The leaves for the most part have fallen to the ground as we approach the shortest day of the year next month. Old Jack Frost paid us his first visit of the season Friday night and it was memorable with some biting wind to boot.

The Thanksgiving holiday will find quite a few families gathering in town and a fair number of us going off Island. Boat and air traffic will be getting busier than normal all next week in both directions.

The Winter Farmers’ Market Saturday at the Agricultural Hall will be selling items you can use for Thanksgiving.

Sig Van Raan has been here this past week working on a writing project. His wife Susan Dickler joined him on the weekend to attend the 75th birthday celebration of Richard Cohen, attended by many of their friends.

Marian Irving reminds us of the date of the Congregational Church annual Christmas Faire: it will be held on Dec. 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There will be homemade wreaths, arrangements, vintage jewelry and a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Custom orders for either evergreen or boxwood wreaths can be made by calling the church office at 508-693-2842.

Phyllis Meras returned home on Monday after a business trip to Seattle, Wash.

Lynn Christophers will be returning home on Thursday after a business trip down to New York.

Tanya Larsen over at the library reports that Saturday at 6 p.m. the library will host a program titled “Thank you for your service” that provides the community with an opportunity to listen to combat veterans and their spouses share their stories. As the community listens veterans will tell their stories, neighbor to neighbor. Please arrive early or at 6 p.m. sharp. Doors will close once the event begins. On Sunday at 2 p.m. Helene Barr will lead a Thanksgiving centerpiece workshop. Flowers and containers are provided. Participants are asked to bring their own scissors and additional decorations they choose. Sign up required. On Tuesday from 12 to 1:30 p.m., drop by for a free wellness clinic. Get your blood pressure checked and answers to medical questions. The library will be closed Nov. 23 and 24 for Thanksgiving.

Four West Tisbury School students recently created a student-based Our Learning Academy in which they wrote, produced, and offered video tutorials on a variety of subjects for other learners. Similar to Khan Academy, the on-demand student educator web-based model is collected on a Google web site. Students Nate Story, Olympia Hall, Georgia Magnarelli-Magden and Maia Donnelly presented their project to other educators at the two-day 2017 Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) conference at Gillette Stadium. Fifth grade teacher Susan Miller and technoplogy teacher Al Mahoney supervised the project.

A few people with friends in this town pass on their Thanksgiving wishes to all: Jen Wool of Burlington, Vt., Shannon Burke of Dripping Springs, Tex, Ava and Naomi Plakins of Philadelphia, Pa., Toni Kurash, Simi Horwitz, and Joan Siffert of New York city, Peter Ochs and his wife Gudrun of Vienna, Austria, and Millie Fodor and Ed and Jane Konicki of Webster.

Happy birthday to: Jim Coyne, Chloe Maley, Eric Perzankowski and Oakly Smith Friday; Rusty Hitchings, Sammi Chaves, Jennifer Reekie, Michael Alberice and Terri Mello Saturday; John Athearn, Kevin Segel, Benjamin Luckey and Oliver Silberstein on Sunday; Carlo D’Antonio, Craig Dripps, Sam Hopkins, Glen Gaskill, and Joan Borkow on Monday; Bernice Kirby, Stephanie Russell, Willie Mason, and Dan Metell on Tuesday; Dan Cabot, and Nancy Dole on Wednesday, Alexandra Look, Paddy Moore, Anne Reekie, Peter Ochs and Arsen Hambardzumian on Thursday.

Happy 38th wedding anniversary to Allen and Lynne Whiting on Wednesday.

Well, that is all the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Do you remember that 64 years ago today the soon to be famous chimp, J. Fred Muggs, made his first television appearance on the Today program with its host Dave Garoway. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Send West Tisbury town news to alleys@vineyard.net.