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
September 5, 2014
Harvest Moon Rises in the East
It is hard to believe that the harvest moon approaches. This is the full moon poets love. Next Tuesday, the Harvest Moon rises in the east over Chappaquiddick. The Harvest Moon is in the zodiacal constellation Aquarius, the water bearer and moving closer to the zodiacal constellation Pisces. These are constellations we associate with autumn,…
In Fight to Save Stripers, Plan Emerges to Protect Females
New regulations aimed at curbing mortality rates among striped bass are focusing on the larger, spawning females whose numbers have fallen in recent years. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is collecting comment.
Vineyard Voters Go to the Polls Tuesday for State Primary
The fall 2014 election season begins in earnest next week, as Vineyarders join voters statewide in going to the polls for the state primary. Polls will be open in all Vineyard towns from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Primary Care Clinic Expands Mission Under New Ownership
Vineyard Medical Care (formerly Vineyard Medical Services) is on track to blaze new trails after a recent change of ownership brings with it an added focus on clinical research, including into tick-borne illnesses and laboratory diagnostics.
State Closes Katama Bay Oyster Farms for One Week
Edgartown’s bustling aquaculture industry is on hold this week, with Katama Bay oyster farms temporarily closed because of reported cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp). The state Department of Public Health and Division of Marine Fisheries announced the closure, which is expected to last one week, on Wednesday.
Development on Island Has Slowed From Boom Years, MVC Data Shows
An animation released this week by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission shows development over time since 1660. Revised commission calculations predict that the Island won’t reach buildout until the year 2089.
Shellfish Sense
In the midst of dire news about declining fish stocks, the developing oyster farming industry on the Vineyard offers a rare opportunity for optimism.
Farewell to the Chief
It was never part of the official Roberts Rules of Order, but anyone who attended an annual or special town meeting in Aquinnah in the past three and a half decades knew about the Delaney Rule.
Noshing on Borscht Belt Memories
What seems like eons ago when I was a tyke, my maternal grandmother schlepped (Yiddish to drag or pull) me from our home in Brooklyn to the Catskills.
Always Bullish About Swimming Laps
I swear I was born swimming laps. I have always craved the water.
Gay Head Light
Gay Head Light In Memoriam: Todd Follansbee Nothing gay this gray morning.The salt-sprayed treesand bushes bend overlike scared students,tested by a towering teacher —all brick, iron and glaringglass — missing nothing. We feel her check on us,then stare far out to sea —stern but searchingfor that last tardy boator overdue pilot.We know that look:like a…
Unique Performance Is Perfect Coda to Artful Island Summer
Alternately menacing and amorous, Thoth and Lila’Angelique of Tribal Baroque sang, fiddled, percussed, and danced.
Wind in Her Hair, Sea Beneath; Traveling the Old School Way
Every once in awhile when I was a child summering at East Chop, a four or five-masted schooner would come into sight, white sails filled with wind.
Remembering Dr. Reid
The obituary for Dr. Laura L. Reid wonderfully captured her unique personality, vivaciousness, and joy in life and love of people.
Bring Back Racing Pigs
As always we had a wonderful time on Martha’s Vineyard from August 16 to 23, a time we choose because of the Agricultural Fair.
Churches Create Islandwide Youth Group
Seven Island churches are casting out into the community with a new youth group program they’re calling The Net, aimed at middle and high school aged students.
Eternal Softball
The beauty about Sunday softball at Chilmark’s Flanders Field is that everyone has fun. It’s a place where year-round Islanders and summer visitors can play ball and get to know each other.
Full House
Remember the first day back at school when the teacher used to tell us to write a composition on What I Did During My Vacation?
Real Estate Transactions: August 25 to August 31
Kenneth Schoenberg and Kathleen Schoenberg purchased 31 Woodhaven Drive in Edgartown from Robert Bowen and Christine S. Bowen for $799,037.15 on August 25.
Land Bank Revenue: August 29
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $159,962.74 for the business week ending on Friday, August 29, 2014.
Changing Plans May Delay Edgartown Affordable Housing Project
A project to develop affordable housing on town land in Edgartown may have to go back to town meeting for a vote, the town selectmen said this week.
Edible Vineyard Is Put Up for Sale
Edible Vineyard, the quarterly magazine that has celebrated the Island food scene since 2009 with stories, recipes and photography, is seeking new ownership.
Chappy Too Bustling? Mytoi to the Rescue
Mytoi Garden on Chappaquiddick is quietly resplendent in late summer, with sunlight filtering through tall pitch pines onto the green leaves of floating water lilies. A few of the Japanese maples are beginning to show their brilliant red leaves. Fall is on its way.
Nine Women Artists: Fifteen Years Exhibit
Nine women artists who began getting together in 1998 as an offshoot of the Tom Maley Tuesday drawing group come together for Nine Women Artists: Fifteen Years.
At the Bridge Table
Ann Brown arrived on the Vineyard this summer following an off-season of bridge lessons from Claire J. Tornay of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Kites Take Flight at Wind Festival
The first wind festival took place in 1967. There were numerous prizes including best kite, highest kite and longest flying kite.
Vineyard Triathlon
A triathlon on Martha’s Vineyard wouldn’t be complete without ocean views. Consider swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, running 13.1 miles, or make it a team effort in a relay format — it’s your choice.
Benefitting Community Is High Priority for Women Empowered
Women Empowered is honoring Betsy Burmeister, Jesse Keller, and Judy Crawford on Sept. 6 at the 2014 Women of the Year champagne brunch.
Tour Historic West Chop
Mary Jane Carpenter shares the history behind five West Chop homes on Saturday, Sept. 13.
New On-Island? Alpacas Ease the Way
In August of 2012, a chance meeting with Bacio, Roberto and Marco changed everything for Marc and Mary Beth Daniels.
Giving Back With Song
On Sunday, Sept. 14, mezzo-soprano Lia Kahler will perform at the Chilmark Community Church. She will perform spirituals, arias and solo works.
Capturing the Serenity Beneath the Wild
Quiet, dignified, powerful, with long lashes depicted in all their delicate detail. A horse from Sable Island comes to life in your dining room.
Best Fest is Best of Everything
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the fifth annual Best Fest. Best of what? Best of everything creative, musical and downright groovy.
Pow Wow Drums Up Spirit in Aquinnah
On Saturday and Sunday, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) will celebrate its 10th annual Island Pow Wow at the Aquinnah Circle.
Holmes Hole Finishes the Season Strong
The best ever. That’s the conclusion of racers and committee members as last Sunday’s two races closed the books on the 2014 Holmes Hole Sailing Association summer season.
Tears and Cheers as Island Kids Head Back to School
In the Chilmark School Thursday morning head of school Susan Stevens stood among parents and grandparents, giving kids high fives. “Welcome back! Glad you’re here!” she said. It was the common refrain as students around the Island headed back to classrooms to begin a new school year.
New Efforts Are Underway to Restore Mayhew Chapel
Today the weight of history is more apparent than ever at the Mayhew Chapel, with its moss-covered roof, peeling white paint and crumbling ceiling. New efforts are underway to restore the chapel, clear out the underbrush in the burial ground and take inventory of the ancient fieldstones that mark the graves.
Police Investigate Thefts at Up-Island Businesses
Police are investigating a series of thefts Wednesday at up-Island businesses, including several farm stands. Police said money and cash registers were taken from Little Leona’s Pets and Supplies and Fiddlehead Farm. Money was also taken from honor-system farm stands in Chilmark.
Yasmin Arrives
Leidemar Moreira and Luciano Moreira of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a daughter, Yasmin Layra Rodrigues Moreira, born on Sept. 2 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Vineyard Haven Town Column: Sept. 5
Sure, it was hot Tuesday, so much so that the Thrift Shop had a sign up — Too Hot! Closing at 4 p.m. today. Still, it has been a remarkably mild summer. And now we get our Island beaches back!
Aquinnah Town Column: Sept. 5
School is open — the children are excited as are the parents. Please be mindful of the young ones heading to their buses. Plan your travel down-Island accordingly so as not to be stuck behind an early morning or afternoon bus.
Please Adopt Us
The Island is emptying out after Labor Day, but not the cat adoption room at the animal shelter. It is alive with kitten energy.
Laura Bintzer to Marry Sam Hines
Laura Bintzer and Sam Hines will marry on Sept. 20 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain. Both Sam and Laura’s families have homes in Katama, and they grew up spending summers right around the corner from each other.
Chilmark Family Wedding
Alexander Samson Outman and Shana May Yam were married at Captain Flanders House on Sunday, August 24, with family and friends surrounded by the clear blue sky, horses, hills and serenity.
David Alger and Bonnie Baxter Wed
David B. Alger of Chappaquiddick and Bonnie Baxter of Wellesley were married at his historic family home, Menaca, built in 1910 by his great-grandfather, on August 21.
No Passport Necessary, International Film Festival is a Hot Ticket
All you need to travel the world this week is a seat at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center for this year’s international film festival.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Sept. 5
Four of the six men (Shubael Lyman Norton, Ira Darrow, Grafton Norton Collins and William Bradley) who formed the Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Company that built Cottage City were whaling captains.
West Tisbury Town Column: Sept. 5
Well, we enjoyed a very nice Labor Day weekend — the unofficial end of the summer season. Cookouts and outdoor activities, including the beach, were the order of the day.
On Chappy: Sept. 5
Kevin Keady’s Cattle Drivers continue their hurricane season tour with a show at Mytoi Garden on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Such a wonderful pairing of two Chappy treasures.
East Chop Town Column: Sept. 5
Chuck Sanders would have loved Saturday, August 30, at Union Chapel. It was a beautiful Vineyard day, and all of his family members were there to pay tribute.
Edgartown Town Column: Sept. 5
I think Mother Nature forgot to look at her calendar because she has her months confused, cool and breezy in August and nice sleeping nights. September we have hazy, hot and humid.
Chilmark Town Column: Sept. 5
Chilmark is a quieter place as I write on Wednesday morning. The road noises of summer are missing, garbage pick up, food deliveries, fish wholesale trucks . . . all missing.
Zucchini Zealots Unite, It’s Your Time
Though larger zucchinis are tougher and more fibrous than their smaller and sweeter sisters, the most ardent zucchini eater will not be dissuaded.
Hostas are Tried and True
Hostas have so few drawbacks — they are beloved by rabbits, deer and slugs. Otherwise, they will serve you well.
Gone Potting! Black Sea Bass Fishery Is Good Business
On Tuesday morning Capt. David (Tubby) Medeiros, 50, and his son Cory, 14, head out early in their boat, Billie H., to haul pots of black sea bass.
Welcome, Lucas
Maelyn Gerard and Josh Gerard of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Lucas Paul Gerard, born on August 28 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
September Brings Early Comers
The American golden plover was hunted on the Vineyard and elsewhere in the 1800s.
New Campus Begins to Take Shape for Vineyard House
At an open house last week, leaders at the Island’s only residential facility for recovery from addiction showcased the new modular Vineyard Haven complex. The $3 million project is due to be completed by the end of the year.
Striped Bass Decline Is Subject for Hearings
Tighter conservation measures for striped bass are on the table for discussion this month. A weeklong series of public hearings in Massachusetts begins today on Nantucket on a plan to lower catch limits for recreational and commercial fishermen next year.
Festival of Wheels at Tisbury Car Show
Classic vintage automobiles, custom trucks and and polished hot rods lined Main street on Sunday for the Tisbury Firefighter Association’s Annual Car Show. The show is in its eighth year and raises money for the fallen firefighter fund.
Megalodon Teeth to Arrowheads, the Story Behind the Treasure at Archaeology ID Day
Stories of the distant past came to life during archaeology ID day at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Whale bones and arrowheads were among the treasures brought in by people from around the Island.
High School Soccer Coaches Are Familiar Faces on the Pitch
Esteban Aranzabe will take over as head coach for the boys team this fall, while the girls team will be led by Rocco Bellebuono. Both men are well known as longtime coaches and leaders in the Island youth soccer program.
Restoring Squibnocket Becomes a Race Against the Clock
Facing an unforeseen deadline for spending a major state grant, a town committee has stepped up the pace in the effort to restore Squibnocket Beach. The issue has been marked by intense environmental study and also politics.
Coast Guard Ends Search for Owner of Sailboat
A wide-ranging air and sea search for the owner of a 13-foot Hobie Cat was called off late Saturday after the boat owner called the Coast Guard to identify himself. The unmarked sailboat was found washed ashore with its sails up near Lake Tashmoo on Friday.
