Dylan Thomas
The birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses I rose in rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. – Dylan Thomas
December 28, 2007
Alice in Wonderland Film Screens Monday in Tisbury
The classic 1951 family feature film Alice in Wonderland screens Monday, Dec. 31 at 11:30 a.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre as part of the Last Night, First Day celebrations. Based on the 1865 book by Lewis Carroll, this is the classic Disney animated version of Alice’s adventures as she follows a white rabbit into…
New Year Moon
Late-night revelers will be out on New Year’s Eve celebrating under a Last Quarter Moon. The moon rises in the eastern sky, less than an hour after the arrival of the New Year. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Leo, a constellation most often associated with spring and summer.
Since Stormy Weather, Islands Aren’t Together
Over the past year on the Vineyard, there was plenty of wind, storms for almost every season and so much summer sun there was a concern about drought. A big ocean storm in April opened the barrier beach at Norton Point to the ocean. A northeaster on Valentine’s Day and another last month with near-hurricane…
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS I like rain and don’t even mind the cold, but this hardened snow/ice/treacherous footing is totally irritating. Never being one to stay indoors, I still attempt to do outside activities. I have been using a pitchfork to keep myself upright while tending to my chores. I trudged to my pigs carrying a…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER 508-693-3880 (sunporch@vineyard.net) Hey, who knew Dean Martin wrote Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas? I just learned this important piece of information from Terry Gross on National Public Radio. Judy Garland first sang it in Meet Me in St. Louis. She gave it a tragic subtext, but basically it’s a merry little song,…
Bohemian Waxwing
Hippie, beatnik, bohemian are all words that have been used to describe someone who is different than the norm. Other definitions of the adjective bohemian are wanderer or vagabond. And that is exactly what is occurring in Massachusetts with a particular bird which was given a perfect name: bohemian waxwing.
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com) When we walked down the Chappaquiddick Road on Christmas Day, the sun was out and the air was still. There were no sounds of any kind of motors to be heard — it was almost at the half hour and the ferry ran on the hour that day — so we…
Living Lichen Art
Two plants that merge into one, growing together to the benefit of each other. Sounds strange, but lichens are unique combinations of fungi and algae growing together, yet they are distinct from either of their components. They are abundant in nature, occurring just about everywhere: silvery gray flat patches growing on tree trunks, rocks, roofs…
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº Dec. 21 38 32 Trace Dec. 22 38 34 .00 Dec. 23 45 33 .00 Dec. 24 55 33 .75 Dec. 25 45 34 .00 Dec. 26 43 23 .00 Dec. 27 40 26 .08
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 43º F.
Worship Service
The United Methodist Cooperative Ministry will hold a combined worship service designed and led by pastors and youth on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. at the Edgartown United Methodist Church (the Old Whaling Church.) Fellowship time will follow in the Baylies Room. All are welcome.
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) Chilmark enjoyed a clear Christmas Eve with a full moon outshining all of the holiday lights around town. A brisk wind made the annual Christmas Day beach walks an invigorating experience. The coming week promises to be uneventful as the children enjoy their vacation and family reunions continue throughout the…
Take an Inside Look at People of the Book
People of the Book is the new novel from Vineyard Haven author Geraldine Brooks — her first since March won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It hits stores on Tuesday and will be launched on Thursday with a special public reading at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. A longtime foreign correspondent for the Wall Street…
Miracle on Franklin Street for New Year
Most miracles happen when no one is watching. This time of year, presents appear under trees, with no traces of soot under the chimney or footprints in the snow. Bundles of winter hats and scarves are donated anonymously to warm those in need. And, in a quiet corner of town, a man climbs up scaffolding…
Winter Soup
Winter Soup The Chilmark Community Church at 9 Menemsha Crossroad will host winter soup suppers in the fellowship room on Tuesdays beginning Jan. 8 from 5 to 6 p.m. The suppers are open to the community. A free-will offering basket will be available. If you would like to volunteer to make a pot of soup…
Best of 2007 Uncovered: Booksellers Reveal What Islanders Read This Year
Readers this year lost voices that long had thrived in the Island’s literary ecosystem, from the internationally acclaimed wag Art Buchwald to the perenially pot-boiling (literally — see his cookbook D’lish! for recipes) bestseller Philip Craig. Both left a rich legacy, however, with Mr. Craig’s latest (not last — another will be in stores in…
Heating Costs Trouble Island
After 30 years of operating the Island’s largest oil and gas supplier, Ralph Packer is quite aware that many Islanders feel they pay way too much to heat their homes in the winter. “I start to hear it every year when it gets cold; people think they’re getting ripped off” Mr. Packer said. “They are…
Top Runner
Top Runner Amory Salem of Edgartown, who has won the women’s division of the Annual Thanksgiving Day 5K Race in Oak Bluffs several times, was the top finisher overall in this year’s Thanksgiving race. Mrs. Salem also was the female winner in the Chilmark Road Race this past summer.
Come See Winter Creatures At Felix Neck Kids Progam
In the summer, birds and bees and buzzing things are easy to see. They are out and about at the beach and on the playground. But come winter, the Vineyard animals are harder to spot. Beginning in January, the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary will, for the first time, offer its popular Creature Feature program for…
Island Community Preservation Committees Analyze Requests
As community preservation committees across the Island prepare their recommendations for the coming fiscal year, they report growing interest by Vineyarders in the possibilities offered by Community Preservation Act funding. More than $3 million in requests are under consideration by preservation committees on the Island. Town officials who oversee CPA funds have seen a surge…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net) Phyllis Meras of Music street reports that we did not have any snow on Christmas Day as the temperature reached 46 degrees. The automobile traffic in town was nearly non-existent most of the day as families gathered around their tree to exchange gifts and enjoy a family dinner. Relatives and friends…
In With the New, Out With the Old? Year’s Events Test Vineyard Values
There is probably no simpler illustration of the dominant news themes of Martha’s Vineyard, 2007, than that of the friendly Rhode Island red rooster owned by Jessica Rose Seidman, of West Tisbury. Chickie, who Ms. Seidman hatched from an egg almost five years ago when she was 11 and then kept as a pet, had…
David Belcher Leaves Chappy A Better Place
Dave Belcher has a rock steady demeanor for a man who constantly seeks change. The demeanor has helped him weather a lot of life’s rigors. His desire to change and to improve himself and his world has made The Trustees of Reservations’ refuge on Chappaquiddick one of the most beautiful natural experiences on earth. Mr.…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) The Rev. David Berube will be the guest minister at Community Baptist Church on Sunday. Reverend Berube is a member of the Oak Bluffs Police Department and serves as chaplain for at Otis Air Force Base.
Collaborative Drops Island License Plate Initiative
The Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative has decided to discontinue the special Martha’s Vineyard license plate program for lack of interest. The plate campaign started in the summer of 2006 and 500 applications were received in the first six months, the collaborative stated in a release.
School Committee Will Consider Sewer Proposal at Revised Cost of $1.5 Million
A proposal to build a sewage treatment plant for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has resurfaced at a newly revised cost estimate of $1.5 million. The school committee is scheduled to discuss the proposal at its meeting next Thursday, Jan. 3 at the high school. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. The proposed sewage…
Of Bells and a Thousand Years of Peace
Of Bells and a Thousand Years of Peace The calendar points to the moment of Monday midnight, to the tolling of the Island bells, to that time in our lives when old becomes new and we wonder what lies ahead. These are the days just before and just after the first bell strikes that we…
West Tisbury Considers Paper Votes
Residents at West Tisbury town meeting next year will be asked if they want to use paper ballots for some votes at town meeting. Responding to resident requests earlier this year for secret ballots, selectmen last week prepared a bylaw amendment which says a written or paper ballot “shall be taken on any town meeting…
Letters to the Editor
STRANDED WITHOUT CAUSE Editors, Vineyard Gazette: This is an open letter to the board of governors, management and unions of the SSA.
County Proposal Shifts Costs to Towns
The Dukes County Commission is between a rock and a hard place. Faced with a looming budget deficit for fiscal year 2009 and a financial advisory board which has refused to consider an unbalanced budget, the commission on Friday voted unanimously to slash funding by 50 per cent to two county programs and 100 per…
Gazette Chronicle: Conflict and Turmoil
Conflict and Turmoil From the Vineyard Gazette editions of December 1982:
Aquinnah Beer and Wine Petition Awaits Governor
Voters at the next Aquinnah town meeting would decide on beer and wine licenses for two Up-Island eateries, if governor Deval Patrick signs a bill enacted in the statehouse last week allowing selectmen to license restaurants to pour beer and wine by the drink. Last week the House and Senate enacted a town home rule…
Human Service Workers Deserve Fair Pay
Martha’s Vineyard Community Services is the largest human service provider on the Island with roots established in 1961, when a community mental health center was formed to serve the Island population. Today, we employ more than 120 full and part-time employees and serve approximately 6,000 residents and visitors each year through our Early Childhood Programs,…
Two Vineyard Haven Raffle Prizes Are Still Unclaimed
Two Vineyard Haven Raffle Prizes Are Still Unclaimed Two winning tickets, one for $1,000 and one for $100, remained unclaimed as of late yesterday morning in the Vineyard Haven Holiday Raffle. Two other tickets had been claimed. One for $500 was bought at C.B. Stark and the other for $250 was bought at the Mediterranean…
Fear and Loathing in Miami Beach
Editor’s note: On Dec. 5, Lanny McDowell and Sam Low (aka The Two Cousins) went to Art Basel Miami Beach — the huge art fair that in sheer size trumps everything on the annual art circuit (Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo, London, everything) They filed this report.
“Vineyard Gazette? What’s that?” said someone checking our…
Lots of Guts, Glimpses of Glory Shade the Sports Year of 2007
It was a year of ‘what ifs’ for the teams of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 2007, as several teams missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, while others lost games in the state tournament that could have turned on the bounce of a puck or a roll of the ball.
Wallet Thefts Spark Adventure From Old Delhi to the Tower
There I was on the steps of the Tower of London where Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey and Sir Thomas More, among others, lost their heads — and I lost my wallet. There’s no comparison, of course, but history buff that I am — their names couldn’t help but pass through my mind as…
