JUNE D. MANNING

508-645-2574

(lthslnks2004@yahoo.com)

The Aquinnah Public Library will assist you in obtaining your new CLAMS card, which may be used at all Vineyard libraries. Stop by to obtain your new library card. Spring programs are continuing at the library, including story hour on Thursday afternoons.

Voter registration will be held at the Aquinnah town hall on Wednesday, April 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m.

Community Baptist Church of Gay Head will be holding an annual meeting on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. at the church. Your presence would be greatly appreciated as there are several vital agenda items that will require much thought as well as a vote.

Martha’s Vineyard Museum will have an exhibit opening this evening, Martha’s Vineyard Art Association: Selected Works. The exhibit is open to the public from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Members are free, and nonmembers $7.

Please join the Mayhew and Follansbee families tomorrow evening, April 6, as family and friends gather for a celebration of life memorial for Todd Follansbee. The memorial service will be at 5 p.m., followed by a potluck dinner (please bring a dish to share for six to eight people) at 6:30 p.m. at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury.

Tomorrow night is the rescheduled Rockin Away Those Winter Blues at the Chilmark Community Center for the benefit of the Chilmark School PTO and outing program. Music will be provided by Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish. This is a 21-plus event. Tickets are $15 and still available at Menemsha Texaco. There will be a dessert bar as well as a live and silent auction.

Family and friends of Karen Duart Murphy will gather tomorrow evening, April 6 at the P.A. Club for a benefit dinner. Dinner will include spaghetti, salads, and breads. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 10. Karen has recently been recuperating from three major surgeries as well as many rounds of radiation. If you are unable to attend and would like to send her a check, you may do so: Karen Duart Murphy c/o Brandi Chalifoux, P.O. Box 4266, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

Family and friends of Karen Allen Berube will gather on Saturday, April 13 at the P.A. Club from 5 to 11 p.m. for number of different lasagna dishes. Dinner will also include salads, breads, and desserts. Tickets are $20 in advance at the P.A. Club or at the door that evening. Trip Barnes will conduct a live auction and there will be a silent auction as well. Tristan Israel, Paul Thurlow and Nancy Jephcote will provide music during the evening. Karen Allen Berube and her husband David Berube were both Vineyard born and raised. They live quietly but are amongst the first to volunteer to help with any community projects. Unfortunately, Karen has had a recurrence of her cancer and they are now financially challenged.

The Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group will hold their second annual Shellfish Extravaganza benefit on Saturday, April 20 at the Chilmark Community Center. Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish will perform. There will be a raw bar with oysters from every pond on the Vineyard. Raw bar items are $1 each and were very popular last year. Many silent auction items will be available with very unique items such as a Quahaug Safari donated by Paul Bagnall or a box of 100 Sweet Neck Farm oysters to be ordered in time for your next great Vineyard party. Tickets are $25 per person.

Carrie Anne Vanderhoop Bellis and her daughter Rosalie Delores Vanderhoop Bellis arrived from their home in Masset, British Columbia for a two-week visit with her father David Eliot Vanderhoop and her stepmother Saskia and sister Nanauwe. Tyler Bellis remained in Masset, completing his college studies.

Six-year-old Laina Marie Benoit, a student at the Chilmark School and daughter of Jim and Nancy Benoit, is raising money for St. Jude’s Hospital to fund new therapies for cancer and other catastrophic diseases in children. If you would like to help Laina, go to the website for St. Jude’s and then Chilmark School, and then Laina.

All the best to Julia Burgess, who retired as executive director at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services this week. She was acknowledged by the board of directors and by her program directors over the past week. On March 28 the board of directors welcomed the new executive director Juliette Fay.

Robert MacDiarmid and Beverly Wright have recently returned from their winter vacation. While away, they both celebrated their birthdays. Beverly arrived over the weekend to spend the month at their Aquinnah home.

Peter Ochs and his wife, Gudrun, will arrive next week from their winter home in Vienna, Austria. This will be their first visit in two years. Thank you to Peter for his birthday wishes from afar.

Naushon Vanderhoop and her daughter Nanawusuwee Roxane returned to their home in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Monday morning after spending Easter weekend with their family and visiting with as many friends as possible.

Aquinnah’s own Minnesinger director, Jan Wightman will be accompanied by her husband John Wightman as they travel with the 32 Minnesingers from the high school to Croatia for a concert tour. The students will perform five concerts while in Croatia. Many thanks to the parents, family, friends and the Island community for their support for this trip. Get well wishes to Jan who is recuperating from a wrist fracture.

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) will quietly observe the 26th anniversary of Federal Acknowledgement on April 10.

Happy Birthday wishes this week to Taza Vercruyssee as he parties on April 7. Jennie Greene and Dona Mazza Perry also celebrate on the 7th. Megan Alley, Douglas Vanderhoop, and Jim Hickey all party on April 8. Beth Kaeka will party on April 9. Caroline Mayhew will celebrate on April 10. Judith Manning Milavsky, Robert Rose, and Ted Leslie all share the day on April 11. Kathy Mercier and Ed Cisek party on April 12.