The holiday weekend weather was nice for this time of year. Many outdoor activities and cookouts took place on Memorial Day despite a few sprinkles. There are two new sidewalks in town, courtesy of the commonwealth. A cement sidewalk runs the entire length of the Howes House property, and a small one, maybe 20 feet, near the store. The downside is that they don’t match the brick sidewalks across the street, but anything is better than what was there. We also have a new traffic configuration at the end of Old County Road that is better than the old straight-on approach.

The rhododendrons at the old Foote tennis court (the only clay court remaining in town) were absolutely beautiful this past weekend, Bunny Fales would have been so proud of them. The first weekend of summer brought thousands of visitors as was evident by the long lines at the grocery stores in town and increased automobile traffic up 20 per cent, according to a Steamship Authority official. Indeed the boats were very busy all day Monday as people were leaving after a fantastic weekend. Lambert’s Cove beach parking lot on Sunday was full with cars just like a good summer day.

Angela Andersen of Munich, Germany, who also has a summer home in town and many friends here, was the recipient last week of the Bavarian TV Award for the best documentary in 2014 at an awards ceremony in Munich. Congratulations!

Molly Fischer recently graduated from Ithaca College, School of Health Sciences and Human Performance with a degree in exercise science. She was a Leadership Scholar for 4 years and member of the varsity lacrosse team for four years; captain as a senior. Her team made it to the Empire 8 finals in New York all four seasons. Congratulations, Molly!

Andrea Rogers reports that the two-day artisans festival at the Grange Hall was a huge success. Fiddle Head Farm opened last Thursday in North Tisbury so now all of the businesses are open for the season in that section of town.

Ava and Naomi Plakins, of Philadelphia, Pa. arrived on Wednesday to spend some time at their Middle Road estate. They have had extensive remodeling work done over the winter and they came to check it out and visit their legion of friends.

Our grandsons Robert and Henry Hambardzumian and their parents Nicole and Arsen from Taunton arrived for a week’s vacation at our house. They are using the playground, visiting chickens, and going to the beach a lot.

Beach stickers will go on sale Saturday, June 13 at the parks and recreation shed at the West Tisbury School from 9 a.m. until noon daily with extended hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m.. Any questions call 508-696-0147. The stickers will be required beginning on the 20th.

Alex Karman of New York city hosted a few of his friends at his mother’s house on State Road. They really appreciated the wonderful weather. Present were Emily Provonsha, of Stamford, Conn., Sarah and John Delia and their children Cameron and Connor of Milford, Conn., Mitchell Hall of Auckland, New Zealand, Jessica Schneider of Cambridge and Tanya and Andy Rabinowitz of New York city. They had an a relaxing weekend, planted his mother’s garden, had a cookout and took many trips to the playground. They all returned home on Monday.

Martha Tack of Waldron’s Bottom Road and Alexandria, Va. arrived at her place on Monday. She reports they plan to stay here for five months and they are looking forward to a relaxing time before family arrives for July 4th festivities.

Professor Ellen Weiss of Old County Road has arrived after spending the winter months in New Orleans, La. She reports keeping track of the Vineyard through websites and is amazed we made it through a long hard winter.

Sandra Joyce reports there will be a celebration on July 25 at the Grange Hall to thank Dr. Jim Weiss, superintendent of schools, for his 10 years of service here on the Vineyard as well as his long career as an educator. Tickets are available in every school office as well as the superintendent’s office. Tickets will be on sale until June 23 and will not be available at the door.

Heidi Schultz reports that the Vineyard Sinfonietta is busy rehearsing music by composers ranging from Mozart to Scott Joplin. Beth Kramer at the library has asked them to play for her readers. The group of eight musicians consists of winds and strings, and they’ve been practicing every week at the Howes House. The time and date: Sunday, June 13 at 3 p.m. at the library.

Rev. Cathlin Baker reports that Monday is the last day to sign up to participate in a conversation about the goals, dreams and priorities of the Congregational Church. The meeting will be held on June 7 at 2 p.m. in the library with dinner at the Parish Hall at 5:30 p.m.

Amy Hoff over at the library reports that the Remembering the Rosenthals concert will be held at the library on Sunday at 4 p.m. It will showcase collaborative pianist Diane Katzenberg Braun and award-winning past and present musicians of the New England Conservatory in Boston. This concert series is made possible by the generous support of Sara Rosenthal MD and Julie Prazich MD. Tickets are free and available to the public but they must be reserved in advance due to space limitations. Call 508-693-3366 or stop by the library desk to reserve your tickets. Paul Magid will be at the library on Saturday, June 6 at 3 p.m. to talk about his new book The Gray Fox: George Crook and the Indian.

On June 2, 1946 Steve and Barbara Courtleigh and their son George, of New York city, arrived to spend the summer season in town. Their daughter Pat would join them in August. They rented the winter home of Donald Campbell on Old County Road. The Campbells moved up to their summer home on Basin Road in Menemsha. Steve, an actor, was also the voice of the Shadow on the radio. An avid fisherman, he planned to make frequent trips to New York to fulfill his acting obligations. He was hired by Lucky Strike cigarettes and was photographed here surf casting on South Beach. They also planned on filming him surfcasting and using it in a television commercial as a test to see if the emerging new form of entertainment would reach more of their customers. For the record the first paid advertisement on television was in 1941, the cost was $10.00 and the product was Bulova watches.

Happy birthday to: Alan Brigish, April Thanhauser, Dinny Montrowl, Diane Demoe, Leah Pachico and Cara Anticoli Friday, Amy Kurth, Colin Whyte, Peter Hoffman, and Greg Marcella Saturday, Linda Gandel, Charlene Barbosa, David Murphy and Valerie Redanz on Sunday, Eric Magnuson, James Huckins, Ainsley Clancy and Chaya Thanhauser on Monday, Linda Alley, Linda Doane, Joyce Siberling, and Maria Watson on Tuesday, Emily Pires, Bill Blakesley, Wayne Sylvia and Casey Decker on Wednesday, Stephanie Brothers, Deborah Dennis, George Hartman and Debra Yapp on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Bernadette Smith. Anniversary wishes to a swell couple Bob and Ernestine Kinnecom tomorrow, Cynthia Riggs and Howard Attebery on Sunday, Tony Silva and Dianne McDonough on Tuesday, Scott Bell and Casie Kolodziej on Wednesday and Roger and Gloria Sylva celebrate their 47th on Thursday. Stephanie Fesco celebrated the fifth anniversary of her business the Rustic Café in East Lyme, Conn. last Sunday, a must stop while traveling in that area.

Well that is all of the social news for this edition. A trivia note: 50 years ago this week the Up-Island Supermarket opened in North Tisbury, with proprietors Joe and Mary Ferreira.

If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.

Send your West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.