Mary Oliver
The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. —Mary Oliver
May 18, 2012
Yoga Festival
The third annual Martha’s Vineyard Yoga Festival returns this year, and while you have until Labor Day to stretch with the best of them, yoga devotees will want to purchase tickets now. Prices range from $20 for a one-hour master class to $40 for a two-hour workshop. After June 1, prices increase by $5, and…
News Update: Tuesday, May 22 – Sengekontacket Opened for Shellfishing — With Conditions
For the first time in recent years, parts of Sengekontacket Pond will be open for shellfishing at least through June.
Civil War Series
On Tuesday, May 22, Jim Thomas takes the helm of the Vineyard Haven Libraries’ Civil War Series. Mr. Thomas’ specialty is slave songs and the underground railroad and he has given musical presentations on spirituals in Germany, Africa, Brazil, Sweden, Austria, and America, not to mention Martha’s Vineyard. He has also served as a soloist…
Family Planning Art Show
Save the date for the family planning art show held on Memorial Day weekend. The event takes place at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury and includes paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, maybe even a cow turned painter; it is the Ag Hall, after all. The opening gala is on Thursday, May 24, from 6 to…
Happy Birthday, Minnesingers!
The Minnesingers regional high school singing troupe is turning 45-years-old. To celebrate, as part of their spring performance this weekend, they are taking a tour down memory lane. One of the numbers will be a medley of songs performed over the past near half-century. The group will also perform the Seven Deadly Sins through song…
News Update: Saturday, May 19 – Strategic Purchase by Market Owner Is Boon to Island Housing Trust
A condemned, dilapidated building off Water street in Vineyard Haven will be the next project for the Island Housing Trust thanks to Steve Bernier, the owner of Cronig’s Market, who announced Friday he had donated the house to the trust.
News Update: Friday, May 18 – Edgartown Books Will Stay After All
It’s the start of a new chapter for Edgartown Books, the Main street bookstore that will reopen next week under new ownership.
Jeffrey and Joyce Sudikoff, Los Angeles residents who own a home in Edgartown, are the new owners of the Main street building and the business. The sale closed on Friday. Purchase…
Martha’s Vineyard Named to Best Island List
Martha’s Vineyard is better than Nantucket! At least, that’s the opinion of the folks at familyvacationcritic.com. The Web site has compiled a list of the 10 best islands in the United States, and ranks Martha’s Vineyard number 8, one spot ahead of Nantucket. Amelia Island, located off the coast of northeastern Florida, nabbed the top…
Oak Bluffs at a Crossroads Over New One-Way Traffic Pattern
In Oak Bluffs, changes in a traffic pattern have a neighborhood physically divided, and some up in arms.
Last November, motivated by concerns about safety and lack of parking, the selectmen approved redirecting traffic on part of Dukes County avenue to flow one-way toward the harbor between Masonic avenue and Wing Road. Before,…
Wetlands Violator Faces Stiff State, Town Penalties
A year after the Tisbury conservation commission discovered what it called the worst wetlands violation in decades, the town board, as well as the state Department of Environmental Protection, have come down hard on a West Chop homeowner responsible for dredging 11,600 square feet and filling in 1,235 square feet of wetlands at Mink Meadows…
West Tisbury Eyes Greener Future With Energy Designation
West Tisbury is on the road to becoming a Green Community.
The town is in the final stages of creating a plan to reduce energy use by 20 per cent over the next five years, with the goal of becoming designated a Green Community under the 2008 state Green Communities Act. The designation…
Vineyard Athletes, From Youth Leagues To High School, Flock to Lacrosse
On a Wednesday afternoon at the regional high school, the varsity and junior varsity sports teams are just finishing their practices. At the same time, cars pull up alongside the chain link fences ringing the fields and younger athletes step out, opening trunk doors and pulling out duffel bags of gear. The bags, and the…
Anti-Apartheid Stance Garners Ultimate Award
On July 1 Caroline Hunter of Oak Bluffs will receive the Rosa Parks Memorial Award from the National Education Association in Washington D.C. to honor her work in social justice, as well as her long career in education in the Cambridge school system. And just this past Wednesday, at a ceremony in Cambridge, Mrs. Hunter…
Without a Tax Rate, Chilmark Turns to Short-Term Borrowing
Delayed state approval for 2012 property assessments will force the town of Chilmark to operate on borrowed money for the early part of the fiscal year, the selectmen learned this week. Without certified assessments from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the town cannot set a tax rate, and without a tax rate it cannot send…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks2004@yahoo.com)
The torrential rains of Monday night and Tuesday have certainly created more blooms and blossoms around Aquinnah. There are many beautiful birds to be found as well, as evidenced by a recent sighting of a very handsome woodpecker and beautiful chickadee. Of course the…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark sends best wishes to Susan Larsen and her daughter, Brigida, as they prepare for the two day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this weekend in Boston. Susan will walk 39.3 miles and Brigida will speak at the opening ceremonies and join the youth…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
We spent Mother’s Day with our daughter, Nicole, her husband, Arsen, and grandson Robbie in Taunton and Newport, R.I. The weather was spectacular. Moms couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I want to thank Alan Gowell for minding the cemeteries, Raine…
Changing Planet Patterns
Say goodbye to Venus. Each night this month, the brightest planet appears lower in the western sky after sunset. By June, Venus will be gone from view for skywatchers on the Vineyard.
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
In all seriousness, I ask you, what could be better than a garden party on a glorious May day, under a sumptuous white satiny tent, with platters of little sandwiches, antique tea cups and saucers at each guest’s place setting, and a fashion show?
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Here we are one week before Memorial Day and we are having some good weather and some still-needed rain. It sounds like this weekend is going to be a nice one but I still warn people about planting too soon. There are some things that…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
May 11 66 47 .01
May 12 63 45 Trace
May 13 72 53 .00
May 14 70 56 .00
May 15 70 56 .00
May 16 68 58 2.23
…
Pastor Takes Florida Post
Pastor Takes Florida Post
Flyfishing Classes
Flyfishing Classes
In his memoir, A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean introduced many readers to the art of flyfishing. The movie of that memoir, featuring Brad Pitt in perhaps his most golden boy moment, gathered up quite a few more believers. But for those still on the sidelines, worried perhaps about tying…
Little League Season Under Way, Cubs Undefeated
After three weeks of play, last year’s little league championship-winning team, the Cubs, is again in first place. The team is undefeated after winning a doubleheader against the Cardinals last Saturday. Pitcher Aiden Aliberti struck out 11 of 12 batters while notching three RBIs in the first game to help the Cubs to an 11-0…
Fighting Cancer in His Father’s Memory
When Ross MacPherson was 11, his father, Robert G. MacPherson Jr., died from lymphoma. “He had first gone to Dana Farber [Cancer Institute] only about one year before,” Mr. MacPherson, who is now 28, recalled this week. “It didn’t take very long.”
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
The sweet little mystery stray that came to the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard last week is a stray no longer. His owner never claimed him but another person fell in love with him on the spot and he now has a great new home.
Reading, Remembering William Styron
In a 1967 Life magazine story, the late William Stryon was quoted as saying: “Writing is a cruel and wracking pursuit. I hope none of my children follow in my path.”
Alexandra Styron has done just that, and in her book — Reading My Father — she has found a lifeline away from the…
Vineyard Teams Awash in Titles, Tourneys
Two Vineyard teams, boys’ tennis and girls’ lacrosse, clinched Eastern Athletic Conference titles this week. Both are undefeated in league play this season, and boys’ tennis has not lost at all.
Softball plays three home games this week, taking on Advanced Math and Science Charter School in a double header tomorrow (play begins…
Watchstander
Watchstander
Ron Walsh of Edgartown has been certified as a qualified communications watchstander at the United States Coast Guard Station Menemsha. Watchstanders monitor several Coast Guard radio channels for distress calls and dispatch Coast Guard search and rescue vessels.
Mr. Walsh, a member of the Martha’s Vineyard detachment of the Coast…
Hello Frances
Hello Frances
Angie Francis and James Moffatt of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a daughter, Frances Anne Moffatt, born on May 10, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Frances weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth.
Welcome Leticia
Welcome Leticia
Ariadne Amarins de Oliveira and Wesley de Oliveira of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Leticia Amarins de Oliveira, born on May 11, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Leticia weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce at birth.
Liam Arrives
Emily Drazen and Peter Keene of Chilmark announce the birth of a son, Liam Michael Keene, born on May 10, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Liam weighed 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces at birth.
Committee Appointees
Committee Appointees
The Edgartown selectmen Monday appointed members to a newly-configured town dredging advisory committee.
Gary Look from the marine advisory committee, Edward W. Vincent Jr. from the conservation commission and Ralph Case from the shellfish committee were appointed to the committee, with selectman Margaret Serpa voting against the appointments.
Margot Datz Mural
When the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority ticket office opens Monday for the summer season there will be plenty to see inside and overhead. Margot Datz, a much celebrated Edgartown artist, this winter completed a 70-foot mural that spans three overhead walls. The painting was commissioned by the Steamship Authority last fall and it took her,…
Overlook Obstructed By Invasive Plant
The town of Tisbury is struggling to say sayonara to Japanese knotweed at the Tashmoo Overlook. The invasive plant has flourished in the area after being accidentally shipped in by the state Department of Transportation a decade ago.
At the Tisbury selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, board chairman Tristan Israel, who lives in the area,…
New Propane Provider Gets Initial Okay
Citing a near monopoly of the Island’s propane supply, a new player hopes to enter the Vineyard energy market this year.
John Rymes, owner of Rymes Propane & Oil, a family-owned business based in Pembroke, N.H., appeared before the Tisbury selectmen on Tuesday to request a license to store 16,500 gallons of propane…
The Vineyard Independence Partnership
The Vineyard Independence Partnership (VIP) presented its first-ever Access Appreciation award to the Steamship Authority Wednesday afternoon in recognition of the recent improvements the SSA has made to its passenger ramp at the Vineyard Haven terminal. The ramp, installed earlier in the year, was designed to offer greater accessibility to passengers with physical disabilities, and…
Call to Refrigerate Freshly-Caught Oysters
State and local fisheries officials said Thursday that toxic bacteria in oysters caught in shallow waters off Wellfleet do not present a similar threat to Vineyard oysters, but nevertheless urged shellfishermen in all coastal areas to take precautions, including refrigerating oysters as soon as possible after catching them.
Chilmark Will Formally Appeal Coast Guard Claim Rejection
The Chilmark selectmen this week endorsed a formal appeal to the U.S. Coast Guard’s rejected insurance claims for the Menemsha boathouse fire.
At their meeting Tuesday, the selectmen unanimously voted to approve an appeal letter written by town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport that questions the outcome of the investigation into the cause of…
Not Just Another Dirty Rat, James Cagney Reveals Soft Side
There has been much in the news recently about James Cagney. Like so many children of the fifties and sixties, I grew up closely acquainted with his many movie roles. My favorites were Yankee Doodle Dandy, the film in which Cagney portrayed George M. Cohan, the famous musical composer, playwright, actor, singer and amazing dancer,…
Islanders Unite Against Citizens United
With town meeting season over, some Islanders gathered with state Sen. Dan Wolf last Saturday morning to celebrate all six towns passing resolutions against the Supreme Court Citizens United case.
And He Ran Calling Shadowmere
When I arrived on the Vineyard in mid-March, I could still see my breath billowing out in front of me as I ran out along South Road and down Blue Barque Road in Chilmark. I wore a sweatshirt and a wool hat to guard against the cold. I’m not in great shape, so by the…
Signs of the Season
From the edition of May 22, 1987:
There’s a new and seasonal sort of traffic on the Beach Road in Vineyard Haven these days, as the sailboats of summer make their way down to the water for another season. Large sailboats emerge slowly from the lagoonside sheds of the Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard, to…
Letters to the Editor
CRITICAL NEED
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
For seven years, Rising Tide Therapeutic Equestrian Center has provided positive educational and therapeutic interactions with horses to members of our community with special needs. What started as a dream for a small group of dedicated volunteers has become a reality for Martha’s Vineyard. Rising Tide…
Voice of People Is Not Roundabout
Last week’s Gazette editorial eloquently recognizing the one-sided results of the ballot questions on the roundabout was a welcome coda to this ongoing and vexing issue.
Time to Shake Paws in Dog Debate
There’s a special town meeting coming up for West Tisbury, on Tuesday June 5. It seems to be generating some confusion about the dog situation on Lambert’s Cove Beach. It would be great if no time were wasted at the town meeting clearing up the confusion, so I would like to politely offer clarity on…
Recent Island Real Estate Transactions
Oak Bluffs
Bruce J. and Lauretta M. Stewart purchased 22 Atlantic avenue in Oak Bluffs from Brook Hersey, individual and trustee, and William Eisen, trustee of the Barbara Day Hersey Trust for $900,000 on May 7.
Nicholas M. Catt purchased 8 Circuit avenue extension, Unit 16 in Oak Bluffs from Sunlock…
Peculiar Punctuation
My activities last weekend were punctuated with exceptional beauty.
During Felix Neck’s annual bird-a-thon fundraiser this past Saturday, my mission was to find and identify as many birds as possible. Somehow, though, my attention got diverted to other winged wonders.
Butterflies were out in full force, but there were two species…
Bird-a-thon Bliss
The Felix Neck Bird-a-thon was a success! There were four teams; Suzan Bellincampi and the Felix Neck staff, Al Sgroi and crew, Lanny McDowell and Pete Gilmore, and Rob Culbert. Sally Williams tended her feeder and Richard Greene added whip-poor-will and American woodcock from his West Tisbury property. The combined effort resulted in 124 species…
Always, Never, Best
I am the queen of superlatives. I am fond of always, never, best, and worst. Isn’t the copper beech in North Tisbury the most beautiful tree ever? I swear it gets more spectacular every year. I attempted to figure out the exact cultivar in Michael Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants but I lost my…
Farm Revolution
On Saturday all over the world, people will be celebrating the benefits of locally grown, unprocessed food as part of Food Revolution Day, an educational outreach championed by British chef and food activist Jamie Oliver. Here on the Vineyard, Island Grown Schools, led by coordinator Noli Taylor, is a shining example of how a community…
High School Prom, Nothing Else Compares
it was all about sparkles at the high school junior prom Saturday: the sequins on prom gowns, the silver stars hanging in the Edgartown Yacht Club, the sun hitting the water in Edgartown Harbor, the excitement of the juniors as they gathered for their big night.
Students walked into Yacht Club wearing their…
Garden Tour to Explore Several Up-Island Gems
Next Saturday, May 26, the West Tisbury Church is hosting a tour of several up-Island gardens. All of the gardens are located on private residences and so, ordinarily, remain hidden to all but the birds and hungry rabbits and deer. But for one day the owners of these gardens have agreed to share the natural…
Glee-ful
Minnesingers Take to the Stage
Long before Glee there were The Minnesingers.
This year the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School singing troupe is turning 45-years-old. To celebrate, as part of their spring performance this weekend, they are taking a tour down memory lane. One of the numbers will be a medley…
Preschool Open House
Preschool Open House
The Chilmark Preschool is hosting an open house on Saturday, May 19, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Meet the teachers, tour the facility, and learn about the curriculum. It’s never too early to start learning calculus, you know.
Actually, the Chilmark Preschool prides itself on a…
Wisdom and Grace of the Ages, Centenarian Pens Eleventh Book
Margaret Howe Freydberg of Chilmark was 104 in March and celebrated this month with the publication of her 11th book, Cruachan: The Battle Cry of Scottish Chieftains. It is a long short story, originally written many years ago, after her first and only visit to Scotland in the 1950s. Recently, she discovered her old writings…
Jim Thomas on Spirituals
On Tuesday, May 22, Jim Thomas takes the helm of the Vineyard Haven Libraries’ Civil War Series. Mr. Thomas’ specialty is slave songs and the underground railroad and he has given musical presentations on spirituals in Germany, Africa, Brazil, Sweden, Austria, and America, not to mention Martha’s Vineyard. He has also served as a soloist…
