JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark has been a pretty place all week with the profusion of daffodils and now the blooming fruit trees . . . really joyful after the grey winter. The late-leafing oaks have a distinct red glow as their buds enlarge. Who would want to be anywhere else?

We send condolences to the family and many friends of Barbara Stevenson, who died peacefully at age 93 in Bethesda, Md. She and her late husband, Sandy, were very active members of the Chilmark summer community when they were regular seasonal residents. The family started coming to Chilmark and Aquinnah in the 1950s and came for many years. Barbara was a professor and offered her talents to many classes at the Chilmark Community Center and beyond. For several years she taught Shakespeare’s plays in Aquinnah. Barbara and Sandy were serious bird-watchers and they shared their interest with many here. She and Sandy were active members of the community center and their children, Alexander, Malcolm and Kathleen, were all participants in the summer programs. There are seven grandchildren. There will be a garden memorial gathering of friends and family in Bethesda this weekend. We all miss her lively presence among us.

Please note if you are reading this on Friday, that the Chilmark library will host a visit from storybook character, Olivia, a larger-than-life pig, on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. All are welcome to Kristin’s stories and songs program that will welcome Olivia.

Jean Granum of Quitsa announces the marriage of her son, Robert Swensen, to Elena Svetalkina, on April 11 in Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to Jessica Carlson of New York city and Chilmark. She was named the best supporting actress at the Young Actors Awards in Los Angeles on April 11. She won for her work in the Universal Studios movie, The Vampire’s Assistant. Jessica is the daughter of David and Catha Day Carlson and the granddaughter of Bob and Barbara Day of West Tisbury. Jessica is a junior in high school. Cheers from us all!

The Women’s Symposium will meet for the 25th time on May 1 at the Community Center from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be speakers, discussions and refreshments. The event is free of charge and donations go to cover expenses. This is a popular twice-a-year event so best to come early.

Kevin Heasman, an aquaculture scientist from New Zealand, will discuss offshore mussel farming at the library on Wednesday, April 21 at 5:30 p.m. The Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund and the Friends of the Library are the cosponsors of the program. All are welcome at no charge to these programs. Did you know that there are already two experimental mussel farms in our local waters?

Ann Sutherland of Chilmark and Winchester has sent me an interesting addition to the recollections of World War II that I read at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum recently. I told about hearing the engines of submarines charging their batteries on the surface of the ocean at night. She told me that about 40-plus years ago she hired a cleaning woman in Winchester who told her that her husband, Herr Holm, had served on a German U-boat off Gay Head during the war. We knew they were nearby!

Susan Larsen continues her walking in preparation for the Avon Walk for Cancer in Boston on May 15 and 16. She was chosen this week to attend a workshop called Project Lead by the National Breast Caner coalition’s Center for Advocacy Training that will be held in Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel April 23 to 25. She is excited about the opportunity to learn more about the disease as well as ways to work for a cure. There is still time to support her efforts by donating at the Web site, avonwalk.org/goto/Susan.Larsen

The Chilmark Community Church is planning a series of prayer services at the church on Thursday afternoons at 5 p.m. It will be a quiet time and a non-denominational event with elements of Taize. The public is welcome.

The Martha’s Vineyard Library Association and the Vineyard Playhouse are presenting Alex the Jester at the Vineyard Playhouse on Saturday, May 1. This children’s entertainment will be presented at 11 a.m. for children ages four and up, and again at 2 p.m. for children ages nine and up. Tickets are $5. Check with your librarian for more details.

The Chilmark School’s PTO is looking for volunteers to help out during Teacher Appreciation week, May 3 through 9. The PTO will meet again on May 4 from 6 to7 p.m. at the school, and all are welcome.