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
December 20, 2013
Gifts for All, Good Tidings for Island
In the annual Gazette Christmas poem Santa finds something in his sack for almost everyone.
Next Phase Begins for Schifter Property: Restoring the Land
The Edgartown conservation commission grapples with an extensive landscape plan to restore the oceanfront Schifter property on Chappaquiddick where an 8,000-square-foot house was recently moved.
As Breach Retreats, Erosion Picks Up Speed
Dramatic changes are taking place again at Wasque where the Norton Point breach continues to have a mind of its own. The breach has retreated 800 feet since September, leaving one summer house at the brink.
Boards of Health Propose Regulations on Fertilizer Use
Island boards of health prepare regulations for fertilizer use to limit leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus into ponds and coastal waters. The proposal is modeled closely after one on Nantucket.
Christmas 2013
A full moon hung in the December sky this week, casting long shards of light across the darkened landscape of oncoming winter. Hours before sunrise, pale moonbeams shone through the glass panes of a west-facing kitchen door, a silent accompaniment to the small task of grinding fresh coffee. It is called the cold moon this…
A Pause Before Christmas Enables Spirit to Flourish
When we embark on our Advent pilgrimage we are heading toward Christmas, a familiar destination. But the patterns and traditions of Christmases past may tug us too quickly to that day. The West Tisbury Congregational Church minister reflects.
Islander Purchases Senator Lautenberg’s West Chop Home
The West Chop home overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor sold for for $7.2 million. The buyer is David Grain, a private equity manager and 1980 graduate of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
NStar Arborists Defend Vegetation Spraying at Town Meeting
Amidst public scrutiny of NStar’s vegetation management practices, senior arborists from the utility company addressed concerns of Tisbury residents at a meeting on Tuesday of the board of health.
Ghosts of the Past Walk on Four Legs
My daughter wants a pet for Christmas. Pickle (aka Eirene) is five years old and has high hopes. She talks of ponies and large dogs, malamutes, huskies, Great Danes.
Hockey Team Sets Higher Goal for Giving
Giving back to the community has long been a staple of the boys’ hockey program. This year the team is taking its yearly service project to a national level. The team plans to raise at least $5,000 this season to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project. They are also hosting a military appreciation weekend in…
Friends Rally Around Walter Ashley Family
A fund has been set up to help Walter Ashley of Oak Bluffs who has been receiving treatments for lung cancer since last summer. Walter and his wife Connie are well-known figures on the Island where they operate their long-running business C&W Power Equipment near the airport.
Merry Mayhem
Headline From the December 14, 1979 Reflections of That Man Friday column by William A. Caldwell: A strange and reassuring thing happened off to the southwest at 4:11 p.m. Monday, just in time to safeguard the sanity of a man confronted with a stack of Christmas cards.
Chilmark Town Column: Dec. 20
Chilmark started this day — Tuesday — with a starry sky and a nip in the early morning air, but as I write mid afternoon, it is snowing hard and the roads are coated. We will continue to anticipate that it will turn to rain as predicted.
First Day of Winter
Winter arrives tomorrow at 11 minutes after noon. Daylight is at a premium now. This weekend and the days ahead are the shortest of the year. But the shortest day is really more a concept than a reality. Our position on the Earth, our latitude and the atmosphere on the horizon all play a part.…
New Novel Puts Faith to the Test
At age 21 Rick Herrick wrote a letter to Princeton University’s religion department declining his acceptance into their New Testament PhD program.
Winter Sports Teams Heat Up
After a shaky start against Sandwich last week, the boys’ varsity basketball team picked up a decisive 69-41 victory over visiting Dennis-Yarmouth Tuesday evening in their home opener.
Vineyard Inside Out: Happy Dance Springs Eternal at Second Hand Store
It is a jump-and-shout scavenger hunt. Turn left and find a canvas dog tote, turn right and snap up the wooden Bavarian candle chime, search the bin on the bottom shelf and discover an ice cream scoop with a pink pig-shaped handle.
3D Model Helps Set Stage for Gay Head Light Relocation
A grant received by the committee to save the Gay Head Light will allow three-dimensional scanning to create an accurate model, as preparations continue for relocating the old lighthouse.
Singing His Story, Writer Stays True to Love of Words
Michael G. West wrote a talking blues song and it goes a little something like this. “I was born in 1947 / North of hell and south of heaven / About that time the sun went down / On San Francisco, my hometown . . . .”
Christmas Eve Pageant at Agricultural Hall
The West Tisbury Congregational Church moves over to the Agricultural Hall once again for a 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service.
West Tisbury Town Column: Dec. 20
Well, all is nearly ready in most homes for Christmas. Prudy Whiting has a small tree in front of her house and her brother Allen and his wife Lynn have a lighted wreath outside their place. Malcolm Hall of Oklahoma City and his wife Judy and their family wish all their Vineyard friends a very…
Aquinnah Town Column: Dec. 20
The Aquinnah Christmas party will be held at the Aquinnah town hall on Monday, Dec. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. All Aquinnah residents are encouraged to attend whether you have little children or not.
First Walk of the New Year
After all that celebrating, start off the new year with a walk at the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.
Vineyard Haven Town Column: Dec. 20
It is the end of the year and the end of an era in many ways. I’m only shopping on-Island for gifts. This is a grand opportunity to see my friends and business owners that I am too involved to see in season.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Dec. 20
Next week will mark the 399th Christmas since 1614 when Sir Ferdinando Gorges returned Epanow, the kidnapped son of the Nunnepog Sachem tribe, to his home in Ogkeshkuppe, now known as the town of Oak Bluffs.
Edgartown Town Column: Dec. 20
Let it snow, let it rain, let it snow. It has been a mixture of everything, but we have been on the rain end of the storms so the Christmas shopping continues.
Chappy Town Column: Dec. 20
Ruby Poe Southard was born Monday evening, Dec. 16. She is certainly a keeper, weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. Her parents Zachariah Southard and Jessica Park live near Atlanta, Ga.
Land Bank Revenues: Dec. 13
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $360,345 for the business week ending on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013.
Real Estate Transactions: Dec. 9-Dec. 15
Sabrina Kanner purchased 6 Trustees Lane in Chilmark for $1,257,500 on Dec. 13.
Yule Log Light Up
The size of your log really does matter. The biggest and hardest log is most coveted for the traditional holiday Yule log. Its purpose was to provide a long and hot burn for the family festivities.
Visiting Spanish Students Experience Island Life
A week ago 15 high school students from Castellon de la Plana, Spain, arrived on the Island, hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School. This was the first visit to the United States for many of the students.
High School Administrators React to Pot Brownie Incident
A letter went home to high school parents this week noting that two students received medical treatment after eating brownies laced with marijuana. At least one unnamed student is expected to face disciplinary action following the incident. No criminal charges will be filed, Oak Bluffs police said.
Please Adopt Us
An eggnog toast to all those hardy souls who put on their warmies and marched with the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard contingent in the Christmas parade last week.
Bird Trip!
This last weekend Flip Harrington and I headed to Boston’s Logan Airport lugging binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras, foul weather gear and boots, plus clothing for warm and chilly weather.
Catching Cold
For years now the weather forecast has rarely, if ever, been accurate. Naturally, last week, I refused to believe that we were getting a cold spell with rain, wind and snow. I smugly believed my wax begonias and geraniums would be fine in my unheated, attached to the house green house.
Finance Leaders Sound Alarm Over Up-Island School Budget
The latest version of the budget is just over $10 million, an 8.2 per cent increase over last year. The finance committee and town accountant in West Tisbury say it’s too much for taxpayers to bear in the long term.
Holiday Pop-Up Shop Has Legs and a Belly Button Brush
A treasure trove of Island-made things, the Vineyard Holiday Gift Shop was a pop-up store before the word was coined. Open until Christmas Eve in Vineyard Haven.
Woods Hole Terminal Discussion Stalls; Governor Replacement Planned
Steamship Authority governors will wait for the appointment of a new Falmouth governor before resuming discussion on the Woods Hole terminal reconstruction plans.
Christmas Services at Island Churches
Aquinnah Community Baptist Church of Gay Head in Aquinnah: Christmas Eve candlelight service, 5 p.m. Call 508-693-1539. Chilmark Chilmark Community Church at 9 Menemsha Crossroad: Christmas Eve candlelight service with harp and carols, 5 p.m. Call 508-645-3100. Edgartown Federated Church, corner of South Summer and Cooke streets: Christmas Eve with carols and special children’s story,…
Rock ‘n Roll Teachers
They’re teachers by day and rockers by night and they’re coming to Alex’s Place over winter break. Two members of the Los Angeles-based band No Small Children, Lisa Parade and Joanie Pimental, will perform on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Alex’s Place at the YMCA. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for…
Christmas Tea and Sale
First Baptist Church on Spring street in Vineyard Haven invites everyone to its annual Christmas tea and white elephant sale on Saturday, Dec. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the church’s parish house.
Boxing Day Yoga Benefit
The day after Christmas can also be a day to de-clutter and renew by bringing boxes of clothes or extra gifts to the Yoga Collective at Island Cohousing on Rock Pond Road in West Tisbury.
Black Powder Shoot Results
A small group of black powder enthusiasts competed for prizes at the Martha’s Vineyard Rod & Gun Club’s annual Black Powder Shoot under raw weather conditions on Dec. 16.
Sing a Song of Peace
The 13th annual Winter Concert: Songs of Peace, Hope and Light with the Martha’s Vineyard Charter School community chorus is at 5 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center on Sunday, Dec. 22.
Welcome, Zayden
Kayla Fournier and Joey Fournier of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Zayden Joseph Fournier, born on Dec. 13 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Celebrate the Solstice at Sassafras
A warm fire, tasty potluck and live music and dancing are in order on Saturday, Dec.21, as Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah celebrates the winter solstice.
Downtown Specialists Help Oak Bluffs Find Its Funky Center
Salem is synonymous with witchcraft, Concord with the revolutionary war. But what is the identity of Oak Bluffs? The question was put to community members and state officials recently at a public discussion.
Santa Continues to Call Vineyard Home
Here are a couple of last chances to bend Santa’s ear. Santa will visit the Black Dog in Vineyard Haven from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22.
Strock Family Gifts Lagoon Beachfront to Land Bank
The 1,000-foot crescent of sand that lies south of the Lagoon Pond Bridge came as an early Christmas present for the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, where outright gifts of land are rare.
Town Reconsiders Taking Ownership of East Chop Bluff
Oak Bluffs was recently denied FEMA funding for repairs, in part because the majority of the bluff is owned by the East Chop Association. The road is owned by the town.
Winter Season Shapes up for Basketball, Swim Teams
Boys’ basketball hopes to up its game again this year. The girls squad has a new coach. And the swim team is in the pool. High school winter sports season gets under way.
