Chilmark enters the 21st century . . . again. This time it is with sidewalks. Tuesday was a rainy day but John Keene was busy in Menemsha preparing the edge of the parking lot for a sidewalk that will hopefully keep families and pets out of harm’s way as they make their way to and from the beach. It is another change that is being done in the interest of safety and the need to keep traffic moving in that tight parking lot. I believe that the sidewalk being installed can be rolled up after the season and stored for next year. Really.

Three cheers and more to our high school graduates this month. Serogia Bernier, Peter Ruimerman, Andrew Ruimerman, Ben Poole and Katrina Heilbroner all graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and Brigida Larsen and Bella Maidoff graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Charter School. We send wishes for the best of everything to all!

Chilmark sends many good wishes to Rena Fischer who turned 100 years young on June 13. The family members came from across the country to help her celebrate. Alysse Fischer, Rena’s granddaughter and daughter of Douglas and Bari, came east from Montana to join in the festivities and to create some of her own. The family celebrated her wedding shower at Beetlebung Farm on the same day in the morning with brunch in the greenhouse. Cheers to all!

Margaret Maida is back at her home on the Menemsha Crossroad after a recent trip to Citra, Fla., where she went for two reasons. Her son, Charles, unfortunately was hospitalized but is now at home, and her granddaughter, Chelsea, graduated from North Marion High School. She was a high honors graduate and summa cum laude with a 4.0-plus average. Chelsea will attend the College of Central Florida in the fall and pursue her interest in equine studies. Cheers from us all to Chelsea.

Members of the Harrison family are gathering for the special birthday of Dr. Howard Harrison on June 18 when he will achieve 85 years. His wife, Dr. Elizabeth Burns, is planning the gathering at the family home on D.H.’s Hill this weekend. Cheers from us all, Howard!

The Chilmark library will present the Jim Thomas Spirituals Choir with songs from the U.S. Slave Song Project at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24. Admission is free and the program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. The next day, Thursday, June 25 at 5 p.m., Warren Doty will present a discussion of Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad: New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Warren is a member of the U.S. Slave Song Project.

Welcome back to Joe and Lois Muzio who are in town for their annual vacation in Chilmark. This is the 50th year for their visit. They now live in Rockport. Joe, Lois and your writer all were classmates at Queens College and it seems like yesterday!

Mary McCormick of North Andover is at the family home, Blue Dolphin, on Chowder Kettle Lane for a week’s visit. She began coming here with her parents, the James Arensons, many years ago. Her daughter Kate McCormick of Quincy is here for a month this year.

Charles and Lucille Plotz have come back to their Flanders Lane home for their annual vacation as they have for almost 50 years. They are looking forward to celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary in early August. This summer they are looking for casual and non-competitive bridge players to join them for some summer games.

Don Smith is at Topside in Menemsha for the summer, as he is most years. This year his son Russell drove him up from his winter home in Florida.

Hadley Chapman, student at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, is entertaining her friend, Lea Valois, of Maisons-Laffitte, France. Lea is attending the high school and studying how American schools work. She is very interested in all American sports activities. Unfortunately, she lost her cell phone at the Rod and Gun Club this week and hopes it is found and returned.

We send get well wishes to Julie Flanders’s horse Bert who suffered a leg injury this week and required a trip to Tufts Veterinary Hospital in Grafton on Monday. We hope for good news.

Good luck from us all to Barrett Oliver’s baseball team “Mighty Reds” as they take part in playoffs this week. Other Chilmark participants are Jakie Glasgow, Atlas and Sam Zack, Silas and Axel Abrams and Tristan Scott.

James Taylor, Chilmark seasonal resident and somewhat recognized singer and songwriter, performed on the Today Show on Monday morning. He has a new album coming out soon.

Steve McGhee is home from a family reunion that began in Palo Alto at the home of his son Geoff and his wife Sara and two-and-a-half-year-old Eleanor. Steve’s son Paul of New York city accompanied Steve on the cross-country visit to his brother and family for a celebration of more than a week of Paul’s 50th birthday. They enjoyed a weekend in Palo Alto and visits to San Francisco and then drove to Yosemite National Park for some camping and hiking. They continued to Big Sur for more camping and sightseeing. Steve observed the strawberries were in season and very special . . . and so was the reunion.

Nancy Aronie has set the dates for Writing from the Heart workshops at her State Road home. She has room in each of the following weeks: July 6–9, July 13–16, July 27–30, August 3–6 and Sept. 28 through Oct. 1. Please call her at 508-645-9085 or email aronie@verizon.net if you are interested.

Judy Banker Mehrling and Perry Mehrling are at their Chilmark home, Boulder View, and will be welcoming Perry’s best friend, John Lie, and his daughter Charlotte. John is a professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and enjoys his annual visits. Congratulations from us all to Kevin and Elizabeth Olivier who celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary on June 14.

Send Chilmark news to slaterjn@comcast.net.