JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, last weekend I joined up with Anna in Providence, R.I. where she was visiting her sister, Nina, her husband, Dieter Pohl and their son, Nick. Of course the objective was a shopping excursion. All started well but the dire warnings on radio and television Friday night of an impending snowstorm caused a near panic the following morning in the stores. The Christmas songs Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells that were playing took on a new meaning. Shopping was difficult at best, however, we managed; if you are in the city and have Portuguese blood, make a pilgrimage to the Taunton Street Bakery in East Providence a must! We left the city and headed for New Bedford to shop some more and lunch at the Five Guys before heading back to catch the boat. In almost every store I spotted someone from the Vineyard shopping and checking their watch so they would not be late for the boat. My thanks to Jenifer Strachan and Sarah Monast for pinch-hitting for me over at the post office.

The storm hit with the fury predicted; over 20 inches of snow had fallen with fierce winds, temperatures in the 20s and lots of drifts. Muriel Doane measured 22 inches in a sheltered corner of her backyard. Richard Olsen, superintendent of streets, did a fine job keeping the town roads more than passable all during the storm. School opened two hours late on Monday. Many Sunday holiday parties were cancelled but the solstice party over at Tom and Katherine’s was held and a good crowd filtered in throughout the day; it was a welcome respite meeting friends and enjoying fine food.

All is prepared in most homes for Christmas tomorrow. However there is still a tiny amount of time for some last minute shopping. Reliable Market is busy making fruit baskets for last minute gifts; a calendar designed by Max Bossman, or Peter Simon’s yearly masterpiece Vineyard calendar, make swell gifts; and the Holiday Shop in Vineyard Haven has a nice selection. After a month of shopping and a lot of decorating, inside and out, families will soon begin to gather together to celebrate this most blessed day. The boats were packed with people going to and from the mainland to shop for Christmas last weekend. Also some folks got a head start traveling off Island for the holiday to be with their families.

We are now officially into the winter season, as of Tuesday, and it sure felt like it early in the morning. Winter began on Monday, so we now have passed the shortest day of the year and they are starting to get a tiny bit longer.

You may chose to attend one of the two church services Thursday evening offered by Rev. Baker of the First Congregational Church. At 5 p.m. the annual Children’s Pageant will be held at the Agricultural Hall. Following the pageant, an invitation is extended to those who would like to attend a traditional candlelight worship service led by Rev. Baker in the church at 10 p.m. All are welcome to attend a church service.

Will and Leslei Monast, of Waldron’s Bottom Road, have all the family home for Christmas: Cal, from the University of Pennsylvania; Beau, who is a freshman at UMASS-Amherst; Rainey; and Sarah and her husband, Elton Nascimento.

Cherilla Brown, of Buttonwood Farm Road, returned home last week from a five-day business trip to Mexico. She reported that the weather was superb and sends her best to all her customers for the holidays.

Simi Horwitz, down in New York city, wishes all her Vineyard friends a happy holiday season. So does Sal Laterra, who is spending Christmas with his family in Maryland.

Dan Cabot and his wife, Nancy, of Middle Road, will be having Christmas dinner with her cousin Judy and her husband, Jack Bryant, at their nearby home. Cousin Ann Howes, of off Middle Road, will be enjoying Christmas dinner with her children.

Sig Van Raan reports that all the kids have arrived safe and sound to spend the holidays together. Sig’s son Jackson just returned from a four-month expedition in Ecuador as part of a cultural exchange program through the Kroka Institute of New Hampshire. He and 12 others lived and worked on an organic farm outside of Quito and learned about permaculture and sustainable farming. They also trekked into the Amazon region and learned about herbal healing within the indigenous tribal villages of the Amazon. The highlight of their trip was a climb to the summit of the famous glacial mountain called Cotapaxi. Sig’s daughter, Sofia has finished her fall semester at the University of New Hampshire and is set to embark on a spring semester at the University of Capetown in South Africa in mid January. His wife Susan’s daughter, Willie, just arrived from Baltimore where she is studying midwife nursing at Johns Hopkins. Susan is spending the holidays recovering from reconstructive shoulder surgery. Now that she only has one functioning arm, Sig can finally beat her at billiards. They want to wish all our Music street neighbors happy holidays and good health in the new year.

Collen Morris, over at the library, reports that Al Hurwitz will share a group of collages based on the life and times of King Kong on Sunday, Dec. 27 at 3 p.m. at the West Tisbury Library.

Amy Houghton, of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, supplied the following true story: A Soldier’s Christmas in the Union Army, 1863. Charles Macreading Vincent, better known as Charlie Mac, served nearly three years in the Civil War as a young man, documenting much of his time through letters to his family at home on the Vineyard. It’s not surprising that he kept these records, for the position he held prior to entering the service was an apprentice at the Gazette. The Martha’s Vineyard Museum holds a large collection of Charlie Mac’s letters, including one written from Folly Island, South Carolina; it was his first Christmas away from home. After a fulfilling meal of roast beef, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes and all the fixings, the soldiers were allowed to go off duty and spend the day competing in sack, wheelbarrow and foot races (with prizes awarded by the officers). Charlie, however, explained that he did not take an active part in any of the games, except the dinner, “and I think I carried out my part of this performance as well as any of them.” Charlie stated that he enjoyed himself better than he ever had in the army.

Happy birthday to Ann Howes and Fred Thurber today; Christina Montoya and Michael MacLean tomorrow; Glenn Jackson and Rachel Baumrin on Sunday; Claudia Lee, Eleanor Luce, Mike Ovios, Mary Gross and Mark Bernard on Monday; Gary Blodgett, Katherine Devane and Maitland Edey on Tuesday; Simon Hickman, Phyllis McMorrow and Mary Van Nes on Wednesday; Beth Kramer, Linda Cohen and Don Sibley on Tuesday; and Jenifer Strachan and Elizabeth Rothwell on Wednesday.

Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s edition, the last one of the year. If you have any news of your holiday guests please call or e-mail me. Have a wonderful Christmas holiday!