Well we traveled off-Island to be with family for Thanksgiving and returned on Sunday. It was a wonderful time with 20 people gathered at Nina Berry and Dieter Phol’s table in Providence, R.I. Our travels were not without adventure. We stopped at Antonio’s in New Bedford had dinner but went back because Anna thought she lost her cell phone there. All of the patrons who heard of the dilemma looked around for her phone to no avail. It turned out it was in the car all along but had fallen from her purse.

Be careful and wear bright colors if you go near the woods as shotgun season for deer opened last Monday. The town Christmas tree at the end of Old County Road is now lighted for the holiday season. I want to thank Pierce Kirby and Anna Hill for pinch hitting for me at the post office and Alan Gowell in the cemeteries. Richard and Toni Cohen, of Edgartown Road, hosted 21 people for Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Sig Van Raan and his wife Susan Dickler came down from New York city for the occasion.

Marian Irving, over at the church, reports that The First Congregational Church’s Annual Christmas Faire will be Saturday, Dec. 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to pick up festive holiday decorations and gifts for friends and family. Available to purchase are custom decorated wreathes, holiday centerpieces, jewelry and gift items. Homemade baked goodies for gifts or entertaining will also be available. Come early for the best selection of terrific holiday décor and gifts that are perfect stocking stuffers. For more information call 508-693-2842.

Linda Alley, aka the Jelly Queen, wants to remind you that Island Made Holidays opened at the Alley’s farm stand last week. It will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day until Christmas Eve. More than 12 artisans will be displaying their goods.

Phyllis Meras wants you to mark December 14 at 5 p.m., the date of the town holiday party. It will be held at the Agricultural Hall. Be thinking of what you will bring to the affair.

Katherine Long, of Panhandle Road, cordially invites you to her 40th annual Winter Solstice party on Sunday, Dec. 16. All ages are welcome. Her party has become one of the highlights of everyone’s holiday season. Katherine’s Texas chili is an extra special treat and you haven’t lived until you have tasted it. She says come when you can and leave when you must just don’t bring your dog! Her mother Katherine and sister Mary Fran will be here from Texas to add to all the festivities.

Old friend Carol Craven, of Music street, passed away last week. She ran an art gallery for several summers in North Tisbury. My condolences to her family and friends.

It was quiet and chilly on Dec. 7 1941 in this town. Frank Adams, on Music street, had fired up his coal furnace for the first time since March, Donaldson’s Garage was about to receive its monthly shipment of gasoline from the Mobil Oil terminal in Vineyard Haven on Monday morning. Ole Borgen’s monthly supply of Texaco gas was delivered on Friday. Antone Alley was about to celebrate his 70th birthday and his daughter Lillian was busy baking him a cake, S.M. Mayhew Co. had closed at noon and Charlie Turner and my father went home for dinner, daughter Phyllis prepared the dinner for her Dad and brothers as he would later drive down to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and visit his wife Mary and newborn son John, the Grange was going to hold its twice monthly meeting in the Agricultural Hall on Monday so the stove was lit upstairs by the janitor to take the chill out of the meeting space, Antone Campbell, Harry Athearn and Johnson Whiting were preparing to milk their cows about 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Most folks in town had returned home from church services and had eaten their Sunday dinner. Many families had already cut a proper Christmas tree and had prepared their parlors to receive guests that afternoon, the most popular song of the day was Glenn Miller’s Chattanooga Choo Choo, it was just 24 days till Christmas and the Sears and the Roebuck Christmas book in every home had seen some serious use. The attack was announced over CBS radio by John Charles Daley at about 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. As evening fell people kept their radios on to learn more news from Pearl Harbor. Plans were made for the President to address Congress the next day shortly after noontime to declare war on Japan. The school held a special assembly at noon so the students could listen to his address to the nation over the radio. One of the popular Monday night programs on the air was the Fred Allen Show sponsored by Texaco gasoline which featured a siren and clanging bell much like a fire truck of the day would sound before the lead into the program. The announcer, Harry Von Zell, broke in to say you would not be hearing that sound again during the war to avoid any unnecessary confusion.

Happy Birthday to: Adaaro Blackhawk and Doris Troy today; Christina Simmons, Charlotte Rooney, Ed Konicki, Rachel Cassiani and Greg Barron tomorrow; Michael Gately, Ed Konicki, Martha Schmidt and Tracey Smith on Sunday; Ann Rosenkranz, Nathan Davies, Martina Thornton and Eliza Greene on Monday; Dillon Bartkus, Amanda and Toni Cohen, Roy Riley, Bobbie Lima, Hadden Belair, Lucinda Buehler, Linda Mahoney and David Demoe on Tuesday; Julia Katz, Danielle Garcia and Andrew Miller on Wednesday; Judy Sudel, Bonnie Steere and Bonnie Jackson on Thursday. Belated Birthday wishes to Avi Lev, Mary Blake Ellis and Ronni Simon. The editor and staff send birthday greetings to our correspondent on Monday.

Well that is all of the news for this week’s social column. If you have any news please call or email me. Have a great week.