JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

I think it rained tourists on Menemsha all week. In spite of the dark days the crowds turned out to enjoy all the non-weather related joys of summer. The miserable stretch of weather ended with a big blow and some wild water. Surfers are never disappointed but only the hearty braved the waters this week.

The roads weren’t the place to be either. We are sorry for whoever hit the telephone pole on Menemsha Crossroad that caused only limited power outages, and we all send cheers to Lucille Poltz for escaping injury in her accident this week. However, we share her pain at the damage to her beloved Volkswagen bug!

The Chilmark Library was definitely one of the places to be during the rainy days and they know it! They set a record on August 23 when they checked out 820 items in seven hours!

Congratulations to all the Chilmark winners of ribbons at the Agricultural Fair. As always, there were many. I hope you all had a chance to stand in front of David and Douglas Seward’s wonderful tribute to their whaling ancestors, many from Chilmark. Nice job, men. Hope the museum can keep it for more of us to see and study.

Jarvis Kellogg and Betsy Munnell with their daughters, Catherine, Annie and Molly, arrived for their annual Chilmark vacation in time for Jarvis and Molly to run in their first Chilmark Road Race. Molly also won a blue ribbon at the fair for her model of the down-Island Flying Horses and an honorable mention for her photos of her sister.

Congratulations to Bonnie George of Quansoo, who won a blue ribbon and a special award for a needlepoint pillow she made with a yoga god subject. Bonnie is a yoga devotee.

Bob and Phyllis Conway were happy to have a visit from their daughter, Robin Morley, with her husband, Tom, and daughter, Tara. Brian Curtin was their guest and enjoyed his first Vineyard visit. Tara and Brian live and work in Manhattan.

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club recently elected new officers for the 2010-2011 seasons and the new vice president for Chilmark is Judi Worthington.

David Damroth will be showing his photographs of the Vineyard at the Bank of Martha’s Vineyard from August 27 through Sept. 3. The show is entitled The Nature of the Vineyard. The artist’s reception will be on Friday, August 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the bank.

I hope that the President and his family get some up-Island visits in while they are vacationing in Chilmark.

The Aquinnah Library reminds us that the next speaker in their series will be Duncan Caldwell, a prehistorian, who will talk about Mother Caves, The Implications of a Paleolithic Frieze. The program will be August 31 and is held in the Aquinnah town hall from 5 to 6 p.m.

Please mark your calendars for Oct. 9, 2 p.m., when a celebration of the life of Rusty Walton will be held at the Chilmark Community Center with a potluck meal and an opportunity for all his many friends and coworkers to share their memories and praise the many good works Rusty was able to accomplish in his life. He died on August 3 of cancer and is very much missed by many in Chilmark and beyond.

Mildred Mayhew celebrated her August birthday this week with family members. Many in town remember her as their favorite Menemsha School teacher of years ago. Cheers from us all!

Stefan Mendez-Diez wed Robin Shutinga on August 18 in Baltimore. He is the son of Jacqueline Mendez-Diez of Chilmark, who traveled to Baltimore for the festivities. The couple is off to Edmundton, Canada, where Stefan has a postdoctorate position at the University of Alberta. Congratulations to all!