JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Father’s Day was wonderful, just perfect for outdoor barbecues, beaches and all kinds of surprises. My daughter, Nicole, and son in law, Arsen, took me out for a wonderful lunch and sure surprised us with an announcement!
School closed Tuesday for the summer and about two hours after the closing, crews moved in and took possession of the building and will spend the summer doing a considerable amount of repair work to the building.
It is getting busier each day as people continue to arrive for their vacation, and the first day of summer on Tuesday sure did feel like it. Can you believe it? Starting on Thursday the crunch should be upon us; some folks will get a head start on the holiday weekend, as Independence Day is just a week from Monday. The up-Island bus traffic has increased in substantial numbers in just a week. Next weekend reportedly is the start of the busiest time of the summer season. The VTA summer bus schedule begins tomorrow morning.
Marian Irving, of Old County Road, reports that the 23rd annual Strawberry Festival at the First Congregational Church will be held tomorrow from noon to 4 p.m. Come and enjoy native berries on shortcake with whipped cream, or berries with ice cream. Tables will be set up on the lawn. Proceeds from this popular event provide funding for the continuing maintenance of the historic building and grounds.
The park and recreation committee reports that beach stickers have been available since Saturday. It’s open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and weekends from 4 to 7 p.m., at the shed near the West Tisbury School tennis courts on Old County Road. Stickers will be required from tomorrow, when the beach opens with life guards. For further information, call 508-696-0147.
Lee Revere reports that the 53rd annual book sale will be held this year at the regional high school.
Dr. Sara Rosenthal and Dr. Julie Prazich, and their cat, Margaret Rose, of San Diego, Calif., arrived Memorial Day weekend to spend time at their house in the Cove.
Joan Jenkinson flies out to California early next week to accompany Jane Newhall and Anita Guerra, of San Francisco, Calif., back to the Island. They will be arriving before the Fourth to spend the summer. Jane and Anita look forward to visiting with their many friends during their visit. Jane has missed only one Vineyard summer since the 1930s.
Sig Van Raan and Susan Dickler held their yard sale last Saturday, billed as the mother of all yard sales. Sig reports that they were inundated by “early birds” and were nearly wiped out of stuff to sell by the time of the advertised opening. He was unaware that early birds would purchased most of what they were selling and next time will take steps to prevent that.
Dr. Carey Rosenthal, of Upper Darby, Pa., along with his wife, Abby, and daughters, Brin and Blake, arrived last weekend to spend some time at his State Road home. His kids cooked him a Father’s Day breakfast and served it to him on the patio.
Kathleen and Volker Kaempfert, of North Tisbury, report that the Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast is open for another season. This will be their 29th year running their place as a B& B, and they’re looking forward to a busy season.
Brianna Bingham, over at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, reports that tomorrow a William Street House Tour down in Vineyard Haven will take place. First is a lecture by Vineyard historian James H. K. Norton, discussing the historic qualities of the houses and sharing stories from their past; his talk begins at 11 a.m. in the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street. Houses are open 1 to 4 p.m. with a reception at the last house. Call 508-627-4441, extension 110 for details and tickets.
Colleen Morris, over at the library, reports that the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease and Support Group led by Dr. Enid Haller will be meeting in the Howes House at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. For more information call the library at 508-693-3366. The July artist is Heather A. R. Capece. She will display her paintings and photographs all next month; the opening reception will be on Thursday, July 7, at 4 p.m. Starting on Monday at 7 p.m, the library will feature kids’ movies every Monday night all this summer (until August 29) with free popcorn! The first film of the summer is Lady and the Tramp, and the summer reading series begins on Saturday. Finally, tomorrow there will be spiral whirl crafts, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Over 100 antique automobiles, ranging from a Model T Ford to a 1976 Plymouth, arrived last Wednesday for their annual visit and exhibition. Several of them stopped at the Field Gallery last Saturday and immediately drew a large crowd of people curious to see the cars close up and ask questions of their owners, members of the Boston Area Roadsters.
Buddy Oliver, commander of the American Legion Post # 257 down in Vineyard Haven, reports that they are selling lobster rolls with a bag of chips and a cold drink for $13 every Tuesday from 4:30 until 7 p.m. at their hall on Martin Road.
Ron Gamba reports that antique sales begin today at the Grange Hall, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will occur every Friday this summer. Do stop by.
Mary Jo Bruder reports that the Vineyard Playhouse opens its next production tomorrow night, the play called Comming2Terms. On Sunday there will be a celebration of the life of Jon Lipsky, who passed away in March. The event will include some media pieces and comic anecdotes about Jon. The event begins at 4 p.m. with a reception in the theatre lobby.
Naomi and Ava Plakins, of Doylestown, Pa., arrive today to spend a week at their Middle Road estate.
“On June 28, 1950 a dozen members of the West Tisbury Grange #251 had nearly finished what seemed like an impossible task of clearing the Mill Pond of the dreaded parrot weed that was so thick it virtually choked the pond. Grangers volunteered their time for more than three months to pull out the weed from the man-made pond that was built to supply water power to the old mill building across the street. Joe White of Oak Bluffs and his crane helped out by building up the banks with silt material from the bottom of the pond. When the project was finished the Grange purchased the first pair of swans to inhabit the pond; the reason for doing so is that they are very partial to parrot weed and would help to keep it under control.”
Happy birthday to: Peter O. Bettencourt, Russ Cote, Brian Kennedy, Marti Marnier and Kayla Mastromonaco today; David Franklin, James Huckins, Debra Phillips, Eric Johnson, Kristen Knight and Bess Child tomorrow; Lynn Bouck, Alicia Tonti, Sarah Murphy, Dennis Kaeka, Peter D’Angelo, Kathy Retmier and Martijn Stuurman on Sunday; David Steere, Woody Bowman, Jonathan Belain, Samantha Schwager, Josie Black and Heidi Spruce on Monday; Alvida Jones, Samantha Look, Michelin Ciccone, Colleen O’Donnell and Sam Decker on Tuesday; Harriet Bernstein, Jack Gray, Ruby Hoy, Antone Silva and Myles Thurlow on Wednesday; Clifton Athearn, Jean Levesque, Rebecca Conroy, Margaret Gallagher, Ken Mastromonaco and Scott Yapp on Thursday.
Happy anniversary to Chris Hind and Shannon Brown on Thursday. Belated anniversary wishes to David Lewis and his wife, Danica Kombol, and Tony Silva and Dianne McDonough.
Well, that is all of the social news for this column. If you have news, please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.
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