EXTRA...

New Orleans roundabout; Berried treasures; House holds retiree hostage; Cape Cod Breast Cancer Awareness; Black sea captain's home in jeopardy; Ted's book reviewed

TODAY's quote: "I dodged a bullet. I came so close to being a statistic... I realized how common it was. I feel like I want to make more women aware." -Donna Dean, Bourne.

Uncertain Future for House With a Past

Tucked off the main road on Chappaquiddick Island, hidden behind loose overgrowing brush just past the Chappy Store, stands one of the most historic landmarks on Martha's Vineyard. It's virtually unknown, unmarked. A photographer making pictures of this home was asked by passersbys: why are you doing that? Photo by African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard.

A black whaling ship captain's home in jeopardy

He died in the house in 1907; his wife, Sarah Brown Martin, a Wampanoag Indian, died four years later.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, whaling was a big business here, and it was a diverse business, too. As Arthur R. Railton put it in his book "The History of Martha's Vineyard," "almost every whaler had men of color in its crew" - Indians, descendants of slaves and even people from places like the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa.

But, Mr. Railton went on, "men of color only infrequently made it to positions of responsibility." Usually they ended their voyages with little to show for their work.

William A. Martin was an exception. The grandson of a woman once kept as a slave in Chilmark, he went to sea as a boy and, according to accounts from the time, immediately stood out for his skill and pluck, and for being literate. By 1878, he was a ship's master, the only African-American whaling captain from the island and, historians say, one of the few anywhere in the United States. By 1890, when he returned to land for good, he had commanded three whaling ships... NY Times.
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Berried treasures
As harvesting season hits its stride, a region celebrates its ocean of red

This is the time of year when the area will be inundated with visitors, many of whom will be here next weekend for the 6th Annual Cranberry Harvest Festival in Wareham, and the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association - and the competing National Cranberry Festival at Edaville Railroad in Carver... Globe.

Selectmen discuss future of Sandwich Hollows

The Sandwich Selectmen, after investing in a study of the Sandwich Hollows Golf Club, are debating how they will implement the recommendations outlined in the study... The town purchased the course, formerly known as Round Hill Country Club, as part of a larger purchase of approximately 470 acres of land in East Sandwich in 1999.

More than 200 acres were purchased as open space using Cape Cod Land Bank proceeds. The town took out a 30-year bond to pay for the remaining 253 acres. It pays roughly $450,000 per year toward the debt.  The purchase price approved by Town Meeting was $11 million, plus an additional $1.75 million to pay for course improvements... Broadsider.
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Orleans Police/fire favor roundabout at routes 6A and 28

Police Chief Jeffrey Roy told selectmen that the traffic study committee favors one of the proposed roundabout options for the intersection of routes 6A and 28... The Cape Codder.

The path to a cure: Cape women travel to Boston for breast cancer walk

One of the kickoffs to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October is the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk in Boston. The event, set for Oct. 4, is intended to both raise awareness of the disease and raise funds for cancer research.

Bridge reconstruction or no, a number of Cape Cod women will be traveling to Beantown that weekend to participate in the walk.

Among them will be one who decided to join the cancer walk after a close call. Donna Dean of Bourne had a scare when, after a routine mammogram in March, her doctor discovered a lump on her breast that required surgery. As it turned out, the lump was not cancerous but her doctor advised her to get a mammogram every six months from now on, instead of once a year... The Cape Codder.
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LTC123: ‘House holds retiree hostage'

It's the kind of headline that reminds me of "Man bites dog." At first glance, it doesn't seem to make sense. But I'll bet, if you just think for a few minutes, you may know someone who was essentially held hostage by his or her home.

Like so many situations involving hostages, the motive is usually either love or money or both. And, if the love of money is the root of all evil, the love of a house is the root of many a flawed retirement plan.

Author George Howe Colt writes in The Big House about reluctantly putting the family's Cape Cod vacation home on the market after several generations of use and memories. He writes of his cold welcome to prospective buyers, "I feel like an animal protecting its turf. I know, however, that if I'd really wanted to protect this house, I should have done something years ago"... Carver Reporter.
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Book Review: True Compass: A Memoir, by Edward M. Kennedy

Critics are accusing Kennedy of not digging deep enough. They've got a point.

Among the many conclusions a reader is left with after reading Edward Kennedy's warm and engaging memoir is that the late senator from Massachusetts was exceedingly forgiving. That seems appropriate, given how often he was forgiven for his many transgressions, the highlights of which include getting a friend to take a Spanish exam for him at Harvard; leaving the scene of a fatal car crash on Martha's Vineyard; and rousing his son and a nephew from bed one Easter weekend to go to a bar, an outing that ended with the nephew being charged with date rape.

Kennedy devotes anywhere from a few paragraphs to a half dozen pages to each of his major misdeeds. Less space is given to the minor offences, among them a failed attempt to hot-wire a car during JFK's presidential campaign, betting on his brother to win the 1960 election and his arrest for throwing a cushion into a Pamplona bull ring. ( "In my defence I will say that it was a terrible bullfight and everyone was throwing cushions," he reasons.).. National Post.