On May 21 the Island witnessed the first annual MVRHS community service Give Back Day. The day was the brainchild of Ena Thulin’s global politics class. Chilmark junior, Andrew Karlinsky, and classmate Gus Hoy took the reigns and guided a remarkable idea into a success story. The day of volunteering sent the entire student body in many different directions. A group arrived in Menemsha by bus and quickly dispersed in various directions. I’ll admit I had my eye on the group of eight boys that hopped on cousins Matt and Todd Mayhew’s oyster barge because one of those eight was my own son, Brooks. The amount of debris they gathered was impressive.

The Chilmark School was overrun with alumni on Give Back Day. Dash Christy, Ned Smiley, Menasha Leport, Madia Bellebuono, Keira McCarthy, Bella Thorpe, Kieran Karabees, Adam Knight, Thea Keene and Owen Favreau and a few other out-of-towners joined the fun assisting the school kids with their classes and activities. Mary Ambulos, the woman who not only greets you at the front door but according to many of the kids helps in every way including bandaiding when they get cut, expressed her delight and hopes it becomes an annual event.

My weekly chat with Wesley Cottle brought me some good news. Don Hurley is making progress physically, getting his speech back and is eager to venture to his Quitsa home. From what I understand, the daily teasing and ribbing will go a lot more smoothly once they are in the same town. I look forward to seeing you, Don.

Also reported by Wesley Cottle was the sighting of a leucistic crow. He has spotted a bird with some very unusual plumage and, after chatting with some birder friends, reveled in spotting the oddity. Apparently, the white feathers on these birds are the result of a genetic condition called leucism, which prevents pigments from reaching a bird’s feathers. Yes, I pulled out both my Audubon and Sibley bird books to find out more.

Many of you know Erika (Bunker) Ponte as Hunter, Shelby and Jake’s mom or Kenny’s wife or Suzy and John Bunker’s daughter or Rena and the late Ozzie Fischer’s granddaughter. What you might not know is this tough and proud mom has begun a battle with esophageal cancer. A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to offset costs associated with treatment, loss of income and more. Erika would never ask for help so let’s all consider pitching in because we as a community need to have our neighbors backs. The link to make a donation can be found here: gofundme.com/help-needed-for-erica-bunker-ponte.

Monday is Memorial Day and just like the Flags In tradition at Arlington National Cemetery folks place flags at Abel’s Hill Cemetery for Memorial Day in honor of Chilmark’s fallen heroes. If you have a service member resting eternally at Abel’s Hill that has not received a flag please notify Stan Mercer at stanmercer@msn.com.

Mark you calendar. Tom Dresser is scheduled to talk at the library on Wednesday, May 30 at 5 p.m. about his new book entitled Whaling on Martha’s Vineyard. According to Tom, “It’s a rich story, filled with the challenges of making a living on the high seas, complete with hard work, mutinies and financial success for a few.”

A shout out goes to Tommy Taft, a recent College of William & Mary grad hailing from Stow, Mass., who popped to town for a night to catch up with fellow alum, Bradley. The sunshine and warmth he managed to smuggle across on the ferry was a welcome addition to the gray we’ve seen. It even allowed me to spot some brave swimmers at Menemsha Beach.

Just a quick reminder: the Chilmark Church will hold this Sunday morning’s 9 a.m. service alongside Menemsha Texaco and will incorporate the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Pam Goff shares the details which include Reverend Charlotte Wright leading the service and musical contributions by Carol Loud on the keyboard and Jamie Douglas on the bagpipe.

Betty Kogen, who has summered at her Swan’s Way home for 42 years shares that she will return from her Westport, Conn. home in June and looks forward to opening her doors to folks who would like to stop by for coffee and a chat. Her number is in the book so give her a ring. Young, old, short, tall, it doesn’t matter, Betty will welcome your company and conversation.

Send Chilmark news to squidrow@vineyard.net.