Sam Bungey
More and more ghosts are being drawn to Oak Bluffs’ attractive summer housing. “Some spirits have a sliver of their psyche attached to some place where they were happy,” explains Holly Nadler, Haunted Island author, bookstore owner and part-time ghost-hunter. As these properties change owners more frequently, some are becoming crowded. “This place is gooey with ghosts,” said Ms. Nadler, conducting a tour of the Camp Ground last weekend.
Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss unveiled an eye-opening $3.5 million budget for the coming fiscal year last week, a 20 per cent increase over 2006.
The bulk of the hike in the superintendent’s budget can be tracked to a greatly expanded special needs program for elementary school children, negotiated teacher pay raises from last year and a new position of facilities manager for school buildings. The superintendent is asking for total additional funds approaching $600,000 over last year’s $2.9 million budget.
Ask someone when they think the first Native American attended Harvard and they might guess somewhere in the 1950s. Perhaps they’ll go back as far back as the mid-19th century. In fact, the first Native American was a Vineyarder, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, and he graduated from Harvard in 1665. Now, more than 300 years later, the second Wampanoag tribe member to attend as an undergraduate is settling in as a freshman.
Barbara Prada, the Edgartown animal control officer, has been fielding some strange calls this summer. So when she submitted her quarterly report to the Edgartown selectmen on Monday, the board had a few questions ready.
Selectmen: “Are you trying to kid us here?”
Ms. Prada: “No, someone actually called.”
Selectmen: “Was it a mountain lion?”
Ms. Prada: “No, she called back a few hours later to say. ‘I saw it again and it’s actually not a mountain lion’.”
A walk down Vineyard Haven’s leaf-strewn Main street this week, with the rain-stained shingles of shopfronts announcing clearance sales and new opening hours, will tell you that summer is finally, officially, done with. For many on the Island Columbus Day marks the true seasonal watershed, bringing with it the final bulk batch of beachcomber tourists. Last Friday Steamship Authority ferries were filled to the gunwales with these last gaspers looking for sun, parties, an exchange of marriage vows or a bit of peace before the grind of fall begins in earnest.
Prepare yourself before meeting organic beef farmer Scott Lively. You may never want to eat fast food again.
“So you put the trim into a tray, dump the tray into a bucket, and every few hours that bucket gets turned into a bag of meat,” explains Mr. Lively, describing the journey of a hamburger from barn to bun. Trim refers to any and all off-cuts from the animal, once the more favorable parts have been extracted.