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
August 7, 2009
News Update: Monday, August 10 – Second Death in South Shore Waters
In the second fatal incident on the south shore of the Vineyard in a week, an Ohio man was pronounced dead on Friday after he was pulled from the water at Abel’s Hill Beach in Chilmark. William Laidlaw, 66, of Columbus, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital at 5:28 p.m. Friday. Police,…
Dido and Aeneas Come to Chilmark: Opera at the Yard
A love story with mythological heroes, shipwrecked kings, queens, witches, a drunken sailor and a famous death scene plays this weekend at the Yard in the form of Dido and Aeneas, a 50-minute opera sung in English. There will be dancing, action sequences and a string quintet.
And of course there will be…
Defining Gravity With Dance at the Field Gallery
Defining Gravity With Dance at the Field Gallery
She-figured Dance presents Defining Gravity, a premiere modern dance performance and sunset reception for the benefit of the Somarela Fund on Tuesday, August 11, at 5:30 p.m.
Ashley Medowski Show at Saltwater
Ashley Medowski Show at Saltwater
Ask about Keith Farm, one of Island artist Ashley Medowski’s new works, and she says, “It’s a serene picture you can dive into.”
Diving in is exactly what you want to do with Medowski’s mixed media assemblages, works you might call paintings-plus.
Keith’s Farm…
Rabbi Arthur Waskow Lectures on Eco-Justice
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, creator of the 1969 Freedom Seder, will discuss eco-justice and related issues on Friday, August 7, at 6 p.m. after Shabbat services at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center.
Identified by Newsweek Magazine as one of the 50 most influential American rabbis, Rabbi Waskow founded and directs The Shalom Center, a…
Clarinet Legend Sailing to Vineyard
Clarinet Legend Sailing to Vineyard
In June, when the New York Times announced clarinetist Stanley Drucker’s retirement from the New York Philharmonic, the paper said he was entering “something bigger than folklore. Legend maybe? History? He is retiring from the Philharmonic after 60 years, the longest tenure of any player in the orchestra’s…
The City Meets the Island at PikNik’s Urban Show
This Saturday night, August 8, is the second and final Oak Bluffs Arts District stroll of the summer. Among the many fine events and showings planned by the galleries and boutiques of Dukes County avenue is PikNik’s Urban Event, now in its second year.
Island-Made Mow Crew Returns to Capawock
Mow Crew, a landscaper love affair comedy filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, will have a one-night screening on Saturday, August 8, at the Capawock with two showings, at 7 and 9:15 p.m.
Since it screened to sold-out crowds in the spring, the film has won the Indie Spirit Special Recognition Award at the Boston…
Album Release Party Sunday For Islander Nancy Jephcote
Nancy Jephcote will celebrate her solo CD release on Sunday, August 9 with a concert at the Katharine Cornell Thetare at 8 p.m. Following the hour-long concert there will be a reception with light refreshments at Che’s Lounge.
The album, Garland of Rain, features songs Ms. Jephcote has written and sung over the…
Divas Uncork the Cure Breast Cancer Benefit
A four-day festival of wine, food and sisterhood on the Vineyard is under way. Called Divas Uncork the Cure, it brings together renowned wine experts, celebrity chefs and wine enthusiasts to promote breast health awareness, education and screening in Massachusetts.
Big Screen Babe at the Farm
Big Screen Babe at the Farm
After the sun goes down on the Farm Institute in Katama tonight, August 7, the beloved barnyard classic film, Babe, will go up on the big screen, mounted on the side of the Farm’s horse barn by the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society. Given the special venue, filmgoers…
Getting in Touch With Nature at Felix Neck
It was spider crabs that drew them together.
A circle of children, parents lingering at the back, gathered recently at a new screened-in space at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, the Vineyard’s MassAudubon center on Sengekontacket Pond, ready for the day’s Creature Feature.
Creature Feature is a program for kids aged three…
A Clean One Per Cent
A Clean One Per Cent
The Vineyard Conservation Society and Eco MV announced a new program called One Per Cent for the Island. Environmentally safe, Green Seal-certified bulk cleaning supplies will be supplied to Island schools, restaurants and participating businesses, with one per cent of the profits going to support the Vineyard Conservation…
Island Takes Its Terns Seriously
Least terns have nested on the Vineyard for as long as I can remember. According to Ludlow Griscom and Guy Emerson, the least terns of the Vineyard were able to avoid “plume-hunting persecution” of the 1800s. They nested successfully along what was termed Great South Beach and at Cape Pogue in the 1900s. No doubt…
Another View on Gates Episode
In his commentary in last Friday’s Gazette, Prof . Lawrence Harrison made several observations and presumptions about the episode between Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley that cannot go unchallenged.
Letters to the Editor
TONE DOWN RHETORIC
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
Much is being made of the recent arrest of Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his own home in Cambridge. And indeed, Professor Gates being African American and the arresting officer being white, the case is fraught with racial symbolism. Even President Barack Obama…
10,000 Words and Growing
Zachariah Howwoswee Jr. was the last Aquinnah preacher to speak to his flock in his native language, Wôpanâak. By the early 19th century, there were few parishioners left who could understand him. Forced to give his sermons mostly in English, he would revert to Wôpanâak to make his most particular points to his flock. At…
Blueberry Obsession
Blueberry Obsession
Notebook on an Auction
Notebook on an Auction
It was a splendid night, this first Monday in August, and a splendid new venue for the annual Possible Dreams auction: an elegant tent in Ocean Park with the moon rising over the sea beyond. A few years ago, when the event was postponed due to rain, organizers learned…
Selected for Conference
Selected for Conference
From July 24 to August 21, Wrenn Yennie of West Tisbury will take part in the prestigious Japan-America Student Conference, the world’s longest running student-led exchange program between the two countries. Wrenn will join a group of 72 college students, half from Japan and half from the U.S., traveling around…
Friday Conversations
Friday Conversations
On Friday, August 14, at the Oak Bluffs senior center, Bob Hayden will announce and describe the upcoming Black Inventor’s Showcase which will be held at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs on August 21 and 22. His talk will begin at 10 a.m.
New Skete Trainer
New Skete Trainer
Janine Lazarus, principal trainer from the Monks of New Skete, will be on the Vineyard from August 16 until August 22 and will be available for obedience training work with dogs. A demonstration and talk is planned for sometime that week; the time and date will be announced in the…
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Lectures on Life After 50
Feeling older? Wiser? Harvard professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot will discuss her new book, The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50 on Thursday, August 13, at 7:30 p.m. the Vineyard Haven Public Library. It is free and all are welcome.
Clean Cars for Basketball
Clean Cars for Basketball
A car wash will be held on Saturday, August 8 at the Oak Bluffs School to benefit the regional high school basketball team. The time is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the cost is $8. Rain date is Sunday, August 9.
PBS Kids Steve Roslonek Will Perform at Tabernacle
The popular children’s musician and PBS Kids cohost of SteveSongs comes to the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs for a free family concert on Thursday, August 13.
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
July 31 80 67 Trace
August 1 79 65 .60
August 2 82 67 .00
August 3 76 69 .06
August 4 83 69 .00
August 5 82 70 .00
August 6 79 67 .05
Water…
Speaker to Address Tough Topic Of Effects of Teenage Drinking
As director of alcohol and other drug services at Harvard University, Ryan Travia sees himself as a community organizer.
On Wednesday, he is coming to speak with parents in the Vineyard community, where in June, tragically and not for the first time, teen drinking fueled a fatal car crash.
His presentation…
Don Ogilvie Joins Board of Permanent Endowment
Donald G. Ogilvie has joined the governing board of the Permanent Endowment for Martha’s Vineyard. Mr. Ogilvie is the independent chairman of the Deloitte Center for Banking Solutions, chairman of ABA International and executive-in-residence as well as a member of the faculty of the Yale School of Management.
Chairbound Captain Inspires Campers
Six sailboats are participating in this weekend’s 15th annual Edgartown Yacht Club 12-metre regatta, a three-day sailing event that also is a spectator sport for anyone with an eye toward Nantucket Sound.
These are the World Cup boats, sailing out of the past, about 70 feet in length with 90-foot tall masts. This…
Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseid meteor shower, a favorite astronomical event of the summer, will take place on the evenings of August 11 through 13. Pick your night. Unfortunately, a gibbous moon will dominate the early morning sky. Whenever the moon shows up, meteors become less visible.
Film Society Names New Board Members
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Society has appointed Richard L. Berkley and Susan Kantrowitz to its board of directors.
A seasonal Island resident, Ms. Kantrowitz is responsible for all legal matters affecting the WGBH Educational Foundation, including the production contracting process and the negotiation and administration of national collective bargaining agreements with actors, writers…
Union Chapel Preacher
Union Chapel Preacher
The Rev. Hal Taussig will be the guest preacher at Union Chapel this Sunday, August 9. The title of his sermon is This is God’s Good News. The service begins at 10 a.m., preceded by organ preludes by Garrett Brown at 9:40 a.m.
Reverend Taussig has served as…
Kamala Harris Sees Intercoastal Connection
It was a busy day for Kamala Harris; her Vineyard vacation was drawing to a close and she was pressed for time. Stopping for a television interview on her way to catch a flight to New York city, the San Francisco district attorney, who is running for California Attorney General in 2010, arrived hurried but…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard has a few nice animals who need good homes.
The cats are Harry and Cyrus, two lovable, big, black neutered males; Itty Bitty, a sweet shy Balanese; and Belle and Cleopatera, two shy black kittens.
Sophie is the five-year-old springer spaniel…
Talking Trash With Lisa Foster, Cloth Bag Lady of Aquinnah
Ideas germinate in funny places. With Lisa Foster, it happened in line at a supermarket in Melbourne, Australia, in early 2005 when the checkout operator asked her if she wanted a bag for her purchases.
“The woman in front of me had these big green bags with all her stuff in them,” she…
Creative Living Award for Helen Lamb, Jabberwocky
Helen Lamb and Camp Jabberwocky will be honored as recipients of the 2009 Creative Living Award on August 11 at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury beginning at 5:30 p.m. All are invited.
Consumer Price Watch
Gas
Prices for regular unleaded gas as of Aug.7:
Edgartown
Airport Mobil $3.399 Depot Corner $3.399
Edgartown Mobil $3.459
Oak Bluffs
deBettencourt’s $3.219
Jim’s $3.469
Vineyard Haven
Citgo $3.399
Tisbury Shell $3.429
West…
Renovated Town Hall Nearly Ready to Receive Employees
Despite the ongoing national recession — or perhaps because of it — the West Tisbury town hall renovation and expansion project is nearing completion both ahead of schedule and under budget, town leaders said this week.
Town hall employees plan to move back into the newly renovated space on Sept. 18, more than…
Film on SS United States Screens at Whaling Church
A screening of an acclaimed documentary film about the SS United States and a special tribute to the late Walter Cronkite will take place in Edgartown on August 12. The event is a benefit for the SS United States Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the SS United States, widely considered the crowning…
West Tisbury Man is Arrested in Providence on Heroin Charge
A West Tisbury man was arrested in Providence, R.I., late last month and charged with possession of heroin and intent to distribute heroin, after police working an undercover sting operation caught him trying to pay $11,000 for approximately 170 grams of uncut heroin.
Police believe that Robin Carberry, 24, a known acquaintance of…
East Chop
RICK HERRICK
508-693-8065
(herricklr@verizon.net)
I have an old friend in the music business with two published compact discs. When I reviewed his latest CD for a magazine a few years back, I did some research and discovered that there are 60,000 talented musicians living in and around the Nashville…
See America’s Amazing Race Through History
Here’s an expression historian Patricia Sullivan has a problem with: post-racial.
“Post-racial is such an ahistorical term,” she argues one morning this week sitting at the window of a Vineyard Haven cafe.
“People don’t learn in school what this country is made from, and that’s fundamental to begin to have an…
Diego Arrives
Diego Arrives
Ana Cintra and Ricardo Valintim of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Diego Cintra Valintim, born on July 27, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Diego Cintra weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces at birth.
Chilmark Road Race Saturday Will See Exactly 1,500 Runners
When Hugh Weisman organized the first annual Chilmark Road Race some 32 years ago, he wasn’t exactly sure how many people would show up. Mr. Weisman, an avid runner who at the time was offering a clinic at the Chilmark Community Center, estimated beforehand that 200 runners might show up.
Maybe more, maybe…
Wastewater Plan Must Include Costly Mitigation for Aquifer
A costly plan to divert treated effluent from beneath Ocean Park to another location in Oak Bluffs has hit a snag — and may now become even more costly — because the new location lies within a public drinking water zone.
A consultant for the Oak Bluffs water district recently sent a report…
Guarding Island Beaches Can Challenge Even Fittest
Like vigilant sentinels, the young men and women who work as lifeguards of the Island are constantly scanning the horizon every day, looking for signs of danger or distress. At a moment’s notice they may be required to dive into the pounding surf to pull a swimmer to safety.
Although there are no…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
The weekend weather was just delightful, despite the fierce rainstorm last Friday evening that netted us just over an inch of August rain. The beaches were pleasantly full and many cookouts were cooking. The school playing field was busy as a beehive on Sunday.
First Family Arrival Date Set at August 23
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Obama and his family will travel to the Vineyard for a week’s vacation from Sunday, August 23 until Sunday, August 30.
The announcement said the President plans no public events during his Vineyard stay, but that has not stopped the Vineyard public from getting ready…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
It is a steamy summer in Chilmark. The mist is heavy for parts of each day, and the sun has a hard time burning it off to give us a bit of beach time every day. But as Chilmarkers always say … it must…
Possible Dreams Review: Auction Organizers Call It Unqualified Success
The tent is down, the chairs and tables are gone. And five days after the Possible Dreams auction that raised just over $500,000 for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, Ocean Park is again a place occupied by tourists with ice cream cones and children flying kites.
Honor Roll
Honor Roll
Julia S. MacNelly, of West Tisbury, a member of the Class of 2009, was named to the honor roll at Phillips Academy for the spring term.
Great Job, Kayla
Great Job, Kayla
Kayla Leonard, of Oak Bluffs, received a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology/sociology from Roger Williams University on May 23, 2009.
Bucknell Dean’s List
Bucknell Dean’s List
Shannon Lobdell of Vineyard Haven was named to the dean’s list for the spring 2009 semester at Bucknell University.
Tisbury School Announces Awards for Top Students
The Tisbury School has announced its awards for the 2008-2009 school year.
The Jeffrey T. Goodale Memorial Award was given to Evan Kristal, grade five; the Dorothy Larkosh Roberts Award to Aaron Teves, grade six; the Rose Anthony Award for Achievement in Literary Arts to Barra Peak, grade seven.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Benjamin Stiller, of Vineyard Haven, has been named to second honors on the Clark University dean’s list for the spring 2009 semester.
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS
Is it the end of the world? Aside from the unusual weather, I had three experiences recently which have given me pause. I thought wild animals were supposed to be afraid of humans!
I keep pigs in an open area — so open, in fact, I needed to…
Marbled Godwit
The Chilmark Community Center birding group had the pleasure of driving out on Norton Point with Nan Harris on August 4. Page Rogers had e-mailed photos of a marbled godwit that she had taken the day before at Norton Point. Marbled godwits are rare visitors to the Vineyard with only five records prior to this…
Great Ponds, Great Places
“Oh, The Places You Will Go!”
Dr. Seuss was prophetic (and likely his words and works always will be). I have been lucky to have been able to go to many wild and wonderful places both near andfar. The places that inspire me most are always close to water.
Gotta Have Faith: Sushi Bar Now Open
On a foggy and windy Sunday in Aquinnah, 14-year-old Islander Luc Woodard stands at the order window of the Cliffs’ newest establishment, Faith’s Seafood Shack and Sushi Bar, faithfully serving out the responsibilities of his first job. He shirks a calculator, practicing his addition while making out a receipt for a lunch of varied seafood…
Midnight Meals Go Mobile in Vineyard Haven
Gourmet ballpark food is not the sort of cuisine that historically draws cultish crowds to the ArtCliff Diner. The Vineyard Haven eatery is better known to be abuzz in the morning with repeat patrons hankering for a warm stack of blueberry pancakes or a bacon-tomato-cheese frittata over potato wedges.
Fluke Season Ends
The summer flounder, also called fluke, season is about to come to an end. The state will close the commercial season on Tuesday, August 11. The recreational season will close three days later.
Commercial fishermen cannot land any more fluke after 8 p.m. Tuesday. As of the end of last week, 85 per…
July 31: Partly Cloudy
Friday, July 31: Partly cloudy. Clouds darken. Skies are threatening. Heavy rain arrives late. The sound of large raindrops sound off on a Vineyard Haven roof.
Chappy Benefit Auction
Chappy Benefit Auction
The Lives Beyond the Legends
For the first few pages of Paul Schneider’s Bonnie and Clyde, The Lives Behind The Legend, we see tall, willowy, sultry Faye Dunaway as the infamous gangster moll, Bonnie Parker, and we picture tall, broad-shouldered Warren Beatty as her outlaw boyfriend, Clyde Barrow. It doesn’t take long for the author to get the real people…
Up Close and Personal With Local Sealife
Conditions were perfect — finally — last Thursday evening for the Marine Discovery Tour leaving Oak Bluffs harbor. It was sunny, there was a gentle breeze, and plenty of families were lining up to board the fishing boat Skipper.
This Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary program was supposed to begin running twice a week…
For Kids: Sesame Street Writer to Read, Talk Writing
The Oak Bluffs library welcomes Lou Berger, seasonal resident and former head writer for Sesame Street for 11 years, for a reading of his book, The Elephant Wish on Tuesday, August 11 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The book is a modern fairy tale, in which Eliza Prattlebottom, on her eighth birthday, makes…
Bake Sale
Bake Sale
Snare some sweets and help the strays: Martha’s Vineyard Helping Homeless Animals Inc. is having a bake sale on Saturday, August 8, at Cronig’s Market in Vineyard Haven from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The group is a no-cage, no-kill shelter. All proceeds from the bake sale will go…
Lucinda Franks Explains How Madoff Made Off
Lucinda Franks, author and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, will share her insights into the Bernard Madoff scandal in a discussion on Thursday, August 13, at 8 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.
Andrew Young and Dr. Louis Sullivan To Lecture in August Road Scholar Event
Andrew Young, noted civil rights activist, former mayor of Atlanta, Ga., and ambassador to the United Nations in the Jimmy Carter administration, will be the special guest lecturer at the annual Taste of Road Scholar event taking place on Tuesday, August 18, at historic Shearer Cottage in Oak Bluffs.
Recycled Into Art at Shaw Cramer Gallery
Shaw Cramer Gallery today opens Repurposed, Recycled, the latest in its spotlight exhibitions.
Furniture, paintings, metal, glass, jewelry and collage by three Island artists and seven national artists combine to present an elegant collection of work composed of repurposed and recycled materials.
Wendy Weldon has painted on her used painting sandpaper,…
Holy Land Hardball Plays at Hebrew Center
Is Israel ready to play ball?
Bostonian Larry Baras thought so, certain that if he built it, they would come. He not only built it, he let Brett Rapkin and Erik Kesten film the associated trials and tribulations. The result is the high-octane Holy Land Hardball, showing this Sunday evening at the Martha’s…
Ghostface Has Nectar’s Filled to the Gills
Hailing from the streets of Shaolin — that’s Wu-speak for Staten Island — Ghostface Killah entered his 16th year in the rap game with a first-ever trip to the Vineyard last week. The thin-voiced rapper performed for a sold-out crowd Saturday night the same gritty metaphors and rowdy on-stage antics that launched him onto the…
Same Time, Different Stories for Black Artists
They are among the greatest storytellers in our country’s history. Tomorrow, they will be gathered in Vineyard Haven to share their colorful tales with Martha’s Vineyard. Of course, the four men weave these tales without a word, and are no longer alive to tell them in person. But their stories live on in their vibrant,…
