Chilmark sends April on her way with few regrets . . . a wet, windy and generally unfriendly month this year. However, the early flowers persevered and we have high hopes for a friendly May.

The month ended on a high note with a well-attended town meeting with 37 articles on the warrant and a crowd of 147 voters in attendance. The able moderator, Everett Poole, guided the folks through the procedure and managed to get all but one item approved and had us out the door by 10 p.m. We were asked to note the newly refinished and repaired floor of the Chilmark Community Center, which we had voted to fund at an earlier town meeting. The big surprise of the night was the unanimous vote that the citizens gave the planning board for their accessory apartment by-law. It appeared to be an idea whose time had come and everyone wanted to get on with it. I have always said Chilmark is a great town to grow old in and it gets better every year. It makes sense to try to keep us in our homes as long as possible for many reasons. Thanks to the subcommittee of the planning board for their hard work and many volunteer hours spent on our behalf.

In spite of the not-so-nice weather, Chilmark has had an influx of foreign tourists. Some from Asia, some from Italy, and a family from England have been greeted by some of us already. So far, very few businesses are opened up this way, but there is the usual push to get things in order for the first nice days.

Some Chilmarkers were tourists this past week as Tom Ruimerman, his wife Janet Wiedner and their sons Peter and Andrew traveled to Ireland in the company of Fran Flanders, Julie Flanders and Bella Thorpe. They went to follow-up on some family genealogy they had worked on this winter. Julie and Bella took some time to ride horses in that pretty countryside and jump some stonewalls.

Friends will be happy to know that Barbara Rivers is back from Florida for some time at her Tea Lane home.

Roz Glazer is at her Menemsha home after a winter in New York city. She is anticipating many family visits this summer.

Betsy Cornwall is at her Quitsa home for a spring visit and plans to return to New York city before long.

Mark your calendars for May 9, the annual shellfish fundraiser planned at the community center.

Warren and Nan Doty enjoyed an off-Island trip last week. They visited Warren’s sister, Cynthia Doty, in New York city and shared a visit to the Museum of Modern Art and then travelled to Philadelphia to visit their grandchildren, Tavi Pollard and Felix and Olivia Doty, with a science festival visit included.

We send get well wishes to Betty Joslow, a popular busy resident in neighboring Aquinnah known to many of us, who is presently at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. We hope she will be home soon.

The Chilmark library will offer help in learning to use e-books and audios. Librarian Allyson Malik will offer help on Monday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from May 4 through August 31. Please call the library at 508-645-3360 for an appointment. Readers will have access to 17,000 titles through the CLAMS network and 175,000 titles through the Commonwealth e-book collection.

Congratulations to Ryan Rossi, a Chilmark serviceman who will be stationed at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha soon.

The Women’s Spring Symposium titled Just When You Thought . . . will be coming up on Saturday, May 23, from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be speakers, small group discussions and refreshments.

Congratulations to Brigida Larsen who has been accepted at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass. Brigida is the daughter of John and Susan Larsen on North Road.

Chris Yeomans is back from an extended stay in Chicago, where he participated in a stem cell project to help him battle MS. It is reported that he is looking good and feeling good. Best wishes from us all.

May 16 is the date for the Spring Electronics Disposal Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. This is always a good time to dispose of unwanted cell phones, computers, TVs, and many other pieces of equipment. Please call 508-693-7900 for more information.

The Chilmark Democrats will hold a caucus on Saturday, May 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the town hall. Please call 508-645-9758 for more information.

We end this week by sending many good birthday wishes to Andy Goldman who will celebrate a significant birthday on May 8. Andy is a busy retiree who gives many volunteer hours to Chilmark by serving on a number of town boards. We all send him cheers!

Send your Chilmark news to: slaterjn@comcast.net.