JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, signs of fall are beginning to appear each day. Canada geese are headed south each morning with an occasional last of the summer dip in the Mill Pond, High school football practice has begun and is now in full swing and we are about to begin to settle into our fall routine as the sun is now setting shortly after 7:30 p.m. A lot of year-round people will be taking a well deserved September vacation shortly, after a hectic August in an otherwise below average summer season. Automobile traffic is beginning to thin out a lot each day and SSA boats are packed going to the mainland. Catalogs soon will be in your mail box featuring Halloween and, yes, a few Christmas books have arrived. Starting tomorrow the farmers’ market and artisans’ festival will be held once a week.

It certainly has been busy around town with the President and First Family just up the street. The signs, with a very few exceptions, have been friendly, respectful and welcoming. As Chris Matthews would say “a few wing nuts, mostly uninformed” have attempted to mar their vacation.

Over at the fair this year an exhibit in the new barn featured George Hartman’s old steam engines, which he painstakingly restored, and one of his antique cars. Also an exhibit of old tractors and surrey owned by the McClure family were both interesting and informative.

Visiting Nancy and Dudley Eppel at their summer home, Innisfree, recently were daughters, Cheryl Segar and her husband John from Watertown, Lynne, from Boulder, Colo., and Meredith and her husband Chris Jylkka from Weston. Dudley reports that everyone had a good time, attended the fair and the beach. He says that he barely raised enough vegetables to feed everyone this summer.

Caroline Hass and her two children Moussou and Mariama, of Cambridge, were in town for a week visiting her parents, Gerald and Terry Hass. They had a wonderful time, enjoyed the fair and the beach before returning home on Sunday.

Laurie Mazer and her husband Brian McManus, of Oakland, Calif., were in town visiting family and friends this past week. Elizabeth Kent reports that they had a wonderful time.

Rachel and Robert Rosenberg and their children Todd and Jake, of Short Hills, N.J., visited her family, Bob and Barbara Levine, at their South Road home last week. Rachel reports that they enjoyed the beach, fishing, shopping and the skate park. They leave today for their home with fond summer memories.

Kristin Buck and her husband Brian Smith, of State Road, report that they have been watching the President and Secret Service drive by from their porch all week. Normally their big excitement is watching the cars in line for gasoline at the Up Island gas station located across the road. He keeps track of the license plates to see how far people have come. They have had lots of Island visitors: cousins from New Jersey who stayed on Chappy, brother and sister in law and their kids from Chelmsford, and one of her oldest friends from childhood, Erika, who works for the FBI, protecting the Attorney General who was here for two weeks on vacation in Oak Bluffs.

Kristin is the director of development for the Vineyard Nursing Association and reports that the VNA will be having a golf tournament fundraiser at the Vineyard Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 28. It’s a great course, great fun, lots of prizes and raffles and a great lunch provided by the Club. Call 508-696-0785 if you are interested in playing.

Andrea Hartman, of Panhandle Road reports that her daughter Nina Gabel-Jorgensen and her 11-year-old daughter Alison left on Tuesday after visiting them for 12 days. Alison spent as much time as her mother would allow at the fair — during some of that time she was gainfully employed in the security division which she appeared to enjoy. They moved to Brockton last fall from Brooklyn, N.Y. and like it very much. Nina is in the process of buying a house — a first-time home buyer — and they are all excited about that. Nina’s sister Ellen and her husband Peter Northrup, of Bridgewater, came down to be with everyone for a couple of days last weekend. So they all went to the fair. She will enjoy having her children relatively close by.

Barbara (Fales) de Braganca, of Old County Road, reports that her daughter Camilla will join her sister Annabel at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., next month. Annabel has completed her sophomore year at GWU’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Both of the women just returned from France where they were helping Camilla’s godmother, Caroline Hennel d’Espeuilles, to run her charming auberge Le Prieure de St. Aubain in Normandy. Barbara and her husband Miguel just returned from spending a week in France where they visited them, explored the Loire valley and celebrated the 100th birthday of Caroline’s mother, Simone! Barbara first met Caroline as a 16-year-old when she came to the Island to visit the Turnbull family in Chilmark. Their son Miguel, a student at Berklee College of Music, is currently on St. Barts playing at La Pelage, a beachfront restaurant and nightclub in St. Jean. Earlier, he spent several weeks doing a musical residency in Boulder, Colo.

Anna and I were dinner guests of the Heirs/Sample families of Cobbs Hill for dinner Monday evening. It was a wonderful chicken dinner served on the porch facing Town Cove. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had a great time sharing stories.

Emily Gadd, of South Road, reports that her garden has taken advantage of the unusually warm weather lately by producing copious amounts of vegetables. She has been busy delivering to her friends a basket of her bounty. It is an honor to be on her list.

Al Littlefield died recently at the age of 97. His daughter, Lia, reports that a celebration of his life will take place at Polly Hill Arboretum at 11 a.m. on Sept. 19.

Our condolences to the family of Ted Kennedy, who passed away Wednesday morning. He was a very responsive and responsible Senator for this Commonwealth. President Obama added his condolences live from his Cobbs Hill vacation headquarters.

On August 26, 1939 the first televised Major League baseball game was broadcast on station W2XBS, that a few years later became WNBC-TV New York. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Red, who sat in the catbird seat many years, later became a Chilmark summer resident.

Happy birthday to Steve Hart, Jessica O’Connor and Bob Potts today; Nicole Alley, Carol Christensen and Manuel Estrella 4th tomorrow; Barry Stone, Cheryl Lowe and Christopher Gross on Sunday; Anna Edey, Pat Mitchell, Chuck Wiley, Michael Smith and Janet Johnson on Monday; Ebba Hierta, Karen Russillo and Candace Webster on Tuesday; Hilary Blocksom, Ann Bassett, Nelia Decker and Jane Dreeben on Wednesday; and Dick Burt, Bonnie Eldridge, Amanda Kram and Mary Sobel on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Pete Karmen. Anniversary greetings to Jay Segel and Celine Gobard on Wednesday.

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.