Welcome back to school, once more this fall, to students and staff. Please expect the unexpected, as kids sometimes get enthusiastically careless and wander into traffic areas as they travel from home to school and back again. Let’s keep everyone safe.
The basic pattern of living on the Island is still woven with the same thread after so many years: more people leave here than arrive on this Labor Day weekend. But I am looking back at so many changes since 60 years ago this week, when I moved to Oak Bluffs from my hometown of Vineyard Haven after my marriage in 1955. In Vineyard Haven there was two-way traffic on Main Street, with parking on both sides of the street. You didn’t have to make a boat reservation to travel off- or on-Island; no cell phones, dial phones, pushbutton phones, as you still picked up a phone and heard a voice ask “Number, please?” No zip codes, area codes, Internet, Facebook, iPads, color TV, computers, Regional High School, but three High Schools: Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Vineyard Haven. No housing shortages, and we frequently lost electricity during storms, but we just got out the oil lamps and candles. No 24/7 emergency room in the very small cottage hospital. No polio vaccine, and that year there was a polio epidemic in Massachusetts, including some cases here on the Island. No ambulances, but police station wagons were used for medical transports. I remember my astonishment when after Labor Day, there were only four cars parked on Circuit Avenue, and the only establishments open after summer, I remember, were the Ritz, the OK Store, Phillips, Garland Red and White Market, and daRosa’s. And a very small Reliable Market, where Mrs. Pacheco added up the cost of your groceries on the back of a paper bag and rang it up on a cash register. So, what do you think? Would you want to live in the world of 1955 or 2015 ?
Head to Flatbread on next Tuesday, Sept. 15, between 5 and 9 pm, when there will be a benefit night for the West Tisbury Library Foundation. The West Tisbury library will receive $3.50 for every large pizza sold, and $1.75 for each small pizza. A fabulous raffle and silent auction will also be held. A few of the auction items are a week in a house in Nevis in the West Indies, a photo shoot with Randi Baird, Cape Air tickets, and much more, including a 50/50 cash drawing. Don’t forget that West Tisbury library cardholders live in every Vineyard town and many off-Island locations as well, so this event benefits our entire community. For more information, go to wtlibraryfoundation.org.
Bernard P. Fishman of Photoarchive3D will present a collection of historical stereoviews of Martha’s Vineyard, New England, and the world that capture what life from 1855 to the present was like. The presentation will depict the treacherous life seamen endured during the days when the seafaring lifestyle dominated the Island and all seaside communities. It will also show how the Vineyard slowly transitioned from being a robust whaling community to a tourist destination. “From Martha’s Vineyard to the Shore in 19th Century 3D Stereoviews” will be presented at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, 54 Spring Street, Vineyard Haven, on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 pm. Admission is $10 for museum members and $15 for nonmembers. Complimentary 3D glasses will be provided for all who attend.
For nearly 20 years Buddy Harris of Columbia, Md., was a longtime vacationer on the Island, setting up housekeeping with five other couples at the Carousel house on Ocean Avenue in Oak Bluffs. The sixth annual Buddy Harris Bid Whist Classic was held at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs on Wednesday, August 26, and attended by nearly 100 vacationers and Islanders. Although Buddy passed away more than six years ago, the coordinators of the event, Duncan Walton and Len Stephens, have continued the legacy, and coordinated another hugely successful event.
Our Oak Bluffs library continues with two more special children’s events. Kinder Fun and Games will be held on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 1 to 2:30 pm. Kindergartners, on your half-days from school, head to the library and enjoy board games, crafts, and outdoor fun. Then on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11 am to 1 pm, come to PET-ember Fair. Bring your dog for contests, a photo booth, training tips, and so much more.
We send birthday smiles to Emily deBettencourt on the 12th, my daughter Mary Alley on the 13th, Florence BenDavid on the 15th, Rick Kelley on the 16th, and Patti Moreis, Kathy Burton, Natasha Huffam, and Vani Pesoni on the 17th. Happy anniversary wishes to Rick and Pat Kelly on the 17th.
Enjoy your week. Peace.