Fran Resendes lit the tree of lights on Wednesday.

A long-time friend of Martha's Vineyard Hospital and its volunteers, Mrs. Resendes flicked the switch at dusk before a small gathering, and hundreds of red and white lights lit the familiar 30-foot tree at the entrance to the hospital. Anyone driving past this holiday season has an opportunity to remember friends, both here and gone.

By a heavy majority, Chilmark voters this week approved plans to expand and renovate their public library. At a Monday night special town meeting, more than 300 voters filled the Community Center to overflowing and strongly backed the project.

Beginning next year, the Field Gallery will be under new management. Chris Morse and his wife, Sheila, owners of the Granary Gallery, will manage the 31-year-old gallery across the street from Alley's General Store in the heart of West Tisbury.

The Chilmark Public Library expansion project is the talk of the town. Proponents of the project are scurrying about the community, holding meetings in homes in an effort to raise the necessary votes in the next special town meeting, scheduled for Nov. 19.

It is a more significant political contest than any selectmen's race in years. For many it is a reminder of the building of the new elementary school, which opened in 1999.

Opening day for the bay scallop season is as much a part of the Vineyard culture as any holiday. On Saturday, dozens of smiling Tisbury residents turned out in Lagoon Pond to harvest bushels of the tasty sweet bivalves, and they had little trouble finding them.

Holders of family recreational permits harvested 528 bushels last weekend. Those bay scallops would be valued between $40,000 and $50,000 if they were sold on the retail market.

This was a great season for Vineyard farmers. There was plenty of warm sunshine and enough rainfall throughout most of the growing season. It was more normal than normal, says Jim Athearn of Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown.