JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
The weather for July has been just the opposite of last year; in 2010 we have had at least six days with a temperature over 90 degrees, high humidity for a good part of the month and a lot of sun. It is the third warmest July on record. The rain with accompanying lightning and thunder was most welcome over the weekend; however as readers of Tuesday’s Gazette already know, Sean Flynn, manager of the airport, reports a severe lightning strike last Friday.
Richard Olsen, of North Tisbury, recently repositioned his herd of Halfstein cows to take advantage of the August sun and reported that the donkey gave birth in his barn too.
Traffic came to a standstill last Saturday night around 7 p.m. as three baby deer leisurely crossed the Edgartown Road and walked into Doane’s field near New Lane.
It is time to say goodbye to all the July visitors and wish all of them a fond farewell. We trust you have had a good vacation, enjoyed your summer and will come back and visit us next year. At this time, we extend a warm and hearty hello to all of our new visitors.
Ed and Jane Konicki, of Webster, visited with us over the weekend. They had a nice visit with the family though Ed would have liked more time to visit old friends. They will be back for the fair.
Nicole Alley and her husband, Arsen, of East Taunton were down for the weekend to visit her parents. Arsen had several septic inspection jobs in Vineyard Haven. They returned home on Monday.
There is always social news at the VanRann/Dickler compound on Music street. Sig’s daughter Zoe and granddaughters, Eva and Zaya, were here for two weeks recently.
Emily Gadd, of South Road, reports that she has an abundance of squash this season and the other vegetables in her garden are well ahead of schedule.
Old friend and neighbor Dr. Carey Rosenthal, of Newtown Square, Pa., and his wife, Abby, headed home on Monday after an annual July vacation at his State Road home.
Thea Lewis reports this news from Deep Bottom Cove: Eliza Lewis has arrived for her annual visit at the Cove Lounge with daughter, Evie, on Monday. Her sister, Lilly, arrives next week, fresh from an internship at A.R.T. Also staying at the Lounge is Neil Miller and cousin Thea. Her parents, David and Danica, have returned to Atlanta, Ga.
Sandra and Dee Caruso, of Los Angeles, Calif., arrived Monday evening to spend some time at her home on Sweet William Way. They have not been back East for a few years and are anxious to visit old friends.
Catha Carlson and her son, Scott, of New York city, have arrived at their house on Peaked Hill. Her parents are Bob and Barbara Day of Willow Tree Hollow.
There were at least two non-church weddings in town last week. Dee Schmal married Mike McFadden, of Lowell, on the shores of Town Cove. She said she selected me to perform her marriage because her best friend’s first name is Allie and her husband’s name is John! This was their first trip to the Island and they had a wonderful time beaching and enjoying themselves. Mike is a state police officer. Stephanie Cunningham and Robin Wade were married on Lambert’s Cove Beach last Thursday. They live in California and enjoyed the East Coast and the Island.
Lee and Neil Selden, of Highland Park, N.J., spent the weekend with Ben and Paddy Moore at their house on Alley Way.
Deborah Scroggins, of Barnstable, author of Emma’s War, and her daughter lunched with Anthony Lewis of Deep Bottom Cove last weekend.
Pete Karman and his wife, Jill Carlton, of New Haven, Conn., are staying for two weeks at her house on State Road. This is Jill’s annual vacation.
Shirley Mayhew, of Music street, had an essay in the latest issue of the Martha’s Vineyard Magazine titled a Creative Retirement. It is an amusing story about the projects she has been involved in since her retirement as a teacher — a must read.
Marjory and Robert Potts, of Elias Lane, made a rare escape from the Island this past weekend and went off to explore Newfane, Vt.; she reports that the town center is in many ways a mirror image of ours, with graceful old buildings, but all in the style of the church. The trip was a musical adventure; they attended two chamber music concerts at the Marlboro Music Festival at Marlboro College, where top young musicians play with some of the best from the world renowned quartets. Robert went to the Newfane Town Hall as soon as it opened on Monday morning to investigate the town workings for a report in (what else?) The Broadside, which never rests in serving their loyal readers.
A.C. Miller, of Lambert’s Cove, passed away last Thursday at his home. Our condolences to his wife and family.
June Manning reports that you should save this date on your busy social calendar: Saturday, August 14, is when the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living will be sponsoring a Summer Bazaar and Fancy Fleas from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School parking lot. Please call Karen at 508-360-5842 for information and to reserve a space.
Katie Mayhew and David Crohan have released a CD of their live performance at the Whaling Church last year. A percentage of the profits from the disc will be donated to several different Island nonprofits, including COMSOG (the Community Solar Greenhouse) and Camp Jabberwocky. Katie and David will be performing together again this summer at a benefit concert for COMSOG — that’s this Sunday at the Whaling Church at 4:30 p.m. There is a reception following the event. The CDs will be on sale at the concert, and will also be sold at the Secret Garden in Oak Bluffs, Aboveground Records in Edgartown and Rainy Day in Vineyard Haven.
Lee Revere, chairman of the book sale, reports that the hours for the 53rd annual book sale are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, tomorrow and Sunday. The sale is held at the West Tisbury School, where a large selection will be available. All the books that are not sold are free on Monday morning. The books are mainly from private collections, and this West Tisbury event is considered by many people the premier book sale of the summer.
Patti Linn reported that the Sundaes on Saturday event held earlier this month over at the West Tisbury Congregational Church was a huge success. Ice cream sundae lovers can look forward to a repeat event August 7; expect it to be a busy afternoon. All of the profits benefit the scholarship fund.
Doug Liman and his friends Tamara Buchwald and Abigail Rose Solomon invite all to attend a gala celebration to benefit the Vineyard Playhouse and enjoy the sunset at his historic 18th century Chilmark homestead on the ocean on Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. The evening will feature a performance by film, TV, and Tony award-winning Broadway actress and singer Debra Monk, accompanied by Wesley Nagy. For more information, call 508-693-6450, extension 29.
Ann Howes, of Tiasquam Road, one of the famous Glimmerglass Girls, will host an opening at the Old Sculpin Gallery on Sunday, August 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. She will be exhibiting her original watercolor paintings through August 21.
For over 20 years, local artist Steve Lohman has been creating playful steel and wire sculptures and fanciful carved furniture from his studio/home at 188 Waldron’s Bottom Rd. Today from 5 to 7 p.m. he will open his Studio Gallery to the public for An Afternoon of Art, Music and Croquet. For more information call him at 508-693-4869.
Colleen Morris, over at the library, reports that Julianna Healy will be displaying her oil paintings of Vineyard landscapes for the month of August at the library. Come and meet the artist on Thursday at 4 p.m. She has other activities planned for the week, too: most notably on Sunday, when there will be many Island chefs catering, authors reading and music playing, from 5 to 7 p.m. at a very special Library After Hours event. All are encouraged to come.
From history: A square mile of forest land on Edgartown Road was purchased for one dollar from the Commonwealth by the U.S. Government in March of ’42, and by August surveyors had completed plans and construction work had begun on the United States Naval Auxiliary Air Station. The location for the “airbase” was chosen because of the unusually flat terrain in the area. Construction was completed in just over 18 months at a cost of $2 million. It was fully operational on March 26, 1943, when Lt. Charles Webster and 22 enlisted men arrived to take charge of the partially completed field and buildings. The main focus was rocket training and carrier landings by the aircraft that were stationed there; also the planes performed a good deal of practice bombing at a movable target built on the beach in Katama to accommodate that need. The Navy closed the air base on May 27, 1946 and turned it over to the county, which began operating it as a commercial airport that fall. The first air carrier, Northeast Airlines, began regularly scheduled commercial flights to Boston with DC-3 aircraft. Emerson McCloud was the station manager.
Happy birthday to: Dianne Hartman, Pat Lynch, Mark Mazer and Jesse Oliver today; Karin Magid, Dale Ferry and Trevor Grimes tomorrow; James LeRoux, Liza Smith and Ben Cabot on Sunday; Dick Goodell, Ron Carroll, Joel Weintraub, Laura Giglio and Shawn McCormick on Monday; Carol Hunter and Laura Silber on Tuesday; Ben Smith, Kristin Kinser, Donald Mitchell and Miklos Breuer on Wednesday; Janet Alley, John Kelleher, Tristan Atwood and Loretta Ross on Thursday. A belated birthday wish to Hans Adcock.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please e-mail or call me. Have a great week.
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