News
Tisbury assistant fire chief Tom Colligan was showering in an outdoor shower on Friday morning at his home in Edgartown when his pager went off.
Prior to that moment, he had plans to spend the day with his cousins and relatives.
Less than a half hour later, he was inside the basement of Cafe Moxie in Vineyard Haven with little or no vision, feeling his way through orange-tinted black smoke.
He was fighting a fire to save a building, but also aware that he and his colleagues were at risk.
No one would call the new book Island Lives a rip-roaring read. Certainly not its authors, Allan R. Keith and Stephen A. Spongberg.
“It’s dry as toast,” said Mr Spongberg the other day, talking about it, sitting beneath the trees at Polly Hill Arboretum. “Dry as toast,” he repeated. “The bibliography is the most important part.”
Island police yesterday reported a busy but relatively smooth Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The biggest story, of course, was the devastating fire on Main street in Vineyard Haven that destroyed the Cafe Moxie restaurant and caused extensive damage to the landmark Bunch of Grapes bookstore, which cast a pall for many over the usually celebratory Independence Day weekend.
On the night before the Fourth of July, little cards were placed in the center of each table. There were 16 in all and they announced the night’s special: a fig-encrusted rack of lamb. It was the start of the busiest holiday weekend on the Vineyard and the tiny dining room of Café Moxie was filled — every table, every chair.
Tashmoo Benefit
The second annual Tastes of Tashmoo fundraiser to benefit the restoration of the historic 1887 pumping station at the head of Lake Tashmoo will be held on July 17 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the waterfront home of Denys and Marilyn Wortman. The event will include a silent auction as well as music by Christine Box, Ray Frazio and Tristan Israel. More information and tickets are available by calling 508-696-4202 or e-mailing [email protected].
It was warm and cloudy this year on the Fourth of July.
And as celebrations got under way, two of Vineyard Haven’s anchor businesses burned. Emergency services shut down power along Main street, cordoning off the heart of downtown. And in the aftermath, business owners commiserated, lent their support to the devastated owners of Café Moxie and Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, and shared fears about a retail season now in jeopardy.