Time Machine Terms
July 29, 1941
Mosquito Boat A Menacing Visitor To Harbor Craft
A prim feature of the regatta was the visit of one of the new mosquito boats, or P.T. boats so called, to the historic port of Edgartown, where fighting ships of many a generation have put in for one reason or another, yet never presented such a sight as this. Commanded by Capt. A.
July 4, 1941
38 Register Here: 22 Are Island Residents, 16 Non-Residents
Thirty-eight young men registered in Dukes County on Tuesday, in compliance with the selective service act, which required all men to register on this date who have become 21 since the first registration. Of those registered Tuesday, sixteen were non-residents, and twenty-two residents of the county.
The non-residents were allowed, as before, to register wherever they might be, and their cards will be forwarded to the committees in their respective home towns and cities. The list, by towns, was as follows:
July 4, 1941
Uncle Sam on the Vineyard
Apropos the observation station at Peaked Hill, where a drive to the summit is now under construction, and likewise the report of a similar station to be constructed at Gay Head, near the lighthouse, it now becomes known that the reason for two such stations so close together is that the boundary lines dividing the Boston and Newport coastal defense areas converge on the Vineyard in such a way as to leave part of the Island in each district.
June 13, 1941
Build Road to Hill Top Observation Post
Work began on Tuesday on the road from the Middle Road to the top of Peaked Hill, the contract having been awarded to R. W. Balam, Boston contractor, who is engaged in putting through several jobs on the Island. The road is to be surfaced, after the grading is completed, and will supply a government way to the observation post that is planned for the Island’s highest point.
April 18, 1941
Foreshadowing of War as Big Guns Boom Nearby
The Vineyard had a faint foreshadowing of the tumult of war this week, when windows were — rattled and houses were shaken by the firing of big guns at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod and by target practice by two warships offshore.
April 11, 1941
Defense Plans Pushed Forward Rapidly Here
Plans for the protection of property and persons on Martha’s Vineyard in the event of a war emergency have been pushed forward this week by the special committee appointed for this purpose by Governor Saltonstall. A meeting was held at the town hall in Tisbury on April 3, at which all the town chairmen were present, save one. H. M. Crist presided as coordinator. Others present were Dr. Francis C. Buckley of Oak Bluffs, Raymond V. Chipman of Tisbury, Francis A. Foster of West Tisbury, Leonard C. Vanderhoop of Gay Head, and Richard L. Colter of Edartown. Ernest J.
February 28, 1941
Government to Take Only Part of Hill
The section of Peaked Hill which the government proposes to take for the purpose of establishing a signal station represents only a small part of the Peaked Hill property so-called. The entire property comprises 150 acres, and the part chosen by the government is a four and a half acre plot, which includes the site of the triangulation point monument previously erected there. It is not, as a matter of fact, the highest point of the Vineyard’s loftiest eminence, 311 feet in height, but it is regarded as line of the most beautiful. It is the peak nearest the Middle Road.
February 21, 1941
Completes Search Aimed at Acquiring Peaked Hill
Garrett Hagen, of the United States Department of Justice, has completed a search at the registry of deeds in Edgartown looking toward the acquisition of Peaked Hill by the federal government for the purposes of a signal station. The hill at present is owned principally by John Wesley Whiting. Preliminary surveys were made some time ago.
Mr. Hagen was assisted by a secretary and representatives of the federal engineers, and was accompanied also by a car and a chauffeur.
February 7, 1941
Dukes County Has 3,799 “Housing Units” for Its 5,699 Inhabitants
Dukes County boasts a total of 3,799 “housing units,” for its 5,669 inhabitants, according to revised figures issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for 1940. At the time the tally was made 1,699 of the houses were occupied, 524 were vacant and for sale or for rent, and 1,576 were vacant for other reasons.
January 10, 1941
Vineyard Observation Posts to Participate
The six Martha’s Vineyard observation posts will participate with the 700 similar posts scattered throughout New England in the communications test of the Air Defense Command which will be held this morning between the hours of 10 a. m. and 12 noon. The test is being given for the purpose of instructing observers of the Aircraft Warning Service and setting up a well-working telephone circuit between each observation post and the army information center at Mitchel Field, New York, headquarters of the Air Defense Command.
