So much for the so-called global warming. This past Friday the snow came down rather rapidly and in less than an hour there was a significant amount of snowfall on the ground, making travel difficult. School was dismissed at noon to the delight of youngsters and teachers as well. Saturday it was sledding on the steepest hills around. By Sunday evening, we were all preparing for the next storm which was declared to be a blizzard with high winds. Monday the Vineyard was at a virtual standstill with schools closed, most businesses closed and no ferries. Thank you once again to those who have plowed and sanded, and emergency personnel including police, fire, communications center and emergency medical technicians. Thank you to the emergency responders who risk their lives driving down long unplowed roads to false alarms when the caretakers respond. Homeowners should be held responsible when alarms unnecessarily go to the communications center. Oh well, that is a long story for another day. By Tuesday morning the coast was clear as was the sky and most of the roadways. The calm before the next storm.

Aquinnah Public Library and all its patrons are ecstatic that Rosa Parker will be staying with us for a while longer. Rosa has been a great asset in her tenure at the library, always cheerful, knowledgeable, and willing to offer her assistance with just about anything. This week on Thursday evening at 5:30 there will be adult crafts with henna tattoos. On Saturday, February 13 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. everyone will be making valentines. A new ongoing project is a quilt. It is anticipated that everyone who stops by the library, young and not so young, will draw using fabric markers on cotton squares. When the quilt is completed, it will then be displayed across from the circulation desk. Please see Jennifer if you would like to participate.

Absentee ballots are available from Aquinnah Town Clerk Carolyn Feltz. If you are not going to be in town for the primary election on March 1, please stop by the office and complete an absentee ballot, it takes less than five minutes. Absentee ballot applications are available online at mass.gov. For further information, please call Carolyn at 508-645-2304. Remember, democracy is not a spectator sport.

Chilmark Chocolates is open, in time for Valentine’s Day. Avoid the rush or the next storm by heading to Chilmark now.

At the Martha’s Vineyard Museum Friday evening from 4 to 6 p.m. Inventive Islanders opens in the museum galleries. View a few of the innovative inventions of Islanders. Members are admitted free; $8 for non-members. Museum development director Dan Waters will be at the Aquinnah library on March 3 with his presentation of Island Stories from the Museum.

Chicago the Musical will be presented this weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center. The winter musicals are always a favorite and as professional as one would find anywhere. Performances will be Friday evening and on Saturday at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10, elders, children and students will be admitted for $8.

You have one more week in which to submit your application for a Martha’s Vineyard license plate in the first printing of plates. The license plate committee has worked very diligently over the past year. Wiet Bacheller and Mary Korba delivered more than 850 applications to the RMV a few weeks ago. Anyone with their vehicle registered in Massachusetts may apply for the specialty plate. The $40 extra on your registration will be a tax deductible donation to Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. The specialty plate is not available for vanity plates, motorcycles, or commercial vehicles. You still have time to request an available number between 0100 and 3000 over the next week. Please call Mary Korba at 508-693-7900 to see if your lucky number is available, or sign on with mvlicenseplate.com. The new plates will start arriving over the next few months at your designated Registry of Motor Vehicles. Once again, thank you to our Rep. Timothy Madden for assisting Martha’s Vineyard Community Services by helping reduce the initial number of required plates from 1,500 to 750, which has allowed us to proceed at this earlier date.

Condolences to the family and friends of Frank Durgin, who passed away in Portland, Me. in January. The Durgin family were longtime summer residents at their rainbow house on Moshup Trail. We anxiously awaited the arrival each summer of Frank and Marjorie and their children. In recent years, I have only had the pleasure of seeing Frank Jr. Services have already been held in Maine.

Pam Glavin returned home late Sunday evening after spending the week visiting her mother Alice Falcone in Paxton. While away, she caught up with her grandson Elliott Berz and his schoolmates as they were on their ski trip in Maine.

Joan LeLacheur will have an open studio Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 42 Old South Road. Wampum valentines, hearts and flowers. For information, please call 508-645-9954.

Happy birthday wishes to Albert O. Fischer 3rd as he celebratesSaturdayt. Heather Vanderhoop celebrates on Feb. 14. Fellow Vineyard Gazette columnist Jane N. Slater will observe her special day on Feb, 15, as will Kayla V. Manning, Karen Child, and Fred Thifault. Ed Conroy parties on Feb. 16 and shares the day with Brenda Johnson and Doug Fortes. Ava Stearns will party on the 17th. Mark Tyler Seawell will party on Feb. 18, having moved to the Vineyard over the past summer. Linda Toland parties on the 18th. Linda Scott celebrates on Feb. 19, sharing the day with Rose Marie King Roberts. My great-granddaughter Olivia Marie Sims will be eight years old on Feb. 19.

Send Aquinnah news to junemanning152@gmail.com.