It will be a landmark event for the Island and for the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust when the Old Sculpin Gallery opens its doors on Thursday afternoon to unveil a 40-piece retrospective of paintings by the old master of a modern era, Ray Ellis. The oil and watercolor landscapes selected for the three-day show - gathered from private collections across the country - were all painted en plein air on the Island. The show will close just two days later at 9 p.m.

The Possible Dreams Auction last night drew $649,000 in bids for the 50 dreams that ranged from rides on the Flying Horses Carousel to an archaeological adventure in prehistoric European caves, putting the annual fundraiser on track for another record-breaking year.

Library Curators Puzzle Over Many Rare Maps Still Missing

By JAMES KINSELLA

Officials from libraries whose rare maps were targeted for theft by Chilmark resident E. Forbes Smiley 3rd plan met yesterday in New Haven, Conn., to discuss concerns with federal officials that he may know something about a number of maps that remain missing.

Library representatives participated in closed-door meetings yesterday with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's office.

The dreams are coming to town. Exotic, international dreams. Adventurous, open-ocean dreams. Exhilarating celebrity-filled dreams. Delicious gourmet dreams.

They all arrive on Monday afternoon in the gardens of the Harborside Inn - more than 50 experiences and items that pretty pennies could not buy unless they are bid on Monday night at the 28th annual Possible Dreams Auction to benefit Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

Tribal Member Has Deep Sense of Place

By IAN FEIN

Durwood (Woody) Vanderhoop knows all too well the encroaching pressures imposed on the average Vineyard resident - like a lack of affordable housing, eroding environmental resources and a loss of cultural traditions.

They are the same things his ancestors in the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have been struggling with for the last 350 years.

Polly Hill Arboretum Hosts Botany Expert Peter Raven

By IAN FEIN

If development continues at its current pace, our planet will stand to lose roughly two-thirds of its species by the end of the century, according to renowned botanist Peter H. Raven.