Well we had our first significant northeast storm of the year last Thursday. Winds did howl with wind gusts over 65 mph, and boat service and schools were suspended. It started out as a driving rain then wet snow. We ended up with less than an inch, then we went into a deep freeze. SSA boats were cancelled for the better part of two days and vehicle traffic was at a bare minimum. Road crews worked all day and into the night sanding the highway and parking lots. We are now experiencing a heat wave, comparatively, and some people have been spotted wearing shorts. Today is the beginning of a long holiday weekend. Monday is Martin Luther King Day so the schools, post office and all town buildings will be closed.

Anna Alley returned home on Tuesday afternoon after riding out the storm with the grandchildren and their parents (Taunton got over a foot of snow).

Judy Hall, of Pond Road and Oklahoma city, reports that her husband, Malcolm, has taken down all the Christmas decorations and is now planning their vegetable garden. He has started growing plants indoors in their Oklahoma city home to bring to the Vineyard. He knows Bob Ganz had a good crop of okra last year but lacks recipes so he will be working on getting some southwest recipes together for him.

Lynn Christoffers, of Edgartown Road, nationally know photographer, returned home on last Sunday after spending the holidays with her sister and family in New York and New Jersey. She reports having a wonderful time.

Phyllis Meras, of Music street, returned home on Wednesday after a business trip to Boston and New York.

Tara Whiting, town clerk, has finished mailing the annual census forms to all of us. When you receive it please fill it out and return it, if you haven’t done so already. For those of you who own a dog, now is the time to license them for the year. You can do that when you return the census envelope or stop by the town hall and purchase a dog tag.

On January 14, 1949 the members of the Grange presented a three act farce, “The Campbell’s are Coming” before a large audience in the Tisbury School auditorium in Vineyard Haven. All parts were exceptionally well acted and were received with roars of enthusiasm by the audience. The Grangers who had parts in the play were: Mary Smith, Marjorie Manter, Doreena King, David Engley, Albert Robinson, Fred and Donald Fisher, Alice Magnuson, James Alley and Virginia Rebello. The play was coached by Crichton and Pauline Magee, Elizabeth King served as the prompter. Laurus Sutton was in charge of stage properties and lighting, Muriel Loud distributed the programs and Carol Drew was in charge of ticket sales. Costumes were assembled by Lillian Magnuson assisted by Elizabeth Manter. Edna Robinson collected the proceeds from the homemade candy that was sold between acts by Ann Coleman and Jane Austin.

Happy birthday to: Christa Fischer, Kern Grimes, Gay Nelson and Adam Petkus Friday; Joe Eldridge, Pierce Kirby 3rd, Celeste Polagruto and Brian Athearn Saturday; Barbara Day, Ann Bradshaw, Heidi Schultz and a milestone birthday for Mal Jones on Sunday; Caitlin Lewis, Tom Phillips and Heather Maciel on Monday; Thaw Malin, Paul Jackson, Jane Rossi and Sibel Suman on Tuesday; Dr. Judith Fisher, Dan Serusa, Wendy Benedetto and Nick Waldman on Wednesday; Eleanor Dale Neubert, Julie Wells, Chris Fielder, and Hannah Maxner on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Aki Sharpe, Chester Cook and Kelly Smith Robertson.

Well that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. Not a lot of news to report because it is mighty quiet or folks are on vacation so I inserted some trivia for your enjoyment. The Prohibition of alcoholic beverages began 99 years ago today. It lasted just 15 years. Sixty one years ago today Patsy Cline sang the now classic Walkin’ after Midnight, and gained national attention with her winning appearance on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, one of the most popular programs of the early days of television. By the way, who was the long time sponsor of this program?

Colleen Morris reports that we reached the half way point of National Soup Month. Please call or email me with your news. Have a good week.

Send West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.