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
September 28, 2012
50 Martin Bradley Road, West Tisbury
50 Martin Bradley Road in West Tisbury sold for $595,000 on Sept. 21.
28 Church street, Vineyard Haven
28 Church street in Vineyard Haven sold for $570,000 on Sept. 19.
00 Black Point Beach Lot 4, Chilmark
00 Black Point Beach Lot 4 in Chilmark sold for $320,000 on Sept. 17.
Vineyarders Embrace, Fish Bite, In Honor of Wounded Warriors
Sunday afternoon was the first time Colton Wiley of Keofauqua, Iowa had ever seen the ocean. Three months ago he was shot in the legs in Afghanistan, leaving the 19 year old wheelchair bound. Now, on a beautiful September evening on Menemsha Beach, he was watching his first sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. “It’s beautiful…
SSA Weighs Rate Hike for Autos, Parking
Steamship Authority governors this week announced plans for fare increases on the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket routes in order to compensate for rising fuel costs and other expenses in next year’s budget. At the monthly meeting of the boat line governors Tuesday in Nantucket, a preliminary look at next year’s operating budget showed a budget…
Man of Many Hats, His Mission Is to Build a Better Future
Leonard Jason Jr. sits behind a cluttered desk heaped with requests for permits to build houses, revise houses, create a curb, redo a kitchen and put up a tent, along with notes from contractors, letters from lawyers and fellow town officials. Lenny, who recently became vegan and started working out after a “silent heart attack,”…
In Week Three, Derby Leaders Unchanged
Despite a flurry of action around headquarters as the Saltwater Challenge Wounded Warriors weighed in their daily catches, one important feature of the small building at the foot of Main street in Edgartown remains stagnant.
Who Will Win the Boat, Truck? Derby Sponsors Relish the Role
As the derby enters its third week, many fishermen no doubt have begun to dream about the two grand prizes — a new 22-foot Eastern center console boat with outboard and trailer, and a new 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 truck. Eastern Boats has provided the winning boat for four years. The Clay Family Dealership has…
Score Seeks Volunteers
Resource volunteers are needed to provide expertise in a variety of areas to Score counselors. Score is a volunteer driven nonprofit created by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist in the building and growing of small businesses.
Horse Council Seminar
Bring your questions, but leave your horse at home. On Wednesday, Oct. 3, the Martha’s Vineyard Horse Council will host a seminar with visiting equine veterinarian Dr. Andris (Andy) Kaneps. An author and surgeon, Dr. Kaneps specializes in lameness diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation and sport horse performance issues and equine surgery.
New Instrument is Music to Their Ears
The music sounds so sweet these days at the Chilmark Community Church, thanks to the addition of a new pipe organ. It is not only a lovely instrument to hear, its pipes singing, it is a sight to see. The church organ, custom made by Stephen J. Russell, arrived this summer and its lyrical sounds,…
Home and Garden Issue
The Martha’s Vineyard Magazine Fall-Winter Home & Garden issue, on stands now, delves into the work of creative professionals in the fields of architecture, interiors, gardening, art and food.
Please Adopt Us
The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard has three cats and one guinea pig available for adoption. Daisy is a beautiful, big gray indoor-only cat who loves people and is so sweet-natured. She would make a great lap cat for someone. Thor, who had been fostered for a time, is back with us looking once again…
Tisbury Residents Consider Expansion of Bike Paths
A new sidewalk and fresh paint are in store for Skiff avenue in Tisbury as town officials attempt to make the road safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and cars. On Tuesday night the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, on behalf of the Tisbury department of public works and planning board, held a public meeting at the Tisbury Senior…
Two People Arrested on Prostitution Charges
Edgartown police arrested a man and woman this week on several charges, including prostitution and theft. Gabriel Rios-Leon, 20, of Rockaway, N.J., and Shannon M. Owens, 27, of New York, N.Y., were arraigned Thursday morning in Edgartown district court. Police said they came to the Island Tuesday when an Edgartown man solicited Ms. Owens for…
Land Bank Revenues: Sept. 21
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $29,960 for the business week ending on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.
Grants Available
The Martha’s Vineyard Community Health Initiative is seeking one-year proposals for up to $5,000 in grant money. A total of $20,000 in mini-grant funding will be awarded to address unmet needs in the areas of behavioral health, public health, chronic disease management and healthcare access. Grant awards must be utilized within one year of receipt…
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (iklean@yahoo.com) Roberta Mendlovitz had the greatest visit from her “adopted” daughter Holly Karp, now of Aspen, Colo. Holly has always felt Roberta was her “adoptive Mom,” although no papers changed hands. Roberta was born and raised in Vineyard Haven and you all know how active she has been in our community. Roberta…
Edgartown Town Column: Sept. 28
It is still T-shirt weather but the long pants have come out. I am still holding out on the flip flops and won’t give in for at least another month. I have been watching the ponds and they still need a lot more water before fall is over.
Chappy Town Column: Sept. 28
PETER WELLS 508-627-4216 (ibwsgolf@aol.com) Those of you who knew Don Mohr well may be surprised to learn of his many accomplishments mentioned in his obituary. Modesty was his greatest fault. Everyone remembers that when Don fished he liked to sit on an upturned bucket. The story goes that by the time he retired from fishing…
Around the Island in Under Twelve Hours
It was not as ambitious as Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition to find a route to the Spice Islands in 1522, and certainly not as dangerous. But Dana Gaines of Edgartown and his two friends, John Karoff from Milton and Tucker Lindquist from Ipswich can nevertheless be credited with plenty of pluck and explorers’ ambition for completing…
Erosion at Wasque Threatens Home
With the southwestern Wasque shoreline eroding at a rapid rate that is being termed “unprecedented, significant and unanticipated,” the Edgartown conservation commission this week granted emergency certification allowing the owners of a Chappaquiddick home to take immediate steps to protect their home from the encroaching sea.
Hello Leon
Emily Fischer and Douglas Brush of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Leon Fischer Brush, born on Sept. 22, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Leon weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces at birth. Leon joins big brother Milo.
Two Firsts for Vineyard Football, Field Hockey Remains on Top
The football team’s second home game of the season is tonight at 6:30 p.m. The Vineyarders play Randolph.Home field action continues over the weekend, with the still-undefeated field hockey team playing Pembroke at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday and girls’ soccer taking on Bishop Feehan under the lights at 6 p.m.
West Tisbury Town Column: Sept. 28
Well, September has slipped away rapidly and we are now in the fall season. The weekend weather was delightful, but Sunday was noticeably cooler, lending a fall-like atmosphere to the air.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Sept. 28
Farm Neck was the name most often used for Oak Bluffs by 1642 when Joseph Daggett was first granted land for his farm. In 1646, Thomas Mayhew called our part of Martha’s Vineyard the Easternmost Chop of Holmes Hole, the word chop being a variation of chap, the jaw of a vise or a clamp.
Aquinnah Town Column: Sept. 28
Welcome to those veterans participating in the fourth annual American Heroes Saltwater Challenge. I had the great fortune of meeting a few of their family members while on tour with Lori Keefe and her young son Grady while they were in Aquinnah. They were thrilled to have gone out on the Alabama on Tuesday. Lori…
Chilmark Town Column: Sept. 28
Chilmark was a lively place this past weekend. There were lots of people, activities and energy. There were motorcycles on tour, sailboats on moorings and fishermen everywhere! Saturday there were filmmakers doing their thing in Menemsha where scenes for a movie were shot. A helicopter hovered overhead with a camera working on its bow. Hopefully,…
Welcome Bryan
Jasmine Tumurchudur and Leandro Rosa of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Bryan Laudo Tumurchudur Rosa, born on September 25, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Beyond the MCAS Scores
There was good news to celebrate in Vineyard public schools last week with the release of the scores from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam administered annually among elementary and high school students. Student proficiency levels are good to excellent in math and English nearly across the board, and six out of seven Island schools…
Pavement and Paradise
Well-intentioned though it is, the proposal to remove ten Norway maples between the new West Tisbury Library and the Field Gallery has predictably raised the hackles of some residents. Hoping to create a level, environmentally-friendly parking lot, the library building committee has come up with a landscape plan designed to limit the ill effects of…
Sand in My Shoes: New Course in Celebrity Awareness
It’s a staple of local conventional wisdom that one of the reasons famous people love our Island is that we encounter them with a nonchalance that puts one in mind of an English butler escorting a carpet-installer to the rear wing.
Mill Pond Sediment Issue Rising
The Mill Pond and its upstream cousins: Mill, Priester, Crocker, Fisher (also known as Woods), plus two or more smaller ponds, each with dams, are eco-gems strung together by a silver chain — the Mill Brook.
Teacher Learns from Student’s Journey
Three years ago in my sophomore history class, a young woman sat in the corner, deliberately placing herself outside the circle of activity in the room. I recall we were busy fund-raising for money to send books to a school in Mississippi, and later in the year for disaster relief in Haiti.
Saltwater Heroes
I have lived on Martha’s Vineyard for 20 years and could not be more proud to call this Island home.
His Office Was Wasque, Chasing Blues
Don Mohr knew where all the fish were. When he died last week, a chilly breeze blew over the Vineyard waters. For many of us Mr. Mohr was synonymous with the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. He died on Thursday, Sept. 20, in Atlanta, Ga., at the age of 89.
Watershed Study First
The following letter was sent to the West Tisbury selectmen. I write you now about the next town meeting’s question involving the Mill Pond.
Six-Day Success
Regarding “Walking in Shadow of West Bank Conjures Up Complex Emotions” (Phyllis Meras, Commentary, Sept. 14)
Charting New Course
The Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship is concluding its sixth successful year of investing in people and organizations on the Island.
Yes to Roundabout
I have been a summer resident since 1948 and a resident from April to October for the past five years. My wife and I have traveled extensively and to England and Ireland very often, both as a student and for many years as a director of an NGO.
Injured Firefighter
The following letter was sent to the Edgartown selectmen with 170 signatures: The undersigned have been following the situation that has been ongoing between the town of Edgartown and Jim Klingensmith, surrounding his disabling back injury
Church Restoration
As the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury gathers on Oct. 30 to celebrate the completion of the first important steps in the restoration of our church building, we want to thank our town for the generous grant of $150,000 of Community Preservation Act funds.
My Vote
Would you give matches back to a known arsonist who had torched your neighborhood? Don’t give the matches back to the Republicans.
Happy Half Century to the Big Red Doggy
Among the green-trimmed houses on High street in Edgartown, Norman Bridwell’s home sticks out. The shutters and doors are bright red. And in the window hangs a paper-sized illustration of a familiar dog —a big, red dog to be exact. “Red has been good to me,” said Mr. Bridwell (84) at his home last week.
Moving Mountains
We would like to thank the whole Island community for their continued support at our ongoing electronic waste and awareness collection drives held every Sunday now through Thanksgiving in a different Island town. We are writing in particular about the event held this past Sunday, Sept. 23 at the Menemsha Texaco parking lot by the…
Fun Times
From the October 21, 1994 Just a Thought column by Arthur Railton: At least a dozen times since Labor Day I’ve been asked, “Did you have a fun summer?” Those of us who live here don’t spend much time thinking about having fun in summer. We’re too busy making sure that everybody else is.
Gazette Launches Real Estate Yearbook
The Vineyard Gazette this week announced publication of the first Martha’s Vineyard Real Estate Yearbook, an annual resource guide for anyone interested in buying or selling property on the Island. Published in partnership with LINK, the primary multiple listing service for Martha’s Vineyard, the yearbook provides a comprehensive look at property transactions by town and…
Peas Braggadocio
My smugness will be my undoing. For several weeks now, I’ve been bragging about my field peas. Originally I purchased a 50 pound bag which I kept in the freezer. I planted it into flats in my greenhouse in order to have young shoots and tendrils to enhance winter salads. Now I’ve been planting it…
Reel Time
There has been so much bird activity I will write about our trip to Colombia next week!
Sneezy Chronicles
Don’t blame the goldenrod. The sneezing, itching and irritated eyes and nose are not caused by the fabulous yellow blooms that are shining golden across the landscape. Showy goldenrod may be obvious, but it is not guilty.
Long Legacy of Open Doors Shearer Cottage Turns 100
The day before the centennial celebration of Shearer Cottage in Oak Bluffs, Gretchen Tucker Underwood noticed that the landscaping around the 100-year-old red inn on Rose avenue was not quite ready for the impending party.
Wind Power Plan
On Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:15 p.m., the Martha’s Vineyard Commission is holding a public hearing on the draft for the Wind Energy Plan for Dukes County. This plan was widely distributed last year and can be downloaded from the commission website, mvcommission.org (search for Wind Energy Plan September 2012).
IMP Creates Theatre to Address Bullying
Over a period of eight months IMP for Kids went into the Edgartown School’s health classes and used improv theatre games, discussions and writing prompts to gather the students’ thoughts about bullying in their school. Writer and director Donna Swift then took the student’s writings and stories and created two scripted shows; one for a…
He’s Just Wild About Eating Anteater
Bill Manson stopped by the Gazette the other day. He wasn’t wearing a loin cloth, but he was chewing on a slice of marsupial and washing it back with some cricket and earwig tea. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
Living Local Festival Opens Naturally
David Fisher has been weed-free for nearly 15 years.With eight acres of organic vegetables, Mr. Fisher has developed a system of crop rotation at his Natural Roots Farm and CSA in Conway that has kept weeds to a bare minimum.
Animal Shelter Walk
On Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Animal Shelter is holding its 2012 Walk for the Animals to raise money for the shelter. The walk begins at the Oak Bluffs School entrance to Tradewinds. Pledge forms are now available at the shelter and veterinary clinics. Walk with or without animals.
Irish Music
The Irish are coming and they are related. On Friday, Oct. 5, the brothers Vallely, Niall and Cillian, are playing a concert at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. Nial plays the concertina and Cillian rocks the uilliann pipes and low whistle. Usually they play in their own bands, Buille and Lunasa, respectively, but…
Plein Air and Derby Art
This Sunday, Sept. 30, The Martha’s Vineyard Art Association and the Old Sculpin Gallery are holding an opening reception for the exhibit Artist Reflection: Scenes along the Shore with paintings by Meg Mercier. The show runs from Sept. 29 until Oct. 8 along with a continuation of Fish Stories the 2012 Fishing Derby Show.
Family Photo Shoot
Tomorrow, Sept. 29, the Chilmark Preschool is holding a photo shoot to benefit the school’s violin program. The shoot is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with 15 minute increments. Many of the slots have already been taken but there are a few still remaining. There is an additional shoot on Sunday, Oct. 14.
Diapers to Derby Winner is True Keeper
In 2005 my sister Molly, then 12 years old, caught an enormous striped bass. It was so big when she finally hauled it onto the boat she backed away from it in fear and almost fell head over heels off the side of the boat into the churning ocean. I remember her telling me she…
Read On! After 25 Years, Blues Still Biting
John Hersey was a master at both fiction and nonfiction writing. He wrote more than 20 books, including Hiroshima, a short but searing account of the effects of the atomic bomb as seen through the eyes of six survivors. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his novel A Bell for Adano.
Long-Running Quest to Develop Moshup Trail Land Denied Again
The Aquinnah zoning board of appeals this week denied two variances for an Aquinnah property owner who wants to build a bridge or culverts across land he owns off Moshup Trail. James Decoulos, a Cambridge engineer, has been trying to win the right to build a house on the two-plus-acre property for 14 years.
State Says Aggressive Action Needed to Restore Pond Health
With high levels of nitrogen in Sengekontacket Pond threatening everything from marine life to property values, state and local environmental officials have outlined an aggressive plan to clean up the pond that ranges from diverting wastewater from several watersheds to designating the entire pond as a district of critical planning concern.
Superior Court Opens With Rape Trial
The fall sitting of Dukes County superior court begins next week at the Edgartown courthouse, with several criminal and civil trials on the preliminary docket. Criminal cases currently scheduled for trial include that of a Vineyard Haven man charged with rape.
Start of Bay Scallop Season Announced
The bay scallop season is set to open in Edgartown for family scallopers on Oct. 1.Acting on the recommendation of the shellfish committee and shellfish constable Paul L. Bagnall, the Edgartown selectmen approved dates for the scalloping season on Monday. Recreational scalloping begins Oct. 1, with all areas open and a limit of one 10-gallon…
