JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark is ready for July with the temperatures stuck on high and the buzz of folks coming and going filling the air! Bring it on! We are ready.

The Community Center opened this week past and is already in full swing. The booklets are out and if you didn’t get one in your postal box you may stop by the center and pick one up.

It is filled with activities at all times of day for all ages in the family.

The library is also ready for the season with a July 3 kickoff of the summer reading program at 11 a.m. at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury. Scott Jameson, renowned magician, will entertain all ages and admission is $3 per person. Reading lists are at the library for this season’s theme, Go Green at Your Library. The Martha’s Vineyard Library Association sponsors this program.

The Wednesday afternoon program at the library on July 7 will be a film called Fishing Voices: Insight into the Future. The film and discussion afterward will feature local fishermen. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and is sponsored by the Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund and the Friends of the Chilmark Library.

The Yard will open this weekend with a fifth anniversary gala beginning with dinner and followed by an eclectic program of dance, opera and theatre. The gala is tonight, July 2, and begins at 6 p.m. Please call the Yard at 508-645-9662 for more information.

Bob and Carol Haskell of Chilmark and Connecticut truly enjoyed the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s program this week concerning the sinking of the Mertie B. Crowley. Bob’s grandfather, Capt. William Haskell and his wife, Ida, and eleven crewmen were rescued when the schooner sank off Wasque Shoals on Jan. 23, 1910. Levi Jackson, Patrick and Henry Kelly, Louis Doucette and Eugene Benefit were the local Vineyard seamen who went to the rescue and were heroes of the event. The descendents of these men were in attendance and it was a moving time for all to relive the near-tragedy and express feelings of thanksgiving for their heroic exploits.

Jack and Nina Huberman of Santa Fe are at their Menemsha home. They enjoyed a visit from Jack’s mother, Elizabeth Huberman, who visited from Pennsylvania.

Chuck and Marjorie Phillips entertained John and Ann DeVogt of Lexington, Va., at their Larsen Lane home. The men were longtime colleagues at Washington and Lee University where both taught.

Gabriela Herman will have a show of her photographs at the Chilmark Library from July 3 thru July 23. The show is called From the Brickyard to Old Farm Road. She is the daughter of Talia Nunes Herman of Brookline and Jeff Herman of Newton. She has traveled the world photographing and is an accomplished artist. Her works may be seen during regular library hours.

Friends and family of Robert Vincent gathered at the family plot at Abel’s Hill Cemetery for his burial service on Wednesday last. He was proud of his Chilmark roots and enjoyed his time at the family home on State Road. He was born here and attended elementary schools in Chilmark and West Tisbury. His death at his home in Schenectady was unexpected and his friends here will miss his visits and his pleasant nature and good humor.

Chilmark sends best wishes to Mildred Mayhew for a speedy return to her Menemsha home and to good health. We are also sending best wishes to Louie Larsen who is recuperating from a fall at his home in Chilmark center. We hope to see him out and about soon.

And cheers to us all for a happy Fourth of July celebration!