MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
As we start the new year, Chappaquiddick continues to wash away. The swan pond at Wasque, which has greatly narrowed and shrunk in the past year, was divided in two by a sand peninsula at Thanksgiving time. When we took a walk at Christmas, the half of the pond toward town had literally turned into a puddle, as the beach continues to move inland. The pond that’s left had three channels marked in the sand where the ocean had washed in. There were still ducks there, but the salinity must have changed dramatically. It seems unlikely the pond can last the winter. Back at the bathing area, the stone in memory of Foster Silva has been removed since the bank is only about twenty feet away from where it was and from the parking area.
We had stormy weather on the Christmas weekend, with days of wind and a succession of snow, rain, and then more snow, leaving us with an inch or two of crust. As usual, the north side of the Vineyard got substantially more snow than Chappy. Our few inches of slush was greatly reduced by rain a few hours after Bob Fynbo had plowed.
Sidney and I were at the movies in Edgartown during the height of the wind late Sunday afternoon, and the power kept going out. Finally it stayed out, and the manager generously gave us free tickets for another show, even though that one had (mercifully) almost been finished. When we went outside, the lights were still on everywhere else on Main street. Chappy never lost power even though we’re still hooked up to the old cable and the overhead lines. The work on the new cable was begun on emergency status, so although we’ve been in a sustained emergency for many weeks, we seem to be doing fine.
On the way home, the ferry crossing looked almost too scary to attempt, but Captain Bob didn’t seem at all fazed. He had us pull our car up to very end of the ferry, where it looked as if we might be washed into to sea. Sidney reminded me about Bob’s old rain jacket that had “Stormy” written on the back. The waves were breaking over the Chappy-side wall in a spray arching across the slip, but Bob managed to maneuver the ferry into place. We drove gratefully off. As far as I know, Bob made it back to Edgartown.
We have sad news that longtime Chappaquiddicker Hope Slater died on Christmas morning. She was the youngest of the Welch sisters, and will be missed by her children, David, Diana, Allen, and Polly, and by her sisters, Ruth Welch and Edo Potter, and her many other relatives and friends. Hope spent all her summers at Pimpneymouse Farm since she was a little girl, and loved to ride and sail. When she wasn’t here, she lived on her family farm in Landrum, S.C.. A service was to be held at a church near the farm on Thursday.
The community center’s annual dinner on Christmas Eve was enjoyed by the traditional attendees. With the fire blazing and the feast of a dinner on their plates, about fifty Chappaquiddickers and friends enjoyed the special time of year in each other’s company. The big room was decorated from the holiday tea a couple of weeks earlier: lighted candles, wreaths with red bows hung on all the windows, and a tree decorated with lights and ornaments. Many of the people there had been coming to the dinner since it began, probably twenty-five years ago. Before the community center was built, Joe and Mary Cressy used to make and serve the dinner, and everyone on Chappy was invited. Back then most people went, and it was so crowded you could hardly move around in their living room. There were about fifteen kids, who had a great time playing together, and would end up lying on a big bed watching a movie.
The next potluck at the community center will be on Wednesday, Jan. 5 starting at 6 p.m. Pat Rose and John Ortman will be the hosts. All are welcome.
When people have been driving the same vehicle for years and years, it takes awhile to recognize them in a new one. Sidney has had his new (to him) maroon van only a couple of months, so if you saw him on the day after Christmas driving his old blue one you might not have thought anything about it. But if you noticed the goat in the back, you might have wondered. He borrowed the blue van from the Farm Institute, where it’s now residing, in order to switch goats. We had borrowed Jessup from the farm to keep our goat Asha company while Magee, our other white goat, went to the farm to be bred with Ivan, who was on loan from Flat Point Farm. We might have left her with Ivan a little too long because she came back in a really bad mood, and wouldn’t let Asha into the shed. Magee is top goat at our house. It probably served Asha right because she hadn’t let Jessup into the shed while she was visiting here. Goats are not subtle in their attempts to establish the pecking order.
Speaking of pecking orders, we adopted two rescue chickens from the farm, and they’re on the bottom rung of the ladder in our little flock of five. Scalp Head had been attacked by a hawk and lost all but a couple of her head feathers. She is doing well and growing back most feathers. Buffy (a Buff Orpington) had been hanging by her wing in the hen house, and Julie, who’s in charge of animals at the farm, thought she was dead. Buffy revived, and although one wing lies differently on her body, otherwise she is fine.
We’re now allowed to drive off the ferry the usual way, down Dock street. We have to maneuver past several huge machines but at least the ferry line is back to normal on Daggett street. Work on the On Time II continues inside a tent in the Vineyard Haven dry dock. It may be several more weeks, but at least the ferry is being put back together, with lots of new beams and a new deck, among other upgrades. Eric Gillies, deckhand Jeff LaMarche, and Peter Wells are doing the work.
After many setbacks, the town library design committee has recommended the former elementary school site for the new library. A new plan will be unveiled at their next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. The public is welcome.
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