Miss Crumpet died a virgin. It was her wish, respected by her family and certified by a veterinarian’s scalpel. The act was done in her third year of life, when she was most desirable to gentleman callers. But by then, Miss Crumpet had adopted us. She had no need for traditional motherhood. It was not coldness or aloofness that caused her to squat and emit a fierce warning growl that sent suitors packing. It was merely that she had pledged her troth elsewhere.

The Island Plan wraps up its look at specific aspects of the Vineyard’s future by focusing on the human side, the social environment. A forum on April 30 will look at some challenges facing the people of the Island and how we can best adjust to changing circumstances. The focus is not on specific services or facilities, but more on how community character, health and human services, education, and arts and culture affect the Vineyard as a whole, and how we should plan for them in the future.

Our national pastime is played on a diamond. But for me last Wednesday night it was played in a circle — a full circle. I was a guest of Jackie Robinson’s widow Rachel at Citifield, the new home of the New York Mets.

FIELDING ERRORS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

A Place Apart

From Gazette editions of April, 1934:

Information, Please

Some fifteen-hundred Vineyarders soon will find themselves with virtually useless medical insurance. These are people on low incomes with no employer health insurance, many working multiple low-wage jobs that leave precious little time for navigating complicated bureaucratic insurance matters.

Aquaculture Stimulus

We have seen the future and this is it: American oysters, bay scallops, blue mussels, quahaugs and softshell clams, thriving by the thousands in natural nurseries that are the coastal ponds and embayments of the Vineyard. The nurseries are aided by the able work of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, which grows millions of seed shellfish and provides them to the towns for sowing — both in the wild and in saltwater farms tended by entrepreneurial fishermen.

Suicide Prevention Grant

The Community Health Network of the Cape & Islands and Community Health Center of Cape Cod have received a $300,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to implement youth suicide prevention strategies across Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

The focus of the grant will be to train the broader community to recognize young people at risk and intervene quickly.

Boat Sale

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s Yacht and Boat Donation Program’s annual sealed bid boat sale will take place at Otis Air Force Base Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entrance onto the base will be allowed through the Falmouth gate only.

There will be a public bid opening on Monday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in the Bay State Conference Center located at the academy. Sealed bids will be accepted up until 12:30 that day.

The American Red Cross, Cape Cod and Islands Chapter is looking to train CPR and First Aid instructors to teach classes on the Vineyard.

Instructor training courses will be held in Hyannis on Fridays, May 8 and 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost of the course is $145, but financial arrangements are possible.

This course trains you to teach basic level American Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED courses for lay responders. These courses include Standard First Aid, Standard First Aid with AED, Adult CPR, Adult CPR/AED, Infant and Child CPR and First Aid.