JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, March went out like a lion. The record book has closed on a colder than usual month. Although it is officially spring you would not know it. The biting wind doesn’t want you to stay outside very long and makes it colder than what it is. Today is April Fools’ day so watch out for the usual pranks.

Susan Block, of Music street, was stacking a few books on a shelf that had belonged to her father in law recently and a yellowed note fell out of one volume. To her surprise it was a landscape plan drawn up by Frank Adams for his property. The Blocks live in his old house and Susan is eager to implement many of his plans. She had been trying to figure out a landscape plan consistent with the property and this, she said, will come in mighty handy. Frank also was credited with building perhaps the first electric lawn mower in town from a discarded washing machine motor.

Tara Whiting, town clerk, wants to remind you that if you will not be available to vote in person at the annual election on April 14 you can vote via an absentee ballot at the town hall until noontime on Wednesday. She also reports that the annual town reports should be available soon at the town hall.

The town meeting warrant contains 45 articles this year and will begin at 7 p.m. next Tuesday night in the school gym. Items expected to generate considerable controversy are the annual budget of the Up-Island Regional School District, library expansion and acceptance of a state grant, a number of community preservation articles including the purchase of the Field Gallery, and to allow for the sale of beer and wine to be consumed on the premises in town.

Muriel Bye, election warden, reports that all will be ready in the Public Safety Building (opposite Conroy’s Apothecary); the election will be held from noon till 8 p.m. She expects a moderate turnout this year with two contests on the ballot. Three candidates seek election to the library trustees and you can vote for two of them and the same formula holds true for the finance committee.

Last Saturday afternoon Adam Lynch married Heather Rose over at the Lambert’s Cove Inn. About 60 guests attended from the Lakeville, Plymouth and Rhode Island area.

Leslei Monast, of Waldron’s Bottom Road, will be hosting a small gathering of friends next Saturday to help celebrate her husband’s 64th birthday. Congratulations, Will, you can now apply for Social Security benefits, an AARP credit card and a senior discount card from the Council on Aging!

Debby Rosenthal is the artist of the month at the library and the themes of her paintings are art and nature. She completed her art studies at the Springfield Museum School of Art and Featherstone Center for the Arts. Her exhibits have been seen Islandwide including at the Dragonfly Gallery, All Island Art Show, Martha’s Vineyard Planned Parenthood Art Show and Featherstone Center for the Arts. She will present her Vineyard landscapes and flowers at an opening reception on Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. These works will be up for the month of April. Come and meet the artist Sunday at 3 p.m.

Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the library there will be another in a series of forums regarding plans for library expansion seeking your input.

Paul Karasik, reports that spring is here and so is the Persephone event tomorrow. This all-day event includes a puppet-making workshop in the afternoon and use of those puppets in a parade down Circuit avenue, performance of the Persephone myth by Spindrift Marionettes with their life-sized, giant marionette and shadow puppets, a poetry reading with local poets reading work inspired by the myth, Rick Bausman’s African drumming, Motown dance party by Penny Huff and band and more. All this to raise money for the African Artists’ Community Development Project which supports educational scholarships, income generation programs and the Mama Bakhita Center for Disabled Children in Livingstone, Zambia. For further information call Marsha Winsryg at 508-693-4059

Next Friday at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, in Oak Bluffs, across the street from the high school, there will be an electronics disposal day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A great opportunity to get rid of old, broken electronics in an environmentally friendly way.

June Manning reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living will sponsor its fourth cultural luncheon on Saturday, April 9 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Grill on Main. Guest speakers will be Ruth Cronig Stiller and her daughter, Gayle, presenting the influence and contributions of the Jewish community on Martha’s Vineyard. For reservations, please call director Leslie Clapp at 508-939-9440.

Liz over at Vineyard Gardens Nursery on State Road reports that every Saturday at 11 a.m. through July 30 there will be a free lecture. They usually end between 12 and 12:30 p.m. Tomorrow the first lecture of the series is starting your own vegetables, herbs and flowers from seed. Learn what you need to do and succeed. A small fee will be charged if you want to plant your own and take them home. All seeds are 20 per cent off.

Karen Flynn reports that the Celebrity Waiters dinner to benefit Peace-Quilts work in Haiti will be held in the Parish House of the Edgartown Federated Church tomorrow night from 5 to 8 p.m. Joe Capobianco is serving homemade spaghetti and meatballs, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and homemade cake. The dinner is just $7 for adults, $5 for children, and $25 per family.

Tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the school gym the students will give a performance of Pirates of Penzance Jr.

From May 3, 1948, “Manuel Sylvia started work on restoring the Mill Pond. He had devised his own adaptation of a drag line to remove the weeds and marine growth that have entirely covered the surface of the pond. The dredging operation began about two weeks ago, and he has only been able to get in two days of work because of the heavy rain. In this short time the new scraper made a clean sweep several yards wide that has made a noticeable difference already. It appears that it will be a comparatively short job to restore the pond to its original depth and beauty and at a moderate cost. Manuel estimates he has removed a depth of 18 inches of mud from the bottom of the pond so far. Despite the fact that the sluice gates are open on the south shore bordering the road, the heavy rain has raised the surface of the pond. It has been helpful in carrying off bits of weeds and small pieces of debris that his bucket has dislodged. When it is again dammed the waters are expected to rise another six inches making the pond twenty-four inches deep.”

A bit of trivia you can use at the next party. On this day in 1839, the initials “O.K.” were first published in The Boston Morning Post. It was meant as an abbreviation for “oll correct,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans. During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. The “in crowd” of that era had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included “KY” for “No use” (know yuse), “KG” for “No go” (Know go), and “OW” for all right (oll wright). This item is from History.com

Happy birthday to: Joe Cataloni, Mickey Stone and Bob Woodruff today; Joan Houston, Rebecca Cohen, John Ripley Stanwood, Ben Williams, and Randi Sylvia tomorrow; Emily Gadd, Doris Day, Charles Terry, Wyatt Jenkinson and Stacy Gouldrup on Sunday; Deborah Mayhew, Marlene Distefano and Andrew Warlock on Monday; Richard Glassberg, Janice Sparks, Phil Spaulding, Chuck Hodgkinson and Kelley McCarthy on Monday; Micheline Sonia, Lynne Dwane, Ken Vanderlaske, and Lauri McAuliffe on Tuesday; Suzanne St. Andre, Pat Gregory, Josh Summers and Jennifer Stone on Wednesday; and Don Ogilvie, Craig Saunders, Joshua Alwardt and Adam Sullivan on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Kaitlyn Hart.

Well, that is of the social news for this edition. If you have any news you would like to share please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.