JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Today is the beginning of a long holiday weekend in the Commonwealth. Monday is Patriots Day and it is also the beginning of spring break week over at the school. Trout fishing in the Mill Pond continues to increase each day and should really pick up next week. On Monday the town buildings will be closed to observe the state holiday. Passover begins at sundown on Saturday and Tuesday is the 19th annual Earth Day.
Anna Alley of State Road reports watching three baby white tail deer walking down Music street last Friday morning before 7 a.m. She grabbed her camera but an approaching truck spooked the animals and they turned into David McCullough’s driveway and then into Newhall’s field. The blue flowers in Paul Cook’s yard have burst open in all of their glory, transforming his lawn into a sea of blue. Daffodils have opened up everywhere, signaling spring is here.
The annual town meeting took two nights this year — only the third time in the last 35 years this has happened — the elections are over, and the lawn signs that had become a part of the landscape have disappeared. A total of 724 voters participated, or 31 per cent of the registered voters, and they elected Richard Knabel by a sizable margin over incumbent Glenn Hearn. The library trustees race was a squeaker but incumbents Hermine Hull and Linda Hearn were re-elected.
Alex Karman of Brooklyn, N.Y., spent the weekend at the State Road house of his mother, Jill Carlton. Alex turned on the utilities, turned over the garden even during the heavy rain, thunder and lightning on Saturday, and raked the lawn.
Dick and Diana Reische, of Wilton, Conn., and State Road returned home on Tuesday. Dick reports that it was good to visit old friends and he is looking forward to the summer.
Will Monast of Waldron’s Bottom Road spent several days last week working on projects on Cuttyhunk. He is looking forward to starting some major renovation work at the Frank Adams house on Music street next week.
Paddy Moore reports that the charter study commission is holding public meetings next week. The meeting for up-Island citizens will be held Wednesday night in the Chilmark Public Library Meeting Room at 7 p.m. The down-Island meeting will be held at the Oak Bluffs Senior Center on Thursday at 5 p.m. The purpose of the meetings is to ask the citizens of the Vineyard for their reactions to the tentative decisions the charter commissioners have reached in their 15 months of study regarding county government. If you have any questions, please call 508-696-6716 or 508-693-1627.
Cherrilla Brown reports that the second annual 5K run and walk for camp Safe Haven will be held Sunday at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School cross country field. The starting time is 10 a.m., but you are encouraged to arrive early to register. You also are invited to join the campers for a post-run cookout. If you have any questions please call Libby at 508-524-2983 or Tony at 508-627-7617.
Colleen Morris over at the library reports that this is National Frog Month for all of you who did not know that, and their Saturday craft class will be devoted to develop tributes. The annual spring break sleepover will be held on Thursday at 8 p.m. Your child must be at least nine years old to qualify. For additional information, please call the staff at 508-693-3366.
A funeral service was held on Monday for Richard Forrester who for many years lived in town in the old Hope Gray house on Town Cove. He had a lot of friends and was a pleasant human being.
On April 20, 1942, a large wild fire started accidentally from a pile of burning brush in the field to the east of Mabel Johnson’s house. It was fanned by a brisk wind and easily jumped the Edgartown Road and spread rapidly over seven acres of dry grass and into the woods. Prompt arrival of fire trucks from Vineyard Haven and the state forest, along with a crew of men from Oak Bluffs and Edgartown who happened to be working on a road project nearby, and Antone Alley, who was planting his garden just up the street, responded immediately and were able to get the fire under control in short order. The barn on the Cleaveland estate, now owned by Sidney Riggs, caught fire but was saved from serious damage.
Happy birthday to Norman Lobb, Lynne Whiting and Marina Sharkovitz today; Mary Dinitto, Diane Emin and Lorraine Eldridge on Saturday; Ralph Jones, Kathleen Stevenson, Jeremy Berlin and Rebecca Ward on Sunday; Joyce Maxner and Danny Segal on Monday; Jeff Bryant, Brent Taylor, Dorothy Whiting, Marshall Segall, Gary Rome and Sharon Gamsby on Tuesday; Hasty Runner, Anita Smith and Gordon Turner on Wednesday; and Barbara Levine, Patrick Callahan and Mike Diaz on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Diane Nolan.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. If you have any news, please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.
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