The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard would like to wish everyone a very happy, safe and healthy new year. The shelter has three adult cats and two young kittens who need homes. The cats are Rex, an old lady and shelter long-timer who is a black and white tuxedo; Brody, an old gentleman tabby who needs a home where he can be safe and comfortable; and Bebe, a big tabby and white who is a super-sweet loving lap cat that will charm you to pieces.

Some hadn’t played in years, since they had graduated from the regional high school. Others were still playing in college.

On Christmas Eve, the West Tisbury Congregational Church will hold its annual Christmas pageant and carols service at the Agricultural Hall.

The story of Vineyard Christianity begins in 1642 with Thomas Mayhew Jr.

The younger Mayhew, as he is often referred to in Dr. Charles E. Banks’ three-volume history of Martha’s Vineyard, stepped into the role of Island minister after nobody else could be found to take the job. There were few settlers at the time...

For me, perhaps for you, this is a time for giving and getting. It’s mostly getting for children and mostly giving for adults. As we grow in years, we mature to more giving and less getting. At age 76, I don’t need any “thing,” but I doubt that I’ll outgrow my need to be hugged, to be seen, to be understood, to be valued and affirmed.

Johnny (Seaview) Perry, an iconic Vineyard character, home-grown philosopher and friendly street-walker in a cowboy hat, died Dec. 12 at a care center in Malden where he had been living in recent years battling cancer. He was 84 and his real name was Oliver Perry, although he never used it. His nickname was earned in the 1960s when he tended bar at the old Seaview Hotel in Oak Bluffs.

“Want to know what the goal of life is? To relieve suffering, create beauty and make gardens,” he told the Martha's Vineyard Magazine in an edited oral history in 2005.