Janet Messineo, a revered fisherman who stalked the nighttime shores of the Vineyard for more than 50 years, died on Dec. 17 at her home in Vineyard Haven.

Percival Everett won the National Book Award for his novel James, a retelling of the Mark Twain novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the slave, Jim’s, perspective.

Virginia (Ginny) Jones, whose roots in West Tisbury were as strong and deep as her love for the town and for a way of life on the Vineyard she feared was disappearing, died on Nov. 13. She was 82.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kate Altman lived in Los Angeles, in particular the Laurel Canyon area, an epicenter of art and music and film.

During her long career at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum as its oral historian, Linsey Lee has interviewed over 1,000 Islanders, giving voice to their lives and stories.

The mornings have turned chilly and the dog, always a lazy sort who likes to sleep in, has burrowed under the covers, lying in bed with my daughter.

This Saturday, the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association hosts its annual used tackle sale. All proceeds support scholarships for Island students.

Augustus (Gus) D. Ben David 2nd, the Vineyard’s famed wildlife specialist and former director of Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, died on July 4 at his home in Edgartown after an extended illness.

There are paintbrushes in Harry’s Seymour art studio, about 50 or more in various sizes, shapes and thickness, but they sit on the sidelines resting idle by the sink in all manner of plastic containers.

Ron Rappaport traversed the Island on two wheels or four, always working, always talking, always listening, always smiling and always arguing one case over and over: how to preserve the Island’s values and way of life for everyone.