Well January goes down as one of the warmest in recent memory. Just five years ago we had the coldest February in 118 years. Please, Mother Nature, don’t repeat that horrible experience. This year the groundhog did not see his shadow so we are in for an early spring. However the days are getting longer and now it is light until 5:30 p.m. Early risers have noticed that the sun rises at 7 a.m. and Daylight Saving Time begins on March 13 so we have just one more month of standard time before the switch to daylight savings and thoughts of spring, which begins on March 20.

The Old Parsonage Farm, one of the oldest houses in town, is undergoing an extreme renovation. First the inside was gutted, and large piles of brick from the four chimneys were dumped outside. The oldest bricks were saved in a pile out back, roofs patched and all of the ancient windows removed. Then huge steel beams were brought in and carefully placed in the open window spaces and the house has now been raised three feet in the air. The plan is to put in a full cellar (currently there is a root cellar) and in another location a cellar was dug for a furnace and water pump. The contractor will also replace all of the well-rotted sills. It was amazing to see how someone had crawled under most of the footprint of the building and poured a shallow cement foundation.

I remembered that Johnson Whiting developed a model fence post mold made out of cement. It looks like they are making a driveway leading to the front door facing the old pond. There is an old picture of the place with a fancy carriage at the front door. It is so nice to know that it is being slowly restored to the beautiful place it once was.

Anna Alley, of State Road, returned home on Sunday after a weekend visiting the grandchildren. Our daughter Nicole is getting close to giving birth to twins. Grandma will be on hand to help her out.

A packed house attended Cynthia Riggs Attebery and Howard Attebery’s 28th annual Groundhog Day party Tuesday. It was a great chance to socialize with neighbors and friends, catch up with the latest political happenings around town and have an enjoyable evening with delightful food and adult beverages.

Lois Craine of the Vineyard Transit Authority is pleased to report that their annual bus passes have been available since last month. You can obtain yours at the VTA office building in the Airport Business Park from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Seniors can call the Up-Island Council on Aging at 508-693-2896 or stop in during normal business hours.

On the night of Jan. 25, 1951 the home of George and Lillian Magnuson, of Edgartown Road, was bulging at its seams as 43 people attended a penny auction put on by the home and community service committee of the Grange for the benefit of the March of Dimes. The net proceeds of the sale were $63, the largest sum collected for the charity on any occasion in town.

Happy birthday to: Emily Rodegast, Sara Reekie, Clay Edwards and Michelle Jasny Friday; Maggie Bresnahan, Ivory Littlefield and Lisa Van Horn Saturday; John Scanlon, Ken Campbell, Richard Olsen, Kathleen Tilton-Clancy and Jill Napier on Sunday; Elaine Barnett, Elizabeth Carr, Kate Warner and Dianne McDonough on Monday; Paul Thurlow, Alley Estrella, and Harold Lawry on Tuesday; Peter Fohlin, Brook Zern, Kathleen Tackabury, Catherine Minkiewicz, Lynn Hoeft and Nicolas Peters on Wednesday; and Bevy Bergeron, Deirdre Ling, Laurie Sherman, Sandra Polleys, Debbie Otto, Ken Kram, and Karena Hammarlund on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Matthew Anniese, Elsie Walker, Jim Irwin and Barbara Day.

Well that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.

Send West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.