NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

I remember one class a few years back when I was teaching English as a second language at the Vineyard Haven library. We were discussing New England; one of my students asked why we had pointy roofs; apparently this Brazilian student was used to seeing flat roofs in his home town. I explained that we built pitched roofs in the north so the snow could melt and slide off. The students loved this bit of Northern Hemisphere ingenuity. That being said, why have we had such a proliferation of warehouse, box store and gas station canopies erected flat? What did we think was going to happen?

Belated but well deserved anniversary bouquets go out to Edson and Norma Rodgers in Edgartown for their 50th celebration. Edson and Norma were married on Dec. 26, 1960 in the sanctuary of the Old Whaling Church; Edson was on a short leave from the Navy. It was so cold Norma remembers her dad, Cyrus Norton, going up to West Tisbury to borrow heaters for the reception. Well, the Rodgers celebrated in style this year at the Baylies Room of the Old Whaling church. Pastor Richard Rego performed the service to renew their vows. Friends, family, kids and grandkids were on hand to cheer them on. The George Zecher band of Newport played their hearts out. Edson played for years with this band when he and Norma lived in Rhode Island. The party room was beautifully decorated with gold and crystal. Here’s to people who fall in love and stay there! Congratulations, Edson and Norma.

If you have cabin fever join me at our library this Sunday at 2 p.m. There are free movies this month, the theme being journalists. A Tony Curtis classic highlighting the desperate press agent Sidney Falco working in Times Square, will be shown. Burt Lancaster also stars. I remember this movie well but it is always worth another look.

As usual, Tuesdays are story time at the library; infants to two-year-olds at 10 a.m. and the three-to-five set takes over the program room at 11 a.m. The three-to-fives get a treat this upcoming Tuesday with songs and stories from Merrily Fenner.

The library continues to fill in the winter void with Valentine’s and Chinese New Year crafts for ages five and up at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10. Grownups may mark that date for a great discussion group, beginning that evening at 7 p.m. in the program room. This series was put together by the Foreign Policy Association. The first discussion will be on rebuilding Haiti. Sign up online at vhlibrary.org or call 508-696-4211, extension 16 with any questions. The course is free but there is a workbook for the series available for $10 at the front desk.

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum will hold a forum at our library on Tuesday, Feb. 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This is part of their Your Town, Our Island series. The museum is seeking input from all of us. You are welcome and refreshments will be served.

You, too, can vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. The Mansion House is offering its Valentine’s special: book one night and you and your honey get the next night free. Call 508-693-2200 or 800-332-4112 to book your Island escape. Use of the pool and fitness center are included. Zephrus restaurant and the Mansion House Spa will also be serving up Valentine’s specials. I’ll see you there.

The Massachusetts chapter of the League of Women Voters is holding two important forums off-Island this winter. Women’s Health in the 21st Century: What We Need to Know is the subject of the first forum, on March 5 at McPherson Hall in the Medical Arts Building of the Metro/West Med Center in Framingham. The second forum is on March 12 in Hadley. The League has wisely slated snow dates for both. For more information, a list of speakers, directions and the snow dates, call 617-523-2999 or visit online wvma.org.

Aiming for the 50 years Edson and Norma just celebrated are Javier and Julie Gomez Blanco, who celebrated their ninth anniversary on Feb. 2. They were married on 2/2/02, easy to remember and I’m sure they played that number down in New Jersey on Wednesday. Congratulations, Javier and Julie, I’ll see you and those cute kids in the ’hood this summer.

The birthday bandwagon pulls along Roni DeLuz and Josh Flanders Jr. today. Tomorrow is a party for Kelsey Smith, Raleigh Hadley Russell and Rex Henry Grant. Feb. 6 honors Marcia Rossi, Neko Masi, Chris Silvia and Taylor Poggi. Feb. 7 is claimed by Deb Little. Feb. 8 is shared by Dianne McDonough and Jeffrey Masi Sr. Feb. 9 belongs to Jamie Orlowski and Justin Smith. And on Feb. 10 James Johnson, Ian Ridgeway and Jainaba Burton-Sundman take the cake. Many happy returns.