Time Machine Terms
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.
October 16, 1981
Crunch III Reduces 44 Cars to Hunks of Steaming Junk
“It seems like total destruction the only solution.” - Bob Marley.
Alan Trustman, who write the screenplay for Bullitt, once told a group of college students interested in movie writing that almost nothing tickled the average American more than watching wanton destruction of valuable personal property. Don’t ask me to explain it, he said, but Americans can’t get enough of glass breaking and car crashing.
September 29, 1981
Gay Head Tribal Council Approves Plan to Settle Land Claim Suit
The Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head approved a plan last night that could lead to settlement of the seven-year-old suit claiming Indian ownership of Gay Head town lands.
The 115 to 60 margin in favor of settlement of the suit is being contested by a party within the tribe that favors suing for the entire town. But tribe leaders say they will move toward settlement.
August 11, 1981
The Auriga and Naushon Collide In the Mists of Monday Morning
The SS Naushon collided head-on with the freight boat Auriga in thick fog at 8:55 yesterday morning.
The two Steamship Authority vessels hit one another about one mile east of Nobska lighthouse at Woods Hole. The Coast Guard said that at the time of the collision, seas were calm and the visibility was zero.
Fourteen people were injured, 11 passengers aboard the Naushon and three crew members on the Auriga. All were taken to Falmouth Hospital, but were released later in the day.
August 7, 1981
The Island’s Veterans of Vietnam Carry a War’s Burden of Unsettling Memories
Woody Williams graduated from the Island’s regional high school in 1969 and went off to fight a war. In some ways, he’s still fighting it.
Jeff Baker knows the feeling. Sometimes when he’s sitting in his Vineyard Haven home he hears rapid gunfire and jumps up. It’s his wife popping corn.
Several years have passed since the two young men left the jungles of Southeast Asia. Yet still they wonder when they will leave behind the ugly visions and enjoy Island life with others of their generation.
July 7, 1981
Judge Tucker Brings New Dignity To Sessions of Island Court
A man and woman charged recently with sleeping in Ocean Park, a violation of Oak Bluffs law, came before the Dukes county district court judge Herbert E. Tucker, Jr. and were ordered to pay a $25 fine. They told Judge Tucker they needed until 1 p.m. that afternoon to pay.
At 1 p.m., the couple did not appear. They had gone home to Fairhaven.
