Well the weather had been unusually mild, allowing us time to put down the storm windows without freezing our hands. Tree limbs and thousand of leaves earlier this week were blown away, and our foliage, what is left of it, is at the peak of color. All is ready for the trick-or-treaters.

Jill Lumpkin is visiting from Bengaluru, India with her companion, James Ivory of England. Jill has many Vineyard friends will be visiting for two more weeks.

On Tuesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m., the library will host its annual Halloween Party, complete with hayrides, crafts, treats and costumes galore. Come in costume, hop on a hay ride, make some crafts, and munch on some spooky refreshments.

Peggy Stone reports that the annual Halloween Party at the Agricultural Hall is from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. There will be games, prizes, refreshments, fortune telling and the spooky hayride.

Karen, over at the church, reports that on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m., the First Congregational Church will host David Behnke (baritone) and David Rhoderick (organist). The suggested donation is 15 will benefit the church.

Olivia Larsen, over at the library, reports a busy week ahead. Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Julie Prazich and Sara Rosenthal will lead a wooden fish painting workshop. Wooden fish and basic materials will be provided. This workshop is for adults and children ages 9 and up. On Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Moira Silva will lead the first session of her Memoir Writing Workshop Series.

Halloween tricks these days are on the decline. But in the late forties and early fifties, pushing Lena McNeil’s 1929 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 cloth lines end-over-end and hooking it on the barn all were “routine” 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. That was the last stop on the road for trick-or-treaters as the Earle, Fales, Drexler, Richmond and Barth houses were closed for the season.

On Oct. 27, 1947, the Grange sponsored a very successful costume party for 35 children and a large number of adults in the Agricultural Hall. The party opened with all the children in costume marching around the room so they could be judged. First prize for the most attractive was won by 3-year-old Karen Barker dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, second to Carol Spencer in costume as Cinderella and third to Margaret Duquette who dressed as a little old fashioned lady. First prize for the most horrible costume was awarded to yours truly, second to George Churchill and third to Judith Cronig. The hall was attractively decorated with festoons of crepe paper decorations and the windows latticed with orange and black paper. Lanterns and pumpkins were hung including a witch peeping out from the parted curtain on the stage. All of this work was done by young ladies of the Grange — Marjorie Manter, Alice Magnuson, Virginia Rabello and Elizabeth King. Games were played and the refreshment table fascinated the children with its decorations of doughnut men with candy faces made by Lillian Magnuson. She also served cider, Halloween lollipops and other treats.

Happy birthday to Felice Yager, Lawerence Weber and Philippe Jordi today; John Adams, John Bugbee and John Schillinger tomorrow; Helene Barr, Joe Capobianco, Francis Cecilio and Fran Finnigan on Sunday; Olivia DeGeoffroy, Lisa Epstein and Adam Church on Monday; Marjorie Dolan, Laura Entner and Keith Maybury on Tuesday; Judith Baumrin, Cole Ferraiuolo, ace reporter Hermine Hull, Coco Brown, Laurie Larson and Tim Donovan on Wednesday; Doug Kent, Mike Rouse, Ken Leuchtenmacher, Gabrielle Knight and Elizabeth Bouck and Cherrilla Brown on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Sandy Hill, and belated 6th 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 email me. Happy Halloween everyone!

Send West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.