It was thirty-five years ago that I wrote my first editorial for the Vineyard Gazette, an editorial so important that today no one remembers the message. The thoughts behind that editorial essay were of no particular significance, except perhaps to mark the beginning of a journalistic journey through a profoundly important period of Martha’s Vineyard history.

Emily Bramhall’s many labors for Islanders has earned her this year’s Spirit of the Vineyard Award. The honor, sponsored by Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, thanks volunteers who have put their hearts and souls into service to their community.

The decision when is tied to the weather. Either tomorrow or Sunday a small fleet of rowers will depart from Little Harbor in Woods Hole and they’ll row to the Vineyard, stopping in Lagoon Pond.

The event, called The Row to Remember, is being organized by Rick Brown of Far Cry Boat Shop in Vineyard Haven. Mr. Brown is a local boat builder who specializes in building ornate and handsome looking crafts principally of wood. He has organized the event to raise money for the Alz-heimer’s Association.

Let’s be honest, not everything gets better with age. But fortunately for Islanders, Mermaid Farm’s feta cheese does. The flavor gets richer, the texture softer, and if it’s covered in brine, the feta can last up to a year.

Farm owner Allen Healy and cheese maker Jackee Foster are showing people the way real feta is supposed to taste.

“We’re trying to change people’s perception of what feta traditionally is,” Ms. Foster said, taking a break from pouring brine into the pints containing perfect prism shapes.

On Oct. 9, 2010, a glorious, sun-filled October day, John Walker (Nino) McCoubrey and Leslie Dale (Lee) Polychron were married on Keith Farm, Chilmark, just down the road from the McCoubrey house on Little Oak Lane.

Transportation Meeting

A public meeting will be held at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 1, to discuss the 2011 Martha’s Vineyard Regional Transportation Plan.

The plan to provide a more balanced, safe and affordable integrated transportation system for the Island is being prepared by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in cooperation with the Martha’s Vineyard joint transportation committee, made up of representatives of all Island towns.

Mr. and Mrs. Allan R. Keith are very pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Lucy Ward Keith, to Mr. Tomas Diagne of Senegal, West Africa, on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Keith Farm on Middle Road in Chilmark.

Lucy is the granddaughter of E. Bradford and Lucile Keith, formerly of Westwood, and of Hugh Allen and Margaret Ward, formerly of New York city.

From Nov. 29 through Dec. 2 the Tisbury School Library will host a Scholastic Book Fair, a fun-filled book sale and literacy event.

The entire community is invited to Here’s to Our Heroes!, the theme of this year’s fair. The after-school hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 2:45 to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 2:45 to 7 p.m.

Books will be available for all ages, including adults.

Sunny Certification

Phil Forest, the lead photovoltaic system designer and installer at South Mountain Company in West Tisbury, recently passed the North American board of certified energy practitioners exam and is now a NABCEP certified solar electric installer. Phil is the only NABCEP certified solar electric installer on the Vineyard, and one of less than a hundred in New England.

On Sunday, Oct. 24, some 115 Islanders joined the 20th Annual CROP Walk (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) for the hungry. Each participant was encouraged to find sponsors for the nearly seven-mile walk from St. Augustine’s Church in Vineyard Haven to Trinity Methodist Church in Oak Bluffs, and back again.

As an incentive, the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA offered five $100 gift certificates to the top fundraisers; three for participants under the age of 18 years and two for over 18.