Time Machine Terms
December 3, 1982
Hezekiah the Bell Is Ringing Again
At last Sunday’s service in the Oak Bluffs Trinity Church on the Camp Ground, Hezekiah began ringing again. The bell atop the belfry began ringing as it had rung back in 1966 before it suffered a fall, its yoke broken from old age.
For 16 years the 1,500-pound bell, made in 1888, lay dormant at the foot of its base. As a poor substitute, the bell’s sound was replaced by an electronic recording.
November 26, 1982
Vineyard Football Team Plays Gallantly Against Nantucketers
Saturday was a good day for flying to Nantucket — for a change. The PBA terminal was full of anxious Vineyarders hoping for an upset in the annual clash of the Islands on the football field. It was a gallant effort but in the end the Whalers were still undefeated for the season and the Vineyard has lost another close game to them, 12 to 0.
November 19, 1982
Vineyard Veterans of Viet Nam Come Home
They went to the wall together and cried.
“It was like going to meet a friend...and finally saying goodbye.”
Henry Decoteau of Vineyard Haven was a career man in the Air Force, not a fellow familiar with tears. But when he and his wife Bette traveled to Washington last week to be part of the National Salute to Viet Nam Veterans, the weight of emotion was almost too much.
August 27, 1982
Historical Society Held Annual Meeting Aug. 19
At the 60th annual meeting of the Dukes County Historical Society on Aug. 19, the members enjoyed an instructive talk by Jonathan Scott on Chilmark’s Pre-Revolutionary War Houses, of which there are more than 75. By presenting slides of structural details, Mr. Scott described the various unusual aspects of Vineyard colonial architecture. He also demonstrated the techniques for dating old houses. Mr. Scott is the author of The House that Gave Tea Lane Its Name in the August Dukes County Intelligencer.
June 29, 1982
Mr. Havlicek Sallies Queasily Forth, Fishing for Philanthropy
John Havlicek didn’t say much on the way back from Nantucket, but then you really have to have something important to say to holler over a diesel engine growling at 3,000 rpm.
It had been a long seven hours at sea for Mr. Havlicek, with the time spent bouncing around Nantucket Sound telescoped in a way only those who have been seasick can describe.
May 7, 1982
A Look at the Vineyard in the 21st Century
How’s this for a long view of the Vineyard, let’s say some time after the year 2000 when this fragile Island enters the 21st century.
- A summer population of as much as 260,000.
- More than 40,000 buildings situated on only 64,000 acres of Vineyard land.
- Miles upon miles of asphalt roads criss-crossing back and forth across the length and breadth of the Island.
- Housing construction riveted to rigid, evenly spaced grid plans, like another Levittown. Forget cluster development with open spaces and green buffer zones.
April 23, 1982
The Gazette Office Lurches into the Future Where Computers Hum and Screens Glow
Almost in time for last week’s printing deadlines, the Vineyard Gazette dragged its typesetting technology, kicking and scratching, into the age of high-speed computers. Except for a few pieces of the almanac listings, all the news in the April 16 edition was typeset on a microprocessor-based system manufactured by the Harris Corporation.
March 19, 1982
Parishioners Seek Donations So Hezekiah May Toll Again
There was a time at the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground when a bell atop Trinity Church rang the beginning of summer’s festive events, just as it would each Sunday’s call to worship. Its sound was crisp and sweet and its music sounded out over the Oak Bluffs rooftops and beyond.
Each summer, “Hezekiah,” as the bell is called, rang before Illumination Night’s first lantern was lit and prior to each religious event across the street at the Tabernacle. There are those who can remember. And there are those who would like to hear it again.
December 18, 1981
Merchants and Churches Work Together On a Christmas Program for Edgartown
One shopkeeper says she senses more enthusiasm and gaiety among shoppers, and a local innkeeper appreciates the way people don’t seem to be rushing through the holidays. Interspersing shopping with caroling, tree lighting and concerts is what the Old Fashioned Christmas in Edgartown program is all about, and organizer Fred Hurley reports that attendance at these events has been steady.
November 27, 1981
Breaks Go Against Vineyard In Football Loss to Nantucket
The script for homecoming weekend was not followed as planned. The Vineyarders were supposed to beat Nantucket and then celebrate with a victory dance at the high school. The dance was a success, but the Vineyarders were on the losing end of a 25 to 0 football game on a gloomy Saturday in a freezing, 30-knot gale.
Of course, for Nantucket it might as well have been Miami Beach. The win put them in third place in the Mayflower League with a 6 and 4 record. The Vineyard finished the season 4 and 6, which is quite respectable.
