JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Here we are up to the holiday week already. There are lots of lights on Chilmark houses and trees and there is a buzz in the air. We have been spared . . . so far . . . all the bad weather that has descended on our world to the north. We appreciate the hardship of those living without power for so long.

Last minute shopping can still be done in Chilmark. Many shops will be open for the weekend, and remember that Menemsha Texaco is a great place for stocking stuffers!

Chilmark Chocolates will be open this weekend through Sunday, the 21st and then will be closed until Jan. 31. Thanks to all the volunteers who make shopping at Chilmark Chocolates part of a happy holiday.

Here is a suggestion for the perfect Chilmark gift. The second/third grade class of the Chilmark School has, for the last four years, visited Windemere residents regularly and formed friends across the generations. Windemere received a grant from the Permanent Endowment Fund to purchase cameras for the students who used them to record their lives including their new friendships. These pictures are now in a calendar that you may buy at Windemere, Chilmark School, Chilmark Chocolates or Peacecraft.

The Friends of the Chilmark Library hosted a very successful holiday party on Wednesday last. The Dunkl family provided wonderful holiday music.

The Chilmark Community Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at the church at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24. All are invited to attend. There will be lessons, carols and candles.

It is time to remind you of some early January dates for your social calendar. The chef series continues at the Chilmark Library on Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. when Chef Jean-Marc Dupon of Le Grenier will continue his lessons in how to make sauces ... this time, egg-based sauces. The public is welcome at no charge.

The library will also host a matinee movie program called Chowder and a Movie on Jan. 14 beginning at noon. The Friends of the Library sponsor the event, and the Menemsha Fish Market provides the chowder. Admission is free. Please call the library at 508-645-3360 for details and film title.

Allan and Winkie Keith have rested up after an extended vacation last month that took them to New Zealand and on to Antarctica aboard a Russian freighter. There was much wildlife to observe and they counted eight different species of penguins among other birds and mammals.

Dick and Sue Vincent will soon be off on a new adventure. They are moving to the Florida Keys in early January. Their many friends on the Island will miss them and send them off with lots of good wishes.

Basil Welch, cemetery superintendent, is retiring after 23 plus years of stewardship at Abel’s Hill Cemetery. Those he worked with will miss him and we all wish him a happy retirement.

Best wishes to those who celebrate Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on the 21st, and to those who celebrate Christmas. May your holidays be merry.