Years ago I was standing in the Red Sox clubhouse speaking with Bruce Hurst, the nicest guy I ever met in baseball and a Mormon. We moved from topic to topic until a female reporter entered the room. Then Mr. Hurst’s jaw clenched and he let out an unintelligible howl of protest. On another occasion, asked if he had one recommendation for baseball, he said it was to keep women out of the clubhouse.

Looming thunderstorms and ominous skies did not detract from the excitement at the Boch family estate in Katama on a recent Thursday night. A core group of volunteers who had worked selflessly behind the scenes for weeks to produce what was one of the best Water Tastings by the Sea in 15 years, a benefit for Vineyard House, stood together in anticipation. We were not disappointed.

This letter is written in the highest praise for the organizers of the Summer Institute at the July 26 lecture by David Gergen. I appreciated their valiant efforts to get as many people as possible into the auditorium.

Last week my wife Susan and I had the pleasure of working with the Martha’s Vineyard Habitat For Humanity team at Bailey Park Road. Along with about 15 other volunteers and two construction leaders, Lee and Bill, we accomplished three major goals.

Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard joined forces with partner Island Housing Trust to present the second annual Raising the Roof, a benefit concert for affordable housing, on Thursday evening, July 26.

From an August 1988 column by Arthur Railton:

Okay, so you live on an Island. But that doesn’t make you an Islander. An island is geography — land completely surrounded by water. That makes the Vineyard an Island all right.