Periodically, I hope to include in the Chilmark column a guest appearance from the woman who kept us fed with all of the newsy tidbits she could get her hands on over the past, let’s just say, many years. Summers during college and then some, and year round after that, she drove, strolled and called around town trying to fact find and gather information she thought we’d all like to hear. Recently, I have been lucky enough to stand in for this woman and do my very best to keep my finger on the pulse of our town. I will let Jane Slater say the rest.

Notes from Jane:

Chilmark has made a seamless transition to our new correspondent, Katie Carroll, thus making my retirement a reality, one that I am enjoying! Harriette Otteson and I have just returned from a 10-day tour of the Azores Islands with the New Bedford Whaling Museum under the guidance of Sagres Vacations. Thirty five of us toured four islands — Terceira, Faial, Pico and Sao Miguel. We went whale watching, sunset cruising and enjoyed a lengthy tour of the Whaling Museum on the island of Pico. We saw wineries, tea plantations, pineapples being raised under glass and many, many handsome dairy cows. Comfortable buses and informed guides took us on leisurely rides all around the islands and the meals were all spectacular. As always, it was fun to see how people live on other islands. Azoreans live well and welcome visitors warmly. It was a most enjoyable visit.

Thank you all for the many years you accepted my view of Chilmark and for contributing to the weekly reports. I will miss that connection to you but look forward to keeping in touch with Chilmark and Chilmarkers and Chilmark visitors going forward.

All Hallows Eve has come and gone. The wind blew the leaves from the branches as children whisked down woodland paths from house to house with flashlights in hand. Screams followed as friends popped out from the darkness saying the simple three letter word “boo.” Are they full of fear and needing to reach for a parents hand or does the thrill of the night empower them to continue on under the guise of a superhero, most powerful witch or fearless gladiator? Halloween night, costumes donned, instills a fearlessness for our town children.

Young Chilmark mermaids, monsters, ninjas, princesses and ghosts gathered at the Community Center where they dined on pizza, strolled for a costume parade and then scurried off with a treat bag in hand courtesy of the Chilmark Volunteer Firefighter’s Association. This low-key community tradition has taken place for over a half century and, still today, our town’s children can both frighten and dazzle as witches on broomsticks and fairies with wands.

Those children who went home with prizes this year are: giraffe-Tilly Taylor; pair of dice-Leah Thomson and Grazina Biskis; princess- Kazmira Pedler; soccer ball-Taeko Thomson; gnome-Lucien Murtha; family of mermaids-Mae, Nell, Zoe and Simon Thompson; headless-Zeb Athearn; argon (yes, like the element)-Emily Boyd; soccer goal-Moses Thomson; ghost-Sienna Murtha; Red Riding Hood the scary version-Hunter Broderick; silly pink family-Iggy, Rosey, Robyn and Simon Athearn; grandma-Clara Athearn. The two big prizes this year went to Penny Athearn for her most Halloweeny pumpkin costume, and Aki Weiner’s cupcake costume earned him Best in Show.

Thank you to Alysha Norbury, Christina Collarusso, Annalee Hoy and Ianna Oliveira who acted as judges at the costume parade. Picking winners really does come down to the drawing of straws, so to speak. There were some truly spectacular costumes this year (clearly we have a group of overachieving parents!). Thank you to Ella Keene, Cali Giglio, Pam Bunker, David Norton, Tim Carroll, Jeremy Bradshaw, Cody Coutinho, Jenna Zechner, Chris Smith, Gary Robinson, Jonah Maidoff and so many more for keeping up with town tradition.

Anne and Hal Noyes of Steamboat Springs, Colo. are in town for an extended visit with grandkids Thea, Ella and Lathrop Keene along with their parents Hillary and John. What fun the kids have while they are here. It is always exciting to have your grandmother pick you up at school because you never quite know where you might trot off to before you head home. Although Adelaide, eldest Keene daughter, is adventuring through her freshman year at Regis University in Denver and is sorely missed at home, she managed a weekend visit to her grandparents while they were still at home in Steamboat Springs.

I had a nice chat with David Tilton the other day. Not only did we discuss the weather and how it truly facilitated phenomenal fall fishing but he proudly announced that they now had a stockpile of venison for the winter. His lovely companion, Lynne Silva, bagged her first four-point buck by bow while hunting in Rye, N.H. This is no small feat. Bow hunting takes patience, precision and determination.

Send Chilmark news to squidrow@vineyard.net.