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
May 31, 2013
Honors Night Celebrates Academic, Athletic, Artistic Merits
What follows is the list of awards given to Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School students at the annual Honors Night ceremony, held Thursday night at the high school Performing Arts Center.
Guiding Their Own Education, Students Discover Unique Selves
The rafters echoed with laughter as 12 high school seniors gathered in Polly Hill Arboretum’s far barn to commemorate their graduation with a simple lunch. These students are the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School’s Class of 2013, the school’s largest graduating class since its first class of seniors graduated in 2001.
Vineyard Haven Waterfront Still Rebuilding After Sandy
The effects of Hurricane Sandy are still being felt on the Vineyard Haven harborfront, but marina owners say they are recovering on schedule for the influx of summer boats in coming months. The October 2012 hurricane destroyed a portion of the town-owned Owen Park dock and severely damaged the dock of the private Vineyard Haven…
Study Aims to Address Needs of Changing Demographics
The data is clear: like the rest of the country, Martha’s Vineyard is bracing for a sharp increase in the population of older residents. The number of Vineyard residents 60 and older is growing at a faster rate then the rest of the state, and that demographic is expected to grow as the baby boomer…
Planetary Lineup
Three planets form a line in the early evening this weekend but the alignment won’t last. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are close together low in the southwestern sky, visible less than an hour after sunset. The view is short, as they set quickly as twilight turns into night. Venus and Jupiter are the easiest to…
Public Charter School Comes of Age
Nearly twenty years ago a group of parents began formulating a plan to create a new school on Martha’s Vineyard. The idea was to provide another public school option on the Island, one that was still free and taught the same state-mandated framework as other schools, but that was more project-based and gave students the…
Fire House Log
Workers in downtown Vineyard Haven never needed a watch to know when it was lunchtime. They had their reminder every day when the noon whistle blew from the fire station on Beach street. The sound made dogs howl and, according to an old account from the Gazette, one day a horse died of fright following…
Student Essayist Looks Within To Discern Needs Versus Wants
If I had the opportunity to provide a family with all its financial needs for a year, I would stick with the basics, but include things that would carry this family for years to come. My idea is kind of like the old saying: “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
On Chappaquidick Paying Homage to Irish Immigration
In January 1851, according to the diary of Jeremiah Pease, a British boat “castaway” off Muskeget with 256 Irish on board. Four froze to death. Who were those nameless people? From the date it is clear they were fleeing from a country that had become a graveyard to seek opportunity and salvation in America. Turning…
Taking the Measure of May
You used to be my favorite without a wink of doubt. “May, the unsurpassable Vineyard May,” I would effuse to mere mainlanders, “riding ashore on perfect waves, your velvet breezes and widening warmth soaking into our bones, your light awakening across greening pastures, emerging leaves holding the softest hues, the pitch and sway of the…
Washashore Chronicles: View of the Future May Require Swim Goggles
In public seminars this month, the Vineyard Conservation Society, using colorful and frightful maps, showed how we were on our way to becoming the next Atlantis. My wife and I just bought here and now they’re telling me “here” may not be here for long? Here I was enjoying my status as a washashore and…
Circle of Friendship, From Egg to Paw
Annie and I spent a lot of time at the beach through the years. I stayed at the tide line. She took off for the dune grass looking for small mammals. There were plenty. If she caught a scent of something underground, she would crouch, her big plume of a tail wagging furiously, and leap…
History Retold
The other day I was looking at a photo taken from Pam Clark’s old house of Shenandoah, at anchor in back of the Black Dog, and waxing nostalgic. Then today I read about Shenandoah’s namesake, and the original Alabama. I had thought they had been Confederate blockade runners, sort of romantic vessels.
Of Persuasion and Courtesy
Tea Party member Peter Robb (letter, May 17) complains that “Barack Hussein Obama has done precious little to bring liberals and conservatives together.” Without suggesting any useful measures, Mr. Robb instead goes on to assert that the administration has done a whole list of bad things, and lied about them.
Chocolate Kettles
I’m always amused to see how information given to someone working for a newspaper can get turned around, and I normally just enjoy it. But when Skip Finley’s Oak Bluffs piece from the May 17 Gazette was pointed out to me, I knew it was time to correct some misinformation. I think my mother, Elizabeth…
For Jack Howland
Remembering Jack Howland — his wit, his wisdom, his way with words — his place at the round table at the ArtCliff Diner. The following, titled Snapshots, was written by Jack in November 2010, but he still had a few good miles to go. You are missed by many, Jack.
Clock Ticking on Circuit Avenue Renovation, Food Truck Decision
Oak Bluffs entered the summer season Tuesday with heated debate over issues from one end of Circuit avenue to the other. At the upper end of the avenue, unfinished construction on the Edgartown National Bank’s new building was a central point of contention. Later, selectmen grappled with whether to allow a stationary food truck on…
Coming Home
From the Vineyard Gazette editions of June, 1908: To those who have always loved the Vineyard, a pretty book by Charles Gilbert Hine of New York makes its appeal. First, because of its pictorial beauty; second, because of the interest of the story; third, because of the nuggets of real history so aptly and easily…
Little League Creates Big Memories
It’s hard to miss the Astros. Dressed in blazing orange uniforms, the players would stand out in nearly any environment, but against the bright green grass of the regional high school field, the contrast seems all the more dramatic. The Astros, a squad of 14 and 15 year olds, are a bridge, the final stop…
New County Emergency Alert System Aimed at Visitors
The Dukes County advisory board last week signed off on funding for a new emergency notification system aimed at summer visitors with smart phones. County emergency management director Chuck Cotnoir requested the use of county funds to put in place the Ping4 notification system as a way to help Island visitors receive emergency information. Ping4…
ACE MV Honored for Arts Education Contributions
Adult and Community Education of Martha’s Vineyard (ACE MV) was named an Outstanding Community Arts Education Collaborative on May 22 by Arts Learning. The award was presented in a ceremony at Lesley University in Cambridge. ACE MV offers numerous classes in many different mediums. It also hosts community forums, performances, readings and cultural events focusing…
Volunteer of the Year
Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands honored Barbara Murphy of Chilmark with the Volunteer of the Year award at its annual meeting. Mrs. Murphy has been a Meals on Wheels volunteer since 2005. She came to the Meals on Wheels program as a volunteer driver after teaching Spanish at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High…
Chilmark Town Column: May 31
Chilmark is now on the downhill side of the first long weekend of the season and our hope is that the sun will return and stay with us so that our visitors will want to return! The weather was grim until the actual holiday itself when the sun was bright on the parades and picnics.…
Aquinnah Town Column: May 31
One would have never known it was spring when the temperature dipped to the 40s over the weekend, but we will recognize the season more when it reaches the 80s this weekend. The irises are standing tall as if at attention and the catbirds have arrived awaiting handfuls of raisins. I’m still awaiting the arrival…
Vineyard Haven Town Column: May 31
If you are an artist — and what Islander isn’t — you will want to contact Amy Ryan at our library as soon as possible. Beginning Tuesday, June 4, is the annual Island artists show sponsored by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library. The opening reception is Tuesday evening from 5 to 8…
Oak Bluffs Town Column: May 31
In 1866 when the Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Company built America’s Great Watering Place, they employed the services of the brilliant Robert Morris Copeland, the Boston landscape gardener, to design the layout of Cottage City. It was Erastus P. Carpenter’s genius in identifying Copeland — experienced with rural cemetery design — as an acceptable…
West Tisbury Town Column: May 31
The holiday weekend weather was rainy and downright cold for this time of year. Sunday morning’s temperature was a mere 42 degrees. The rhododendrons at the old Foote tennis court (the only clay court remaining in town) were absolutely beautiful this past weekend. Bunny Fales would have been so proud of them.
Edgartown Town Column: May 31
The rain sure did find its way to the Island this weekend, but it did not dampen a lot of spirits. There were plenty of people here and I’m sure everyone made the best of it. This weekend is going to be hot. We will see. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this…
Chappy Town Column: May 31
With all the cold and rainy weather it’s as if the seasons have been trying to go backwards. No doubt we’ll be complaining about the heat before long, though. Memorial Day weekend seemed quiet, but since I mostly stayed home, I can’t be sure about that. I was surprised at how many people were still…
Dream Seminar
Interested in finding out the stuff dreams are made of? A psychotherapeutic dream seminar can help you explore the therapeutic potential of your dreams. The small group session will begin and end with a day-long workshop and then will meet for six weekly, two-hour groups.
New Field Planned for Travel Baseball
For Vineyard Little Leaguers, tournament play is a mainstay of the summer when travel teams of All-Stars compete across the Cape each week. Beginning next year, as work progresses on the organization’s Penn Field project in Oak Bluffs, the Vineyard may at last be able to compete as a home team during the summer. “On…
The Mathematics of Making Music
David Rhoderick is a professional musician. He is also a mainframe evangelist for IBM. These may seem like two completely different skills, but to Mr. Rhoderick, both jobs are like chord progressions, they harmonize. Mr. Rhoderick is the organist at the West Tisbury Congregational Church, a job he secured in April after acting as the…
Talking Dance in Edgartown With World Choreographer Institute
This past weekend the World Choreography Institute arrived in Edgartown to have a conversation about dance. On the final day of the think tank, dance masters and interested Islanders sat on couches and pillows on the floor in the living room of the Noepe Center for Literary Arts, formerly the Point Way Inn. They were…
Skate Park Fundraiser Features Ben Taylor
On Saturday, June 1, the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park Association (MVSPA) will host a fundraiser at the Flatbread Company to raise money for improvements to the skate park. The event will feature live music by Ben Taylor, DCLA, 2nd Power and DJ Ricky Prime.
Machine Jesse Green
The Machine Jesse Green, star of the National Geographic Channel show American Chainsaw, will perform with his band Fevah Dream this Saturday at Dreamland as part of a fundraiser for Captain Eli Bonnell. Capt. Bonnell, an Edgartown fisherman, was severely injured this March while skiing in Aspen, Colo. Donations will be taken at the door…
IMP Camp Arrives
The Vineyard’s teen improvisational group the IMPers is inviting children and teens ages 6 to 18 to the IMP All Things Theater camp. The sessions are held in three separate locations throughout the summer and allow participants an opportunity to learn about all aspects of theatrical performance and improv.
The Yard Road Trips to Chappy
The Yard, a contemporary dance residency program located in Chilmark, and the Trustees of Reservations will host a performance on June 1 at the Mytoi Garden on Chappaquiddick. The “dance walk-around” will feature improvised modern dance performances by 12 members of the Yard and What’s Written Within, another Island dance group.
Preserving Natural Plants
Preserving native plants by using them is the topic of a June 8 presentation with Arthur Haines at the Polly Hill Arboretum. Mr. Haines is a plant taxonomist, author and teacher who makes the case for preservation of native plants through foraging, wildcrafting and medicinal use. He argues that the waning use of wild plants…
Alice Dances in Wonderland
Travel down the rabbit hole with the Martha’s Vineyard School of Ballet as they present Alice In Wonderland at the Martha’s Vineyard High School Performing Arts Center on Sunday, June 2, at 2 p.m. The production features a cast of children from the Martha’s Vineyard School of Ballet under the artistic direction of Beth Vages.
Golf Club Gives Back
Since its inception in 2002, the Vineyard Golf Club Foundation has distributed more than $1,300,000 in funds to more than 30 local nonprofit organizations. The foundation is now accepting applications for grants and donations from Island nonprofit and charitable organizations.
Oak Bluffs Harbor Festival
The Oak Bluffs Association has begun accepting applications for booth and table spaces at this year’s 22nd annual Oak Bluffs Harbor Festival. Artists, craftsmen, food concessions, vendors and other organizations are encouraged to apply. This year’s festival will include live musical entertainment at Nancy’s Snack Bar by Island favorites such as the Beetlebung Steel Band.
Photography Auction
More than 150 framed photographs of the Vineyard will be available at the silent auction taking place at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, 130 Center street in Vineyard Haven on June 23 from noon to 4 p.m. Photos are by Aaron and Frayda Galvin. There will also be a “buy it now” option.
Lipstick Lady
The woods are wearing pink lipstick. The luscious and luminous blossoms of the pink lady slipper orchid provide nature’s makeup. Blooming with its unforgettable flower, this special species is one to enjoy, but never uproot.
Pelican Progress
May 27, what a day! First to visit a part of the Vineyard I hadn’t birded in, and next to be called to verify that there was an American white pelican sitting on a dock in Chilmark Pond! Pete Gilmore of Hopps Farm Road in West Tisbury, has birded with Seven Gates resident David Tobias…
Bad Martha Beer Company
There’s a new beer in town. Bad Martha Beer, created by seasonal resident Jonathan Blum, will debut in select bars, restaurants and liquor stores this week. The company has launched with two ales, the seasonal Vineyard Summer Ale, made with Saaz hops, Pilsner malt and Bartlett pear aromatics, and the flagship Martha’s Vineyard Ale, made…
Rain and Pain
I know most folks were pretty sour about the cold, rainy Memorial Day weekend. I wasn’t one of them. I was pretty content in full rain gear happily weeding in the vegetable garden. There is something about a gray day to bring out the beauty in a garden.
Please Adopt Us
At the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard, they’re multiplying like rabbits. There are three bunnies who were strays (!) awaiting new owners. One is a dwarf black bunny who would be a cuddly pet for a child. He has been named Clarence by a volunteer. Another is ever-so-chic in his black and white coat. The…
Dean’s List
Corey Perrotta of Vineyard Haven was named to the spring 2013 dean's list at Coastal Carolina University. Corey is a junior majoring in resort tourism management.
Three Vineyard Teams Advance to Postseason
Postseason play begins this week with three Vineyard high school teams earning spots in the state tournament. Three track athletes also will participate in the all-state meet this weekend. The boys’ tennis team has earned a number two seed in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association south section division three tournament. The team has a bye…
College Acceptance
Devon Webster of Vineyard Haven has been admitted to Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
Scout Arrives
Lisa and Ezra Sherman of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Scout Jeffrey, born on May 29 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Scout weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces at birth. He joins big sister, Maisie.
Change to Stop & Shop Expansion Plans Will Delay Public Hearing
A public hearing on a major expansion plan for the Stop & Shop store on the Vineyard Haven waterfront has been postponed, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission said this week. The hearing, the first formal public review of the expansion plan, was set for June 6. MVC development of regional impact (DRI) coordinator Paul Foley said…
Welcome, Maria
Welcome Maria Ilka Sabeva and Gustavo Batista of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Maria Isabella, born on May 23 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Maria weighed 6 pounds, 9.4 ounces at birth. She joins big brother Lucca.
Hello, Lavinia
Adriana Evaristo and Carlos Ferreira of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a daughter, Lavinia Evaristo, born on May 28 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Lavinia weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces at birth.
Verizon Cell Service Will Get Major Boost Up-Island
Cell phone coverage in Chilmark and Aquinnah will get a boost, this time for Verizon customers, after the major carrier signed on to use the digital antenna system (DAS) in the up-Island towns. Chilmark executive secretary Tim Carroll said on Wednesday that testing is in its final stages, and that full Verizon Wireless service could…
Longtime Oak Bluffs Town Clerk Retires
Senior personnel changes are underway in Oak Bluffs, with the longtime town clerk retiring and a new acting fire chief in place. Town clerk Deborah deBettencourt Ratcliff, who has worked for the office for 25 years and served as town clerk since 1997, announced her retirement this week. Her last day will be June 30.…
Awarded Degree
Othman Awqatty of Edgartown graduated from Curry College in Milton, Mass., on Sunday, May 19.
Degree Earned
Connor Chisholm of Edgartown graduated from Boston College High School on Sunday, May 19.
Loren Foster Gibson Awarded Degree
Loren Foster Gibson of West Tisbury graduated magna cum laude from University of Southern California. She received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. Loren will be working for Boeing in Charleston, S.C. where she interned last summer.
Land Bank Revenues: May 24
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $170,584 for the business week ending on Friday, May 24, 2013.
Grey Barn Closes Milk, Cheesemaking Operation Following Fire
The milk and cheesemaking operation has been shut down and the farm stand closed at the Grey Barn farm and dairy in Chilmark following a fire in the creamery late Friday. Farm owners Molly and Eric Glasgow said the active milking herd of 22 Dutch Belted Galloway cows will be sent off-Island while the creamery…
Memorial Day Parade, Ceremony Honors Nation’s Fallen
Veterans, active service people and ordinary citizens gathered in Vineyard Haven on Memorial Day to remember those who dedicated their lives to a sacred purpose. Wesley R. Winston, an army veteran of the Viet Nam era, read the names of fallen comrades. Four families received gold stars, a tradition that dates back to the First…
Demonstrators at Five Corners Join International Protest Against Monsanto
Carrying signs and eliciting honks from passing cars, protestors gathered at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven on Saturday morning to voice concern about the ethics of Monsanto, an agribusiness company. Christina Montoya, 41, and Kristin Hall, 35, both of West Tisbury, organized the event locally, drawing more than 30 people. The demonstration is part of…
Driver in Fatal Fourth of July Crash Receives Suspended Sentence
A New Hampshire man charged with vehicular manslaughter after an accident on the Vineyard last July that killed his son and his son’s girlfriend pleaded guilty to a lesser charge last Friday in Edgartown district court. In an emotional scene at the courthouse, Thomas C. Jones, 54, pleaded guilty to negligent operation of a motor…
