Well, the weather has been unusually mild all weekend, allowing us time to put down the storm windows without freezing our hands. Cooler weather and Jack Frost are on the way, however. Our foliage, what there was of it, is at the peak of color and leaves are beginning to fall rapidly. Scarecrows and pumpkins dot the landscape these days in all parts of town. Remember, to avoid confusion please be mindful that at two o’clock Sunday morning we will return to Eastern Standard Time and the daylight hours will grow dramatically shorter. You won’t be late for church and you will have gained an hour of sleep if you turn your clocks back Saturday night.

Saturday night we will celebrate Halloween. Its origin comes from an ancient Celtic festival. The American tradition of trick-or-treating dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. Poor people would beg for food and were given pastries called soul cakes. By the 1920s Halloween had become a community holiday with parades and town-wide parties. Today we spend an estimated seven billion dollars on the occasion annually, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday.

Alan Brigish and his wife Joyce recently returned from what they describe as the best overseas journey of their lives. They spent two weeks in four locations in Kenya and were enthralled by how close they could get to animals in the wild. They saw great birds, dozens of lions, and interesting people, both local and from around the world.

Charter school scarecrows are everywhere, with a record number of 90 scarecrows going up from Chilmark to Edgartown. Many thanks to Island businesses for supporting the charter school.

Charlie and Stevie Kernick, of Post Office Corner, returned home Sunday after an eight-day trip out west. It was a self-guided auto tour of six national parks and three state parks, a route that began at Zion National Park in Utah and ended at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, where they celebrated their fifth anniversary with dinner at El Tovar Hotel. It rained all but two days of their trip, which did nothing to lessen the extraordinary beauty of the western panorama. Their final night was spent in Las Vegas, which paled in comparison.

Amy Hoff, over at the library, reports that on Saturday from 3:30 till 5 p.m. the West Tisbury library will host its annual Halloween party. Come in costume, hop on a hay ride, make some crafts, and munch on some spooky refreshments, all thanks to the Friends of the Library, who are sponsoring the event.

On Sunday at 1 p.m. Debby Ware will teach a holiday decorations knitting workshop for adults and teens. Create mini sweaters, pear ornaments, mini mittens, mini holiday trees, and gingerbread men. Supply fee is $22 per person for all materials needed except needles. Participants should bring their favorite notions and #4 or #5 circular or straight needles. All welcome; no limit on the number of participants, though participants must know how to knit. Please preregister at the front desk by Oct. 31. For additional information, contact the library at 508-693-3366.

Brigitte Cornand will be displaying her artwork in the library in November, with a reception set for next Saturday.

Congratulations to Anna Carringer on her engagement to Shawn Barber.

Halloween tricks these days are on the decline. But in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, pushing Lena McNeil’s black Essex into the nearby swamp (across from the police station), uprooting the junction sign at Brandy Brow corner and planting it in Joe Howes’ front lawn, stringing his wife Bessie’s clothes lines end on end and hooking them on the barn all were tricks that were expected to be carried out each year. I remember Helen Cooper, who lived on Old County Road, played her own trick on the kids that came to her house expecting candy. She had a sign on her front door that asked the kids to knock and ring loudly. They did, but she never opened her door! On the other hand, her neighbors, Donald and Elizabeth Campbell, always gave you cider and popcorn and you got an extra glass if they could identify you even though you wore a costume.

Happy birthday to: Lisa Epstein, John Adams, John Bugbee, Forrest D’Olympia and Olivia deGeoffroy Friday, Marjorie Dolan, Laura Entner, and Adam Church Saturday, Judith Baumrin, Cole Ferraiuolo, ace reporter Hermine Hull, Coco Brown, Laurie Larsen and Timothy Donovan on Monday, Doug Kent, Mike Rouse, Ken Leuchtenmacher, Gabrielle Knight and Elizabeth Bouck on Tuesday, Raine Monast, Charlene Douglas, Henry Gallagher, Mary Lee McCormack , Lucy Mayhew, Gail Rowe and Suzanne Howes on Wednesday, and Norman Perry, Mike Lynch, Sarah Monast and James Willis on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Sandy Hill and belated anniversary wishes to Charlie and Stevie Kernick.

Well that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Happy Halloween everyone!

Send West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.