Geometry meets fantasy in the recent paintings by artist Lanny McDowell, a resident of Martha’s Vineyard since 1970. He invites viewers to wonder what the world looks like through emotion and creativity, rather than through the plodding intellectualism of human eyes.

For Richard E. Lee

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Richard Lee was a star, he sparkled, he winked at you through his paintings and made us laugh; all the while he was watching us and laughing. He had an aura of sparklers surrounding him, a bit of Puck’s spirit lived within.

Richard, you have brought us joy in this lifetime, thank you and please, keep twinkling and rearranging the starry-starry sky in your vision.

Wendy Arnell Brophy

Vineyard Haven

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Stylistic Mishmash

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I was thinking the other day about an old friend, conservationist Rusty Walton, who died last year. To say he was quiet would be an understatement. I could rarely make a smile bend on his face no matter how hard I tried. However, as I think back on the times I spent with him it always makes me smile. He was a dedicated naturalist and an accomplished ecologist. He introduced me to my first wild patch of wood lily on the Vineyard almost 10 years ago. Recently I went back to the same spot and, surprisingly, the lilies, like Rusty were gone.

We were Vineyard summer dinks, or at its most deroga
tory, just dinks. We drove up from New Jersey each year, just after school let out, and stayed until Labor Day in my grandparents’ house on Pennacook avenue in Oak Bluffs.
My mother, a teacher, stayed the whole summer, too, but my father had to make do with weekends and whatever vacation he could save up.

I heard tales from my mother of how lonely my father was sweating it out back home. We lived close to the stinky part of New Jersey where the air smells like a bad meal left out to rot for weeks.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of August, 1970:

A writer’s retreat, a think tank, a junior college, an experimental division of the University of Massachusetts, a vocational school, a microcosm for study of the environment, a structured college — all were among proposals made Wednesday for a new kind of institution of higher education on the Vineyard.

The first cut of hay was two weeks early, garlic is already being harvested across the Island and strawberries are likely to be done before it’s time for a July 4 pie.

All across the Island, farmers are reporting crops sprouting earlier than usual this year, a fact they attribute to a mild winter and erratic but relatively warm weather ever since.

Dean’s List
Jordan Wallace of Oak Bluffs has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2012 semster at Saint Micahel’s College in Burlington, Vt. Jordan is the son of Mark and Patricia Wallace. He recently completed his first year as an English major.

The Alexandra Gagnon Teen Center on June 21 held its inaugural graduation of teens from the eight-month long Digital Connectors Information Technology Training Program.

Fifteen teenagers, selected for their leadership qualities and their interest in digital literacy, participated in the twice-weekly program, sponsored by Comcast. The students studied and became certified in Cisco systems IT technology, financial literacy, film creation, computer repair and more. In addition, all students had to complete community service hours.

Vineyard URI Graduates

Evan Schwab of Chilmark, and Nicholas Wilbur of Vineyard Haven were recently graduated from the University of Rhode Island. Evan received a BSBA degree in supply chain management. Nicholas received a degree in aquaculture and fishery technology.

Evan was also named to the dean’s list for the spring 2012 semester. He joins Erin Marie Gosson of Edgartown in that achievement.

Citing an opinion from legal counsel, the chairman of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday night blocked a move by one of his colleagues to revisit the roundabout decision, spurring a discussion about the role of the commission and whether the organization’s decisions are reversible.