JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark has enjoyed another nice fall week with lots of sun and mild temperatures. We hope the fishermen are enjoying many opportunities for catching the big one! The veterans fishing this week in the American Heroes Salt Water Challenge at the Beach Plum Inn are Stan Munson, Harold (Butch) Freeman, Peter Sargent, Dale Frank Cherney, Terry Perry and Tina Sangillo. We heard fishing was good and we will hear more about the event next week when all the results are in. Tamar and Richard Franklin of the Veteran’s Administration in New York are here also.

Chilmarkers lost a true Vineyard neighbor this month with the death of Bill Honey. He was truly an Island man with so many interests and talents that no one town could claim him, as he was known Island-wide for his many gifts. Chilmark has certainly lost a friend and we will all miss him.

Congratulations to Jennifer Christy, new Chilmark town clerk. She is a lifelong resident of Chilmark and is known to many folks who met her while she was working at the Chilmark library. She has been the librarian at the Aquinnah library for the past five years. We all wish her good luck.

There is a new organization that Chilmark folks will be happy to learn more about; it is called Vineyard Village at Home. It is a referral service for older Island residents designed to help them continue to live in their own homes. Chilmark poet Peggy Freydberg will appear on MVTV with Jane Hawkes, Riley Deeble and Jane Puetthoff to discuss the organization that puts drivers in touch with folks who no longer drive. Watch for the show and for more information check out vineyardvillage.org, or call 508-693-3038.

The Friends of the Chilmark Library will sponsor the Needlework and Fiber Arts Group on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at the library beginning Oct. 1. All who knit, quilt, spin, crochet, sew or do needlepoint are welcome. Beginners are encouraged to come. Susan Murphy is spearheading the group for the second year. Please call her or the library at 508-645-3360 for more details.

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club has announced the 2009 Beautification Awards. Chilmark winners are Larsen’s Fish Market, Home Port Restaurant and the Chilmark Public Library. Congratulations to all the winners.

The trustees and staff of the Chilmark library want to thank the summer reading program sponsors who provided coupons for reading rewards. They were the Menemsha Market, Kevin and Elizabeth Oliver; Menemsha Galley, Frank and Merrily Fenner; Menemsha Texaco, Marshall and Katie Carroll; Chilmark Store, Carl Stunkel; Chilmark Chocolates, Allison Burger and Marybeth Grady and the Bite, Karen Flynn and family.

Congratulations to Garth and Ollie Edwards of Abel’s Hill and Essex, Conn., who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary on Sept. 30. Cheers from us all!

Friends of Cathy Thompson are happy to know that she will be moving back to her Chilmark home after several years working in Illinois. Welcome back, Cathy!