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
December 27, 2013
Venus on the Move
Venus is so close at the moment that you might be able to see the horns, also called cusps. But in the nights ahead, Venus will appear lower in the western sky. Soon Venus will overtake the Earth in its race around the sun. When it does, on January 11, the planet will thereafter reappear…
2013: As Year Ends, Future Beckons
It was a year punctuated by visits from a president and right whales, the arrival of a roundabout and a reality television crew. Pieces of the past were restored and given new life while other parts of the Island changed irrevocably.
2013 Most Popular Stories Online
1. Not Quite Reality, The Vineyard Show Debuts on ABC Family2. President and Mrs. Obama Vacation on the Island3. Wedding Bells Ring for Author Cynthia Riggs4. Kennedy Family Puts Aquinnah Tract on the Market5. West Tisbury Property Nets Record $118 Million6. Effort Underway to Save Huge Chappy House from Erosion7. Child Has Severe Brain Injury;…
Big Snow Tops Year in Weather
The year in weather saw average temperatures and rainfall, but heavy snowfall.
The Vineyard received a total of 36 inches of snow this year, almost a foot above average. A huge blizzard impacted most of the northeast corridor back in February. Boston received 25 inches of drifting snow, but only five inches fell in Edgartown.…
Road to Future Is Paved With Strange Days
I say this almost every day — today was one of the strangest days of my life. I began saying this phrase, genuinely, four years ago on the first day of my freshman year at Wesleyan University when the routine of my previous 18 years was first upturned. I didn’t realize that I was overusing…
Washashore Chronicles: Weight of Tradition Builds Strong Ties
It was a dark but not stormy night. Just a merry crispness in the air. It was Saturday, two days after Thanksgiving, around the dinner hour. We were all snug in our post-tryptophan haze in Vineyard Haven when suddenly all hell broke loose outside. Here’s the play-by-play.
Students Pay Homage by Walking African American Heritage Trail
The freshman history classes recently traveled the Island’s African American Heritage Trail from Chappaquiddick to Aquinnah as part of their study of the history of Martha’s Vineyard. They visited the home of the Island’s only whaling captain, walked to his grave, paid their respects at the site dedicated to the life of Rebecca, the Woman…
Many Religions but Universal Faith in Love of Community
I went to a funeral last Saturday. Four days before Christmas, the weather was unseasonably mild. This funeral was at the United Methodist Church in the Camp Ground. Karen Berube had died of complications from metastatic breast cancer; she was 63 and fought her illness valiantly and cheerfully until the very last days of her…
Picture This
From the Vineyard Gazette edition of Dec. 17, 1948: A matter of a few hours may well alter the overall picture of the Island Christmas, but as this article is written the temperature is in the fifties, the sky is clear and blue, the sun shines brightly, the grass is still green, and flowers are…
Reeling in Facts for Striper Conservation
In his op-ed Conservation is Essential to Save the Striper (Vineyard Gazette, Oct. 31), author Dick Russell suggests that recreational and commercial fishermen stand at odds when it comes to striped bass conservation. He claims that commercial striped bass fishermen from Massachusetts and menhaden fishermen from Virginia are obstacles in the way of stronger protections…
Connector Road Postscript
I would like to remind our local newspapers that the town of Tisbury did not reject the connector road proposal. At our recent town meeting, a sizable majority, close to two-thirds, voted in favor of the plan.
Oyster Restoration
The Nature Conservancy would like to thank our partners in this past year’s oyster restoration project in the Tisbury Great Pond, straddling the Chilmark/West Tisbury town line at the mouth of Town Cove.
Thanks From Elves
We’re so tired, we’re so weary And the weather’s dark and dreary. But our hearts are full of cheer It’s been another great Red Stocking year. Without the help of all our friends There’d be no gifts that Santa sends. Knitters and wrappers and shoppers galore, Brickman’s and Basics who open their store To those…
Food Allergies in School
Anaphylaxis is not pretty. It can cause a complete collapse of the respiratory and circulatory systems, leading to death. A student at the regional high school suffered, or nearly suffered, anaphylaxis recently when a fellow student opened a food product containing peanuts in a classroom recently.
Land Bank Revenues: Dec. 20
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $380,082.92 for the business week ending on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013.
Dr. Koehler Will Return to Vineyard Hospital
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced just before Christmas that it would welcome the return of Dr. Richard H. Koehler, a surgeon and specialist in laparoscopic surgery. Dr. Koehler was a staff surgeon at the hospital from 1994 to 2002. His arrival on the Vineyard was hailed as a new era in medicine on the Island.…
West Tisbury Town Column: Dec. 27
The traffic in town was nearly nonexistent on Christmas day as families gathered around to exchange gifts and enjoy family dinners. We went up to our daughter Nicole’s and Anna’s sister Nina Berry’s house to celebrate Christmas. Sam and I set out to do our Christmas shopping shortly after our arrival.
Vineyard Haven Town Column: Dec. 27
If you haven’t done so already, get out your pens and notebooks to write your annual wish list of what you hope to achieve in 2014. It is certainly time. The older I get the simpler my resolutions become. I have only one this year; I want to put all my folded laundry back in…
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Dec. 27
Surviving the Civil War and all of those afterwards and several local and national financial depressions, the town of Oak Bluffs has much to be thankful for and much to be proud of. We’re the biggest little town on Martha’s Vineyard, the largest unconnected island on the east coast.
Edgartown Town Column: Dec. 27
It is 50 degrees outside so I am thinking it will not be a white Christmas, but by the time you read this column you will certainly know. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Samantha Folts, who celebrated her day Dec. 22; Hannah Rabasca and…
Chappy Town Column: Dec. 22
The Holiday Tea last Saturday was enjoyed by many. As expected, Rose Kaszuba, with the able assistance of Tom Osborn, baked up a huge assortment of treats. Rose really knows how to put on a tea party. She even employed that little-known trick of giving the room a yuletide atmosphere by leaving the fireplace damper…
Aquinnah Town Column: Dec. 27
The Christmas Eve candlelight service at the Community Baptist Church was conducted by Rev. Roger H. Spinney. Get well wishes to Rev. Ellen P. Tatreau, her husband Douglas and their daughter Elise. We will look forward to their return to the Vineyard in the New Year.
New Real Estate Firm for Edgartown
Leslie Floyd, Carol McManus and Zachary Frangos announce the formation of Portfolio Real Estate of Martha’s Vineyard, a boutique firm focused on providing advisory and full real estate services to Islanders and part-time residents.
Local Grad Joins Peace Corps
Laura Jernegan, 22, of Edgartown, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific, on Jan. 23 to begin training as an information technology and English education volunteer.
Comment Period Extended on NStar Spraying Program
The state Department of Agricultural Resources will allow comment until Feb. 18 on utility’s plan to use herbicides to control vegetation under power lines.
Real Estate Transactions: Dec. 16-Dec. 22
Monika M. Knutsson and Bruce M. Kogut purchased 17 Tiasquam Ridge Road in Chilmark for $1,475,000 on Dec. 19.
Where to Ring in the New Year
If selfie was the word of 2013, what will 2014 bring? Where better to find out than on Martha’s Vineyard. The Harbor View hosts its annual big bash on Tuesday night, with the Sultans of Swing and the Mike Benjamin Band. Party-only tickets are sold out but packages with lodging are still available. Call 508-627-3761.…
1 North Slope Lane, Chilmark
The Benjamin Fletcher Mayhew house, circa 1786, is listed in the Chilmark historic house registry. The four-bedroom house and guest house sit on over four acres with deeded access to a north shore beach.
Saving Rural Roads: One-Man Mission Turns to Islandwide Effort
A Vineyard Haven resident pitches a plan to Island selectmen to develop a rural roads manual. Other places have done it successfully, including Nantucket.
Father’s Fruitful Legacy Plants Seeds of Self Esteem
A Christmas story by the late Dorothy West, an Oak Bluffs writer and last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance.
Shakespeare for Short
Shakespeare for the Masses is back and they are bringing Henry V with them. The Young prince Henry of Henry IV has now matured into a man, with manly desires — thus the decision to conquer France. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” Lines like that make going to war sound almost…
VTA Fare Increases Begin This Month
Rising service costs have prompted modest increases to passenger fares, the last of which were approved last week by the advisory board for the Island public transit system. Phased-in fare hikes will continue through 2018.
Sinister Side of Celery Revealed
I received an interesting book for Christmas, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities. I cannot wait to read it.
Spirits in a Bottle
A bottle tree is not something botanical you might find at the Polly Hill Arboretum, or in any of our Island woodlands for that matter.
Song Birds
Recently someone asked me to identify the birds in three verses of The Twelve Days of Christmas. What are turtle doves, French hens and calling birds?
Welcome, Brooke
Prudence Fisher and Joseph Peters of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Brooke Elizabeth Peters, born on Dec. 20 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Ayla Arrives
Marcie Mueller and Jason Mallory of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Ayla Hay Mallory, born on Dec. 18 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Rediscovering Beatrix Potter
Betsy Bray will present a talk entitled Beatrix Potter: A Woman Ahead of Her Time about the author and illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and other children’s classics.
Felix Neck Calendar Fix
The January page of the new Felix Neck wildlife calendar is off by a day and they want to replace the page with the corrected version.
Announcing Asaph
Debora Barbosa Braz and Alexandro Braz of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Asaph Barbosa Braz, born on Dec. 19 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Asaph weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.
Not Chicken About Being Main Course, Cayuga Duck Is Coming Back
In order to save the duck, one must eat the duck. It may seem counterintuitive, but that’s the idea behind Rebecca Gilbert’s latest venture at the Native Earth Teaching Farm in Chilmark.
Kennedy Family Donates 30 Acres Along Moshup Trail to Vineyard Conservation Society
The gift of 17 small parcels valued at $3.7 million represents an important conservation gain in the rare heathlands of Aquinnah, conservation leaders said.
Shadow Puppets and Music Deck the Halls of the Capawock
It was mid-fall and local musician Adam Lipsky was feeling kind of blue. He looked around the Island and thought the possible venues for playing and listening to music felt static.
Two Dredges Needed in Edgartown Great Pond This Year
The Edgartown dredge has been called in to help remove a large delta of sand that was Hurricane Sandy’s legacy to the Great Pond last year.
Don Berwick Stumps for Governor at Howes House
The former director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid under President Obama and part time Chilmark resident addressed a gathering of about 25 people in West Tisbury Saturday morning.
MVC Denies Alliance Church Expansion
Visual impact, neighborhood concerns and questions about future use were all factors in the 4-3 commission vote against a large church expansion project on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs. Four commissioners excused themselves from the proceeding.
