JUNE MANNING

508-645-2574

(lthslnks@gis.net)

The Aquinnah community programs committee will be sponsoring their annual Halloween party on Saturday evening, Oct. 31 with festivities from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Aquinnah town hall. This year will be slightly different. More pumpkins — more fun! There will be a cash prize award of $15 for first place, and $10 for second place for the scariest and funniest pumpkin, plus the bragging rights ’round town. No candles in your pumpkins though. Gary, the magic electrician, will be on hand to assist with light bulbs for illuminating your creation. Of course, a small flashlight will also work well. Mrs. Betty Joslow would appreciate your assistance with decorating on Saturday afternoon, so please call her at 508-645-3340. P.S. If you or your child is hell-bent on carving your pumpkin in the likeness of a town official, you will do so at your own risk! However, there will be a $20 reward for that pumpkin carving.

The Aquinnah Public Library is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mrs. Jennifer L. Christy, library director, would like thank one and all for their patience. The library has been relocated to its home in the red schoolhouse on State Road. Library hours will be on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday 10 a.m. to 4. See you at the library!

Community Baptist Church of Gay Head will be sponsoring a dance on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Aquinnah Town Hall. Tickets are $10 per person, and may be purchased from Reverend Roger Spinney or from Deacons F. Ryan Malonson or Lorraine Fawn Vanderhoop Fantasia.

Karl and Patt Burgess are enjoying the autumn at their Aquinnah home and have especially enjoyed the visits from their friends around town.

Condolences to the family and friends of Bob Duart, who passed away in Falmouth on Friday. Bob served as a police officer in what was Gay Head in the 1970s, always with professionalism and diplomacy which our late police chief Kenneth Belain enforced. Bob then went on to serve on the Oak Bluffs Police Department where we would see each other frequently at meetings at the Everett Rogers Municipal Building.

Charles Eccher arrived this past week for a visit with his daughter Joanne Eccher, her husband Derrill Bazzy and especially his grandson Jacob. He will also visit with his daughter Mary Helen and of course with Charlie. He brought his menagerie of stuffed animals with him in preparation for his upcoming move to Aquinnah.

Michael and Eleanor Hebert returned home recently from a wonderful two-week trip to Italy. They visited Rome, the Vatican and a guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, spent three nights in Florence, the Renaissance City, wine tasting in Tuscany, private boat trips within the Venetian lagoons, a visit to a glass factory in Murano (thank you for the beautiful glass beaded bracelet), a tour of Polano, Terracina, Gaeta, Sperlogna on the Mediterranean coast, where Michael took a swim in the sea, and a visit to Siena. In Siena they visited the famous Piazza del Campo where the Palio horse race takes place. They enjoyed Michaelangelo’s famous statues and were delighted with Venice and the canals and bridges. Michael and Eleanor toured with a large group of friends they have previously traveled with and are already planning their tour for next year. Needless to say, they had a grand time. Welcome home.

Congratulations to Naomi Scott, daughter of Frank and Linda (Garvin) Scott of Aquinnah and to Grace Vanderhoop, daughter of Matthew Vanderhoop of Aquinnah and Rachel Millman of Oak Bluffs; both young ladies are seniors at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. Naomi and Grace are the recipients, along with more than 40 of their classmates, to receive the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship which is the largest merit-based scholarship program in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The scholarship is awarded to students to reward and inspire student achievement. The students must have a combined MCAS score rank in the top 25 per cent of their school district and must maintain a GPA of 3.0 for eligibility. For now, Naomi and Grace are still deciding on their college choices for next year.

Edwin D. Vanderhoop arrived home this week from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and is now a patient at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital where he is resting comfortably.

Happy birthday wishes this week to Cooper Davis on Saturday, and to our Tribal Chief F. Ryan Malonson as he parties on Nov. 2. Janice Cook Sylvia will celebrate on Nov. 3. Melissa Vanderhoop Abrams will party on Nov. 4. Elizabeth Witham parties on Nov. 5 and Rachel Zack on Nov. 6.

This weekend ends daylight savings time, and we will once again turn our clocks back an hour to save an hour or to give some of us an extra hour of sleep. Check your smoke alarms and change the batteries in them.