It was not until I cleared the underbrush I saw unfurling monk-like bodies of ferns It was not until I walked the lonely pond forsythia fronds and red bud bloomed in the water

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services’ Chicken Alley Thrift Shop would like to thank the Troy Neuenburg and the Sand Bar in Oak Bluffs, Deejay Ricky Prime and Dukes County Love Affair (DCLA) for the very successful and fabulous good time had by all at the Mad Men party to benefit Community Services last Friday night.

Platters of gratitude and bowlfuls of appreciation should be served up to the town of Edgartown police department for the delicious and entertaining lunch its members provided at the Edgartown firehouse last Friday afternoon. Delicious lobster rolls, stuffed quahaug, chowder and chicken salad were on the menu together with introductions to, and presentations from the men and women who serve.

From the May 22, 1992 Just a Thought column by Arthur Railton: I watch birds. But I’m not a bird watcher. Bird watchers don’t watch birds, they go birding, looking for rare birds. They don’t mess with backyard birds that I watch. Most keep a record of every species they’ve seen. It’s their Life List. They travel miles, sit motionless for hours, staring through binoculars, to get a glimpse of a rare species, a bird they can add to their list. Once they’ve spotted a bird, they lose interest in it.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of May, 1928: George W. Purdy, one-armed keeper of East Chop Lighthouse, has previously astonished his acquaintances with his engineering feat, but his latest one is the more remarkable of any yet performed. Supplies for the light are landed on the beach at the foot of the high bluff on which the lighthouse is situated. All along the shore of the government reservation is a heavy wall of loose boulders, weighing from one to several hundred pounds each.