Vineyard Gazette:
Yesterday was the first day of spring according to the calendar and astronomical calculations. Exactly how closely the arrival of the sun upon the Line is figured these days the layman would not know. In years gone by when many a master mariner lived on the Island, various of these men would figure out this annual event in minutes and seconds, and it is recalled that on occasion the actual crossing of the Line would occur before midnight, thus bringing the date a day earlier.
Always the tradition has persisted that wherever the wind might be on this day, that direction would prevail for the next six months. Assuming this as a fact, all Island humanity should be cheered.
What little wind there was, and there was not enough to be felt, breezed from a westerly quarter. It was warm, although the sun remained shrouded in mist and clouds until noon. The big, soft, fluffy flakes of snow which had begun to fall on the previous evening continued to drift down, not thickly, but noticeably during the morning, and trees, shrubbery and roofs were blanketed with this clinging snow.
Yet all the while it thawed, with rivulets of water running everywhere, and the feeling of spring, experienced by every living thing, was apparent.
It had been a night and a day for smelt fishing, it was a day for wood chopping or hiking. It was a day of feathery whiteness in which Nature appeared to be demonstrating to all the world how very gentle she can be. It was an announcement, realized by all, that bulbs were sprouting in the ground, leaf-buds swelling and all life quickening, warmed by the fluffy, white blanket that covered it all. In brief, it was spring, staging a traditional arrival and promising, for the first time in years, an early season.
Rumor, always questionable, but never to be utterly ignored, resulted in an inquiry relative to the reported offer for the purchase of the Oak Bluffs steamboat wharf. This rumor or rumors would have it that there were at least two prospective customers for the property, with a view to establishing a restaurant on the cense of some variety, and included other details regarding supposed offers.
Robert M. Love, Island Authority member, approached by the Gazette representative, cleared the atmosphere with a few brief sentences. “Certainly the wharf is for sale, and always has been since we stopped using it. This is true of all our surplus property, including the New Bedford wharf. And it is also true that we have been approached by several persons who suggested an interest in buying it, but none of them thus far have indicated that they have any money to pay for it. I doubt if anything comes from any of it.”
Mr. Love said that a lease of the wharf has recently been given to David C. Vincent, Oak Bluffs fish market proprietor. He said that the Authority stands to gain by thus leasing the dock, especially on insurance rates, since the property will be occupied, but that this lease was given subject to sale.
If, he said, the wharf should be sold, it will be subject to the present lease, and furthermore, in view of bills now in the legislature, should the Authority be compelled by the legislature to operate boats in and out of Oak Bluffs, such a sale must be subject to unrestrained use by the Authority for such boat service.
Mr. Vincent entered into an agreement with the Authority last summer to keep tanks for live lobsters on the dock, and from this beginning began to plan further. When last approached, his plans had not been perfected, but the terms of his lease, according to Mr. Love, take into consideration the details of a program which may well cover a period of years. As the matter stands, Mr. Vincent is the lessee, and there is no reason to anticipate any change in the foreseeable future.
What one might call the thrill of the week, was provided for Mrs. Preston Harris and her family last Friday, by Tumbleweed, the equine member of the family, who is used by young Tracy Harris. This beloved pet had been taught by his young mistress to open the latch of the front door, as a kind of special treat. But neither Tracy nor the rest of the family expected him to put it to his personal use.
Mrs. Harris heard a clatter downstairs as she was getting ready to start for her 8 o’clock job on Friday. Tumbleweed had decided that he might as well use his new trick and he thought it might be a good idea to come in the front door. There was a consequent clatter as Tumbleweed was persuaded to go outdoors. One horse can seem as big as several when you are trying to persuade him to leave the cramped quarters of a house and carry on his outdoor life.
The living room of the ancient house of the Harrises was hardly able to house him, for the roof is low and Tumbleweed is normally tall and it was quite a job to get him out without his emulating a bull in a china shop.
Compiled by Hilary Wallcox
library@vineyardgazette.com
This article appears in March 20, 2026.