JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark is full of the pre-rush buzz . . . lots of visitors, many trucks on the roads on busy schedules, school buses still running, seasonal businesses reopening and the rest of us trying to keep up. What will it be like when the schools close and our season really begins? If your travels take you to the gas station at Menemsha, pop inside and try one of the new Twix ice cream bars . . . your day will improve!

I am happy to report that Mildred Mayhew is back at her Menemsha home and feeling much better. Her daughter, Carol Mays, has been here from Londonderry, N.H., for a brief visit. Carol is off to see her granddaughter, Cassandra Shawver of Bedford, N.H., graduate from high school this weekend. Cassandra is the daughter of Terry and Steve Shawver and granddaughter of Carol and Jim Mays and great-granddaughter of Mildred Mayhew. She has won a number of scholarships and will attend Southern New Hampshire University in the fall. Cheers from us all.

Congratulations from us all to all the Chilmark graduates who will receive diplomas this weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Best wishes to Louie Larsen, who is still at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital as I write on Wednesday. We all hope he will be home and out and about soon.

Bob and Emma Shalhope are happy to tell us of the marriage in April of their daughter, Adelaide, to Brian Winne of Lancaster, England. The wedding was held in New York city with a gathering of friends and family. The couple now resides in Lancaster where the groom is a respected scientist.

We send condolences to the family of Robert E. Lienhard of Madison, Conn., and Chilmark who died this week at his Madison home. In recent years he has been dividing his time equally between his two homes. He leaves his three children, Thomas and Robbie and Deborah Lortie. The family members have been seasonal residents of Abel’s Hill for many years. His Chilmark friends will miss him. Plans for a memorial will be announced.

Samantha Jason of Boston visited Chilmark this week and, with her dad, Dennis, helped to celebrate her brother, Dennis’s 24th birthday.

Best wishes from us all to Phyllis Conway, who we hear is “under the weather” at her home in Quitsa. We hope to see her out and about soon.

The Chilmark Community Church flea market, for many years managed by Phyllis, will open on June 30 this year under the guidance of Anne Dietrich and her able crew. The hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and there are over 50 dealers planning to display their wares. This will be the 43rd year for the twice a week event. The sales are on Wednesdays and Saturdays through July and August.

The beach committee is concerned about the erosion at the Lucy Vincent Beach. Do be careful and prevent children from playing in the areas where there are overhanging tops of cliffs; otherwise, the water’s fine and getting warmer every day.

The Menemsha Market will open on June 18 this year. Kevin Oliver, with the help of Beth Mayhew, is busy loading the shelves with all the treats of summer. My grandsons hope somebody plugs the porch-horse in soon!

The Chilmark Tavern is offering something new this year. They are opening a raw bar with sandwich menu beginning at 4 p.m. There is some new seating among the flowers that might make teatime tempting.

Judy Mayhew will be making the famous lobster rolls to-go at the Chilmark Community Church on Tuesday evenings from 4:30 to 7 p.m. beginning this coming week. Don’t miss these tasty treats.

Spencer Nitchie was in town this week for a visit with his mother, Nancy, his sister, Emily, and his brother, Donald, and their families. Spencer lives in Maryland. He and Donald produce the magazine, Banjo.

Family and friends are gathering to join in a celebration of Howard Harrison’s 80th birthday this weekend. Cheers from us all!

Allan and Sue Parkes are back at their Quansoo home on Chilmark Pond after a winter at their Tucson home.

Fred and Sarah Khedouri, who winter in London, are back at their Peaked Hill home for the coming season. This week they are enjoying a visit from Joyce Spiegel of Scarsdale.

The traveling Kellams, Bayard and Suzanne of Providence, are at their Chilmark home for a brief visit. They spent a part of the past winter in Mexico and, this spring they enjoyed a river tour of China. They are soon to depart on a river tour of Russia, traveling between Moscow and St. Petersburg. They plan to be back in Chilmark in September. We want to see the pictures!

Beebo Rantoul Turman came from Berkeley, Calif., for a 10-day visit to the Rantoul home in Chilmark. Beebo’s daughter, Laurel, and her son in law, Brian Whyte, accompanied her on the spring visit. The family will be back in September.

Bob and Katherine Barrett of Rochester are at their home on Menemsha Crossroad for a spring visit. They are happy to have Cathy Swanberry of Rochester as their guest. This is her first Vineyard visit.

Welcome back to Bill and Lydia Edison, who are here from Elk, Calif., for their annual summer in Menemsha.

Congratulations to Robert J. Papp Jr., who was made Admiral and Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 25. He has succeeded Thad Allen and is the 24th Commandant. Both men have been on TV and in the news lately discussing their efforts in trying to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bob has many Chilmark friends as his parents lived in Chilmark for many years. Cheers from us all and best wishes!