JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Our weather has been delightful and summer-like. It is getting busier each day as more people continue to arrive for a vacation. For many, today is the start of long holiday weekend as Independence Day is on Wednesday this year and all government buildings and the post offices will be closed. The up-Island bus traffic has increased since last weekend.
On Sunday around noontime the ball field at the school looked like a soccer stadium with families picnicking on the field and two teams getting ready for a match. The tennis courts were busy all day and a few golfers were practicing their swing at the Agricultural Hall field. Lambert’s Cove Beach was a popular place.
The annual Independence Day parade in downtown Edgartown steps off promptly at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The Preservation Trust reports that there will be two free band concerts in the Old Whaling Church at 2 and 7 p.m.
Do yourself and your family a big favor and make getting to the parade a whole lot easier by taking the bus to Edgartown and avoid traffic gridlock. Main street will be closed to all automobile traffic at 3 p.m. Busses will be diverted to a convenient location near Memorial Park until 7 p.m., when they will return to their regular, scheduled stop on Church street. Call 508-693-9440 for more information.
On Sunday Marcia Klepper-Smith of Old County Road provided entertainment for about a dozen folks eating outside at Larsen’s Fish Market in Menemsha while she was fishing for stripers with her husband, Don. She landed a nice, 33-inch keeper on light tackle and almost got spooled! The net used to haul up the striper snapped in the process, but she won the applause of the crowd when the fish was duly landed and she was announced as winner of the tussle!
The Whiting Farm folks report that their hay season is off to a good start. The last stretch of sun preceded by heavy rains produced upwards of 1,500 bales of hay. Thanks to a loyal group of friends and family, those bales are now all in the barn. Bea Whiting was recently home to wish her dad, Allen, a happy Father’s Day and to attend services for her friend Gladys Widdiss. Bea is a nursing student at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health in Boston, where she is currently living.
Jill Carlton and her husband Pete Karman of New Haven, Conn. arrived last week to spend the summer at her State Road home.
Sig Van Raan reports that he enjoyed Father’s Day; in fact he rates it his best ever! He drove to Atlantic City with his adult kids, Sofie and Jackson and Sofie’s boyfriend, Zach. They attended the Phish Concert Festival at Bader Field. Sig says that for those of you not familiar with Phish, they are this generation’s Grateful Dead. What a great memory of sitting at sunset — looking out at the boardwalk, casinos and skyscrapers of Atlantic City as the stars came out and the moon rose to the ethereal guitar riffs of Phish’s Trey Anastasio, he reports.
When they returned on Sunday they had an extended Father’s Day barbecue with the Binney family of Skiffs lane. Attending his first Father’s Day celebration was young Spencer and new baby Levi along with Liz Kent. Kaila and Arianna Binney were also there, as were, of course, their parents, Marcy and Laury.
One sad event that weekend for them was the encounter with the turkey on I-95 between New Haven and Providence as they were returning from the concert. Driving along at the speed limit they saw a wild turkey cross the highway divide. Sig immediately thought of the joke—why did the chicken cross the road, except this was no joke as the turkey hit his car knocking off the side mirror as it flew away.
Over 1,000 people, the largest crowd they have ever had, attended the Strawberry Festival last Saturday afternoon. The weather was superb and so were the strawberries. The enormous supply of berries were sliced, sugared and served along with shortcake on tables set up on the lawn at the Congregational Church. Marian Irving reports that it was a very successful day. Over $4,000 was raised and all the money raised will go to help with church maintenance. The popular event had a staff of 40 volunteers. Marion is very grateful to the community for their support.
My condolences to the family of Pricilla Fischer; she was a good friend, neighbor for several years, teacher and principal of the school. I graduated from the local school a year before she came on board, so I missed her as a teacher in the challenging years when each row represented a grade. She was a fixture in town for many years.
Belated condolences to the friends of Ira Lowe, who spent a considerable amount of time here with us. He was a fixture in Washington for many years.
We were all shocked this week to learn of the death of Richard Lee. He was an artist, and ran a dessert gallery when he first came to town. Our condolences to his wife Claudia and son Hudson.
Ben and Paddy Moore of Alley Way returned recently from a two-week trip to Seattle, where they visited old Boston friend Anne Bernstein. Then on to Portland, Ore., to visit nephew Rob Worlock, his wife Marcia and their family. Then on to Point Reyes Station, Calif. to visit James and Pricilla Stephens, former summer residents of Chappy. Their final stop was Santa Barbara, Calif. to visit their son Jason Moore his partner Salome and their son Zahran. Ben reports that they enjoyed seeing friends, family, and the countryside but there is no place like home.
Jennifer Tsen over at the library reports that this afternoon at 4 p.m. the JC Trio will be playing jazz favorites in the library. Singer/guitarist Jessica Carroll will be playing for the kids on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. She will perform one hour of sing-along classics that celebrate a tradition of songs to know and love. Bring a shaker! Wear red, white and blue! On Thursday at 5 p.m. professor Ellen Weiss will talk about her new book, Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington. The artwork of Sue Mullin will be on display for the month of July.
Happy birthday to Harriet Bernstein, Mary Jacobson, Jack Gray and Myles Thurlow today; Clifton Athearn, Jean Levesque and Scott Yapp tomorrow; Shirley Cartier and Brian Jolley on Sunday; Cherrilla Brown, Ava Plakins, Diane Abbot, Marianne Tsikitas, Elliot Tholen, Marsha Winsryg and Debbie Farber on Monday; Allison McKinley and Tina Sisson on Tuesday; Jill Placzek, Pat Goodell and Dan Greenberg on Wednesday; Daniel Whiting, Robert Gray and Abigail Bailey on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Peter O. Bettencourt. Happy anniversary wishes to Chris Hind and Shannon Brown on Sunday.
Well, that is all of the social news for this edition. Please call or e-mail me with your news. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July and see you at the parade.
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