JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Well, the weather was cool and breezy but the sun came out Saturday afternoon and it turned out to be a decent weekend. Lawn mowers could be heard buzzing around town cutting lawns. The cherry trees in Harriet Bernstein’s front lawn were ablaze with color and so was the one on Music street. It was reported that Eleanor Stanwood was busy feeding oranges to the orioles that had descended upon her place. Lynne Demond reports seeing an oriole on the beach on Tuesday morning; that observation coincides with Emma Whiting’s report some 70 years ago that orioles always return by that date. Mother’s Day was very windy but with bright sun; it felt more like early April. Many a dad took mom out to brunch and when they got back home worked on chores she wanted done around the house to make her day less stressful.
Many businesses are getting ready or have already opened for the season. The Glass Works, Middletown Nursery and Banana’s clothing store are open. The State Road café is open and did a brisk business on Mother’s Day. Roger Blake’s outdoor pie gazebo is about to open; next weekend he plans to be out there rain or shine. Folks are waiting for Allen Healy to station a flock of his sheep to graze in the Bird field on Music street. It has become a great photo opportunity for passing motorists.
A farewell party for Chief Beth Toomey was held last Saturday night at the Agricultural Hall. More than 100 people attended the affair; there were speeches, awards and gifts presented to the chief. She thanked everyone and presented a slide show of highlights in her life. Johnny Hoy provided music for dancing and it was a swell time.
Ted and Candice Moore, of Nevada, Mo., and their friend Daniela Manolova, a native of Bulgaria who will be graduating from Smith College on Sunday, visited with Anna Alley over the weekend. Anna showed them around the Vineyard; they enjoyed a seafood dinner and had a fun time.
Emily Gadd, of Bozeman, Mont., arrives this weekend to spend the summer at her Vineyard home on South Road. She can’t wait to plant her vegetable garden. She reports that the winter was hard but she looks forward to her visit. Welcome back Emily!
Steve Lohman and his wife, Jenifer Strachan, of Waldron’s Bottom Road, returned home last weekend after spending a week in New Orleans, La., where they attended the Jazz Fest. Steve reports that they got to visit with several friends that played at the Gumbo Festival here last year and they had a great time.
Sam Alley came home Sunday after completing his senior year studies at Framingham State College. We all will go back to see him graduate on Sunday.
Tom Dresser reports that the annual Alzheimer’s Miles of Memories Walk is Sunday. This year the plan is to walk along the bike path from the regional high school to Dodger’s Hole and back, just under 2.5 miles. It’s a fundraiser.
Micheline Sonia has announced the Mexican night dinner buffet fundraiser for the sixth grade class. As you may recall they had a superb Italian night last year. It will be held tonight from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Grange Hall. You can buy tickets ahead of time from any sixth grade student or call Micheline at 508-696-7866.
Paddy Moore reports that next week, on Tuesday and Thursday, two community forums will be held to consider the Island’s most pressing health needs, and anyone interested is invited to attend. When the hospital embarked on its recent major expansion, it triggered state department of public health regulations to ensure that the expansion is needed; the hospital must give a percentage of the project’s total cost to the community for health initiatives. As a result, the hospital will provide just over $1 million for Vineyard community health projects over the next five years. Money will be available to the community through a grant process sometime in the late summer or early fall. A broad-based citizen planning committee has been working over the last five months to review community data and identify our most pressing health needs. The Tuesday forum will be held at the Howes House in West Tisbury from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Thursday forum will be held at the Vineyard Haven library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The committee wants to hear reactions to its recommendations, and further ideas and suggestions. Please come! Anyone who cannot attend but wants to participate can go on-line and fill out a brief survey. The link to the survey in English is: surveymonkey.com/s/M7KR3D2.
On May 26, 1964, the Grange held an evening of entertainment, broken only by a short business meeting, as they turned the Agricultural Hall into a café. The program was arranged by Mr. and Mrs. William McClure and Muriel Fisher. Edward Silvia served as master of ceremonies for the floor show, which included numbers by Mrs. McClure on the chord organ, Dale McClure on the accordion and Frank Brown on the piano. Donald and Peter Fisher and Dale McC lure presented a skit for the group. Carol McGee performed a Mexican style modern dance and George Hill showed his skill on the drums and also as a comedian with his imitation of Frankie Fontaine. Cathy Convery and William Luce performed several folk songs and the evening’s entertainment included a sing-along and wound up with dancing.
Happy Birthday to: Donald Fisher, Brendan O’Neill, Susan Hopkins and Jason Napior today; Everett Whiting, Earl Dean and Karen Alberice tomorrow; Muriel Bye, Catherine Hoffman, James Taylor, Patricia Wittig and Bob Kimberly on Sunday; Lorraine King, Eric Bates and Donna Goldfein on Monday; Ronald Silva, Elizabeth Johnson and Moira Perzanowski on Tuesday; Paul and Richard Garcia, Ashley McCarthy, Norman Hall, Richard Kugler and Karen Harris on Wednesday; Carol Carrick, Dianne Moyer and Ned Robinson-Lynch on Thursday. Happy anniversary to Deb and Ron Kokernak on Thursday.
Well, that is all the social news for this week’s edition. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Arthur Godfrey began a lengthy stint as a morning disc jockey on WCBS radio 69 years ago today. Have a great week.
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