Lightning and thunder couldn’t have been timed more appropriately for Maynard Silva’s memorial service at the agricultural hall in West Tisbury on Saturday afternoon. But the gathering of hundreds of friends, fans and anyone else began and ended with sunshine.

Maynard Silva, 57, died July 16 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after a three-year struggle with cancer.

During the program, many came to speak passionately about the blues musician, the sign painter, the father, the Vineyarder.

Corrections

A story on Island recycling in Friday’s Gazette incorrectly reported on the role of Allied Waste. The company does offer residential recycling and since May has offered single stream recycling, which co-mingles all recyclables, including paper.

The service now operates everywhere except Chappaquiddick, and will begin collections there starting Sept. 4.

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In just a few weeks, the agricultural hall grounds in West Tisbury will be abuzz with activity. Already there are signs that the annual Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair — the first day is August 21 — is just around the corner.

On July 18, Edgartown resident Hillary Landers drew three names for a pair of tickets each for field box seats for a Red Sox vs. Yankees series at Fenway Park.

The three winners were Kate and Sam Sherman of Edgartown, Carol and Richard Walton of Oak Bluffs and Linda and Peter Leahy of Chilmark and Brookline.

The raffle was a fundraiser for Hillary who suffered a spinal cord injury in September 2006 and returned to her home after 15 months of hospitalization and rehabilitation. In the fundraiser, 145 contributors raised just under $30,000.

Welcome Ayelet

Meg Dole and Seth Abramowitz are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Ayelet Fiona Abramowitz, on June 6 at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Ayelet weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Her mother grew up in West Tisbury.

John Brown’s Body, the eight-piece band which hails from Boston and upstate New York, releases their sixth studio album this September, but you can sample the tunes early on Thursday, August 7, at Outerland at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.

Parenting Talk

Dayle Pomerantz, a parent skills coach and child development specialist will share her latest book, Secrets of Great Parents, and explore successful parent-child relationships, on Thursday, August 7, at 4:30 p.m. at the West Tisbury library. The talk is free with refreshments. For details, call 508-693-3366.

Receives Degree

Michelle Holmberg of Oak Bluffs recently received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.

They’re back — in record numbers.

After capturing and releasing four osprey fledglings last week from two Island locations, Dr. Rob Bierregaard said the Island now hosts 70 pair of summering osprey, “as many as there have ever been [in recorded history] on the Island.”

The University of North Carolina biologist should know. He’s been researching the Island osprey population since the early 1970s, shortly after Island naturalist Gus Ben David set about protecting and expanding the handful of surviving osprey pairs in 1969.

Island Baseball

The big turnout for the Cape Cod Baseball League game held two weeks ago at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is strong evidence that the league and Vineyard baseball enthusiasts should seriously explore creating a league team for the Island, or moving a league team here.