Across the Island, hundreds of acres of beautiful land were designated as conservation property and protected from development.

Still, prominent conservationists joined together to make a dire prediction, that all the Vineyard's undeveloped land will be built upon by 2005.

Meanwhile, throngs of cars were increasingly viewed as villains on the Island's two-lane roads.

And taxpayers said "no" to an Oak Bluffs golf course, to a Menemsha bathhouse and to other big capital expenditures -- partly out of frugality, but also out of reluctance to change the Island landscape without urgent cause.

"I believe that it is much wiser for a town or a municipality to take undeveloped public lands and allow these lands to remain undeveloped," states a recent letter from Stephen V. Cofer-Shabica of Oak Bluffs, who writes skeptically about the wisdom of a municipal golf course. "I would suggest that it is an investment in the future of Oak Bluffs to have such lands, similar to a savings account. With time, the investment increases in value."

This was 1997.

It was a year in which people seemed concerned about preservation of the Vineyard land and lifestyles, a year when they favored old things, like the design of the 50-year-old MV Islander, as opposed to the newer MV Martha's Vineyard, and the name "Aquinnah."

At the same time, it was a year in which the Vineyard's glittering popularity continued to beckon the new -- including visitors, tens of thousands of them during a crowded Fourth of July holiday and, later, President Clinton <I>et al.<I> Real estate prices skyrocketed. The service industry boomed and a new car dealership opened, replacing Old Colony, which was closed in January by the IRS.

Of course, like any year, there were notable events independent of such trends: The regional high school varsity football team won the Super Bowl for only the third time in history. Ancient Indian artifacts were uncovered in Chilmark. Members of the community staged a dramatic rescue of the schooner Alabama, after she broke free in Vineyard Haven harbor in hurricane winds. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) celebrated its 10th year as a federally recognized tribe. And Shawna Medeiros of Edgartown, 8, was honored in a state contest for her story about why the fox has a bushy white tail.

There were less happy incidents. Charges of racism were brought against the town of Tisbury by its only permanent African-American police officer. A poisonous mold infected homes in Gay Head.

And the Island lost a beloved inhabitant, Dr. Robert Nevin, the family doctor who "kept his brain, his heart and his doors open to the ills and woes of the world," wrote his patient Liza Coogan, "and, by God, he cured most of them."

But if there was a recurring theme to the issues that visited the Vineyard in 1997, it was one of concern for the quality of life, a renewed worry about the pace of development, and apprehension about the growing cost of living for local people.

It was evident at the ballot box, where voters were selective. There was a reluctance to take on big capital items, like the $10.5 million Edgartown school and the $7.5 million Oak Bluffs golf course.

The projects failed partly because of their pricetags, but not completely. Many voters simply were reluctant to alter the landscapes with new projects, especially ones that might exceed the needs of the local community or block a scenic view. The anxiety extended even to projects that would not have cost taxpayers a cent, like a proposal to let a private company build a 180-foot-tall radio communication tower in Chilmark. Voters couldn't do it -- they worried about the visual and environmental impact. Conversely, in Vineyard Haven, when asked to improve the existing and frequently used library, voters were willing to spend $600,000.

The town of Chilmark did win a big victory, however. After more than a year rejecting various architectural designs for a new school, the town voted to move forward with drawings for a $2.6 million school. Not so with the the $270,000 Menemsha bathhouse; residents thought it was too much and that the showers weren't necessary.

"Like they say in the baseball movie, if you build it, they will come," warned one resident at the August special town meeting.

Also revealed at the ballot box was the concern over cars.

When confronted this spring with nonbinding referendum questions on whether the number of cars brought to Island shores should be limited, and visitors served by a system of mass transit, voters in all six towns said yes. Later in the year, a survey conducted by a special task force reinforced those results and gathered more information about the depth of frustration over traffic.

"The traffic problems on this Island threaten to compromise our way of life here and must be attended to immediately," wrote one West Tisbury resident on the survey. "I feel that we must all put our own agendas and needs aside … for the good of the Island."

Still, while many elected office holders have spoken eloquently on this topic, it's unclear who will emerge as a leader and how this problem will be pursued.

On the other hand, when it came to preservation of the Island's farms, meadows and beaches, a detailed plan was unveiled.

After several of the Island's most prestigious organizations joined together to form the Conservation Partnership of Martha's Vineyard, the new organization immediately released a detailed report on trends in development. The report predicts an ugly, congested picture of future Island life, if current trends continue.

As a solution, the new organization presented an ambitious plan for protecting 5,400 acres within the next eight years, an amount that represents twice the acreage that would probably come into conservation if no special effort were made. This task carries an estimated pricetag of $270 million.

These announcements, appropriately, came during a year characterized by big acquisitions among members of the partnership: The Land Bank completed one of the biggest purchases in its history, spending $3.225 million on 30 acres of land along Chilmark's north shore. Two Chappaquiddick property owners, together with an anonymous donor, allowed Sheriff's Meadow Foundation easy acquisition of a 5.2-acre parcel along that Island's coast. And The Nature Conservancy acquired the pastoral 90-acre Hoft farm in West Tisbury.

Now, members of the partnership look forward to protecting more land by buying it, accepting gifts or helping property owners obtain conservation restrictions.

"I don't think we're dreaming here," said Dick Johnson, executive director of the Sheriff's Meadow Foundation, when the report came out in August. "I think this can be done. I hope people also will think about what the next generations to come are going to feel about the Vineyard and what they want life to be like here in the future."

Quality of life was also foremost in the minds of those Island residents who established new nonprofit organizations in 1997. One was the Vineyard House Inc., which this year opened two houses for recovering alcoholics. There was also Just About Music, a group dedicated to bringing live musical performances to Island people all through the year. The Family Center opened at the regional high school, offering a place for families to play together and a classroom for parenting courses.

The literacy program is not new, but thanks to a $70,000 state grant received this year it will be like new -- with a professional staff for the first time and a series of new courses. Similarly, Featherstone Meetinghouse for the Arts is not new but it blossomed this summer, offering a full spectrum of classes, such as drawing and photography.

There are also old organizations that got new buildings. The Tisbury police station was completed. The airport is ready to commence construction on its long-awaited new terminal. And a very old building, the original agricultural hall in downtown West Tisbury, has a new owner -- the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, caretaker of some of the Island's most treasured places.

Erecting all of these buildings has been somewhat taxing, at least for the Steamship Authority. It was revealed this year that the SSA is in the midst of a freight crisis. That new problem overshadowed the year's earlier debate over whether to build a single-ended or a double-ended vessel. That question became moot with the revelations about freight needs and a new strategic plan for adding to the SSA fleet. The fate of that strategic plan, however, now seems in question for a variety of logistic reasons.

Another venerable Island institution that struggled this year was the Martha's Vineyard Hospital and Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. If 1996 was the year of revelation over troubled finances, 1997 was the year of slow and steady rebuilding of both facilities. An emergency board of trustees this year worked out a deal to pay off the hospital's millions of dollars of debt at a rate of 20 cents on the dollar. A new, permanent board was recently appointed, and public confidence is beginning to return.

The Vineyard economy was strong. There was a summer labor crisis but the season was healthy. The Island experienced tremendous residential real estate sales, including the biggest single week of revenues ever -- $9.7 million. In the commercial world, car mogul Ernie Boch paid $875,000 for the Vineyard Haven marina. Meanwhile, Edgartown finally got a movie theatre.

There were also smaller transitions: A new Mobil station on Barnes road. The brew pub in Oak Bluffs. A new bagelry, the Island's first, on Main street in Vineyard Haven (with satellite sales at the Edgartown A&P). Biga Bread closed. And little red bottles of Mr. G's hot sauce began showing up more regularly on kitchen tables.

There were political shifts. Longtime Tisbury school committee member Jim Norton was ousted by a newcomer, Josephine Tucker. Tisbury and Oak Bluffs welcomed two longtime public servants as new selectmen -- Ed Coogan and Richard Combra. County manager Mike Johnson resigned, and was replaced. Twice. His first replacement, Isaac D. Russell, quit after a month for health reasons. The new county manager is Carol Borer.

It was a year in which some issues fizzled out. The SSA's reservation policy, such a hot topic in 1996, seems to have cooled. In August, Commonwealth Electric's $7 million electric cable to the Island, buried earlier in the year, failed and caused a power outage, which many starstruck residents attributed to some aspect of President Clinton, the Secret Service or a big house full of news reporters in Edgartown that had recently been equipped with several new phone lines.

Other things dragged out. A fight continued between the Vineyard and the would-be developers of a $55 million luxury home development at Herring Creek Farm; the conflict moves to Middex Superior Court next year. The Wampanoag Tribe's proposed New Bedford casino became a Fall River casino and then a Fall River bingo hall in a tumultuous year in which the tribe dismissed one of its most effective gaming spokesmen, Jeffrey L. Madison, after internal political battles. But officials say they will still have their casino.

Still other things were reborn -- like the concept of a regional septage plant.

There were pleasant surprises: Emergency workers in West Tisbury saved the life of a horse caught in a steel gate by using the Jaws of Life, machinery normally used to free human victims for car wreckage. National Public Radio expanded its reach and can finally be heard clearly, at 1240 on the AM dial.

There were sadnesses. Isabella Maxwell White, proprietor of the Scottish Bakehouse, died, as did poet Dionis Coffin Riggs, longtime Gay Head tax collector Maysel Belain Vanderhoop, former postal clerk Freeman A. Willoughby and the Rev. Kenneth L. Miner. The community also lost active community servant Howard W. Leonard, hardware store founder John E. Phillips, former Tisbury selectman John L. Schilling, one-time actress and innkeeper Marianna Winslow, heart transplant recipient James Robert (Barney) Bernard, Oak Bluffs native Violet M. Rego, World War II veteran Robert E. Convery, lobsterman Matthew A. Poole, farmer Percy L. Burt and Patrick T. Craig, a homeless man.

There were also a high number of accidental deaths. Four people drowned, including 15-year-old Dyami Piccus of Gay Head. Two people died in a car accident. And one man was found dead in Oak Bluffs of hypothermia.

And people were honored.

Laura Gliga, a special education teacher at the regional high school, was teacher of the year, and the Tisbury School was honored for excellence. Jim Gordon of Vineyard Haven and Hanni Dzubar of Edgartown were the Big Brother and Big Sister of the year. And writer Dorothy West of Oak Bluffs turned 90; she was honored with an adoring birthday party at Union Chapel.

The day is remembered still, with a new street sign in Oak Bluffs, renaming Miss West's street after the writer herself, a "favored, favorite and most beloved daughter of Martha's Vineyard," in the words of Randi Vega, executive director of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce and a guest at the event.