JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Well, the weather bureau reports that July was hottest month on record in the contiguous U.S. since record keeping began in 1895 and you won’t find any argument here. Last Friday a tornado watch was listed for this area. I don’t recall that ever happening before. We had some torrential downpours over the weekend, all much needed for the gardens.
With the fair in full swing, it is hard to believe our summer season is fast becoming history. It seems that everyone is entertaining house guests , plus going to the fair and, of course, the fireworks tonight. If this hasn’t been a super-busy summer, it certainly has been hectic. It seems the traffic has been a nightmare everywhere you go; in fact it has been flat-out awful.
By next Wednesday, alas, the fair will be but a memory as nearly all the trucks, tents and carnival equipment will leave, starting on Monday. This weekend and next week there will be a furious round of season-ending parties and summer guests. The tax-free weekend was a rousing success at most businesses.
College students, summer visitors and their children have begun filling the boats every day, but this time going in the opposite direction. Many public schools in western Massachusetts and other states will open before the end of the month. It will be evident next weekend that the seasonal exodus will be well underway. We are again reminded of the late Howard Andrew’s famous bumper sticker “Pray for September.” It is just two weeks until Labor Day, the unofficial end of the summer season.
Up until late Wednesday afternoon, the entry-processing department of the fair was operating at a fever pitch. The famous Glimmerglass Girls, Judy Bryant, Susie Boass and Ann Howes, were helping out as usual, as they have been involved with the fair for many decades. Eleanor Neubert is fair manager while Kathy Lobb has been the hall manager for a number of years, ably assisted by Eve Heyman, the entry clerk and barn manager. Marion Cushing, owner of LCM Amusements from Wilmington, is again providing the rides and midway games at the fair. Marion enjoys her time here and reports that “it is like coming to visit family” every year.
If you witnessed an unusual number of motorcycles of all shapes and sizes last weekend, your eyesight is just fine. Several hundred motorbikes and their riders and guests attended the 29th annual Run to the Rock celebration last Saturday. Motorcyclists came from near and far to attend the daylong affair. The Martha’s Vineyard Harley Riders Association and its president, Rene Mathieu, sponsored the event. This month is also the 109th birthday of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Suzanna Schaper of Parsonage Woods Road reports they celebrated a big birthday last Friday at her house as her daughter, Elsa, turned seven, with friends visiting from the U.K.! They had big plans for a clambake on the beach but Mother Nature had other plans and the party was relocated indoors. Elsa and her little sister Celia are enjoying their summer with gymnastics camp and tennis and lots of fun with visiting friends and family. They will be sad when Labor Day rolls around and they head back to Bermuda and back to school.
Bridgette Cornand held a memorial cocktail party last Saturday in memory of Ira Lowe. About 40 people attended the affair at his place on Flat Point Farm. Ira was a visitor here for over 40 years and made many friends. It was remarked that he would have thoroughly enjoyed the affair and all the friends that stopped by to honor his memory.
Bob Luskin and his wife, Charlotte Fallon, of Edgartown Road, were hosts to John Harrison and his daughters, Clara and Sophia, from Paris, France last week. The high point for the young ladies was surfing through the cut into Tisbury Great Pond from Quansoo. It was their first visit here and they really enjoyed it.
Jim Johnson reports that he and daughters Abby and Amalya and are back on the Island, their home away from home for the fifth consecutive year. They have rented Bildad’s Roost on Norton Farm Road and are in the middle of a two-week stay.
Old friend Julie Taymor and her sister, Lorie, of New York city are visiting their mom, Betty, for two weeks. Julie is the famous director from the Big Apple. They are enjoying the beaches and other activities. She reports that the Vineyard is her favorite place to visit and has been doing just that for 59 summers.
Daniel Whiting and his children, Emma and David, of Celebration, Fla. arrived on Wednesday for their annual visit to the fair. They will help operate the parking lot and enjoy the fair. They will be staying with his sister, Tara.
Denise Mount and her husband, Don Evon, of Canton, Conn. and their friends, Tom Majeski of Charlestown and Richard Galler of Boston, were our house guests last week. The weather wasn’t the greatest but they found time to enjoy the beach nearly every day. We used our new grill and back deck extensively. We did dine out on two occasions and as usual it was an eventful visit.
Kendall Gifford Miller, his wife Carla and their children Daniel and Carl, of Newark, Ohio vacationed at their home on Edgartown Road for the past two weeks. Kendall has a garden of daylilies and corn on his property and has been selling them from in front of the old Gifford’s store. They returned home on Sunday.
The Deep Bottom home of Malcolm and Judy Hall has been a busy place this summer. Last week Judy’s brother, Steve Coldasure, and his wife, Kat, from Lebanon, Ohio arrived for their first Vineyard visit. They brought along their grandchildren, Carter Stanton, from Centerville, Ohio, Allyson Lang, from De Witt and Ty Lange from Clarksville, Mich. Steve is the administrative officer of TSA at Dayton International Airport. Malcolm reports that they spent the week shellfishing, canoeing and sailing, shopping and sightseeing all around the Island. He speculates that they will return. The week before, two Hall grandchildren, Ethan and Jacob, of Oklahoma City, visited for a bit. After they left town the Halls were the dinner guest of Janice Cramer and her daughter, Jean Powers. Part of the dinner was wild hog meat from the Paris, Tex., ranch of Gene Stallings, former coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. It seems that Jacob killed two wild and dangerous hogs with but one shot! It is considered a rare delicacy and was enjoyed by all.
Susie Herr reports that on Tuesday, Flatbread Pizza will host an evening to benefit Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard. A generous portion of all food sales between 5 and 9 p.m. will benefit their organization. There will also be a raffle and silent auction and they are thrilled to announce that the delightfully talented a cappella group, Vineyard Sound, will be coming to entertain everyone.
Emily Gad of South Road has had her usual busy summer and is tending her garden with great care. It has responded by producing a bountiful amount of vegetables. She is also an avid fisherman in addition to swimming almost daily at the beach.
George Hartman of Panhandle Road reports that on Saturday at 10 a.m. the fair’s fourth annual antique garden tractor pull will take place. Garden tractors must be at least 25 years old. There will be four weight classes: 1,000 pounds,1,500 pounds, 3,000 pounds and 4,500 pounds. The competition is fierce and it is a lot of fun for competitors and spectators alike.
Tara Whiting, town clerk, reports that absentee ballots for the September primary arrived late last week. If you will be unable vote in the primary on Sept. 6, please contact her at the town hall during normal business hours at 508-696-0148 to make arrangements to vote absentee.
Vineyard Gardens will be hosting a Gallery in the Garden every Friday night through August. Combining our passion for art and plants, we hope you’ll join us and a variety of local artists for great art, free refreshments and nursery tours. The opening will be an outdoor gallery-style reception Friday night from 5 to 8 p.m. at the nursery. For information call Karen at 858-405-7500.
Jennifer Tseng, over at the library, reports that the Friends of the West Tisbury Library will be having its annual meeting on Wednesday at 4 p.m. They will be giving their annual report. On Thursday at 5 p.m., part-time resident Fanny Howe and visiting writer Katie Peterson will close the summer season with a reading.
Happy birthday to: Gerry DeBlois, Christine Napolitan and Joel Lewis today; Joseph Ulva and Jennifer Sepanara tomorrow; Debra Polucci, Robert Francis, Bill Clinton and Tom Burke on Sunday; Tim Gregory, Susan Millett Boaas, Jen Zern and Amelia Kauffman on Monday; Chelsea Pennebaker and Kevin Hopkins on Tuesday; Armand Bergeron, Bill Tsikitas and Steve Feinsmith on Wednesday; George Eli, Michael Oliveira, Caryn Broitman and Sherm Goldstein on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Vanessa Czarnecki, Cameron Bernier, Colleen Morris, Joan Jenkinson and Rosemarie Doane. Fiftieth wedding anniversary greetings on Thursday to Dick and Diana Reische.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. Our trivia question this week is 71 years old tomorrow: National League umpire Jocko Conlan ejected Pittsburgh Pirates manager Frankie Frisch; he was later fined $50 for coming out on the field holding an umbrella to protest the soggy playing conditions during the second game of a doubleheader with the Dodgers at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field. The rainy day argument was later portrayed in a painting by which famous artist?
You have a choice of activities tonight: fireworks in Oak Bluffs or the fair. I’ll see you at the fair, and don’t forget it is discount night on the rides. If you have any news, please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.
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