Town Column : Oak Bluffs
By Megan Alley
Published: June 4, 2009
I have always carried on a love affair with newspapers. It might have started in the 40s when my older sister and I, just entering our teens, were delivery "boys" for the New Bedford Standard Times. In those days each carrier received two newspaper bundles: the New Bedford Standard Times and the Cape Cod Standard Times, necessitating us to insert the Cape Cod edition inside the New Bedford one. It wasn't the process of delivering papers to our customers or the chance of perhaps reaping up to $2/week but the fact that I now had two newspapers to read before starting out. My sister and I would settle down reading each paper from cover to cover before delivering. My father took a picture of us doing this, as we were completely absorbed in our reading. This affair has continued throughout my life with the Boston Herald at my parents' home, and when I married, with the Boston Globe. Now with newspapers everywhere running into financial difficulty, I received notice that the price of weekly delivery will almost double and I am faced with the dilemma of deciding: Should I stop the paper and try reading the news online or watch it on TV? But there is something so satisfying about spreading the paper out on the kitchen table, cup of tea handy, and reading the news and articles, feeling as if I am actually at the scene of the events. I am not nearly so addicted to the TV news or computer that I would find it half as enjoyable. I am afraid the future does not bode well for the written word. I think I will continue to enjoy my morning paper as long as it is possible.
JJ Cheney and Natalie Feliciano were married on Saturday, May 30. It was a beautiful sunny day for the ceremony in Child's Park in Northampton. They celebrated with a Mexican fiesta at the Northampton Center for the Arts. Islanders who partied with the happy couple include Bill and Maureen Anderson, Jeremy Jones and his wife Annie Parsons, Mike and Alecia Barnes, Ezra Agnew and Kelley DeBettencourt, Eve Heyman and Dave Tuminaro and Sue Curley. JJ and Natalie will visit parents Joanne and Jeff Lambert and sister Jenna in June, and then they will move to San Francisco.
The Annual Fine Arts Night at the Oak Bluffs School will be Tuesday, June 9, from 6 to 7:30 pm. You will have the opportunity to browse many arts and crafts presentations that reflect the hard work that the art programs have done with the students over the year. The viewing will be from 6 to 7 pm and will be followed by a concert by fourth and fifth graders. The Oak Bluffs School Strings Concert is tomorrow from 5 to 7 pm and will be followed by a reception.
The eighth-grade graduation is June 17 at 5:30 pm at the Tabernacle. The Awards Day ceremony will be held that morning from 9 to 11 am in the gym.
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in a drama/romantic comedy set in London in a new DVD release shown on the large projection screen at the Oak Bluffs Library. Come watch it tonight from 6 to 8 pm and enjoy beverages and popcorn.
A crossword and sudoku challenge is set for Saturday, June 20, from 2 until 4:30 pm at the library. All ages are welcome and there will be prizes awarded to the highest scorers. There will also be a door prize. Space is limited to the first 36 people; register at 2 pm at the library.
