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
August 13, 2010
Baptist Minister Returns to West Tisbury Church
Rev. Raphael Warnock returns to the pulpit at the First Congregational Church in West Tisbury as guest minister on Sunday, August 15. He has served as the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., since 2005. Rev. Warnock graduated from Morehouse College cum laude in 1991, and holds a master of divinity…
Sparkling Stories and Sunflowers To Say Goodbye
The late Patricia Neal, at some point in her dazzling half-century run as a Broadway and Hollywood actress, said “A strong, positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.” But it’s not so important that she said it. After all, an actor is excellent at reciting empty lines; they make whole careers…
Airbrushing Israel is Losing Liberal Jews
The working title of Peter Beinart’s forthcoming book, The Crisis in Liberal Zionism, puts it nicely in a nutshell.
The problem: how do American Jews, who are traditionally overwhelmingly liberal, respond to an Israel which is steadily growing more illiberal and increasingly inclined to pursue policies which many, including Mr. Beinart, believes to…
Emerging Technology Tested at Airport
Vineyarders Jonathan and Linda M. Haar work in wind power technology, but one thing they share with wind energy opponents is an objection to seeing enormous towers built in pristine places.
And their concern is not just aesthetic, but practical. It would, they reasoned, make much more sense to generate the power as…
Computer Images Show Views
As wind power development looms over the Island, planning agencies and other organizations are beginning to come to terms with what that will mean visually. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission and Vineyard Power have each developed visual simulations to show what Vineyard horizons will look like dotted with wind farms.
And depending on your…
Oak Bluffs School Principal Takes Change in Stride, Pledging to Learn From Others
Carlin Hart is already settling into his new job as principal of the Oak Bluffs School. In an interview at his office on Wednesday this week, he took a seat among boxes and books, some of them his, some belonging to outgoing principal Laury Binney.
Trustees Admit Violation With Least Tern Chicks; State Investigates Action
The Chappaquiddick superintendent for The Trustees of Reservations has resigned and Trustees are taking full responsibility for an incident late last month where an unfledged nest of least tern chicks was nearly run over by a Trustees-owned four-wheel-drive truck that was on the barrier beach conducting a natural history tour.
Laura Jernegan Journeys From Sea to Cyberspace
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum will host a public launch of the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded interactive Web site, Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whale Ship, at the museum library in Edgartown on Saturday, August 14 from 3 to 5 p.m.
So Much Life Amid Talk of Loss Shows Just What Hospice Does
T he paper assigned me to cover the summer benefit for Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, billed as the Summer Soiree. I had my notebook and pen at the ready, determined to do a good job reporting on the events of the evening. It was a beautiful night out at Farm Neck Golf Club. The tents…
It’s Philanthropy Day, Time to Consider New Ways to Give
Today is Philanthropy Day on Martha’s Vineyard. Proclaimed by Dukes County, it’s a day to honor everyone, seasonal and year-round, for the tremendous amount of time and money they donate to keep the Vineyard and its nonprofits running. We salute and thank all of you for giving back. The Island couldn’t survive without you and…
The Birds and the Breeze: Wind Power Critics Meet Mass Audubon
Extensive Research
Mass Audubon’s position on the Cape Wind offshore renewable energy project has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Some critiques of our action have no merit or basis in fact. We are providing the following information to clarify our involvement in the review of this project.
My Tea and Sings With Patricia Neal
A star on Hollywood — and in the world — dimmed this week when Patricia Neal died. I will not say that her light has gone out; her influence will continue to brighten our world through those she has touched as long as we allow it.
Letters to the Editor
CANCELLED APPEARANCE
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
Regarding the forum at the Chilmark Center this past Sunday on the 166 wind turbines proposed by Governor Patrick to be placed right off our shores near Noman’s and Cuttyhunk — we who live here year round were looking forward to the three candidates for governor…
Behind the Summer Soirees
Behind the Summer Soirees
A keen observer noted that anything that isn’t ridiculously expensive on Martha’s Vineyard is ridiculously cheap. Boutique or Dumptique. One-off or secondhand. Big ticket or barter.
Under the Roof
Under the Roof
Perhaps encouraged by the hot sunny weather, this is the summer of the houseguest. Hard-working Islanders know the script, which goes something like this:
Guest: Oh, we’d love to come for just a night. Would that be any trouble? I know you are working.
Issues of Race on the Boards
Author Fanny Howe is, by her own account, “sort of obsessed with issues of race.” Her father, Mark deWolfe Howe, was a civil rights activist and Ms. Howe, who now lives in West Tisbury, grew up in the slow-burning racial fire of Boston.
Author Fanny Howe is, by her own account, “sort of obsessed…
Oak Bluffs Summer Meeting
Rocks at Inkwell Beach have left some Oak Bluffs summer residents stone-cold.
On Tuesday Oak Bluffs selectmen held their annual summer taxpayers meeting. The afternoon reception provided an opportunity for the Community Preservation Committee to report on its latest efforts in civic restoration, as well as for town officials to hear from summer…
Fact, Fiction, Arab, Israeli: Mr. Dershowitz Tackles All
Harvard Law professor Alan M. Dershowitz will deliver a lecture titled The Israeli Arab Conflict in Fact and in Fiction at the Chilmark Public Library on Thursday, August 19 at 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Mr. Dershowitz, a Chilmark summer resident, is one of the best-known criminal lawyers in the world and a…
The World is Your Lobster When You Join Chilmark Road Race
Where else but Martha’s Vineyard can a grandparent and grandchild compete against athletes and long-limbed teenagers without the competitive edge? Runners return every year for the Chilmark Road Race, and this weekend’s race is no exception. Everyone from Croc-wearing children to adults clad in high-tech sneakers will navigate the winding and hilly Middle Road on…
Sparks to Fly at Union Chapel: Comedienne in Pulpit
At Union Chapel this Sunday, August 15 the guest speaker is the Rev. Susan Sparks. She is America’s only female comedian with a pulpit. Currently senior pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist church in New York city (and the first woman in its 160 year history), Rev. Sparks has been featured in the New…
Rev. Streit at Trinity
Rev. Streit at Trinity
Trinity Episcopal Church in Oak Bluffs will have the Very Rev. John P. (Jep) Streit as celebrant on the next two Sundays, August 15 and August 22. This is his 19th year at Trinity. Rev. Streit is dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston, where he is well-known for…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
August 6 79 70 .82
August 7 87 59 .00
August 8 78 67 Trace
August 9 81 68 Trace
August 10 83 71 .03
August 11 87 70 .00
August 12 81 61 .00
…
Juniors Hit USTA Points At Vineyard Youth Tennis
A USTA junior tennis tournament will be held at Vineyard Youth Tennis the weekend of August 14 and 15. The tournament will consist of boys’ and girls’ 12-and-under and 14-and-under age divisions (this means anyone under 12 years old can also play in the 12 and under division).
This is a great way…
Bryn Walker Opens Trunk of Jewels, Flowers
A trunk show of one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces will be held this weekend at Bryn Walker of Edgartown. The show includes Cerca Trova Jewels (Cerca Trova means “seek and you shall find” in Italian), a line of handcrafted jewelry by Marie Fiedrich of Edgartown and Carlisle. Zen Bijou, a collection of handmade silk flowers, pearls and…
Oak Bluffs
Bettye Foster Baker
508-696-9983
(bdrbaker@comcast.net)
The imposing Tabernacle, in the center of the Camp Ground, surrounded by tiny whimsical fairy-tale cottages, with their porches dressed in colorful Chinese and Japanese lanterns is about to take center stage. Illumination Night is next Wednesday and the Camp Ground is buzzing in…
Chappy
BRAD WOODGER
508-627-4216
(ibwsgolf@aol.com)
I’ve been wondering what the character of our Chappy is. I hear much about it being lost, but it would be a help if I knew what I was looking for, in order to find it. Maybe, as my housemate Bob suggests, one could find…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks@gis.net)
The world mourns the death of Patricia Neal, and sympathies go out to her devoted family from her many friends on the Vineyard. Her style and grace were truly understated. She enjoyed her years on the Island, and the Island enjoyed and embraced her…
East Chop
RICK HERRICK
508-693-8065
(herricklr@verizon.net)
Our daughter Molly was a gifted high school athlete. Her special gift was speed. She was a leading runner on a cross-country team that won the state championship, and a standout on the track team in hurdles and the mile relay.
Town Column by Jane N. Slater
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark is moving through the August heat and sharing it with a large number of visitors and vacationers. Sometimes we feel as if we are wading through summer, as the humidity has been so high; however, it doesn’t hinder the outdoor activities all around…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Remember last summer we were wishing for sunshine? Well, Mother Nature has turned the wheel! And even though many are thrilled that their vacations have been sunny, our gardens need rain. So hopefully we can compromise and have sun during the day and some much…
Photo Credits
Photo Credits
Three photographs that appeared in the Friday, August 6, Gazette with a story about the Witnesses to Hunger project failed to include credits. The first two photographs were taken by Erica Smalley, and the third was taken by Barbara Izquierdo.
Moon and Planets
Tonight’s thin crescent moon appears low in the southwestern sky. Look to the right of the moon and you’ll see the brilliant planet Venus, accompanied by two fainter planets, Mars and Saturn.
New Program Offers Newly Sober Intensive Support on the Island
In the past, staff at the Gosnold rehabilitation center on Cape Cod have seen Vineyard patients board the boat back to the Island and worried about their fragile state, knowing there was no day program for therapy and support. Now with the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services New Paths Recovery Program, all that has changed.
Tribe Hears Town Counsel as Path Closure Prompts Dialogue
A meeting between the town and tribe in Aquinnah has finally taken place, but no agreement has been reached on whether an access path to Lobsterville Beach, blocked off by the tribe last month with a rope barrier and a blockade of branches and brush, will be reopened.
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Two of our beautiful adult cats were adopted last week, but there are still more at the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard who would make special pets for anyone. They are: Banjo, Cleo, Miss Misty, Cyrus, Gracie, Dolly, Binx and Phoebe.
Our two dogs are Katama, a boxer…
Edgartown Library Will Hold Public Forum Monday
The Edgartown Library building design committee has been working since April to develop a new building plan for submission in early October to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The committee has made several field trips to visit other new libraries in the region. Last week, the committee signed a contract with Pomroy Associates of…
Tiny Shack to Island Institution: Eden Celebrates Quarter Century
“What are you ladies cooking up today?” Laura Raney, an employee at Eden Market, asks a pair of regular customers as she rings up their purchases on Monday afternoon. When they describe plans for concocting a steak and onion dinner — “similar to what we made last year,” they remind her — Laura advises them…
Real Life Seen Through The Eyes of Real Students
Middle and high school students from East Orange, N.J., and awardwinning filmmakers Hafiz Farid, Shelley Grodner Seidenstein and Richard Woods joined to make the documentary film Hope for the Homeless, which will screen on Thursday, August 19, at 5:30 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs Public Library.
Sexy Show Takes You to Tango
When she takes the stage at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown Friday night to tango with the pros, Esther Caroline Deming will do so with only a couple of hours of preparation. She’s an avid ballroom dancer and belongs to the Martha’s Vineyard Ballroom Dancers. But the tango is not a typical part of…
Countdown to the Throwdown: Top Chefs Feel Need for Speed
Chef Johnny Graham of the Home Port in Menemsha was one of the top 20 contestants on Bravo’s Top Chef. Chef Kyle Garell of Sidecar in Oak Bluffs started his own cooking show on Martha’s Vineyard Television. And while Mario Batali and Bobby Flay may not be there, Mr. Graham and Mr. Garell will go…
Center for Pizza Eating
Center for Pizza Eating
Martha’s Vineyard’s Flatbread Company is different from other pizzerias in two ways: first, the restaurant uses locally grown organic ingredients, and second, it holds a benefit night every Tuesday, when the restaurant donates $3.50 for every flatbread sold between 5 and 10 p.m. to a local nonprofit organization. Tuesday,…
First In, First Aid
First In, First Aid
The American Red Cross will hold an adult CPR/AED and first aid class on August 14 at the new YMCA on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs, The CPR/AED portion will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and costs $55. The first aid class portion of…
The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis to Finish Film Series
The audience award-winner for best documentary from this year’s Boston Jewish Film Festival, Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt with Nazis, will screen on Sunday, August 15, the finale in the Summer Institute film series at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center.
This Race Was All About Race in Surprising Forms, Film Shows
Five years ago, on August 29, 2005, America watched in horror and frustration as New Orleans drowned. Images of suffering and loss remain in our collective psyches today, but many of the sensational events that took place during the rebuilding process were not adequately sensationalist to dominate the media. Filmmaker Katherine Cecil’s new documentary, Race,…
Reviving First Woman in Cabinet’s Voice to Inspire a Modern-Day Ms. Perkins
Marjory Potts met Frances Perkins purely by accident. Buried in books at the Vineyard Haven Library, researching an article she was writing about another subject, she came across a biography of Ms. Perkins, and all but lost interest in the subject at hand.
Ms. Perkins was the Secretary of Labor under President Franklin…
In the Treehouse With Enos Ray
In the Treehouse With Enos Ray
Paintings by Enos Ray will be on exhibit from now through Labor Day at Treehouse Studios in West Tisbury. All are welcome to a reception on Sunday, August 15, from 4 to 7 p.m. David Corcoran will provide music during the reception as well as present his…
Vitamin C with Carbs
Vitamin C with Carbs
It’s out of the pulpit and into the peach pit this Saturday at the West Tisbury Congregational Church’s annual peach festival. From noon to 4 p.m. gorge on peach ice cream, peach shortcake, and peach smoothies on the church lawn. Peach preserves are also available for take home.
…
Yoga Class Gives Back
Yoga Class Gives Back
Bend it for the Bard, and all the other arts, by taking Johanna Hynes’s vinyasa yoga class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. at Vineyard Arts Project, 215 Upper Main street Edgartown (parking available). Drop-in fee is $20, kids $12, and 20% of the proceeds go…
Jackopierce
Jackopierce
High-energy acoustic harmony duo Jackopierce is appearing Saturday, August 14 at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown. You can bank on hearing their song about the Island, titled Vineyard.
The Cock Crows About Art
Olga is in the henhouse and that’s something to crow about. This Sunday, Ms. Hirshhorn once again curates the annual Chicken Alley Art and Collectibles sale and does a lot more than dustup a few feathers. Art gallery, vintage clothing shop, delectable collectibles, hey now, is this Lagoon Pond or Montparnasse?
Sunset Entertainment
Sunset Entertainment
What is Summer Song? It’s a free evening of entertainment, song, music and refreshments at the Sailing Camp Park in Oak Bluffs overlooking the Lagoon on Monday, August 16, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in support of Island Theatre Workshop’s Children’s Theatre program and the Payne-Fierro Scholarship fund.
Artist Captures Vanishing Way of Life in Nova Scotia
Self-taught Nova Scotia artist John Neville will have his fifth exhibition at the Carol Craven Gallery, now in West Tisbury.
Bon Voyage BravEncore
Bon Voyage BravEncore
After 18 months of planning, rehearsing and fundraising, the BravEncore Theatre Troupe departs the Vineyard on Saturday to perform their original musical play at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. Islanders are invited to join a bagpiper in sending off the student thespians departing on the 3:45 p.m. ferry out…
Hoopapalooza
Hoopapalooza
It’s all hoops, all day, on Sunday, August 15, when the dunking begins in the 22nd annual Alex Cohen Memorial Basketball Marathon for Charity at the Chilmark Community Center.
Fun begins at noon and continues through 6 p.m.
The marathon is played in memory of Alex Cohen, who…
We’ve Got Happy Feet! Built on Stilts Dance Festival is Wild and Free
For four days this weekend, worshipping at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs will take a different form. The light that flows into the historic church will not only be illuminating people in the pews, but the ballerinas, hip-hop artists, modern and belly dancers worshipping the art of dance at the annual Built on Stilts…
Bog to Brine’s Pond: Tour The Chappy of the Natives
On Saturday, August 14 Polly Hill Arboretum staff make their annual visit to Chappaquiddick to explore native plants along the trails near the Chappy Community Center.
From bog and wetland plants near Brine’s Pond to species common to the fields and woodlands, there are always interesting plants to identify and enjoy. Learn the…
Museum Ceremony Recognizes Guardians of Island Heritage
The Vineyard represents centuries of personal tragedies, triumphs and the humdrum operation of day-to-day Island life.
Sailors Enjoy Summer Season Racing
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association race on Thursday night July 22 was a warm evening with a pleasant 10 knots of west wind. Twelve boats posted for the 6 p.m. start at red nun 6. The course took the fleet to green can 23a at East Chop then to nun 4 at West Chop, and…
August 6: Partly Sunny
Friday, August 6: Partly sunny. A muggy afternoon. Temperature in the high 80s. Seven 12-metre sailboats are rafting at the Edgartown Yacht Club, under clear skies.
Elusive Bonito
It should be bonito season. The water is warm, well into the 70s. There are plenty of sand eels swimming near the shoreline and there are plenty of terns overhead feeding. The bonito should be here. But they mostly aren’t.
This Toy Story Has Three Wheels
By MATT KRAMER
The Kiwis are coming! The Kiwis are coming! One if by land, two if by sea three if by both? Recently, sunbathers at Edgartown’s Lighthouse Beach were shocked and awed when a boat drove onto the beach supported by three wheels.
Sipping Sans Snobs: Divas Dish the Secrets of Fun, Fine Wine
Long gone are the days of Two-Buck Chuck that Stephanie Browne and her close group of girlfriends sipped throughout college. Cheap chardonnay and chablis have been replaced with a palette of curiosity, one that led them to form a wine club that eventually turned into Divas Uncorked. This weekend, the group of friends and their…
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS
Winter squash is a misnomer. For years I have saved them for post-summer meals. Thanks to the hideous squash bug, the vines are mostly dead and the squashes are no longer attached to anything. I see no point in leaving them in the field, probably to rot. On Saturday, Marie…
Improvising With Chicago’s Great Performer
While a certain Chicago politician comes ashore in a little over a week, an ambassador from that other great Chicago institution, its jazz scene, will have already made landfall; the legendary Ramsey Lewis performs at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center this Sunday.
Mr. Lewis has just finished composing Colors: the Ecology of…
Birds of Maine
It all started with the drive failure on one of the Volvo engines on Dovekie, my husband Flip Harrington’s boat. We found the best place to take it for repairs was East Edgecomb, Maine. Luckily, we were able to get a ferry off-Island on Thursday but were unable to book a return until Monday! Welcome…
Wonder Wort
There is no reason to be depressed when St. John’s wort is around.
Though physicians and herbalists will disagree as to the oft-stated benefits of treating depression with this plant, I prefer to avoid the debate. The conflict will surely make me sad. I would rather keep my spirits high with this herb.
