JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Happy Fourth of July on Sunday and welcome to the summer season and all the excitement it brings. If you went downtown for any reason last weekend, the traffic was heavy; every building in town is now occupied, the busses are comfortably full and the planes and boats are crowded. Many backyard cookouts will be held around town tonight and tomorrow evening, assuming the weather allows. This is the start of a long holiday weekend; libraries, post offices and town buildings will be closed on Monday.
The annual Independence Day parade in downtown Edgartown steps off promptly at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Do yourself and your family a big favor and make getting to the parade and fireworks a whole lot easier by taking the bus to Edgartown. Main street will be closed to all automobile traffic at 3 p.m., and busses will be diverted to a convenient location near Memorial Park until 7 p.m., when they will return to their regular spot on Church street. Call 508-693-9440 for more information.
Dick and Diana Reische of Runner Road and Wilton, Conn., arrived recently for the summer at their home on Town Cove.
Henry Bessire and his wife Louise are in residence for the summer at their home on Edgartown Road. Henry reports that they are planning for family and houseguests this weekend.
There was quite a crowd in town on Sunday afternoon at Allen Whiting’s annual art show and opening. It helped launch the summer season at the Davis House gallery. The gallery is now open Thursdays from 1 to 9 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day weekend.
Kendall Gifford Miller, his wife Carla and children Daniel and Carl of Newark, Ohio, arrived last weekend for a vacation. They have been cleaning the yard, planting daylilies and continuing to improve the property. They plan to return home on Sunday.
Lambert’s Cove beach stickers are now being sold at the shed over at the town tennis courts, next to the school, daily from 9 a.m. to noon; extra hours were added on weekends from 4 to 7 p.m.
Marsha Winsryg reports that on Monday there will be an African crafts sale and puppet show at the Grange Hall. The sale begins at 4:30 p.m. and the puppet show will feature the Spindrift Marionettes at 5:30 p.m.
There was a very emotional memorial service last weekend for Paula Black, who died a few months ago. About 100 people attended; a bench was installed and a tree planted in her memory on what would have been her birthday. Everyone sang Happy Birthday at the conclusion of the service.
Laurel Johnson reports that following the success of our strawberry festival, planning is now underway for an attic and barn sale on Saturday, July 24. Please tell your friends and then empty your closets, attics and barns of treasures to sell. Call Mike Achille at 508-693-0165 to discuss large items or storage issues between now and the sale. Electronics will not be accepted.
About 60 invited guests are expected to attend the annual night before the Fourth of July party at the home of Woollcott and Leah Smith down in Tiah’s Cove. Their many friends and neighbors will enjoy the evening and a wonderful dinner.
Carol Craven of Music street is pleased to announce that her new gallery on State Road will be hosting its first exhibition of the season starting today with four artists. There will be a reception next Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. All are invited to meet the artists and enjoy their work.
Susan Stone and her husband Roger Levine of Woodbridge, Conn., and their son Benjamin are vacationing at her place in North Tisbury for the summer.
Malcolm and Judy Hall of Pond Road attended an Oklahoma Cowboy Party along with 60 other invited guests at Cole and Jean Powers’s home in Deep Bottom on Sunday. Their son Ward, aka Will Rogers, had a genuine lariat imported directly from Stockyard City, Okla., for the event. Many of the guests wore western attire including boots and hats. He taught everyone who was willing how to rope a calf. Judy and Jean cooked authentic chow including barbecued beans that would be found on any self-respecting chuck wagon in the old west. Even John Wayne would have been proud of their cooking. His daughter, Arden, reports that her dad developed a blister from all his roping.
John and Jacqueline Zeisel arrived last weekend and will be at their house in Quansoo for the summer. This summer not one, not two, but all four of their children will be staying with them from July 6 to July 16. They are delighted to welcome Alexander Skaburskis from Toronto, Canada, where he works in IT; Isabelle Skaburskis from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she runs her own yoga studio; Evan Zeisel from New York city, where he is an actor and runs a tutoring business; and Adam Zeisel from Boston, where he runs his own web-based business. A warm welcome too, to the friends they are bringing with them. The Zeisel house will be full!
Alan Brigish announces that tonight at the Bunch of Grapes bookstore at 7:30 p.m., there will be an opening reception for his and Susan Klein’s new book Martha’s Vineyard Now and Zen.
There were other retirements of school staff at the end of the year not mentioned last week. Peter Fisher, a janitor, and Sharon Estrella, lunch room supervisor, both had over 20 years of service. A large retirement party was held at the P.A. Club just before school was dismissed for the summer.
Well, it is July so you know the library book sale is just around the corner. The sale begins on Friday, July 30 and runs until Monday, August 2, so mark those dates on your calendar today. Lee Revere reports that they are accepting donated books at the school gym beginning Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon. They cannot accept books after July 28.
Richard Paradise reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society has planned a summer schedule. It all begins on July 13 at the Tabernacle with a screening of the documentary The Shark Is Still Working. Some 35 years ago a little film was shot on Martha’s Vineyard that would change the way movies are distributed and marketed for summers to come. Its title was Jaws, and it was Hollywood’s first true summer blockbuster. I was an extra in that film.
Colleen Morris over at the library reports that tomorrow the Martha’s Vineyard Library Association presents Magic by Scott Jameson at the Agricultural Hall at 11 a.m. Kids can enjoy face painting and magic at this kickoff event for the summer reading program for the libraries. Polly Hill’s granddaughter, Corinna Borden Hill, will lead a discussion of her book, I Dreamt of Sausage, a journey toward living positively in the moment, at the library on Thursday. Artist of the Month, Jeri Larson, will exhibit Vineyard Abstracts. Come meet the artist at her opening reception on Friday, July 9 at 4 p.m.
Tom Dresser down in Oak Bluffs reports that he has a new book coming out this week, African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard, from Enslavement to Presidential Visit. It will be available at both Edgartown Books and Bunch of Grapes. His first book talk and signing is scheduled for the Oak Bluffs Library next Friday at 11 a.m.
Happy birthday to: Debbie Farber, Alison Clark, Cherrilla Brown, Elliott Tholen, Sioux Eagle and Marsha Winsryg today; Allison McKinley, Michelle Marks and Marissa Kaeka tomorrow; Pat Goodell, Jane Hawkes, David Bouck, Daniel Greenberg and Sandra Clark on Sunday; Dan Whiting, Bob Gray and Abigail Bailey on Monday; David Douglas, Bart Smith, Amelia Espy and Emma Kiley on Tuesday; David McCullough, Mary Lu Keep and Sarah Pallatroni on Wednesday; John Mayhew 3rd, Sarah Cottle, William Austin and Andrew Gardner on Thursday. Happy anniversary to the famous Webster socialites, Ed and Jane Konicki today. Belated anniversary wishes to David Lewis and his wife Danica Kombol as well as Ed Levine and Vicki Bijur.
Well, that is all the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. A happy and safe Fourth of July and see you at the parade. Have a great week.
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