It’s down. After more than a decade of talk, the Chilmark fire station at 3 Menemsha Crossroad was taken down on Monday morning by John Keene Excavation. It’s an exciting project, for sure, but for many there is a little underlying tone of sadness as a piece of history has made way for something new.

There was history there. Cribbage games were played back in the day, nestled in among the low-hung ceiling. They often went on into the wee hours of the morning. Flanders, Fischers, Carrolls and more gathered, laughed and competed. To this day I am not very good at cribbage despite some of these masters trying to teach me.

Marshall shared that school children used the space to participate in some sort of standardized testing — California Achievement, I believe — and they’d walk all the way over from the school with number two pencils in hand.

Santa used to change into his red suit after traveling from the North Pole as he made his way to town for the annual department Christmas party. His elves would gather and wrap gifts and tuck them away in the eaves until it was time for distribution. When I started out helping with these wonderful festivities, Liz Hyde was the coordinator and an assortment of fellas took on the role of Santa. I think Chic Lee was perhaps one of the more memorable, having had a little something to warm his insides first.

Who can’t recall the days of the firefighter’s auction with heaps and heaps of good stuff intertwined with a crazy amount of junk piled floor-to-ceiling in the back bay just waiting to be auctioned off by someone worldly famous or locally famous like Scott McDowell. Treasures were found nestled in one of those boxes of oddities auctioned off as a unit filled with who know what. The aroma of burgers being grilled with the smoke billowing throughout Beetlebung Corner will forever be a fond memory.

Amidst the peeling paint, aroma of diesel fuel and rubber boots, there was the true sense of community that a cramped space somehow can offer. I am ever hopeful that the bright lights and new this and that, the same sense of belonging will resonate.

It’s springtime in Chilmark and with that comes an annual reminder from cemetery superintendent Susan Murphy. It is time to removed the lovely Christmas greenery that has now become April brown-ery from the graves of family and loved ones laid to rest at Abel’s Hill Cemetery.

It is up to us to maintain and remove such items, both out of respect for our loved ones and for the simple reason that they cannot do it themselves. In addition to seasonal items such as wreaths, please be reminded that plastic pots and decorative items that have seen better days should be removed periodically.

Check out the cemetery regulations on the town website if you have questions. I didn’t realize bird feeders are not allowed. The goal is to learn something new each day and I just did.

He donned his vibrant orange jacket and after making sure his battery was charged he set off for Menemsha. Bill Smith’s first adventure on his motorized wheelchair took him around the harbor and to Squid Row where he visited with, to name a couple, Beth and Paul Mayhew who were there soaking up a little sunshine.

Bill and I chatted for a few minutes before he set off for home. I managed to snag a little video of him cautiously wheeling down the road which I, of course, immediately sent to his daughters Sam and Katy. I was happy; they were pleased; and Bill was seemingly thrilled with his newfound freedom.