JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
The weather for July has been fantastic and the weekend weather was great except for the surprise thunder and lightning storm early Saturday afternoon. We had at least four days with a temperature over 90 degrees, high humidity for a good part of the month and a lot of sun. Last year was the third warmest July on record and this one is right up there. Rain was mostly in the evening or night — all in all it was Chamber of Commerce weather.
Richard Olsen in North Tisbury recently repositioned his herd of Halfstein cows to take advantage of the August sun. Traffic came to a standstill last Sunday night around 7 p.m. as three baby deer leisurely crossed the Edgartown Road and walked into Doane’s field near New Lane. It is time to say goodbye to all the July visitors; we trust that you had a good summer vacation. Come back and visit next year. A warm and hearty hello to all of our new visitors.
The 33rd annual Possible Dreams Auction will take place on Monday at 5 p.m. at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs. The auction always attracts celebrities who bid on dreams for this worthy fund-raiser for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.
The tax-free weekend will take place August 13 and 14. The tax holiday has been a boon to the state’s economy in past years and will afford you the opportunity to buy a wide range of products, including back-to-school supplies, without paying state sales tax.
Lee Revere, chairman of the West Tisbury Library book sale, reports that the hours for the 54th annual book sale are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, tomorrow and Sunday. The sale will be held in the regional school cafeteria on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road; they could not use the school this year as it is undergoing extensive repair work. This is a great book sale — the books are in many instances from private collections.
Eleanor Neubert of Flat Point Farm reports that her sister, Jean, and her husband, Tim O’Reilly, of Columbus, Ohio, and their son, Andrew, were here for a week visiting old friends and enjoying themselves.
Sal Laterra, of Providence, R.I., visited Phyllis Meras over the weekend. He mowed her lawn, attended to several errands and plans to be back for the fair. Sal had wanted to take Phyllis out sailing on Bluebeard but was kept so busy he had to postpone it until he returns.
Emily Cohan and Flip Hunsaker of Oak Lane were married at her mom’s place at Herring Creek Farm on Saturday. Fara Behnia and Bernard Godley were wed on Lambert’s Cove Beach later that afternoon.
Peter and Beatrice Nessen of Cambridge have been vacationing at their Old County Road home this past week. Their guests have been the Kohlasch family of Boston.
Eleanor also reports that this will be her 27th year as manager of the fair, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Premium books will be available on Monday and workers and volunteers can sign up at the hall between 9 a.m. and noon. On August 16 at 5 p.m. there will be a parade starting at the Grange Hall, the home of the fair for more than 135 years, that will travel down Music street to the fairgrounds on Panhandle Road. Eleanor reports that they have already organized floats, tractors, music and horses for the parade. If you have a suggestion please contact her at 508-693-9549.
The Vineyard Transit Authority again this year will be providing extended bus service to the fair. A complete bus schedule will be posted on the front porch of the hall, or call the VTA at 508-693-9440.
Carol Carrick and Jack Burton of Island Farms Road will be spending the month of August at her cabin in Vermont. Her son, Christopher, and his wife, Samantha, will be living at her home for the next six weeks.
Dick and Diana Reische of Runner Road welcomed Linda Beech and Tom Schueller of New York city to their home this week for some surfing and gallery hopping and, of course, the latest film festival offering in Oak Bluffs.
It is with great sorrow that I report the death of Jane Newhall. She was an icon around town and a lynchpin of the Agricultural Fair for more than 50 years. She will be missed by her friends.
Nelia Decker, children’s librarian, reports that Madeline, the Ludwig Bemelmans character, is coming to visit story time at the West Tisbury Library on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the regular story time. All are welcome!
Marsha Winsryg, reports that Adult and Community Education Program (ACE MV) in collaboration with Haiti Peace Quilts Project and African Artists’ Community Development Project (AACDP) will be honored to host an evening with Joseph Sebarenzi, author of God Sleeps in Rwanda, Saturday, August 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Howes House in West Tisbury. The event is free and open to the public.
Brie Bingham over at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum reports that tomorrow is the last day of West Tisbury week at the museum. Next week will be Tisbury week. Admission is free to residents of those towns during their exhibit.
Antonio Saccoccia of Waldron’s Bottom Road, owner and head chef of the Grill Restaurant in Edgartown, has been busy all summer offering quality meals. He has added some new items to his menu and it is well worth the experience to dine out at his place.
Ashley Medowski of Lambert’s Cove, is celebrating the 10th year of operating the Saltwater Gallery. She is a self-taught artist who started making sea glass jewelry and mosaic windows and now is into traditional painting. The gallery is open from Tuesday through Sunday.
Pam Butterick reports that, the fifth Annual Federated Church House Tour will be held on Tuesday. This year, four beautiful and historic homes are included in the tour, all within two blocks of the meetinghouse, and they have added the expertise of Edgartown historian Mary Jane Carpenter, who will speak about the houses and the 1828 Federated Meetinghouse before the tour starts. Also added this year, for those who would like to extend the day, is a boxed luncheon to be served on the lawn of the Mayhew Parsonage on beautiful Edgartown harbor. Tickets are available on the day of the tour starting at 11:45 a.m. in the courtyard.
Ann Howes of Tiasquam Road, one of the famous Glimmerglass girls, will host her opening at the Old Sculpin Gallery on Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. She will be exhibiting her original watercolor paintings through August 13. Ann also exhibits her paintings at the Grange Hall Artisans Fair on Sunday. She will be one of the artists in the All-Island Art Show on Monday at the Tabernacle.
Happy birthday to Bob Day, Julia Humphrey, Chief Dan Rossi, Martina McBride and Ralph Stewart today; Perry Garfinkel, Dianne Hartman, Pat Lynch, Mark Mazer and Jesse Oliver tomorrow; Dale Ferry, Karin Magid, Eben Elias and Trevor Grimes on Sunday; James Leroux, Liza Smith, Sarah Carr and Ben Cabot on Monday; Dick Goodell, Ron Carroll, Joel Weintraub, Laura Giglio and Shawn McCormick on Tuesday; Carole Hunter, Tessa Permar and Laura Silber on Wednesday; Ben Smith, Kristin Kinser, Donald Mitchell and Miklos Breuer on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Minor Knight, Bruce Stone, Hans Adcock and Margaret Rose Hoff. Belated anniversary wishes to Dee Schmal and Mike McFadden.
Well, that is all the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please e-mail or call me. Have a great week.
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