JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark is going green ... in many ways it already has, with everything in bloom and most plants and trees in full leaf, but we also now have a small electric car in our midst. If what looks like a jaunty, oversized golf cart pulls up behind you on a Chilmark road, don’t worry, most likely he won’t pass you. It will be Andy Goldman in his new electric car! He tells me it doesn’t go over 25 miles an hour, and we still aren’t sure of its actual miles between plug-ins, but it is new and different and he is enjoying his new birthday present.

The annual Chilmark Community Church Children’s Fair will be this Saturday, June 19, from 10 a.m. to noon at the church grounds on Menemsha Crossroad. There will be old-fashioned games, pony rides, cupcakes, face painting and lots of fun for all.

Best wishes to Rena Fischer, who celebrated her 95th birthday at her home in Chilmark center surrounded by her large and loving family. Cheers from us all!

On Sunday, June 20, there will be a memorial service for Grambs Miller Aronson at the Abel’s Hill cemetery at 11 a.m. The family will welcome friends back to the Aronson cottage on Chowder Kettle Lane afterwards. Grambs was well-known to many as she and her late husband, Jim, had spent many summers in Chilmark. Their daughter, Mary Aronson McCormick, is here with many family members. Grambs was a successful artist and illustrator and was happy to have had her works presented in a show at a gallery in New York city this past year. We send condolences to her family and many friends.

Billie Hancock is vacationing in Menemsha this month. She comes annually from Ponte Verde, Fla., for a visit with family and friends and will move on to Oak Bluffs for the summer months. Nancy Amonetti came north with her and visited for a few days.

We send condolences to the family, many friends and fans of the entertainer Jimmy Dean. He was known to up-Islanders because of his frequent visits to Menemsha in his yacht, Big Bad John. He enjoyed Menemsha and came often. Thanks for the memories, Jimmy.

We are happy to share the good news about this paper’s Aquinnah columnist. She tells us that she had a good report from her doctors at Mass General Hospital this week and is looking forward to a happy summer with her multitude of friends and family across the Island. Cheers from us all!

The Blue Stockings were in town for a literary weekend last week. They are 10 women from Avon and Farmington, Conn., who have formed a literary group and they meet annually at Donna Bozzuto’s home at Quansoo for a weekend of book talk and fun. This was the 10th year for the meeting. The members of the group attending were Susan Borghese, Janie Balazs, Myra Morgan, Elaine Wilson, Sharon Ruvane, Deborah Sacks, Jan Offsay, Anne Lewis and hostess Donna Bozzuto.

Conrad and Jane Neumann of Durham, N.C., are at their Larsen Lane home for the coming months. Jane will be setting up at the Chilmark Church’s annual twice-a-week flea market beginning June 30. She has been a regular vendor at their sales for about 30 years. The flea market will be in the Jenkinson field on North Road. They are there on Wednesdays and Saturdays through August from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friends of Mary Breslauer of Old Farm Road gathered at the Outermost Inn last Saturday for a festive celebration of Mary’s 60th birthday. Becky Haag hosted the party, and many friends joined in the celebration. Cheers from us all!

The Bank of Martha’s Vineyard will host a display of the Peace Quilts of Haiti. The opening reception will be on June 25 and the exhibit may be seen during regular banking hours from June 28 through July 8. This is a fundraiser for Haiti.

Karen Flynn of the Bite in Menemsha invites us to drop by and take a guess as to the World Cup soccer winners ... she has a FIFA T-shirt for the winner of a drawing to be held next week.

The Chilmark Community Church folks are offering lobster rolls and the fixings every Tuesday at the Church from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

Chilmark is a happening place, I will appreciate it if you will please keep me posted either by e-mail or phone 508-645-3378. Many thanks.