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
March 15, 2013
29 Brook Hollow Road, West Tisbury
29 Brook Hollow Road in West Tisbury sold for $832,000 on March 6.
24 Crocker Avenue, Vineyard Haven
Harold J. Halpin and Joan R. Halpin, trustees of the New Millbank Family Trust, purchased 24 Crocker avenue in Vineyard Haven from Leslie L. Vivian 3rd, Mary S. Vivian and Andrew S. Dintenfass, personal representatives of the estate of Anita W. Vivian, for $1,375,000 on March 8.
249 County Road, Oak Bluffs
249 County Road in Oak Bluffs sold for $375,000 on March 8.
13 Netock Avenue, Oak Bluffs
13 Netock Avenue in Oak Bluffs sold for $719,000 on March 6.
15 Leslie’s Lane, Oak Bluffs
15 Leslie’s Lane in Oak Bluffs sold for $272,500 on March 6.
1 Boldwater Road, Edgartown
1 Boldwater Road in Edgartown sold for $5,400,000 on March 4.
Urgency Increases as Schifter Red Tape Piles Up
Plans to move a Chappaquiddick home threatened by erosion became more urgent this week, after last week’s nearly-three-day storm brought the coastal bank 11 feet closer to Richard and Jennifer Schifter’s Wasque Point home. But as waves continue to eat away at the waterfront property, the drama of the house move has extended into now…
Frequent Storms Undermine East Chop Roadway
The succession of storms that have pounded the Island this winter have taken their toll in Oak Bluffs, where the town says massive repairs are needed to stabilize the damaged East Chop area. Officials said the already-weakened East Chop Drive, bluff and beach have sustained significant damage in the past few months, beginning with Hurricane…
Island Grown Initiative Plots Next Chapter for Thimble Farm
Island Grown Initiative announced preliminary plans this week for a campus-style farm center at the former Thimble Farm Property, including a refurbished greenhouse, parcels of land for tenant farmers and a slaughterhouse facility. At the farm network’s annual farmers’ dinner on Monday night, executive director Sarah McKay laid out the organization’s initial plans for the…
Going With the Flow, Dunkl Siblings to Sell Chilmark Spring Water
The Dunkls are water people. For the past 14 years, Frank, Peter and Heidi Dunkl have owned, operated and delivered Chilmark Spring Water. But now the siblings are looking to sell the business. “When you’re almost 70 and you’re dealing with one five-gallon bottle in your hand and another on your shoulder and you have…
Boys’ Basketball Dream Season Ends at State Semifinal Game
In the end, somebody had to lose. On Tuesday afternoon, the boys’ basketball team took on defending state champion Danvers in the semifinals of the Division 3 state tournament, battling back and forth with the Falcons on the green-painted parquet of the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The game had just about everything — late…
Hospital Announces Chemotherapy Program
Starting in April, patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer will be able to get more of their treatments on-Island under a new agreement between Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center. Renovations are underway to turn the former emergency room area in the old section of the hospital into a six-bed oncology unit with…
Sequester Cuts Takes Bite Out Of Head Start, Tribal Services
Head Start, the home-based preschool program for low-income Vineyard families, will end programming one month earlier and begin one month later this year to accommodate federal budget cuts due to sequestration, the program’s director announced this week. Debbie Milne, early childhood program director at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, which operates the Head Start program on…
Superintendent’s Building, Town Stipends Top Oak Bluffs Warrants
The Oak Bluffs selectmen signed off on the annual town meeting warrant Tuesday, but said they expect lively discussion about two agenda items: funding for a new school district building and stipends for some elected town officials. Selectmen expressed hesitation at a request for $45,172, which would pay for the town’s portion of architectural designs…
Vineyard House Stays Solid
Vineyard House ended another year in the black, thanks to strong end-of-year appeals and fund-raising, the sober housing facility announced at its annual general meeting on Feb. 18. The meeting also served as an election for the organization’s officers.
Oak Bluffs Bar Fight Ends With Assault Charges
Two men are facing charges including assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after a fight Saturday night in Oak Bluffs. Patrece L. Petersen, 40, of Edgartown and Darryl Baptiste, 35, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were arraigned Monday in Edgartown District Court after police said they were involved in a fight at…
Land Bank Revenues: March 8
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $263,270 for the business week ending on Friday, March 8, 2013. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.
Nothing but Net
Ask any adult for a memory they will never forget, chances are if they played high school sports, the big game will top the list. Often it isn’t the big win, though. It’s the loss that sticks tightest; every loose ball, turnover, timeout and bead of sweat shed in that final game. We hope the…
Heralds of Spring
They’re calling out in Lambert’s Cove. In Oak Bluffs, too, Edgartown, the entire Island by now. They’re looking for love in all the muddy places and anyone out at dusk can’t help but be caught up in this annual mating call. The pinkletinks have awakened. Spring is here.
Washashore Chronicles: When the Grief Remains Bone Deep
Somewhere in the first hour of every morning I burst into sobs. How long has it been now? A month? He was a presence. He was with us for 11 and a half years. Then he wasn’t. Our beloved yellow Lab has died. Our dear sweet Floyd is gone. Great pain took hold of him…
Memories of Ireland
Hearts filled to the brim with love and respectSmiling eyes to welcome and connect.A wild sense of humor that would make a cat laughPlus a pinch of ridicule to add to the spark.Forty or is it eighty shades of greenRain and drizzle never before seen.Pubs that stay open all through the nightDriving on the left…
Pass the Fruitcake Please, Another Slice of Quiet Time
A friend recently diagnosed as being allergic to gluten found himself unable to eat the fruitcake he had been sent at Christmas and passed it on to us. It was very big and quite heavy, shiny with cellophane and red ribbons, and wedged tightly in a festive tin. A solid confection, stored away in the…
A Sure Hand to Catch the Big Claw
Spring is blossoming at Tubby Medeiros’s home in Dodger’s Hole in Edgartown. But instead of budding flowers, there is a mix of brightly-colored lobster pot buoys. Mr. Medeiros is a lobsterman and he is moving full speed ahead to get ready for the upcoming fishing season. New white lobster pot buoys, freshly painted with orange…
Window Shopping on Circuit Avenue
Winter on Circuit avenue can be quiet. Down at the Good Ship Lollipop only a few customers find their way to the door seeking chocolate treats. And yet the candy store does have at least one daily customer who keeps knocking, literally, at the window.
At the Feeder
From the March 4, 1983 Reflections of That Man Friday column by William A. Caldwell: Depending on the distance intervening between you the beholder and it the beheld, the herring gull (Larus argentatus smithsonianus) is either (1) a thing of beauty and a joy forever or (2) loathesome, a dweeb, a nerd, yucky. Wheeling and…
Nature Knows Best
The attached letter has been circulated to the The Trustees of Reservations and the Mass Division of Marine Fisheries: In my view, the ongoing oceanic and coastal processes witnessed at the Trustees property at Wasque Reservation and Leland Beach should not become part of the Schifter’s relocation plan.
Trap Fishing
About 1930 I used to join childhood friends during three summers on Lambert’s Cove Beach, which was the base for Norman Benson’s trap fishing business.
Leaders Among Peers, They Lend Ear to Help
When high school freshman Mason Jeffers was given a slip of paper at the beginning of the school year notifying him that he had been nominated by his class to be part of Peer Outreach, he was surprised. Mason, along with 39 other students across all grades levels, was identified by a schoolwide survey as…
On the Hunt for Elusive Island Otters
During winter, when there is significant snowfall, wildlife biologist Luanne Johnson begins the hunt for otter trails. Only in the snow can she easily track the round-toed trails at Sepiessa Point Reservation or the smooth belly slides along the hills of Cranberry Acres. Otherwise, the elusive otter remains mostly a mystery. This winter has been…
Vineyard Haven Town Column: March 15
You know what I think of technology. A necessary (or perhaps unnecessary) evil. I still prefer to do my writing and thinking with a cheap black ballpoint pen on a yellow legal pad. I spent two and a half hours on the phone with three nice technicians in India two weeks ago.
West Tisbury Town Column: March 15
Well, spring will be here in a mere five days and that will not be soon enough for many of us. We were battered by a northeaster that didn’t leave much of any snow, but the wind sure did howl with gusts up to 65 mph. All boat service was canceled for last Thursday and…
Oak Bluffs Town Column: March 15
We decorate with rocks, using them to landscape, cover driveways, mark parking spots or protect our grass from cars. We paint them — usually white but sometimes yellow — to attract further attention. Smooth purple rocks are sparingly gathered from a purposefully unnamed up-Island beach.
Chappy Town Column: March 15
I need to do some repairs under the ferry ramp on the Edgartown side. The recent run of extremely low tides and then the four-day northeaster have caused scouring beneath the retaining wall that separates Dock street from the ferry slip. In order to get the repairs done in one day, we need to start…
Edgartown Town Column: March 15
Here we go waiting for spring. My crocuses are up and blooming and the daffodils are up and budded. They have been snowed on and now rained on. My friend who keeps me updated on the wildlife aspect of spring, Jan Norton, called to report that she and her husband Floyd heard two pinkeltinks. I…
Chilmark Town Column: March 15
Chilmark is enjoying the bright sunshine of midweek as I write. The skies are clear and the sounds of the hammers are in the air . . . always my first hint of a milder season to come!
Aquinnah Town Column: March 15
Spring is getting near. We have changed our clocks for the season and the longer days of light have been a welcome relief. Families are still returning from their vacations. The red-winged blackbirds have been around for about two weeks and their friends have welcomed them in a chorus each morning. Thoughts of spring cleaning…
Drawing on Experience, Young Painter Sets Sail
Two artists, Ray Ellis, 91, from Edgartown and Joshua Chase, 10, from Hudson, will be featured this morning on the Today Show. The two are new best friends. Joshua earned the attention of talent scouts when pictures of his paintings were submitted by his mother, Chantel Chase, to the television program’s nationwide search. One of…
Cancer Group Celebrates Survival, Support
From charter members to recently diagnosed patients to caregivers, over 50 people attended the annual Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group celebration of survival and support on Sunday night. The potluck dinner was held at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs.
Cancer Society Daffodils
On Tuesday, March 19, daffodils from the American Cancer Society will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Edgartown Stop & Shop. The cost is $10 per bunch and all funds collected go directly to fund cancer cure research and programs that help individuals battling this disease.
More Than a Mere Perk Up, Good Coffee Tells a Full Story
Not too long ago, though not recent enough that I can remember what year it was, I lived in a cabin on my cousin’s land. During construction a giant boom truck lifted the recycled building into place, using a hole that was gouged into the roof to elevate it to its new foundation. New shingles…
Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival Opens
Tonight, March 15, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival begins. Now in its 13th year, the festival has become an annual cultural rite of spring. The snows have melted, Daylight Saving Time begun, and now into the mix add a bit of enlightenment in the form of films and conversations at the Chilmark Community Center. The…
WMVY Celebration Party
During the fundraising efforts to keep WMVY alive on the internet, musicians wondered how they could help out. “Lots of musicians came to us and asked what can we do,” said station manager Barbara Dacey. “But at that time we were just taking pledges.”
Shedding Light on Solar Project
The West Tisbury selectmen are taking a second look at an agreement with the Cape and Vineyard Energy Cooperative for a town solar project amid questions about a draft contract for the project. At their meeting last Wednesday, the selectmen directed town administrator Jennifer Rand to consult with town counsel about certain details in the…
Ice Arena Fundraiser
Eating for the ice, that’s what’s happening on Wednesday, March 20 at Eleven North in Edgartown. As part of the kickoff “Raise the Roof” campaign for the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena, the restaurant is donating 20 per cent of the proceeds of a prix-fixe, three-course meal to the arena. The cost for the dinner is…
Center for Living Lunch
The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living will hold its third in a series of cultural luncheons focusing on the arts and cultural community of Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, March 23, at the Grill on Main in Edgartown. The luncheon will be from noon to 2 p.m. and will honor The Martha’s Vineyard Museum. The featured…
Football Cancer Benefit
The Martha’s Vineyard youth football team will be hosting an obstacle course benefit for Relay for Life, the annual American Cancer Society walkathon, this Saturday, March 16. In addition to an adventurous obstacle course, there will be a bouncy house, face painting, food, raffles and a DJ.
Museum Spotlight Exhibit
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is hosting a reception tonight, March 15, for its latest spotlight gallery. These are short-term galleries devoted to rarely seen collections, new acquisitions and curators’ favorites. The latest spotlight was curated by the museum’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers. Over the past few weeks, these friends have voted on their favorite…
Bird Identification Class
Ever wonder what all those birders were up to out there in the woods and on the shorelines? Well, master birder Rob Culbert will be teaching a bird identification class beginning March 28. The course will help interested birders identify the Vineyard’s shorebirds, terns, gulls and warblers and other songbirds. The class meets on Thursdays…
MVCS Logo Contest
What to do when you are an organization dedicated to helping the community and wondering how to create a new logo? If you are the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS), you ask the community. Welcome to the 2013 Community Logo Contest. Everyone is invited to enter the contest and the winning entry will appear on…
Deep Sorrow
Charlie Brown and his human ilk don’t have a monopoly on grieving. While humans have developed elaborate rituals when a loved one dies, we may just be following our instincts. Emotions lead the way when dealing with death, and some research and observation has shown that we are not alone in our methods of mourning. Animals,…
Olly Olly Osprey
It’s the season for the ospreys to return, which, along with the arrival of red-winged blackbirds and other migrant icterids and an uptick in birdsong volume and variety, signals a kickstart in bird awareness right about this time each year.
In Bloom
Thanks to everyone for your condolences regarding the death of my mother. I have been doing quite a bit of reflection during the past few weeks. One good thing about gardening — there is always something to do. It’s wonderful to have an activity that is not only useful but meditative. There is plenty of…
Comet Pan-STARRS
A faint comet will appear low in the western sky tonight after sunset but it will be tough to see. Forecasters predict that Comet Pan-STARRS will be harder to find than originally anticipated.
Welcome William
Jamie and Merrill Langley of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, William Charles Langley, born on March 9, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. William weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces at birth.
Announcing Alex
Rita Souza Barbosa and Adevalde B. Freitas of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Alex Avelino Barbosa Freitas, born on March 13, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Alex weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces at birth.
Hello, Braeden
Roselene Gaspar and Brett Geddis of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Braeden Ryan Silvia Geddis, born on March 12, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Braeden weighed 6 pounds, 13.2 ounces at birth.
Bella Arrives
Alana Trindade and Cristiano Silva of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Bella Trindade Silva, born on March 1, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Bella weighed 9 pounds, .75 ounces at birth.
Proposed Comcast Payment Deal for Chappy Deemed Not Possible
The Edgartown selectmen learned Monday that one idea to alleviate the cost of bringing cable to Chappaquiddick is a no-go. In January, selectmen inquired if a “betterment” could be created in which the town would bill residents over time for the cost of cable service.
Cancer Support Goup Celebrates with Survival Party
From charter members to recently diagnosed patients to caregivers, over 40 people attended the annual Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group celebration of survival on Sunday night. The potluck dinner was held at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs.
Regional High Student Advances to Statewide Science Fair
Regional high school sophomore Eli Hanschka won a second place award at the South Shore Regional Science Fair on Saturday, earning him a spot in the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair.
