Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and all federal, state and local buildings will be closed, making it the first long weekend of the New Year.

Last weekend it was unseasonably warm and Dan Levintritt of South Road took full advantage of it by sunbathing on his back deck. It was very windy on Sunday causing many SSA boat cancellations. The line at the Up-Island gas station was long most of Sunday with people taking advantage of the special Sunday price of fuel.

Tara Whiting, town clerk, reports that nomination papers for the annual town elections are available. They need to be returned by 5 p.m. Feb. 22.

Also the town census should be on its way to you, if in fact you haven’t already received it. Please return it to Tara as soon as possible. Dogs must be licensed annually. Last day to register to vote in the presidential primary in March is Feb. 12. Nomination papers for the annual town election are also available. They need to have 20 signatures of registered voters in this town and be returned to the town clerk by 5 p.m. Feb. 27.

If you need an absentee ballot, you must submit, or come in and fill out, an absentee ballot application. Applications are only good for a calendar year and anyone who requested one last year needs to do it again! Please call her with any questions at (508) 696-0148.

Nelson Bryant passed away last weekend at the age of 96. He was an old family friend who grew up in town and had a wealth of stories about a lot of subjects. My condolences to all of his family.

On February 1, 1954 Stanley Eddy of Chilmark announced he had leased the former Ole Borgen/Maud Call store which he had purchased at public auction last summer to Miss Erdine Cobb, of New York city. The building has had many uses over the years — store, post office, a parlor that featured famous home-made ice cream and penny candy. It was also the headquarters of the only filling station in North Tisbury which sold Texaco Fire Chief Gasoline and had just one pump. Miss Cobb plans to operate a special kind of catering service that will be limited to providing casserole dishes, hors d’oeurves, sandwiches and canapés for cocktail parties and teas. Miss Cobb has named her business The Covered Dish and she plans to open around Memorial Day. The business will be open only during the peak season as Miss. Cobb will be otherwise employed during the winter months. She will take up residency in the newly remodeled apartment about May 1 when all the renovation work will be completed. Miss Cobb is excited at this golden opportunity and believes it will be a profitable business venture.

Happy birthday to: Dr. Judith Fisher, Daniel Serusa and Gail Spear today; Laura Hearn, Eleanor Dale Fischer, Julie Wells and Marie Louise Rouff tomorrow; Patty Linn, Christine Wiley, Inez Janger and Jessica Daniels on Sunday; Nancy Cabot, Lee McCormack, Nancy Rogers, Jena Wingood and Mary Pate on Monday; Bob Luskin, Carl Tack and Nili Goldstein on Tuesday; Hilary Wallcox, Ann Quigley and Sandra Atwood on Wednesday; Zack Wiesner, Elaine Russell and Dan Sharkkovitz on Thursday. Belated anniversary greetings to Chris and Diane Abbot.

Cynthia Riggs, of Edgartown road, reports that everyone is invited to her 32nd annual Groundhog Day celebration on Sunday, Feb. 2, from 5 to 7 pm at the Cleaveland House.

Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. A trivia item that could come in handy at your next social gathering: Our Market, in Oak Bluffs, received its first shipment of Krueger’s canned beer and ale 85 years ago Thursday. Krueger was the first brewery to try this new method of marketing their product and it was an instant success. Have a great week.