Planting Trees

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of May, 1933:

A conservation army, numbering 219 men, will arrive on the Island today to take up the work of reforestation in the state reservation under the federal plan for relieving unemployment. This army is one that has been through the preliminary course of training at Camp Devens and will be in the charge of a captain and two lieutenants of the regular Army, besides a detail of military police.

It was a spectacular crash, the first I’d ever seen. Two cars, at the intersection of State and Old County Roads, hit like billiard balls and bounced straight backwards. Happy for all, the only injury was a young passenger in one car who sliced up his forehead. Pieces of cars were all over the road, and in typical Vineyard fashion motorists began stopping and running to assist. The EMTs soon arrived, calm returned, the debris was kicked off the road and we all went on about our business.

Hello everyone. We have another batch of pieces for you to read. For the last couple of weeks, the sophomore classes have been learning about the Holocaust and many of our class are giving feedback on that topic. We are writing personal opinions and feelings about that topic; after looking through all of the pieces, I really liked Gail Herman’s piece. Having learned about the subject myself, I feel I can relate to what she says. The quote she uses that we can bomb the world into pieces, but not into peace, is powerful and says it all for us.

High Ground

My husband and I sit in cones of electric light,

reading in down-filled, chintz-covered armchairs

in our pretty little parlor in our pretty second home.

The tinnitus of crickets and the hiss of the sprinkler system

seep through screened doors and windows.

Thousands of miles away people are drowning.

In droves. For days. They stuff rags under their doors.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

F F .00

May 9 60 49 .23

May 10 54 45 1.31

May 11 55 45 .04

May 12 58 46 Trace

May 13 53 45 Trace

May 14 59 45 .00

May 15 63 41 .00

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 57º F.

JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Stand at the top of Main street in Edgartown and look down. You will see a traditional New England village, studded with white church steeples and tiny green parks. Now stand at the foot of Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs and look up. You will see another traditional New England village, this one studded with Victorian gingerbread architecture and a bustling, colorful streetfront.

Fly-Fishing Class

A fly-fishing class is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 17 at the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club off Third street North in Edgartown.

The class will include instruction about casting, equipment and techniques, knots, flies, building a leader, putting your gear together, reading the water and handling fish. Equipment will be provided.

The fee is $85 for club members and $100 for non-members. Call 508-693-6338 to preregister.

Joe, Elizabeth, Ingrid and Ian Jims, along with their dogs Brillo and Brawney, were walking on the land bank property at Farm Pond in Oak Bluffs when they spotted a weird purple bird.

By LYNNE IRONS

I love living on the Vineyard. What with all the depressing news in the world, we have a fairly idyllic lifestyle. There is a bustle of activity out and about preparing for the onslaught of summer guests. It is wonderful to live somewhere that others choose to live on their summer vacations. National Public Radio aired a segment the other day about Massachusetts being in much better shape than the rest of the nation.