JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, the northeaster on Oct. 29 will go into the record books. We did not experience any snowfall, like a good deal of the commonwealth did, but we were subjected to heavy wind and rain with a few rumbles of thunder thrown in. Gusts exceeded 70 miles per hour and Steamship Authority boats were cancelled late Saturday and early Sunday morning. We lost electric power for only seconds (compared to several hours during Irene), which was extremely fortunate. However, Comcast went down Sunday afternoon and lasted for several hours, preventing us from watching football games and using Internet and phone services. Some tree limbs were downed and there was a huge amount of leaves. The temperature dropped nearly 10 degrees from the outset of the storm and Jack Frost paid us a visit Sunday night, which underscored the vast change in the weather pattern. He vowed to return again soon, perhaps this weekend.

We will return to Standard Time on Sunday morning, making the daylight hours mighty short, with darkness falling shortly after 4:30 p.m. Be sure to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tomorrow night so you will get to church on time in the morning.

Halloween tricks these days are on the decline. Just one trick-or-treater stopped at our house. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, pushing Lena McNeil’s black Essex into the nearby swamp, uprooting the junction sign at Brandy Brow corner and planting it in Joe Howes’s front lawn, and stringing his wife Bessie’s clotheslines end-on-end and hooking them on the barn were all “routine” tricks. Helen Cooper, who lived on Old County Road, played her own trick on the kids that came to her house expecting candy. She had a sign on her front door that asked the kids to knock and ring loudly. They did, but she never opened her door! On the other hand, her neighbors, Donald and Elizabeth Campbell, always gave cider and popcorn.

Jill Carlton and her husband, Pete Karman, of New Haven, Conn., were at her summer home on State Road to close it up for the season over the weekend. Pete stacked the outside furniture in the garage and lowered the windows while Jill put the garden to bed and finished her work in the house with the assistance of Emily Hall. They enjoyed their extended summer season and look forward to returning next year. They were our dinner guests Saturday night and talked about their recent trip to Germany, Romania and Czechoslovakia.

Jean Fischer O’Reilly, of Dublin, Ohio, and two of her children attended the memorial service for her uncle Ozzie Fischer, which was held last Saturday at the Agricultural Hall. They stayed with her sister, Eleanor, down on the farm.

Katherine Long, of Panhandle Road, returned home recently from a trip to the Dutchess County Fair. She had a good trip, and kept her close friends posted on her activities on Facebook.

The all-Island seasonal flu-shot clinic will be held next Friday at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional School from 8 a.m. to noon. It is recommended that you report to one of the two staging areas first: Waban Park in Oak Bluffs or the Agricultural Hall in this town to register prior to being directed to the high school for your shot. If you skip registering first you will be turned away. Walkers, bicyclists and those using the VTA bus must go directly to the Performing Arts Center at the high school to check in. This is the only town-sponsored clinic for adults and high school students this year. For more information contact the local board of health agent.

Marian Irving reports that plans are underway for the church’s annual Christmas Faire on Dec. 10. Do you have any Christmas ornaments that are just sitting in a box unused? Donate them to the Faire.

Tomorrow is fall clean-up day at the church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church budget relies heavily on the generosity of our volunteers. Any amount of time you can offer them will be appreciated. Please bring your work gloves, tools and rakes, as well as ammonia (if you have any) for cleaning the windows. If there is a chill in the air, as is forecast, you can count on a warm bowl of soup or hot cocoa.

The annual meeting and election of officers and trustees of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society will be held on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Agricultural Hall on Panhandle Road. The Barnraisers’ Ball will be held there tomorrow night from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Admission is free, but you are asked to bring a dessert to share with others.

Everyone is welcome to participate at the Friday night coffee house at the school tonight at 7 p.m. Bring your instruments, voices, parents, and friends. Eric Johnson and I will be hosting the event, and will be happy to provide musical accompaniment and advice. Contact him at 508-696-3007 with any questions.

The library will host its annual Community Poetry Reading on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m., featuring community members reading their own poems and/or the poems of others. As always, numbers will be drawn from a hat to determine the reading order. This year’s Community Poetry Reading doubles as the new poet-laureate nominations kick-off. Learn more about the nomination process at the reading. Nominations will be accepted from Jan. 3 till Feb. 1.

A reception for the library’s artist of the month, Susan Johnson, will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m, Every Monday this month at 7 p.m. the library is offering a special presentation for those who love the unique magic of movies before they learned to talk.

Bob and Marjory Potts, of Elias Lane, report that the Broadside is back on the newsstand. According to the first issue, OWS MV – West Tisbury will meet at 10 a.m. around the town hall. You are encouraged to bring or share a sign. This is a photo-op, as well as an opportunity to add the town’s support to the folks who are standing out in the cold telling the one per cent and the government that this country should be an equal-opportunity place. The more who show up, the more attention will be paid.

Back on Nov. 1, 1950, work began on a fire station on Edgartown Road. The site, a two-acre parcel, was donated by Susan Scott and located across the street from her home. This climaxed weeks of discussion by the selectmen to find a home for the town’s new fire truck.

Happy Birthday to: Sarah Monast, Marion Irving, Pat Waring, Will Rogers and Dawn Feinsmith today; Fred Estabrook and Vickie Thurber tomorrow; Marylee Schroeder, John Dolezar, Judy Jahries, Anthony Esposito and Cynthia Robinson on Sunday; Sharon Estrella, Gabriella Camilleri, Erin Leighton and Nicole Casey on Monday; Binny Ravitch, Ken Hurd, Michael West and Linda Talbot on Tuesday; Richard Cohen, Marian Mohr, Mary Jo Joiner, Andy Brunk, Harvey Leonard, Cynthia Eakin and Salvadore Della Torre on Wednesday and Tina Fisher, Barbara Hoffman and Wendy Hitchcock on Thursday. Happy fourth anniversary to Nicole Alley and Arsen Hambardzumian next Friday.