CALL FOR LEADERSHIP

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

In any small town, there are cultural, political, social and economic factions that converge to give each town its own special personality. Within each faction, there are personal issues, public interests and many hidden agendas to deal with. These are the difficult and enormously complicated problems that make a small town so special. We all get to be involved. And we all get to be affected. It is the curse and the blessing of small-town living.

THE GREATER JOURNEY: Americans in Paris. By David McCullough. Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y. May 2011. 558 pages, photographs. $37.50 hardcover.

From Gazette editions of 1962:

Veterans Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven is the finest example of cooperative effort on the part of residents of every Island town. Its ten acres or so, reclaimed from swamp, marsh and actual open water, has become an Island landmark, a fitting memorial to war heroes living and dead, and is the scene of much activity on the part of old and young.

There was a time when milk was just milk, when cream was skimmed off the top for butter and a percentage of fat didn’t deem a tall glass of the refreshing drink, glistening like porcelain, to be unhealthy. But with two Island farms selling straight-from-the-farm milk in glass bottles, milk may have another chance.

Hello, Jasper

Alexandra London-Thompson and Peter Stray of Chilmark announce the birth of a son, Jasper Christophe Stray-London, born on July 8, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Jasper weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces at birth.

Merrill Arrives

Jamie and Merrill Langley of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Merrill Keenan Langley, born on July 5, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Merrill weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces at birth.

Devin Colter

Devin Colter, son of Richard Colter and Deborah Colter of Edgartown, received a degree in communications from Ithaca College in May.

What Money Can’t Buy

Are we rich? Kids often ask the question, and answering it can be a complicated business, especially on Martha’s Vineyard. Of course we are, considering the living conditions of kids in much of the world, and even many Americans. Most of us have plenty to eat, warmth in all seasons, and the benefits of quality education and a beautiful environment.

A Coral Gables, Fla., woman remained in critical condition in a Boston hospital Monday after she was struck by a car while crossing Upper Main street in Edgartown on foot on Saturday night.

Patricia Guarch, 22, who is working at the Vineyard Arts Project on Upper Main street for the summer, was crossing the street on her way to get ice cream, just after 10 p.m. Saturday, when she was struck by a 2010 Subaru Outback. The driver of the car was Robert Franklin, 85, of Vineyard Haven.

West Tisbury beaches are again open for swimming, the town health agent announced on Friday. Four beaches, including at Lambert’s Cove, Seth’s Pond and Long Point, were closed Thursday due to high bacteria counts found in the weekly water samples. Beaches were re-tested and all are now safe for swimming, health agent John Powers said in a press release Friday.