JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

slaterjn@comcast.net

Chilmark isn’t sporting any colorful fall leaves as yet, and, after the rains of Wednesday, there may not be many leaves left. It rained hard for several hours.

We miss the fishermen who were all over our beaches in the hopes of catching the big ones. Somebody must have, as the Derby is over for another year. Congratulations to all the winners.

One sure sign of fall is the beginning of the scallop season. The selectmen have named Nov. 1 as the starting date and the shellfish warden has closed Quitsa Pond to scalloping until Dec. 1 because there are still a lot of seed size scallops there and he hopes to protect them. Nothing tastes as good as those first Menemsha scallops.

Several birthdays are happening this week and we all want to send cheers to Elmore (Bud) Mayhew, who has a big number to deal with; to Everett Poole, who can handle any number, and we send happy wishes to the Christy twins, Eloise and Adrienne, who turn seven this week. Cheers from us all to you all!

More good news came to us this week from Paula H. Noe of South Road and Brookline. She is happy to announce the engagement of her son, David Isaac Noe to Meredith Lauren Klein. She is the daughter of W. Lee and Hazel Klein of Fountain Hills, Ariz. David is a graduate of Williams College and Columbia University and Meredith is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. The couple lives in Brookline. They are enjoying planning a September 2012, wedding in Chilmark. Cheers from us all!

The Friends of the Chilmark Library, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, the Farm Institute and the Polly Hill Arboretum will present Adam Nicolson who will speak about Sissinghurst-An Unfishished History on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the West Tisbury Agricultural Hall. Admission is $5 or a dessert for six people. Sissinghurst Gardens are a popular tourist attraction in Kent, England. Mr. Nicolson, a descendant of the founders of the Gardens, is now returning the property to an actual farm. The BBC has made his story into a documentary and that documentary has been shown at the Chilmark Library for the past four weeks.

There will be a public meeting with the selectmen on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the town hall. The purpose is to meet with the architects of the proposed U.S. Coast Guard boathouse for Menemsha. All are welcome to come and voice their ideas and concerns.

Zee Gamson reminds us that the Chilmark Democrats will meet on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m. at town hall. Please note change in time. All things political will be discussed and all Democrats are invited.

There will be a celebration of the life of Albert O. (Ozzie) Fischer from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury. Friends are encouraged to share stories and to bring food to share in a potluck meal. Ozzie left us on July 26 at 96. We miss him in Chilmark.

The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School is holding the annual Scarecrow Festival this year with the scarecrows going up around the Island this coming weekend. Those who wish to build scarecrows and compete for first prize still have time to do so. Please call Paul Karasik at 508-645-4059.

The Island Food Pantry opened Oct. 17 for the winter at the Stone Church. The hours are 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We send condolences to the family and many friends of Eric Wodlinger who died this week. He had been counsel to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for many years and had many friends on the Island who will miss him.