SHACK OWNERS REACT

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Two of the selectmen have decided to make the shack owners in Menemsha insure the lots they lease from the town, even though the town already has insurance. I called the two selectmen that voted for this and was told they are doing this for the Chilmark people and taxpayers. The two selectmen passed this without any input from us as we weren’t notified of this meeting. My guess is that we aren’t considered Chilmark people or taxpayers (we are) so they just passed it.

From a Gazette edition of 1930:

There is no place on Martha’s Vineyard that seems so far apart from the earth as Cedar Neck, the miniature promontory that juts it cedar and juniper crested bulk into Lagoon Pond.

This past Friday the Vineyard Gazette detailed the plans of Vineyard Power, the Island’s first energy cooperative, where predevelopment financing of $17 million is underway, and a “feverish scramble for members” (today’s $50 cost becomes almost 20 times that in four years) promises that those who’ve signed on by August will have input into where the turbines will be located.

The other night a friend from New York city called to see how I was doing. About a year and a half ago, my wife and I and our two small children moved from New York to the Island. It had been a tough transition for me. At a party last winter I spoke to a woman about my difficulties. She nodded gravely, then said almost off-handedly, “I know how you feel. It took me 15 years to settle in.” She walked off to get another drink. I headed to the bathroom and wept.

Down the Half Court

The regional high school boys basketball team is having a good year, winning half a share of the Eastern Athletic Conference league title before a roaring home crowd last week. Seedings in the state tournament will be announced today, and the Vineyard is expected to play at least one tournament game at home.