RICK HERRICK

508-693-8065

herricklr@verizon.net

Have you noticed Bill Dennehy walking the Chop recently? It’s strange because by this time in the summer Bill is usually back at Exeter preparing to whip into shape another successful varsity soccer team.

This summer is different because he and wife Cyndee will soon embark upon a yearlong sabbatical, his first in 37 years. They plan to visit sports venues at the collegiate and professional levels as well as several prominent historical sites around the country. While traveling, they will stay with former student athletes, which will enable Bill to develop a history of his tenure at Exeter. Bill and Cyndee will return to New Hampshire in April following the close of baseball’s spring training season in Florida.

Phil LeRoyer, longtime summer resident of East Chop, traveled from his home in Largo, Fla., for a weeklong visit with his son Bill and wife Angela of Edgartown. He joined several family members for a long overdue reunion. Phil, now 92, and his wife Peggy, who died in 2001, spent many summers renting the Puchner house. They were members of the beach and tennis clubs. According to son Bill, Phil was thrilled to find East Chop just the way he remembered it.

Last week Austie Wise drove himself to the Martha’s Vineyard hospital. He had not been feeling well for two days. A routine examination discovered that his blood pressure was dangerously low, which led to his being flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. After many tests the doctors have concluded that he had a heart event of some kind, although the precise nature of the problem has not been determined. The good news is that he has been taken off of life support, and that his children Ellie, Tim, and Carol, and special friend Annie Cluitt are there with him. We wish him well, and hope that he is back at his East Chop home soon.

Carol Slocum presided over her last board meeting as president of the East Chop Beach Club on Saturday. She was praised by colleagues for being a good listener and a team player. During her two-year tenure, she handled many important issues effectively and with style. We will miss her. A new team led by Caryl Dearing and Bill O’Brien was elected at the meeting. We wish them well.

On Monday, a group of volunteers led by Lyn and Rick Herrick put the clubhouse and the tennis club grounds to bed for the winter. We worked according to specific instructions provided by manager Ned Fennessy. Ned was attending the U.S. Open tennis tournament, and enjoying a well-deserved respite from club activities. His friendly and effective management style is greatly appreciated by club members and has led to smooth sailing for our club for several years.

Finally, I was walking past the home of Mimi and Pat Carroll the other day and noticed that the gate closing off their driveway had been put away for the winter. Grandchildren are no longer at play.

That gate speaks for many of us on East Chop. We have said goodbye to grandchildren and hello to a quieter Island. September will provide welcome relief from a hectic and full summer, and then we will long for the grandchildren to return. We are fortunate to reside in a place that offers so much for so many.