Jane Kenyon
I am the stone step, the latch, and the working hinge. I am the heart contracted by joy, the longest hair, white before the rest.-Jane Kenyon
November 16, 2007
Super Fans Follow Football Team, Making a Joyful Noise
There is one sure place to hear a cowbell: Vineyard football games. While football has its great players on the field, there also are performers in the seats. The fans all bring talent to the bleachers. Frank Daly of Vineyard Haven tries to make it to every game with his cowbell. With his red wool…
Island Explores Forming Agricultural Commission
Farmers, town and county officials and Island residents will gather tomorrow morning for a workshop to discuss the possibility of forming an agricultural commission on the Island. Established through a town meeting vote, an agricultural commission is a political body that provides a link to state and federal agricultural agencies and grant monies. Currently, there…
Galleries Host Benefit
Galleries Host Benefit Granary Gallery, Gardner Colby Gallery and Field Gallery all are coming together to host a benefit for one of their own. Eighty artists will be donating proceeds of the sale of their artwork to benefit Dee Dee Hagen, wife of artist John Hagen. She was recently diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The benefit…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) Many Chilmarkers took advantage of the all-Island flu shot clinic this past Monday even though the present weather pattern shows little signs of the flu season arriving any time soon. Let’s hope we are all set for a sniffle-free winter. The event went very smoothly, at least when we were…
Nantucket Has Dominated Island Rivalry
The Nantucket varsity football team is a formidable foe. When the Whalers come to the Island tomorrow, they bring with them the state’s best coach and a lead in wins for the Island competitive trophy. Nantucket leads the series 35-22-3 since the rivalry began in 1953. Their weakness is that they aren’t defending the trophy.…
Commissioners Interview Finalists for County Manager
County commissioners interviewed three finalists for the county manager position on Saturday morning. Each candidate spent one hour fielding two rounds of questions on management style, experience with budgets and grants and the changing nature of Dukes County.
Vineyarders Climax Season Against Traditional Rival
It’s been a season of peaks and valleys for the Vineyard football team. They shot out to a 5-0 record to start the season and earned a top rank in their division by the Boston Globe. And as if that weren’t enough, a news crew from NBC taped two 30-minute segments that will air later…
Emily Arrives
Emily Arrives Holly and Wayne Lawyer of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Emily Malia Lawyer, born on Nov. 7 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Emily’s weight was 7 pounds, 4.5 ounces at birth.
Game Memories Remain Vivid For Former Vineyard Players
In 1964, the Vineyarders recorded the first of three undefeated seasons in its history. Bob Tankard, Coach T as he is also known, remembers it well. “Apponequet was the big game that year,” said Mr. Tankard, a halfback and defensive back on the 1964 team. “We had never beaten them and they were supposed to…
Prostate Support Group
Prostate Support Group The Martha’s Vineyard Prostate Cancer Support Group’s next meeting is at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21 at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (across from the high school) in the Middle Building in the downstairs board room. Any and all are welcome. Participants may bring family, friends and wives. A reference library is maintained…
First Quarter Moon
Tomorrow night’s first quarter moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus.
Northern Finches
This week’s most exciting sightings are Sally Anderson’s reports of pine siskins on Nov. 4 and 8 and common redpolls observed in Aquinnah on Nov. 12. To have these northern finches around this early, and widespread across Massachusetts, means that they may be relatively common this winter. These finches only migrate this far south when…
Mohawks and Lucky Pins: Superstitions Wield Power
Former Red Sox player Nomar Garciaparra could not bat without checking his batting gloves. Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics will not get on the floor without patting his hands in the rosin. The pro athletes have their pre-game rituals and so too do the Vineyarders. For members of the varsity football team and the…
Study Group Considers Future County Options
The Dukes County charter study commission narrowed a list of seven possible recommendations for the future of county government to four in a straw vote at their regular meeting Thursday. In a nearly unanimous vote, commissioners eliminated the options of recommending no change to county government, abolishing county government with no replacement and abolishing county…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº Nov. 9 46 32 .00 Nov. 10 50 41 .19 Nov. 11 43 31 .00 Nov. 12 42 26 .00 Nov. 13 54 32 .17 Nov. 14 56 33 .10 Nov. 15 60 46 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 55º F.
Check Your Bags
We all have baggage. For some, it is plastic, but for others only paper or cloth will do. Those in the latter group must have appreciated Wednesday’s designation. In case you missed it, I’ll recycle the news. Nov. 14 was Reusable Bag Day in Massachusetts. I kid you not. This is official and important.
Junior Varsity Footballers Get Physical
The sounds of a bloody brawl direct me to the football field behind the regional high school where the junior varsity team is warming up for Saturday. Getting nearer, one cry stands out. “I want to see Balboni get killed!” I quicken my step, wondering whether I’m about to scoop an altogether more serious event.
Holly Day Fair at Church Benefits Worldwide Relief
Holly Day Fair at Church Benefits Worldwide Relief The Grace Episcopal Church at Woodlawn avenue and William street in Vineyard Haven will hold its annual Holly Day Fair on Saturday, Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the luncheon served between 11 a.m and 1 p.m.
Stories in Two Languages
Stories in Two Languages Portuguese/English Story Time is back. Saturday, Nov. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at the Oak Bluffs Public Library. Stories will be about bears, and we’ll have snacks and a craft. Português/inglêsHistória Tempo volta. Osábado, novembro 17 em 10:30 SOU na Carvalho Blefes BibliotecaPública. Ashistóriasestarão sobre ursos, enós teremos lanches e um artesanato.
Hello, Hunter
Hello, Hunter Charlotte and Matthew Bolduc of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Hunter James Bolduc, born Oct.31 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Hunter weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces at birth.
The Woman Behind the Curtain
“I don’t even like musicals,” says Donna Swift, writer and producer of more than a dozen musicals and founder and excutiver director of Troubled Shores Inc., a not-for-profit theatre organization. She is sitting on a newly painted stage prop for her latest production — a reworking of the Seventies musical Godspell — in the cafeteria…
Nantucket Cancels Junior Varsity Contest
Martha’s Vineyard junior varsity players, fully prepared to face the Nantucket junior varsity team this Saturday, were frustrated by a late cancellation from Nantucket. Citing a lack of numbers the Nantucket High School announced it would not be able to provide a competing team. “Obviously we’re not happy at all,” said Vineyard junior varsity coach…
Harvest Papermaking
Harvest Papermaking Fall is a great time to harvest and process plant fibers for papermaking. Seastone Papers, a teaching studio for hand papermaking, surface designing, and book arts on Christiantown Road, West Tisbury, will offer a workshop on Saturday, Nov. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. using local plant fibers which will be prepared, cooked,…
Generous State Grant Will Assist With Solar Panels
Foundations for the new Martha’s Vineyard Hospital won’t be poured until spring, but already the hospital has big plans for the rooftops. This week the hospital received notice from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the state’s development agency for renewable energy and the innovation economy, that the hospital will receive a $198,000 design and construction grant…
Vineyard Gardener
By Lynne Irons Every year the human heart loses several grams of muscle mass and therefore pumps less blood as we age. Those of a certain age experience the change of temperature with less good humor as the years fly by. I, for one, am fond of woolen long underwear for my outdoor activities. I…
Alpaca Farm Open House
Alpaca Farm Open House The Island Alpaca Farm on Head of the Pond Road in Oak Bluffs will hold pre-holiday open houses on Sunday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. Besides offering products from the farm, the open houses will provide snacks and hot cider. More information is available by…
Happy Thanksgiving
The Vineyard Gazette will be closed on Thursday for the holiday. The paper will be printed on Friday as usual. Early deadlines are in effect next week for correspondents and advertisers.
Ethan Arrives
Ethan Arrives Lila DiBiaso and Owen DiBiaso of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Ethan Rider DiBiaso, born on Nov. 10 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Ethan weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth.
Extra Cheese and Charity on Top: Students Boost Hospital Coffers
They held the anchovies but not much else as several hundred hungry Vineyarders sold out the seventh annual Pizza Night at the Tisbury School last Friday night to benefit the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. A little more than an hour into the two-hour event, the last of more than 100 pizzas prepared by school teachers and…
Breaking News: Saturday, Nov. 17 – Vineyard Trounces Nantucket to Keep Island Cup
The Vineyard rolled over Nantucket Saturday in the annual Island Cup game by a final score of 48-6 in a contest that was easily decided by the second quarter and even more lopsided than the final score indicated. With the win, the Vineyarders continued their recent string of dominance over the Whalers in the storied…
Wanted: Directors
Wanted: Directors Island Theatre Workshop, Inc., celebrating its 40th year in 2008, invites proposals from directors for one-act plays to be produced in March. New directors are encouraged to submit proposals; plays can be from 10 minutes to just under an hour. Collections of 10-minute plays and one-act plays are available in local libraries. To…
Gazette Chronicle: Teller of Tales
Teller of Tales From the Vineyard Gazette editions of April, 1932: While many of Vineyard Haven lawyer Charles H. Brown’s recollections are of his own town, not all of them are, and not all are tales of his own time.
Announcing Braylin
Announcing Braylin Jade Hattingh and Neylor Flavio Couto of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a daughter, Braylin Kayl Hattingh, born Oct. 24 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Braylin weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces at birth.
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) November is American Indian Heritage Month and the Aquinnah Public Library has a stellar collection of Native American books. Please stop by and look through the vast collection for your reading pleasure. This is a collection that has been built upon over the past two decades, first by Roxane Ackerman and…
Arboretum Walk
Arboretum Walk Due to the recent storm the Polly Hill Arboretum program Nature and Nurture has been postponed to Saturday, Nov. 17. Walk the grounds with arboretum staff to learn about the history and uses of some of our native trees and plants, then enjoy a delicious bowl of soup and soup-making demonstration by Island…
Film Society Screens Away From Her
The acclaimed feature film Away From Her screens on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. An accomplished directorial debut by Canadian actor Sarah Polley, Away From Her is a touching exploration of the effects of Alzheimer’s, with a wonderful performance from Julie Christie. The film also features…
Thimble Farm Will Be Saved
Following a summer of uncertainty and dashed hopes, the future of the Island Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program was secured last week when a farming-friendly New Jersey resident announced that he will buy Thimble Farm — and keep it in active agriculture. Eric Grubman, an executive vice president with the National Football League, will buy…
Library Hosts Basic Skills Class in Computers
A basic computer skills class will be offered at Oak Bluffs Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 29, from 10:45 a.m. to noon. Learn the different parts of a computer, general tips for using Windows operating systems, how to use the keyboard and mouse, and strategies to help you learn more. There will also be time…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Biographer Discusses Life of Jewish Radical Heschel
Celebrate Jewish Book Month with the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center at 130 Centre street in Vineyard Haven, with a special reading on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. by author and seasonal resident Professor Edward Kaplan. He will speak about his new book, Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America 1940-1972. Refreshments will follow, as…
Harley Riders Host Annual Toys for Tots Run
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL They roared over the roads of the Vineyard on Sunday to benefit the Island’s young and raised a pile of money. When the Martha’s Vineyard Harley Riders and their 87 bikes completed their two-hour annual Toys for Tots run, club president Mike Dow of Edgartown delivered a check of $17,113 to…
Shifting Sands
Shifting Sands Scientific study is yielding valuable insights into coastal erosion. Researchers have discovered that permanent structures built in attempts to contain and control erosion — jetties, groins and seawalls — vary in effect between futility and making things worse. Government and private individuals build these structures in good faith: sometimes to protect roads and…
East Chop
RICK HERRICK 508-693-8065 (herricklr@verizon.net) Sitting in the standby line in Woods Hole can be a nail-biting experience. That tension eases somewhat when the Island Home comes into view with its increased car-carrying capacity. Vineyarders take pride in the newest addition to the Steamship Authority’s fleet of boats. Next time you travel on the Island Home,…
Reggae Scrapbook Takes Trenchtown to New York City
Gazette contributing photographer and Chilmark resident Peter Simon has published a new book, The Reggae Scrapbook. It’s an 11 X 12 coffee table book with more than 300 photos, an authoritative text by co-author Roger Steffans, and much splashy reggaemobilia such as stickers, ticket stubs, posters and album covers, some of which are detachable.
Two Islands, One Cup: Big Game Tomorrow
For 364 days of the year, the Vineyard and Nantucket sit on their respective perches in the ocean and gaze at each other with casual disregard. The two Islands may share ocean currents, topography and even a boat line, but beyond that they have little to do with each other. But for one glorious day…
Saturday at McCarthy Field: The Big Game
Saturday at McCarthy Field: The Big Game Whoever said it was only a game had it wrong. Like so many of the great football rivalries across the decades — Harvard and Yale, Army and Navy, Ohio State and Michigan — the rivalry between the Vineyard and Nantucket is buried deep in the psyche of the…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER 508-693-3880 (sunporch@vineyard.net) How many of us are sensitive about being washashores? It may be a bit of a taboo to talk about it because most of us act as if we couldn’t give a flying Fig Newton. So we don’t have whaling captains in our ancestry, who cares? Those were a bunch of…
Concert Band, Orchestra, Chorus Offer Free Shows
Free concerts are scheduled for Nov. 27 and 29 at the Performing Arts Center at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. A regional high school instrumental concert featuring the concert band and the string orchestra is set for the center at 7 p.m. Nov. 27. Selections will include Greek Folk Song Suite, a contemporary selection by…
Tribal Elections Set for Sunday; Chairman Fights to Keep Seat
Tip O’Neill said that all politics is local. Mr. O’Neill learned his truth growing up in the ethnic enclaves of East Cambridge ward politics, a lesson that took him to the chairmanship of the U.S. House of Representatives. He would have been at home in Aquinnah this week as the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head…
Letters to the Editor
ROARING SUCCESS Editors, Vineyard Gazette: Once in a while, something happens on the Vineyard that makes you take stock of the wonderful place where you live. That happened to us Saturday, Nov. 10, when we launched our latest children’s book, Thirty Dirty Sailors and the Little Girl Who Went a-Whaling.
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com) I know we are all used to the roving gangs of turkeys passing through our yards. I say gangs, not flocks, because they can be very proprietary. But my dogs went crazy barking the other day. I thought they should be used to the turks by now. I looked out the…
Underwater Ballet Gallops into Breach
In the aftermath of the Patriots Day northeaster this spring, Chappaquiddick resident Francesca Kelly climbed into her pickup truck. She drove over debris-strewn roads, finally making her way to Norton Point. The whole time, a piece of classical music played on the stereo. When she got there, she parked and watched the water rush through…
New Bedford Ferry Operation Is Slated For Cuts in Service
Winter high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard is expected to be sharply reduced, and may be abandoned altogether unless passenger numbers increase. In the face of rapidly falling ridership, the ferry’s operators intend to cancel all weekend runs and reduce weekday trips by a third. The changes are expected to be formally…
L.A. Journal: Pens Are Down, Coffee’s Cold
Unless you are the world’s biggest fan of déjà vu, you probably do not enjoy the nonstop reruns of late-night talk shows, and it will only get worse as the Writers Guild of America strike marches on. Scripted shows are now either getting pulled all together or destined to grind to a halt in the…
Book Fair
Book Fair The Tisbury School library will host a scholastic book fair Nov. 26 through 29, a fun-filled book sale and literacy event geared to excite children about reading and learning. Parents, children, teachers and the entire community are invited to the Book Fair Blizzard, the name of the fair. This annual event gives students,…
Sweet Nut Things
Sweet Nut Things By CYNTHIA COWAN Do not read any further if moderation is something you continually struggle with. If too much of a good thing is not a concept that you are familiar with, turn back now. The following recipe yields a nut that will bring you to your knees and have you praying…
Third Quarter Sales Are Slow
The Vineyard real estate market showed resilience in the third quarter, with prices rising even as sales dropped and inventory rose. Island observers further said the Vineyard market continues to show more strength than the mainland. If you were a seller on the Island, you waited longer to sell your home but got a payoff…
Young Booters Kick Season With a Shiver
It was as cold as charity at 8:30 a.m. on the West Tisbury School soccer fields last Saturday. The wind cut right through you, and it was periodically spitting rain. The Vineyard’s fall youth soccer season was ending, not with a bang, but with a shiver. It might have seemed a sad end to the…
Gifts for Peace
Gifts for Peace The annual PeaceCraft Holiday Gift Shop opens Friday, Nov. 23 at the Tisbury Market and Deli on Main street in Vineyard Haven. Distinctive goods and holiday crafts will be available Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Fish Farm for Haiti Project sponors PeaceCraft to provide support to self-help…
Trio Wins Horse Council Pace Ride
The team of Margaret Oliveira, Stephanie Dreyer, and Chris Arenburg won the Martha’s Vineyard Horse Council’s annual pace ride on Sunday, Oct. 14. The winning time was one hour, 47 minutes, and 56 seconds, just one minute and 14 seconds off the pace time of 1:49.10. Elaine Shabazian and Susanna Sturgis took a close second…
Sandy Grant’s Scratch Ticket Is Big Winner
Sandy Grant, who won $10 million with a scratch card on Saturday, is sitting in the front room of her modular home in Edgartown, swatting flies with a rolled-up instruction manual. Her count is two kills from 10 attempts since the conversation with a reporter began. “I’ve been looking to get a fly swatter,”…
Sophomores Speak Out
This is our second stint as editors for Sophomores Speak Out. This week we have a different set of opinions on everything from Halloween to school, child abuse and even greyhounds. Enjoy the read. — Breanne Russell and Troy (85) Small
Why Help Darfur? By Eric Fletcher
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net) Old Jack Frost paid us a brief visit last Saturday and Sunday nights with temperatures in some places dipping into the low twenties. He may return again this weekend with a few more calling cards. The leaves, what was left of them from the storm, peaked earlier this week and…
School Lunches
Charter School Monday, Nov. 19: Turkey or vegetable stew over rotini pasta, baked sugar pumpkin with maple syrup, peaches and milk. Tuesday, Nov. 20: Tomato vegetable soup, sunflower butter and jelly sandwich, apple crisp and milk. Wednesday, Nov. 21: Half day — bag lunch with sandwiches (ham and cheese, tuna salad or veggie and cheese),…
Selectmen Approve Blacksmith Shop
Not so long ago, it was commonplace for Vineyard towns to have multiple blacksmith shops: thriving places of commerce that sold items such as bolts, hinges, horseshoes, cooking utensils and iron gates. But as the all-consuming age of the machine took hold, the old village smithy went the way of the horse and buggy. The…
Revived Nantucket Bay Scallop Harvest Pushes Down Prices
Vineyard consumers are enjoying the lowest retail prices on bay scallops in at least ten years thanks to a renewed abundance of the tasty bivalve on Nantucket. The Nantucket resurgence has been pushing down wholesale as well as retail prices on both Islands. At Menemsha Seafood in Chilmark, owner Stanley Larsen said the retail price…
Welcome Isaac
Welcome Isaac Renata A. Almeida and Zildomar G. Wanziler of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Isaac Almeida Wanziler, born on Nov. 8 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Isaac weighed 7 pounds, 3.2 ounces at birth.
