JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark hasn’t blown away but the wind is blowing and has been for a week or more. I don’t keep a diary so can’t tell you if it was blowing last December or the one before . . . but I went to the Lucy Vincent diaries and checked out the first 10 days of December back a few years. She complained about wind almost every December day in 1907, 1911 and 1912. She went to Florida in 1910 and maybe that’s the message! There was a snowstorm in 1911 on Dec. 4, and in 1906 on Dec. 10 the winds were so strong that a Captain Gibbs of the Azalea had to be called to the assistance of the South Shoal Lightship that was sinking due to “a northwest wind, blowing hard.” It took all night for the Azalea to get to the lightship. It then tried to tow it to safety but the ship was sinking so the Azalea took all hands aboard and the lightship sank in 12 minutes. Captain Gibbs was praised as a hero for his rescue of the lightship crew. Can someone tell me where exactly the South Shoal Lightship was anchored?

Thanks to Katie Vincent, who now owns the Lucy Vincent diaries, for letting us quote from them and remind ourselves what an earlier Chilmark was like.

We send condolences to Bill and Susan Shanok of New York city and Chilmark on the death of their son, Gabriel Shanok on Nov. 28 at Massachusetts General Hospital. We are always deeply saddened by the untimely death of a young person. Besides his parents, Gabriel is survived by his sisters, Sarah and Tovah Shanok and Victoria Dolan and her family. A memorial service will take place at a later date. He will be greatly missed by his many Island friends.

We all send best wishes to Chris Abrams, director of the Chilmark Preschool, who is recovering from surgery done recently in Boston. She hopes to be out of rehab and home soon, as good as new, we hope! Cheers from us all!

Tomorrow, Dec. 11, is the flea market at the Community Center. The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here is a good chance to do all your holiday shopping in one place. There will be vendors of food, treasures, jewelry and more.

Remember that the Allen Farm is open for shoppers from Dec. 10 to 21.

John Wightman’s annual show of his unique photos is at the Bank of Martha’s Vineyard in Chilmark this month. The title of the show, Celebration of Winter, sets the mood for the season. His works are framed with artifacts that enhance the picture and theme. No two are alike. They are very interesting to view and own.

Last week’s winter indoor farmer’s market was great fun . . . the Island answer to mall shopping! Lots of things to admire, taste, smell and purchase. Actually, one could buy their holiday dinner from meat and veggies to dessert right there, all fresh and local. The way to go! The market will be open again next Saturday, Dec. 18 at the West Tisbury Agricultural Hall. I tried the Mermaid Farm feta cheese — made right here in Chilmark!

If all the holiday excitement has you too busy to cook, join the crowd at the Chilmark Church soup suppers on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7 p.m. All are welcome.

The Friends of the Chilmark Library are hosting their annual holiday party at the library from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 15. There will be music, food, drink and wreath making. Everyone is welcome. This party also kicks off the Friends of the Library’s annual December book sale. All the books and discs, tapes and magazines are at bargain prices and, again, great for holiday gifts. Books will be on sale during regular library hours. Prices drop to half price on Dec. 22.

Dec. 14 is the date of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum community forum at the library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. They are inviting us to come with ideas of what we would like to see happen at the museum concerning Chilmark.

Please reassure the kids that Santa will visit the children of Chilmark on Dec. 21 at the Community Center . . . details next week.

The Chilmark Library will host a teen group meeting at the library on Saturdays at 3 p.m. All teens are invited to come and bring friends. There will be games, pizza, movies and much more.

There is a lot of serious tree and shrub trimming being done along South Road in Chilmark this week by the state highway department. The hope is to improve visibility along the road and this will benefit us all. It is interesting to see the amount of equipment and number of trucks it takes to do the job these days. Does anyone else remember Mr. Arno and the great job he and his crew did on that road with hand tools?