Vineyard residents pride themselves on being tough. They brave cold, barren winters, prohibitively high gas prices and interminable summer crowds.

But those Islanders battling cancer are among the hardiest. They face high medical costs, uncomfortable ferry rides and long, painful drives to oncologists and radiation centers. Cancer engages them in emotional, physical and financial struggles each day.

Traveling from West Chop to Katama without a car? You could hitchhike. But why not just hike it instead?

On Saturday, June 2, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank will celebrate National Trails Day with its annual cross-Island hike, a chance to explore the Island’s many trails and earn some bragging rights in the process.

The storied American eel was once one of the Vineyard’s most valued resources.

Even though the eel now faces hard times, memories are still fresh of the role the American eel played in Vineyard waters, where it was shipped to the mainland in barrels. Generations of native Islanders regarded it once as a staple food. Locally harvested eel was as familiar and as local as boiled lobster, stuffed quahaugs and bay scallops sautéed in butter.

In a dramatic reversal of fishing fortune, the last few weeks have offered the best squid fishing in years.