Chilmark is ready to close the book on August and move into the slower season. It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to seasonal friends off to their other homes, schools and interests. We have enjoyed sharing the varied moods of summer with them.

A few of the Aquinnah winners at the 152nd Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair include Amos Sauer who won a third prize ribbon for his hand-sculpted wooden boat; Waylon Sauer won first place and blue ribbons for his sculpture of an eagle and a wooden fighter jet, as well as third place for his woven beach grass mat.

Welcome back to Jim and Trude Hart who spent a wonderful vacation touring our northern states. They had dreamed of seeing our country. I wonder where they’ll go next? So long to Kim Beal and her kids; they left last Monday. Kim was able to pack in clamming, celebrating both sons’ birthdays, beaching, and accompanying the boys Christian and Quinn and daughter Lilly on hikes.

Rev. Cathlin Baker of the Congregational Church rang the church bell 50 times Wednesday, joining the rest of the country in marking the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Put plainly, most of the movie footage is not terribly good. Some of it is out of focus or overexposed. Some of it lingers too long on fish lying dead on the rocks. Some of it wasn’t even shot on the Vineyard, and it takes a judicious eye to determine which scenes show the Island and which show Nauset, Cotuit or the jetties at the northern end of the Cape Cod Canal.

The Gazette continues its special project on coastal erosion. Two new stories explore the topic of planning for retreat, how scientists used to think about it and how that thinking has changed. Two new stories today explore the topic of planning for retreat, how scientists used to think about it and how that thinking has changed.

As of this past Wednesday we knew of 254 homeowners who have said that they will send in their commitment letter to Comcast. Remember that the deadline to get 270 commitment letters sent in is Oct. 1. Also remember that Comcast has assured us that there is no financial liability associated with this commitment letter. I wish that they had worded it differently in the very beginning.

I love this weather — not too hot, not too cold. You can wear a sweatshirt in the morning and shorts by afternoon. Now we are getting the much-needed rain and sun for the Labor Day weekend. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week.

The busy summer of 1908 in Cottage City’s second year as the town of Oak Bluffs ended that Labor Day weekend with balloons over Lake Anthony, sponsored by the Wesley House Hotel, and fireworks that evening with the Banda Rosa playing during the display.

Have you ever thought about what makes a community special? I researched the subject by rereading my columns for this summer. We lost several longtime community members this year. Graham Dripps, George Sanford, Larry Stewart, Biff Cooper, Kay McMahon Geary and Wally Ross will be sorely missed.