Chilmark is saddened this week by the death of Bette Carroll on Friday last. She died at home in Menemsha where she spent most of her long life amidst her large Flanders – Mayhew – Carroll family. Bette is best known to many as the retired United States postmistress of Chilmark where she served first as assistant postmistress to her late husband, Marshall Curley Carroll, who was our postmaster for a number of years. Bette and Curly owned and ran the popular restaurant and dance hall at the Tavern for a few years after World War II. Theirs was a true war romance. They met in Chilmark when Curley was stationed at Peaked Hill. He came from Florida but stayed in Chilmark. The twosome also owned and ran the Menemsha Texaco. We all have happy memories of Bette in her many roles in town. She and Curley had two sons, Emmett and Sam. Bette served the town until her death as an active and interested member of the Chilmark Historical Commission. Bette was a very happy person with a wonderful laugh and a sly humor that she shared with all. She also had a love of music and enjoyed attending the musicals in town and joining in with her harmonica tunes. Some of us were lucky enough to have Bette call us on our birthday and play us Happy Birthday on the harmonica. As you can see, Bette touched us all in many ways and we will miss her. We are happy she had so many good years in the place she loved with the people whom she loved and who loved her. We send condolences to all.

The family of Peggy Freydberg invites us to attend a memorial for her on June 13 at the Chilmark Community Center. Please call Tamara Sloan at 413-628-1025 for details.

Welcome back to Marjorie Phillips who has come from Lexington, Va. to her Larsen Lane home for the coming seasons.

I can stop worrying, those lighthouse movers did know what they were doing and the move is complete with little trauma. It was an exciting time and now to get used to the new location of the familiar light. Congratulations to all!

The town’s roadways are smoother in spots as the repaving has been completed on North, Tabor and Middle roads.

Helen Porter is opening the family home on Menemsha Crossroad this week. Her husband, Tom, is teaching in London this month for Hult International School of Business. Their son, Mitchell, who is at Roger Williams College, school of environmental studies, will work as a ranger at Cedar Tree Neck this summer. Their son, Nick, is in graduate school this summer working on a Ph.D in biochemistry at the University of Philadelphia. Tom and Helen plan to spend most of the summer in Chilmark and look forward to reunions with family and friends.

The West Tisbury School fifth grade class hopes to bring out the gambling urge in all of us as they plan a fundraising event, cow chip bingo, for June 27 at 10 a.m. A cow will be turned loose at Flat Point Farm in a fenced-in field that will be marked off in 100 numbered squares. The cow will determine the winner by depositing in a random square. Each square is for sale for $50 with the winner taking home $1,000. The only participant required to be in attendance is the cow. All others may purchase a square by contacting Liz Oliver at 503-939-0616. The funds will be used to pay for the annual class Shenandoah trip. Good luck to all!

The Chilmark library Wednesday program on June 10 at 5 p.m. will be a talk about Snakes on Martha’s Vineyard by Luanne Johnson and Liz Baldwin of Biodiversity Works. The program is free to the public and sponsored by the Friends of the Library. The library reminds us that as of June 1 summer hours are back. The library will add Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will be closed on Sundays and holidays.

Jack Huberman has come from Santa Fe for a June visit to his Menemsha home. He will join his wife, Nina, in New Hampshire this month and they will enjoy a driving tour of Nova Scotia before returning to spend some of July in town.

Della Darling has come from Stratham, N.H., to spend the summer and fall at her Quitsa home. Her daughter Susan Greeley of Foxboro and son Peter joined her in opening the house and then they travelled to Ithaca, N.Y. to attend the graduation of grandson Kyle from Cornell with a degree in mechanical engineering. Kyle is the son of Scott and Linda Darling of Downingtown, Pa. All will visit Chilmark during the summer months.

Billie Hancock was in town this week greeting friends and family. She will spend the summer in Oak Bluffs with many visits to her up-Island family.

The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a talk by departing superintendent James H. Weiss to the parents of Chilmark school students. It will be at the community center on June 9 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Congratulations to Chris Fischer on the publication this month of his cookbook called The Beetlebung Cookbook: A Year of Cooking on Martha’s Vineyard. It was published by Little, Brown and Company. The book includes personal essays and recipes by Chris with photographs by Chilmark summer resident Gabriela Herman and letterpress menus by West Tisbury resident Emma Young. Good luck to all!

Gabriela Herman’s photographs that are in the new cookbook will be the subjects of a show at the Chilmark library that will hang until July 2, with an artist’s reception on June 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. Gabriela photographed the Beetlebung Farm activities from seed-planting to harvest and more. She is an editorial and commercial photographer specializing in travel and food around the world.

Send Chilmark news to slaterjn@comcast.net.