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
August 16, 2013
Not Afraid to Go Against Diverse Tide
In his latest book Jews, Confucians and Protestants: Cultural Capital and the End of Multiculturalism, Lawrence E. Harrison, a senior research fellow and adjunct lecturer at Tufts University, presents an unorthodox investigation into what constitutes a universal progress culture. He does this by examining cultures through the lens of a set of values that include…
Going Beyond Accepted Story, Filmmaker Finds Deeper Truths
In 2004 director Shola Lynch’s first film premiered at Sundance. The documentary told the story of Shirley Chis-holm, the first black woman to run for president, and her 1972 campaign. Ms. Lynch was only three years old at the time of the campaign, yet as she grew up she found herself consistently drawn to the…
‘Tis the Season to Embrace Differences
The Christmas holiday season can be a challenging time for American Jews and yet according to Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, PhD, former rabbi of the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, this has not always been the case.
Motown Legend Smokey Robinson Delights Tabernacle Crowd
He has sung Tears of a Clown, Tracks of My Tears, Cruisin’ and his other hits thousands and thousands of times — as he did once again Thursday night in Oak Bluffs — but Smokey Robinson insists they’re as new and fresh to him as ever.
Dancing in Step With Community
For two weekends in August Oak Bluffs goes dancing. The beating of drums begins around 7:30 p.m., beckoning people to the corner of Grove and Narragansett avenues. Inside Union Chapel dancers sway and stretch and leap, warming up to the drumbeats.
West Nile Virus Detected in Tisbury Mosquito
A mosquito caught on Monday in the town of Tisbury has tested positive for the West Nile virus, confirmed Thomas Pachico, health agent. It is the second Island appearance of the virus this year. The town was notified Thursday evening.
Council on Aging Feast
You won’t want to miss the basted baby back ribs at the Tisbury Council on Aging’s barbecue and gourmet food basket raffle on Saturday, August 24, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Friends of the TCOA organize the barbecue to help support the programs at the senior center. Ribs, beans, corn on the cob, potato salad…
Obama Vacation Follows Familiar Routine
President Obama addressed the nation from outside his Chilmark rental home Thursday morning about the ongoing violence in Egypt. The briefing took place on the sixth day of President Obama’s Vineyard vacation, a week punctuated by security and press briefings and a familiar pattern of golf, dining out and quiet time with family and friends.
Having Whale of a Time at Work, Brothers Made Wearing a Tie Fun
Shep and Ian Murray sat in a pair of white Adirondack chairs on the front stone patio of Vineyard Vines in Edgartown. Both were barefoot. A pair of Crocs, blue for Shep, gray for Ian, sat next to the chairs. They wore khaki shorts and blue-accented shirts, a polo for Shep, untucked button-down for Ian.…
Back to Sea, Endangered Sea Turtles Receive Royal Sendoff
Benton Wesley hesitated, but once Frank Hardy got the feel of sand beneath his flippers, he made a beeline for the surf, soon disappearing under a crashing wave on the Vineyard’s south shore. About 10 months after the two rare Kemp’s Ridley turtles washed up on a Cape Cod beach in a hypothermic state, they…
Storm Response Team Strives To Improve Communication
Each morning when West Tisbury emergency management director John Christensen wakes up, he turns on his iPad and checks the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s weather forecast. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of winter or hurricane season.
152 Years Young, Agricultural Fair Remains Highlight of Summer
The gates opened on Thursday morning for the 152nd annual Agricultural Fair, and within minutes the livestock judging was underway, six horses cantered around the show ring, and a person scaled the portable rock wall at the edge of the food area.
Making a Healthy Run for Governor
More than 30 years ago Dr. Donald Berwick began seeing patients in the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital emergency room. At the time, the ER was staffed by visiting physicians on weekends, so he helped set up the schedule and find the doctors a place to stay for the night. Since then, he has stopped seeing patients,…
Shrinking Borders
In the fullness of time, coastal scientists say, Martha’s Vineyard will disappear back into the ocean and new islands will form on what is now Georges Bank. It is part of a grand cycle of sediment redistribution, where land is not lost, but simply transported from one spot to another.
As You Walk on By Will You Call My Name?
Now I know what it feels like to be the Invisible Woman. Last Sunday I thought West Tisbury Congregational Church members were likely, after services, to go to Alley’s General Store for their Sunday Boston Globe or New York Times. It seemed a perfect place on a sunny day to position myself to sell copies…
Hopeful Spirit of Gettysburg Address Still Resonates Today
Before arriving on the Island in July, I drove through National Military Park where monuments from northern and southern states dominate centuries-old fields of brilliant green, soon to turn golden, and where wild native plants populate the fields buffered by rock walls and split rail fences, looking much as they were in 1863.
In Memory of Bob Lee
We always think of success as being an achievement to some higher status, but Bob Lee fought for his place in the world from the very beginning, his achievement was life itself. We will miss his warm smile, wit and intellect, his musical knowledge and joie de vie. This was his heart home, he belonged,…
Martha’s Vineyard NAACP, Fifty Years of Island Activism
I have heard it said about the Martha’s Vineyard branch of the NAACP that it is the most ethnically mixed chapter in the entire country and indeed, since its inception 50 years ago its sense of mission has been equally appealing to both black and white Americans.
South Road Closure
We understand the need for the president’s security, but the forbidding detour signs directing all traffic to North Road seriously hurt West Tisbury businesses, just at the most active part of the summer — and will continue to do so all this week.
Hope for New Paradigm
This is an open letter to President Obama. I’m writing to express my opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta to The Gulf Coast. It’s time for the country to begin a new paradigm, off fossil fuels. Rejecting the pipeline is a step in that direction.
Background Sounds
Despite the president’s well-studied, highly polished and loudly proclaimed deep regard for the embattled middle class, perhaps those who might listen carefully may be able to overhear the Obamas and their friends and associates exchange among themselves the basest, most patronizing and contemptuous sounds of amused derision whenever the topic of the challenges of ordinary…
Clearing the Conscience
I have to come clean. The race results for the Chilmark Road Race are in error. I, James Graham did not really run that fast this year. I did not finish number 5, right behind Steven Rattner in the 60 to 69 age group. I know the CRR permanent record book is besmirched but there…
Everyman’s Race
As every Gazette readers know, the Chilmark Road Race just celebrated its 36th year. The Gazette has been a big part of the race’s success with reporter after reporter writing wonderful pre-race and post-race stories along with magnificent accompanying photos from Alison Shaw, Peter Simon, Mark Lovewell, and others.
An Old School Comes Down
When someone dies, you comfort yourself and others with statements like, “At least she is not suffering anymore” or “He died doing what he loved” or “She lived a long and full life” or “He has gone to a better place.” Or if it is a baby, you say, “Little one has gone to be…
Quick Response, Bike Safety
Just wanted to send a shout out thank you to Richard Combra and his team from the Oak Bluffs highway department.
Helping Hand
Our family has vacationed annually on the Vineyard for most years since the mid 1970s, so we think we know the Vineyard fairly well, though maybe not. Also, we have subscribed to the Gazette for many years during which time we read many stories about Vineyarders lending a hand to persons in some kind of…
Book Festival Spelled Community
This year, the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival was blessed with perfect weather. On Saturday, it drizzled and was a fine day to be indoors, at the Harbor View, curled up with a good book and a favorite author.
Parenting Help
Becoming a parent brings the whole gamut of human emotions and challenging responsibilities. While it can be joyous and fulfilling for all parents and caregivers regardless of age, education or socio-economic status it can also be stressful and overwhelming at times.
Theft at the Dumptique
Three Saturdays ago, I stopped by the dumptique. I brought my large canvas bag full of donations, as I usually do. My goods passed inspection, were taken, and my bag given back. I went through the racks and found great clothes for my family. As I went toward the kitchen area, I put my light…
Saving Norman
I want to thank everyone for their heroic efforts to save my horse, Norman, when he recently suffered a brutal lamanitis attack: Tracy Olson and Jess Forend for their tireless vigilance, experience and care; Irene and Bob Hungerford, Caroline Herman and the entire Woodbe Farm staff for the icing, wrapping, concern and advice.
Land Bank Revenues: August 9
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $123,534 for the business week ending on Friday, August 9, 2013. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.
Fair Play
From the August 18, 1972 edition of the Vineyard Gazette, by Joseph Chase Allen: When, half a year ago or more, the report of the annual meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society was carried in the Gazette and it stated that Colbert’s Carnival would not be invited to return this year, there were certain…
Oak Bluffs Town Column: August 16
SKIP FINLEY 508-696-3742 (sfinley@mvgazette.com) Ellen Weiss, the prolific writer, architectural historian and professor emerita of Tulane University’s School of Architecture, is author of An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington. The book is about Robert R. Taylor, who designed most of the campus buildings of the Tuskegee Institute. Oak Bluffs residents and denizens…
East Chop Town Column: August 16
Last week was a first for me. I Skyped my interview with Abby Williamson in Asuncion, Paraguay. Abby is an ELF, an English Language Fellow, a position funded by the U.S. State Department to train natives, mostly from third world countries, to teach English.
Chappy Town Column: August 16
When you ride the On Time III with Captain Bob Gilkes at the helm you are bound to hear the words “Wasque” and “erosion” at least once during the crossing. Since this latest breach occurred, Bob has been documenting Mother Nature’s handiwork at the southeast corner of Chappy with a camera and a tape measure.
Edgartown Town Column: August 16
We are seeing a lot of rain but the forecast is predicting good weather for the rest of the festivities coming up in August. I am loving the cool nights and no mugginess. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Adeline Riley, Austin Smith and Bryan…
Vineyard Haven Town Column: August 16
As I type right now I am missing the skillet throwing contest at the fair. Not to brag but you know this reporter, Holly Nadler and June Manning would easily tie for first place in this event. Bill and Jan Stokes’s daughter Kim Beal of West Hartford, Conn., has arrived at the family’s Island home.
West Tisbury Town Column: August 16
The weather bureau reports that July was the second hottest month on record in the northeast since record -keeping began in 1895. On the other hand, the first 15 days of this month have been the coolest since 1935. With the fair in full swing, it is hard to believe our summer season is fast…
Announcing Juniper
Melissa Schellhammer and Beau Begin of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Juniper Kai Begin, born on August 9, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Juniper weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth.
Samuel Arrives
Aimee and Paul Cotton along with big sisters Grace and Caroline of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Samuel James Cotton, born on August 9, 2013 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Samuel weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces at birth.
Happy Engagement
Carole Lee Sylva and Matthew Flanders are happy to announce their engagement. Carole Lee is the daughter of Roger and Gloria Sylva of West Tisbury. Matthew is the son of Brian and Noreen Flanders of Vineyard Haven. An Island wedding is being planned for the fall of 2014.
Chilmark Town Column: August 16
Chilmark is managing just fine in spite of fears about road closings and delays created by the president’s vacation. Businesses and activities are doing well and only a limited few are truly inconvenienced. Fortunately, the situation is temporary. We congratulate Chris Fischer, chef at the Beach Plum Inn, on his evening with the first family.…
Aquinnah Town Column: August 16
As the first family’s vacation nears its end over the weekend, I truly hope the Obama family has enjoyed their time on the Vineyard. The road closure was not that much of an inconvenience. On my way home on Monday evening, I joined a few friends in front of Howes House to wave to the…
No Easy Fix for Broken Political Machine
Mark Leibovich’s new book This Town, a critical expose of the Washington power structure and New York Times best seller this summer, is as popular with the right as it is with the left. Or with anyone who believes that government is broken.
Putting Words to Hard Truths, Author Digs Into Human Psyche
Fred Waitzkin, whose memoir Searching for Bobby Fischer inspired the movie by the same name, has been waiting his whole life to write a novel. A seasoned journalist and seasonal resident of the Vineyard, Mr. Waitzkin said that his nonfiction books had progressively begun to resemble novels. He finally decided it was now or never.
Where Art and Activism Are One
The Gay Head Gallery is nestled amid a stand of scrub oak along State Road in Aquinnah. An electric vehicle charges in the driveway and inside the cozy home/gallery artwork hangs on every wall. The art depicts scenes from around the Island — a thunderstorm rolls in over the south shore, a stiff wind blows…
Garden Center Grows Artistic Community With Weekly Show
On Friday evenings during August, Vineyard Gardens in West Tisbury is transformed into a community art gallery. Works of art are arranged among the plants and paintings are hung from benches turned on end. “The idea came from wanting to support the local artists and knowing that our flowers would complement their work and their…
Aesthetically Pleasing to Eye and Wallet
Julian Wise sits examining a series of photographs in his new store Island Images located in Oak Bluffs. “Out of all of them, these four are good enough,” he says. “I could use them professionally in the gallery.” The pair of photographers nod as Mr. Wise explains to them what works about their pictures. He…
Fashion Sense on the Canvas, Artist Portrays Life in Color
Glenn Tunstull treats an art exhibition like a fashion show. Whereas fabrics and patterns decorate a model, swatches and brush strokes dress his canvas. “Each painting represents where I am today,” Mr. Tunstull said.
Chicken Alley Art Show
Chicken Alley is the place to be, rain or shine this weekend. The annual Art and Collectable Sale is preceded this year by a new event, the Needle Book Fashion Show Community Couture. Both events raise funds for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.
Museum Honors Vineyarders Who Make Island a Better Place
In 1981, attorney and civil rights activist Vernon Jordan gave the Commencement Address at the University of Pennsylvania. His daughter Vicky was in the graduating class and Mr. Jordan was awarded an honorary degree by Penn president Sheldon Hackney.
Inspired by Perseverance of Humanity
Grace Burton-Sundman, age 25, set off on a Rwandan adventure at the end of last year, a journey she was able to make with the support of her family and the Martha’s Vineyard community where she grew up. Grace, a 2006 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, is home for a visit and provided…
Drowning Ruled Accidental
A medical examiner has ruled that a body recovered from Rock Pond on Monday afternoon in West Tisbury was an accidental drowning, state police said Wednesday. Robert (Bob) Lee, a resident of 3 Rock Pond Road in West Tisbury, was unresponsive when he was pulled from the water. State police were called to the scene…
Woman Accused of Shoplifting Spree
A Virginia woman was arrested in Edgartown last week for allegedly having more than $2,200 worth of stolen clothing in her car.
Mining Poetry for Humor and Meaning
What if a deceased dog could talk? What if hippos went on holiday? Those are some of the questions asked and answered by the former U.S. poet laureate and Island favorite Billy Collins in a reading of new and selected poems at Featherstone Center for the Arts last Friday evening. Among other disparate themes, he…
Yard Features Doug Elkins
Doug Elkins is looking for that weird moment, the uncomfortable that makes you think twice. “The screw up can be more interesting than the actual phrase,” Mr. Elkins said outside of the Yard theatre in Chilmark this week. On Thursday night at 8 p.m. Doug Elkins Choreography, etc. performs two original works created at the…
Skatepark Fundraiser
What do skateboards, oysters and champagne have in common? That would be Art in the Park, a benefit for the Martha’s Vineyard Skatepark taking place this Sunday, August 18, from noon to 3 p.m. at Atria on Main street in Edgartown.
Gynecology Office Moves
Board-certified OB-GYN Dr. Terry Kriedman has moved her Vineyard gynecology office practice from West Tisbury to Vineyard Haven, she announced this week. The new office is located at the lower level of the Woodland Center at 455 State Road.
Doodling With Ms. Feiffer
Kate Feiffer has made a name for herself writing children’s books and even transforming one of her books, My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life, into a play that ran off-Broadway this winter. The daughter of famed illustrator Jules Feiffer, she has not nudged up against his domain. Until now, that is. On Saturday,…
Saving the Light, One Poem at a Time
The Gay Head Lighthouse Committee wants you to join in to help save the lighthouse and the committee is getting creative. Or rather, the time is for you to get creative and be a part of the lighthouse poetry project. The idea is straightforward — write a poem about the Gay Head Lighthouse. Stroll your…
Potters Bowl Is Filling
The Potters Bowl might become your supper bowl at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Sunday, August 25. The special event marks the opening of The Art of Ceramics Show, which runs through September 11. For $30 attendees can purchase a ceramic bowl made by Vineyard artisans and fill it with soup. Rolls and dessert…
Union Chapel Welcomes Bishop Wright
Bishop Robert Christopher Wright from Atlanta, Ga., will address the congregation this Sunday, August 18, at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs at the 10 a.m. service. His sermon is titled The God of Now. Rev. Wright is the first African American to become an Episcopal bishop in Georgia. He was elected by the lay delegates…
Please Adopt Us
The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard is grateful to Jeffrey White and Eleanor Hubbard for donating the proceeds of the open studio event they held at their house in West Tisbury last weekend. It was to honor Ulla, their rescue cat, on her 20th birthday. Ulla is a calico whose hearing is a bit iffy,…
MVY Benefit Concert
Friends of MVYRadio welcome singer-songwriter Laura Marling for a special Labor Day benefit concert. Ms. Marling is considered one of the most unique and celebrated folk artists working today. The concert is on Sunday, September 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center at the Tisbury Marketplace in Vineyard Haven.
Livingston and Friends Take the Stage
Livingston Taylor concerts are many things, all of them wonderful, but most they are events that break down the barriers between performer and listener. As he said in a past interview with the Gazette, the audience is the boss. “You need them, they don’t need you,” he admitted, giving some insight into both his humility…
Tabernacle Movie Night
The Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs offers a free family movie night special event with the screening of The Watsons Go To Birmingham at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 20. The film stars Tony-winning actress Anika Noni Rose and three-time Tony nominee David Alan Grier.
Film on Food Insecurity
A Place at the Table, narrated by Jeff Bridges and scored by T-Bone Burnett, is a documentary that places the spotlight on hunger here at home. It tells the stories of people struggling with food insecurity in the U.S., where 50 million people are unsure of where their next meal will come from. The Vineyard…
Kid Critic Gives the Reel Deal
Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evening at the Chilmark Community center.
Comedy Festival
If the summer traffic is starting to fray your nerves, think Martha’s Vineyard Comedy Festival held at the Lampost on Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs. The event is billed as the only profanity-free comedy fest in the nation and features primarily African American comedians who offer “originality and sophistication while on stage.”
Literary Festival
The first annual Keren Or Literary Festival welcomes authors Julia Newman, Sarah Caravallo, Estelle Ana Baca and Paul West to the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven this Sunday, August 18, at 6 p.m. Keren Or is the only center in Israel dedicated exclusively to the education and care of children and…
Benton and Pollock
Two trailblazing artists and their relationship is the theme of historian Henry Adams’s book Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock. Abstract impressionist Mr. Pollock let the paint fall where it may, while Mr. Benton’s style was the polar opposite. Mr. Pollock was a student of Benton’s.
Moon and the Tide
The moon appears low in the south in our evening skies this weekend. The gibbous moon spends the weekend going through the zodiacal constellation Sagittarius, the southern-most constellation in the zodiac. For those walking along the Island’s south shore, the moon will be an especially impressive sight, so close to the water and to the…
Plan to Move Lighthouse Is Race Against Time
With geological studies under way to determine more precisely how much more land may be lost to storms this winter, the Gay Head Lighthouse now sits just 47 feet from the edge of the rapidly eroding Clay Cliffs. A plan that has the backing of the town of Aquinnah is taking shape to relocate the…
When Beloved Icons Are on the Front Line
This is not just a story, it’s a love story. In 1799 President John Adams commissioned the building of an eight-sided wooden lighthouse which marked the birth of the Gay Head Light.
Giving Voice to a Restless Soul, Island Singer Makes Peace With His True Self
Willy Mason is sitting on a barstool in a London pub, smoking a cigarette and considering the last decade. He takes a pull on his beer and thinks about what all the buzz — tours with Radiohead, collaborations with the Chemical Brothers and duets with KT Tunstall and Rosanne Cash — has really meant to…
Seasonal Changes
There is a seasonal change on the water this week. Atlantic bonito are showing up in greater numbers just south of the Island and false albacore are only a few weeks away. There are also more stories of tuna. Steve Morris of Dick’s Bait and Tackle Shop had an early birthday present on Monday. Mr.…
Friday, August 9: Overcast. Light rain.
Friday, August 9: Overcast. Light rain. Fishermen line the shoreline to the Lagoon Pond drawbridge early. A fleet of motor boats and sailboats are anchored off the Beach Road, in Vineyard Haven. Schooner Alabama is in the harbor.
Contemplating the Cucumber
“Tis not her coldness, father, That chills my labouring breast; It’s that confounded cucumber I’ve ate and can’t digest.”
Signs of Fall Migration
The summer is racing to an end. The Agricultural Fair is this weekend, the Chilmark Community Center programs end on Friday the 16th (although I will lead their last of the season bird walk on August 20), and people are beginning to return to their homes after their summer vacations. And along with all of…
Big Weeding
It’s Sunday morning in what promises to be a beautiful day. The sun is shining and, thankfully, there is low humidity. The Obamas have arrived . . . welcome back. I’m fascinated by all the hoopla about the inconvenience of travel. I’m happy to live in a place that attracts presidents. Riding along Middle or…
Big, Buff and Ready to Rough It, Draft Horses Get the Job Done
Nothing so gentle as real strength, nothing so strong as true gentleness.“That’s what we say about draft horses,” Bruce Marshard said, standing next to one of his Percheron horses, Sonny. His pasture mate and fellow Percheron Max was grazing nearby.
Obama Detour Signals Drop in Up-Island Business
West Tisbury businesses, from a gas station to farm stand vendors, fear that the partial closure of South Road and prominent detour signs spurred by President Obama’s visit will hurt sales during one of the busiest weeks of the year. President Obama arrived for a nine-day visit on Martha’s Vineyard last Saturday. The first family…
8 Frog Alley, Chilmark
This contemporary home off of Tea Lane features 10 lush acres of gardens, walking paths and fields that could be used as a horse or sheep pasture. While the grounds have a timeless quality to them, the house itself — built by Gino Mazzaferro and designed by Martha’s Vineyard architect Peter Breese — is contemporary…
Commission Takes NStar to Task Over New, Taller Utility Poles
Spokesmen for the power company NStar told the Martha’s Vineyard Commission Thursday that they believe the commission has no jurisdiction over a project to install new, oversized utility poles around the Island. The poles have raised the hackles of Islanders and public officials who say they are ruinous to roadside aesthetics and out of character…
Chilmark Road Race Results by Age Division
Female ages one to eight age division: 1 Holly Lehr, 8, Belmont 27:54.4927:22.94; 2 Ava Woods, 8, Aquinnah 30:16.9630:05.28; 3 Becca Healey, 7, Chappaquiddick 32:03.7930:49.21; 4 Allie Keefe, 8, Chilmark 33:28.8732:34.25
