Eighteen years ago, when Cronig's Market and Up-Island Cronig's owner Stephen Bernier first decided to open his grocery stores on Sundays through the off-season, he was met with outrage in the community.
A two-car collision on Tea Lane last week has raised questions about speeding on the single-lane, two-mile-long, unpaved historic byway that connects North and Middle Roads in Chilmark.
A pickup truck rollover in July and two pet deaths this month, possibly due to speeders on Tea Lane, have also been reported. The posted speed limit on the road is 15 miles per hour.
It was nearing four o'clock at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society's 143rd annual Livestock Show and Fair on Saturday - time for the Birds of Prey show to begin - but in the heart of the crowd beside the tent full of owls and hawks, it was not a peregrine falcon but rather President Bill Clinton who was attracting the attention.
Looks of calm, looks of determination, looks of pain and of pride: the expressions were as varied as the runners themselves, crossing the finish line of the annual Chilmark Road Race on Saturday morning - or, for the walkers, afternoon.
Just over 1,500 people ran the race, ranging from six to 79 years old. The youngest and oldest runners finished just 14 seconds apart. Some runners were turned away toward the end of registration, since 1,500 is the town's set capacity for the race.
This week brings the dog shows and skillet throws, tractor pulls and spinning wools, oyster shucking, horse bucking, burger making and prize taking that make up the 145th annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair - better known in a single breath as the ag fair.
The festivities begin Thursday at 10 a.m. at the agricultural hall in West Tisbury and close on Sunday at 7 p.m.
It will be a landmark event for the Island and for the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust when the Old Sculpin Gallery opens its doors on Thursday afternoon to unveil a 40-piece retrospective of paintings by the old master of a modern era, Ray Ellis. The oil and watercolor landscapes selected for the three-day show - gathered from private collections across the country - were all painted en plein air on the Island. The show will close just two days later at 9 p.m.
