JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Well, if you have had the misfortune to go to town in the past week you noted that the traffic was brutal everywhere. It seems to me that despite the economic woes in the country we are busier than ever. People and cars are everywhere. Road rage has even spread to the gas station where there was a reported altercation.
The weekend weather was superb, hot and dry. Mary Blake’s pie stand has been very busy, and Mary is struggling to keep up with the demand. She has kept her husband, Gary Ellis, busy selling pies in the gazebo. Frank Adams would have described the weather we have been having as “hotter than a burned boot,” as that was the description he wrote in his diary about the heat of summer in the early 1940s. Last week the sun began setting at least two minutes earlier each day as we slowly head toward fall. However, it is summer and we are not taking notice of such trivial things. Outdoor activities are at fever pitch and sales of bagged ice and charcoal have skyrocked but unfortunately the month is half over. It seems as if the day before yesterday we were preparing for the Fourth of July.
Don and Marcia Klepper-Smith of Durham, Conn., are concluding their annual two week vacation at their Old County Road home. Don is operating his business part-time out of their home this summer. He is the chief economist and director of research of Data Core Partners, LLC. His wife, Marcia, is the chaplain at Manchester hospital and celebrated a significant birthday before leaving town. Both will be stepping down shortly and are eyeing the Island as a year-round home.
Denise Mount, and her husband, Don Evon, of Canton, Conn., and Tom Majeski, of Boston, were guests this week of Anna Alley. They enjoyed the beach, kayaking, shopping and dining out. Denise and Anna celebrated their birthdays on Tuesday and we all went out to dinner at the Outermost Inn on Wednesday. Denise, a superb cook, made clams linguini to die for one night last week. She used the clams that Don Klepper-Smith dug and gave to me.
Connie Koch, of Washington D.C. and Edgartown Road, arrived last Wednesday to spend the summer at her home. She is busy preparing for the arrival of her children, who will be making their summer visits later this month.
Joan Jenkinson, of North Road returned home last Wednesday after a weeklong trip to San Francisco, Calif. She accompanied Jane Newhall and her friend, Anita Guerra, back here for the summer. Jane unfortunately fell shortly after her arrival and was taken to a hospital in Boston where she is recuperating.
Barbara Day, of Willow Tree Hollow, reports that as David McCullough is reading from his new book, The Great Journey, at the Agricultural Hall on Wednesday, it’s interesting to note that Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American woman doctor, whom he writes about, has long ties to the Vineyard. The Blackwell family first came to the Vineyard in 1864. Several of her brother’s and sister’s families still live here or come seasonally. Her niece, Florence Blackwell, married Edward Elliot Mayhew, then-owner of the Chilmark Store. Some of her relatives’ names are Daresay, Shipway, Mercer, Herman, Cullen, Belden, Mayhew, Ritchie, Steer, D’Ascensio, Rose, Desch, Jones, Lee, Meegan, Huntington, Robinson, Day, Carlson and Churchill.
Bridie Cooke, of New York city, was the guest of Phyllis Meras at her Music street home last weekend. They got to swim, dine out and enjoy themselves on her deck. She baked Anna a cake for her birthday and it was sitting on the table when she arrived home from the beach.
The McCullough household on Music street is alive with activity. Rosalee and David arrived last weekend. He is here to speak on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Agricultural Hall about his newest book, The Greater Journey; proceeds will benefit the expansion program being planned by the library foundation. For more information, call 508-693-3366.
Mary Beth Keenan reports that her son, Rafe Mazer, and Danielle Donghman, of Washington, D.C., are here visiting. Her daughter, Laurie Mazer, and her husband, Brian McManus, and baby, Diarmuid, are also here from Philadelphia, Pa.
Colleen Morris, over at the library, reports that tomorrow at 4 p.m., Patricia Stano-Carpenter, president of the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, and other local chapter members will be on hand to assist and answer questions about getting started in researching family history and through local and online sources. On Monday at 7 p.m. Nancy Deville will read from and discuss her new books, Death by Supermarket: The Fattening, Dumbing Down and Poisoning of America, and Healthy Sexy Happy: A Thrilling Journey to the Ultimate You, The Complete Guide for Men and Women. On Tuesday at 6 p.m. the library will feature visiting poets Leah Nielsen and Wendy Wisner. The reading is free and open to the public. An informal question-and-answer period will follow.
On Thursday at 5 p.m. longtime summer resident Linda Levy will read from her latest book, a suspense novel called A Kingdom of Madness, at the library. Levy’s new novel has been described by best-selling crime novelist Linda Fairstein, also a Chilmark summer resident, as “a dark and haunting family drama, a complex tapestry that is absorbing and intriguing from its opening pages to its uplifting denouement.”
For me personally, it is with shock and dismay that I report that Colleen has concluded her employment at the library after Sunday’s performance of the second annual World of Troubadours and Trobairitz at the Howes House. With no disrespect to the other members of the staff, I considered her the heart and soul of the institution. She has worked there for several years and in my opinion possesses a lot of creativity, enthusiasm and energy. I wish her well in whatever she chooses to do. Colleen, you are the greatest!
A memorial service for Dorothy Barker, who died in February at the age of 100, will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Congregational Church. Dorothy’s family looks forward to seeing her friends at the service followed by a reception at the parish hall.
The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Old Mill. The topic for this month’s program is Bonsai: Its History and Practice, presented by Don Sibley. For information, call Garden Club Hotline 508-693-5334.
Ken Goldberg, over at the Chamber of Commerce, reports that the Vineyard Cup 2011 gives you the rare opportunity to see over 100 sailboats of all descriptions glide across our local waters. Based out of Vineyard Haven harbor over three days — today, tomorrow and Sunday — you’ll be treated to great views of a series of races between Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown. Each night after the races, there will be parties with food, drink and entertainment under the tents on Beach Road extension, down by the Black Dog. All of the Vineyard Cup 2011 proceeds support Sail Martha’s Vineyard.
Lee Revere reports that the library book sale is just around the corner. The sale begins on Friday, July 29 at the regional school cafeteria and runs until Monday, August 2, so mark those dates on your calendar today. For more information about donations or the sale, contact the library at 508-693-3366.
Paul Karasik reports that Pete Seeger, Odetta, and Sweet Honey in the Rock have all sung with Melanie DeMore and next week, so can you! On Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Grange Hall and Friday, July 22, 6 p.m. at the Charter School there will be workshops with this dynamic singer. Participate in a workshop and you can be in the concert with Melanie on Saturday, July 23, at Union Chapel. You don’t have to read music; all you have to do is to love to sing! Proceeds go to Zambian orphans, women and disabled children. Call Marsha Winsryg for details: 508-693-4059.
Find the time tomorrow night to stop and have a bite to eat at the Portuguese Feast of the Holy Ghost. The food is always terrific. The annual event is held on the Portuguese-American Club grounds on Vineyard avenue in Oak Bluffs. On Sunday morning at 11 a.m. there is the annual parade from the Steamship Authority dock down Circuit, up Vineyard avenue to the club. The Feast will continue until 6 p.m.
There will be an African Craft Sale at the Grange Hall on Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m. Tuareg silver jewelry, Zambian basketry, Zanzibar textiles, Mukuni wood carving and more, raising money for girls, women and disabled children in Zambia. For info e-mail info@aacdpafrica.org, call Marsha at 508-693-4059.
From a July, 1969 Gazette: “Our town became the first on the Island to have radar and two police cruisers. Police chief George W. Manter reports that the radar unit has been in service for two weeks and the new cruiser is due to arrive any day now. The new car will not replace the 1965 model now in use but is considerably more up to date and will be the police car most frequently used. The new vehicle, like the present one, is a Ford station wagon designed not to tip at high speed and will be equipped with a two-way radio and stretcher. Its cost was $4,200. The portable radar unit, which was brought to the Island by the state police for a test but was not bought by them, automatically records the speed of an oncoming car. That car can be as much as a mile away from the parked cruiser. He said that radar is a good psychological tool that will make the motorist think twice before speeding through town. The cost of the radar unit was $895.”
Happy birthday to Harriet Hickie, Tom Reynolds, Don Lyons, Bob Lee and Jackie Clason today; Margaret Logue, Karen English, Rosie Shugrue, Kate Scannell, Maria Camargo and Mark Seward tomorrow; Cynthia Bloomquist, Eleanor Thayer, Linda Asbridge, Rebecca Hodgson and Mary Giordano on Sunday; Arnie Fischer, Sue Leland, David Fielder, Phoebe Hersh and Mark Yale on Monday; Benoit Baldwin, Susan Austin, Linda Jones on Tuesday; Kara Rosenthal, Laura Wainwright, Jean Caron and Pamela Danz on Wednesday; Laura Campbell, Karen Flynn, Michael Noel and Jean Caron on Thursday. Happy anniversary to Sig VanRaan and Susan Dickler on Sunday. Belated birthday greetings to Denise Mazzuchelli and Julie Moon.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.
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