JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

The boat schedule changed on Tuesday, and you can already tell from increased traffic on the roads and in town that new visitors are here, with more expected this weekend which is the official start of the summer season. Many a backyard grill will be fired up for the first cookouts of the season. Fiddlehead Farm stand in North Tisbury opens for the season today; in fact, all of the town businesses except for the new State Road restaurant are now open.

The long holiday weekend begins today; Monday is the Memorial Day holiday, and there will be a parade and traditional observances down in Vineyard Haven. Town buildings, banks and the post office will be closed. If the ducks choose to stay in the Mill Pond it will surely make it feel like summer is just around the corner.

At the beginning of this holiday weekend, let’s not forget what Memorial Day is really all about and take some time out from our busy activities to remember those who have gone before us. The cemetery superintendent, his assistant Howard Wall and the Tea Lane mowing crew have been working for the past week, sometimes in inclement weather, mowing and trimming the cemeteries.

Brian Athearn, veteran’s graves officer, has placed new American flags on the graves of all the veterans. A special effort is made for this particular holiday each year to keep our cemeteries in first class condition so they can properly receive visitors who have come to pay their respects.

Phyllis Meras, of Music street, returned home yesterday afternoon from a 15-day business trip to Germany. She visited several cities and had a wonderful time. Linda Baughman has been holding down the fort, mowing the lawn and tending to her livestock, and has now left for Philadelphia to visit friends.

Roger and Gloria Sylva, of Old County Road, returned home on Sunday from a trip to Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania. While there they attended the Mid-Atlantic Retread Rally. Who did Roger meet there but Dick Philibosian, resident of Auburn and a visitor to the Island who sends his best wishes to his Vineyard friends.

Over at the school, Judy McCarthy reports that the Youth Task Force will be having a chowder dinner in the cafeteria on Tuesday for parents, and the eighth grade students will hold their spring concert on Thursday.

Paul Karasik reports that there will be a Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School Rock Auction on Sunday night at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. He asks that you button up your leisure suit, strap on your spandex and be prepared to get Sunday Night Fever and have a blast! Paul and Laura Sargent Hall will serve as auctioneers, and promise surprises and lots of laughs. Some of the auction items on the block are: a week in Virgin Gorda, Boston Celtics tickets, and a flight around the Vineyard with pilot Livingston Taylor. A silent auction and hot hors d’oeuvres will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. followed by a live auction, then dancing to 70s tunes from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. All the proceeds go towards the new schoolhouse addition. For more information, call 508-693-9900.

The Old Mill on Edgartown Road, home of the Garden Club, will be holding an open house and their annual plant sale tomorrow and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All proceeds will benefit their restoration project.

Francis Fisher 3rd and Bonnie Kingsbury of Edgartown were married at the Lambert’s Cove Inn last Saturday afternoon. About 185 guests attended the gala affair.

Bob Luskin, of Washington, D.C., and Edgartown Road, arrives this weekend for the summer. He reports that his sons Cass and Peter will be coming to visit in another week. Bob visited Peter in Damascus, Syria last February and really enjoyed himself. He has been busy recently in Washington, D.C., advising his high-profile client Karl Rove.

Dudley Eppel and his wife, Nancy, of Vero Beach, Fla., are expected to return to their Pond View Farm Road home this weekend. Dudley has had the garden turned over and will be busy planting vegetables and flowers.

Bob and Barbara Levine, of Boca Raton, Fla., returned to their home on South Pond Road on Tuesday. Bob is planning on a busy summer with visits from his children.

The Friends of Family Planning’s annual art show starts today at 10 a.m. and will run through Sunday at the Agricultural Hall on Panhandle Road. Last night they held a gala preview opening that was very well attended.

Andrea Rogers reports that the 11th annual Artisans Spring Fair will take place today, tomorrow and Sunday at the Grange Hall. She reports that they have added a few new features for this year’s show. They will be open rain or shine with free parking for all and plenty of good food. For more information about the artisans’ fair, call her at 508-693-8989.

Coco Adams reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Antique Association will begin its new season at the Grange Hall next weekend with Friday and Saturday shows. About two dozen dealers will be on hand with a variety of items they have collected over the winter from Vineyard estates.

Dan Cabot, of Middle Road, reports that there will be a plant and yard sale at the Chilmark Community Church tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Plants will include tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and assorted perennials. The sale will be held, rain or shine, in the parish hall behind the church.

The Polly Hill Arboretum Visitors’ Center opens tomorrow for the season from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day. Tours are offered every day at 2:00 p.m. To celebrate the opening they are going to have, you guessed it, a plant sale.

The parks and recreation committee reports that beach stickers will be available starting on Saturday, June 20, every day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the tennis shed at the school near the tennis courts on Old County Road. The hours are weekdays 9 a.m. to noon and weekends from 4 to 7 p.m.

Also, swimming lessons begin July 6. Register at the same place you buy your beach sticker. A new rule this year is that all taxes must be current in order to obtain a beach sticker. For further information call the parks department in the town hall at 508-696-0147.

Tomorrow marks the 117th anniversary of the purchase, by the library association, of the Moses Mitchell school building and land on Music street. The purchase price was $360, quite a substantial sum to invest in a very small piece of real estate in 1892. Subscriptions were solicited by the association to remodel the building for library purposes, and within six months $450 was raised and the work completed. When we first were incorporated as a town, the library was located in a small portion of the second floor in the Dukes County Academy building next door. The Preservation Trust purchased the land and building for $1 less than 10 years ago and they completely restored the building; it served the town again as a library annex and now is home for several town departments.

Happy birthday to: Kathleen Brady, Donald Beaton, Stuart Rodegast and Sally Hamilton today; Eric Whitman, Nathan Belain and Jeffrey Meeks tomorrow; Tom Goethals, Chuck Hughes, Lynn Buckmaster-Irwin, Jared Montrowl and Emily Sobel on Sunday; Alice Scott, Ann Nelson, William Stewart and Mathew Hayden on Monday; Caroline Delgado, Wendy Turnell and Larry Yorke on Tuesday; Brenda Hayden, Kaila Binney, Shannon McAuliffe and Philip Forest on Wednesday; and Martha Tohlen, Cheryl Stark and John Clothier on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Katie Ann Mayhew and anniversary greetings to the owners of the award-winning Dog Shack restaurant up in Dudley, Matt and Donna Annese, on Monday.

Well, that is all of the social news for this edition. If you have any news please call or e-mail me.

Have a safe holiday weekend and a great week.