JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

It sure has been like a ghost town all week; this is school winter vacation and many people have left Dodge for a warmer climate while others have gone up north to ski.

Even the usually busy Reliable Market down in Oak Bluffs has suffered a slowdown.

Daylight is getting longer each day. Thoughts of spring, just a few weeks away, are giving us hope for even milder temperatures.

Eleanor Stanwood reports that their flock had twin lambs on Tuesday — the first of the spring season for them.

Susan Block reports that Frank Adams’s flower garden on Music street is close to blooming. Anna Alley has spotted many robins flying around the backyard. Daylight saving time begins a week from Sunday.

Last weekend Anna and I drove up to East Taunton to visit grandson, Robbie, and his parents, Nicole and Arsen. Monday night Robbie and his parents came down to the Vineyard to be with Nicole’s brother, Sam, on his birthday. It was also Robbie’s first Vineyard visit, so he visited some of mom’s friends and relatives. Arsen had several septic inspection jobs to attend to on Tuesday.

Old friend Kathleen Brady died Saturday night. She was the heart of the council on aging and kept everything in order. She enjoyed her annual stint as assistant hall manager at the fair. She will be missed by many. Our condolences to her family.

David Stanwood of Lambert’s Cove reports that his son, John, returned home on Monday from a California tour with his band, Dukes County Love Affair, with Mike Parker, Jamie Green and Phil DaRosa.

It’s now certain: This year’s ballot will not have any contested elections. Two new faces, Matthew Merry and Beatrice Phear, will appear as candidates for two open slots on the planning board. There is still one open position on the parks and recreation committee; it will be filled by write-ins at the election.

Featherstone Center for the Arts will offer a watercolor and acrylic painting course with John Holladay tomorrow at 9 a.m. and the first session of a darkroom course with Sam Hiser on Tuesday.

Danielle Bailey, vice president of Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network, reports that the group will hold a social meeting on Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cellar Bar, downstairs at Atria in Edgartown.

The artwork of Willie Huntington will be on display at the library this month. Willie was a legendary Island artist who started his career in the 1920s. His work spanned six decades and included drawings, lithographs, illustration, dry points, etchings, oils and watercolors. The work that will be shown at the library is a sample of his drawings and prints, including his final dry point, Chickadees and Holly. Most of the pieces are on loan from private collections; the remaining pieces are on loan from his family.

The uneasiness felt by some citizens in town about the ownership of the town clock located in the Congregational Church tower surfaced at the 1926 annual town meeting. William J. Rotch, chairman of the selectmen, was asked to conduct an investigation into the ownership of the town clock and on March 7, 1926, issued this report: “Hannah Look who died in 1877 left in her will the sum of $200 to the Congregational Society to purchase and erect a public clock said clock to have a face on four sides. The money, proving to be insufficient at that time, was placed in an interest bearing account and in 10 years enough money was earned to purchase a clock and install it in the tower. The cost of winding, oiling weekly has been about $20 a year. Half was paid by the church, the other half by public subscription. For nearly 30 years the town has paid $10.”

Happy birthday to: Josh Emin, Charles Sebastian and Greg Drake today; Tom Church, Francine Fischer and Roger Sylva tomorrow; Vicki Broscheit, Lonni Phillips and Valentine Estabrook on Sunday; Ira Lowe, Kenneth Vincent, Mark Shelton and Sofi Thanhauser on Monday; Doug Seward, June Miller, Victoria Segel, Carol Eno, Hans Adcock and Patricia Kirwin on Tuesday; Jeanne Barron, Mike Eldridge, Polly Bassett, Susannah Maher and Olga Minner on Wednesday; and James Alley, Wayne Arruda and Elizabeth Mahoney on Thursday.

Well, that is all of the social news for this week. I don’t want to miss the news about your vacation, so please call or e-mail me with details. Have a great week.