JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark still boasts mild weather and sunshine into November. In our hearts, however, we know this is the month that always changes things. Better get the last of those bulbs in and any outside chores done soon. The changing leaves were pretty on all the roadsides but there seem to be many trees still green.

We were all seeing red this week past as we sat up late and cheered for the Red Sox. And I hope you all spotted Phil Derick on one of the duck buses with the victorious team members. Phil and Gail live in Chilmark when not involved with a winning team.

Chilmark sends congratulations to Garth and Ollie Edwards of Essex, Conn., and Chilmark who came to their Abel’s Hill home to celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary. They enjoyed taking their guests George Chapin, Marry Ellen and Teeda on an Island tour. Cheers from us all.

Those of you who watch the Food Network channel on television will enjoy seeing Giata’s Weekend Getaway tonight, Nov. 2 at 10:30 as she tours Menemsha for food delights. It is rumored that she will say the Bite has the best fried clams on the East Coast.

Virginia Poole and her daughter, Katharine Murray, traveled off Island last weekend to see Virginia and Everett’s grandson, Thomas, in a school play. Thomas is the son of Tom and Joan Nash of West Newton.

The Friends of the Chilmark Library will host a dedication at the library of a tree planted in memory of Marvin Joslow on Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. The dedication will take place on the library terrace on the post office side of the building. Marvin Joslow was a much-loved member and past president of the Friends group. He was an active volunteer for the library for many years before he died earlier this year. He is missed by all of us who knew him.

The library wants to remind us of several dates for our November calendar. Fred Hotchkiss will speak on marine biology on Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the meeting room. The book group will meet on Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. They will discuss Claire Messud’s book The Emperor’s Children. The library will be closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 22.

The library is happy to have a new painting on display. The piece is the work of Carol Brown Goldberg, a Chilmark seasonal resident and an internationally known and well-regarded artist. The staff and trustees appreciate her generosity.

Town hall reminds us that the annual meeting of all town boards will be on Thursday, Nov. 15th at 7 p.m. at the community center.

This is Halloween week. By the time you read this, all the festivities will be over and most of the candy eaten, but it is a big holiday nowadays and recognized throughout the culture. I remember some of the folklore of earlier times in Chilmark when the outhouses were in danger of being tipped over by the ghosts and goblins out that night. I do remember the morning-after decoration of toilet paper festooning the telephone wires in front of town hall . . seemed a fun thing to do in quieter times.

Nowadays the Chilmark firemen volunteer to give a party for the costumed children at the community center and then the fun begins as the children go out trick or treating. I think the biggest difference from earlier times is the enthusiastic involvement of the parents.

Bob Ganz called to say that the split rock is on his family property acquired by them 70 years ago. He says that he has noticed that the tips of the two pieces of the rock have moved further apart. According to Bob, the rock is about 30 to 40 feet off shore in the Sound and that tidal action of water and sand apparently have widened the gap at the top to approximately a foot or two further apart than when he first noticed it years ago. The article I found in the Vineyard Gazette of 1916 tells us that the two pieces had moved closer together. That article says pictures exist . . . does anyone still have a picture of split rock?