Time Machine Terms
September 22, 1944
Vineyard Sound Lightship Goes Down with All Hands
The Vineyard Sound lightship was lost with all hands the night of the hurricane. The luckless vessel, with a crew of eleven, was at her station off the tip of Cuttyhunk in Vineyard Sound, when she was presumably overwhelmed, with no chance to radio a message of her approaching fate and ask for aid.
September 15, 1944
Hurricane Damage on Vineyard Goes Into the Millions
Martha’s Vineyard awoke on Friday morning to witness such a scene of destruction and wreckage as the Island never saw before. This is the literal truth, since never before has the Island owned so much property along the shores and waterfronts, susceptible to damage by sea and tide.
August 4, 1944
Powell Wins Nomination
Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York city, and a summer resident of Oak Bluffs, won both the Republican and Democratic nominations for congressman in the 22nd district in New York on Tuesday. He is apparently assured of election as the first Negro representative from New York.
July 11, 1944
Coast Guard Closes Vineyard Sound To Pleasure Boats
Additional restrictions on the operation of pleasure craft in waters around Martha's Vineyard have been ordered by the Coast Guard as of last Friday. The regulations are issued by the Captain of the Port at Newport and are unique in the fact that they have been made public in any written or printed form. The substance of the restrictions has been ascertained from the Coast Guard, however, and charts with the restricted areas marked, are accessible at both Vineyard Haven and Edgartown.
July 11, 1944
Acquires Autograph Letter of John Hancock
An autograph letter from John Hancock to James Athearn, a prominent citizen of Tisbury in the period just preceding the American Revolution, has been acquired by the Dukes County Historical Society. Not only does the letter bear Hancock’s signature in the same clear style as that which adorns the Declaration of Independence, but it gives a picture of a business transaction in that early era.
June 9, 1944
D-Day Is Solemn
D-Day services marked the opening of the European invasion by the Allied armies, as hundreds of people attended their neighborhood churches for a moment of prayer for the success of Allied armies and a speedy peace. Some of the churches had but the one special service, while others had several throughout the day, in order that those employed in their various tasks might be enabled to attend.
February 4, 1944
Outright Seizure Navy's Method In Taking Property
The United States Navy has taken land at Katama for use in its new gunnery range without lease, purchase, condemnation or any prior consultation with the owner. Edward T. Vincent is the Vineyarder who has been having the unusual experience of losing his property through outright seizure, and of receiving short answers to his questions.
December 24, 1943
Training, Patrol Work, Both Functions of Station
A removal for the first time of the restrictions which have prevented publication of any material regarding the types of planes at the Martha’s Vineyard Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, the activities at thee field, or the purposes for which it is designated, is marked by publication of an article, illustrated by drawings, in a recent issue of the Providence Journal. Some of the material in the article has been common knowledge on the Vineyard for a long time, but strict orders have prevented its publication.
September 3, 1943
Now Hospital Ship: Naushon Has Picture in A.E.F. Paper
The whereabouts and occupation of the favorite Island steamer Naushon, long queen of the Island line, has been officially revealed in a story in the Stars and Stripes, newspaper of the American forces overseas. A clipping of the story, with a picture of the Naushon in her new role, has come to Mrs. Joseph De Witt of Edgartown from her brother, Pvt. Morris Shapiro, who is serving somewhere in England.
August 3, 1943
Navy Takes Part of Squibnocket Pond for Duration
The Navy has taken a leasehold right for the duration of the war from the commonwealth of Massachusetts and others on that portion of Squibnocket Pond which lies west of a line drawn north and south through the westerly shore of Beachgrass Island, so called. This line is marked by a series of buoys. The area around the pond has been conspicuously posted, warning people off the waters of the pond.
