JUNE D. MANNING

508-645-2574

(lthslnks@gis.net)

The Martha’s Vineyard Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists will present a workshop titled Family Search on Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. at the Family History Center at Merchant Mart on State Road in Tisbury. Members and guests are welcome to attend and to learn more about Family Search.

The March meeting of the Vineyard chapter will meet on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Family History Center to assist those who have many unanswered questions and brick walls in their family history and genealogy quest. The workshop is open to members and guests. Please bring your ancestry chart with you, or for those procrastinators perhaps it is time to start your family search. Assistance is always available. The Vineyard chapter is open to beginners, intermediate and professional genealogists and anyone interested in learning how to trace their family lineage. Annual membership dues are $25; there is also a special family rate.

Aquinnah Public Library assistant Emma Young will host a bookbinding workshop on Tuesday, March 8 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. She will introduce bookbinding techniques for beginners and those advanced in binding skills who need a little assistance. Supplies are available at the library for a small expense.

The library has not only been notified of the award from the Libri Foundation of a grant in the amount of $350 for books for cultural significance for children, but an additional $350 will go toward the purchase of math and science books. The bottle drive is assisting with matching funds for these grants. Please remember to drop off your clean bottles and cans at the landfill on Thursdays and Sundays. If you would prefer, a small check may be sent to the Aquinnah Public Library, 65 State Road, Aquinnah, MA 02535, with a note regarding the Libri grant match.

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) will once again host the ECHO (Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations) program with a performance titled Celebrate Song, Dance and Story at the Tribal building on Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend. There will be a potluck dinner following the performance, so please bring a dish to share. The program is sponsored by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe.

The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living will present the third in a series of cultural luncheons on Saturday, March 12 at The Grille on Main in Edgartown from noon to 2 p.m. Kerry Alley will be the featured speaker on the influence and cultural contributions of our Portuguese community on Martha’s Vineyard. Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased at the Center or by calling director Leslie Clapp at 508-939-9440.

Aquinnah residents will enjoy a potluck brunch at the Aquinnah town hall on Sunday, March 13 from 9 to noon. Please bring your favorite brunch dish to share and tales of your exciting winter. This is just an informal gathering after a really long winter and to look forward to the signs of spring already occurring around town.

Fitness classes are available at the Howes House on Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9 to 10 a.m. with Katryn Yerdon. Thank you, Katryn!

The 2011 Native American coin has been rescheduled for March 25 at 10:30 a.m. at Plimoth Plantation, the site of the forging of a pact 390 years ago between the Wampanoag Tribe and those who arrived from England. This is the fourth rescheduling of this important event mostly due to the weather over the winter. Each child in attendance will receive one of the dollar coins. Rolls of coins may be purchased by adults from a choice of two mints.

Roxanne Ackerman returned home over the weekend after spending time in San Jose, Calif., with her sisters.

Condolences to the family and friends of Dorothy Barker, who died recently at Windemere at the age of 100. Mrs. Barker was a familiar part of the community as an art teacher in the one-room school and a longtime resident. She is survived by her daughters, Judith Lutender and her husband Barry, and by Karen Duffy and her husband Richard, and by her grandchildren, who are all summer residents of Aquinnah. Mrs. Barker is also survived by her brother Brandon Wight of Florida.

Congratulations to Dr. Curtis Langer, who had his research paper, The Effects of SOT Category Procedures on High Performance Athletes, presented at the seventh annual Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain in Los Angeles.

Kathy Smith has arrived home following a two-year stint as a school teacher in Syria. She and her husband, Jim Wallen, met in Istanbul over the holidays as the halfway mark in her school year. It was then that she decided to return home to Aquinnah with her job completed and well done.

Jesse Wiener, son of Carolyn Feltz and Jerry Wiener, has the distinct title of music copyist among other assignments in his work with Whoopi Goldberg and her production of White Noise. Whoopi has produced this new rock musical that follows two sisters who are discovered by a powerful record producer. The show will run from April 1 through June 5 at the Royal George Theatre at 1641 North Halstead street in Manhattan.

Happy Birthday wishes this week to Ruth Rocha, Charles Vanderhoop, and Helene Hall as they celebrate on March 5. A very special birthday wish to David and Douglas Seward as they share March 6 as they always have as identical twins. Michael Johnson will party on March 9. Linda McCarthy parties on March 11 and shares the day with Tiffany Smalley.