Gone Quahuagging: Well, Almost

It was a long, hard summer for working Islanders, many of whom find their personal reward in the fall when things slow down a little and they can go out on a Saturday or Sunday and rake a basket of quahaugs, or maybe dig a mess of steamers for dinner. The water is still warm enough to wear shorts and water shoes and nothing tastes finer than a plateful of cold, briny littlenecks so fresh they are practically wiggling in their shells.

October Arrives

From Vineyard Gazette editions of October, 1958:

The current financial crisis reminds me of a discussion I had recently with a conservative friend of mine. We’ll call him Harry. Harry believes that the free market is a serene clean money machine that benefits everyone — unless you mess with it — in which case it coughs and sputters and is likely to give money to the poor and starving and huddling masses, those folks who did not earn it but rather just sat around drinking beer and smoking dope and waiting for welfare to come their way.

Tuesdays Will be Different

The fall equinox arrived last week; today September ends. The weather has been changeable with buckets of rain and intermittent sun. The warmth of summer lingers. Tropical storms from the south have brushed across the Island with their remnants, bringing heavy seas and plenty of seaweed to put on the garden for next year.

Capt. David D. Willey: 1947-2008

He was the favorite pilot, the one we all knew. Truthfully we only knew him by his first name — Dave. But he was the one we hoped would be in the cockpit whenever we climbed aboard one of those little nine-seater Cape Air planes. When he was there, we would instinctively relax in his presence. He was confident, smiling and somehow familiar even though we couldn’t tell you why.