Can it really be December? There are two pots of daisies in full bloom in front of the library and another in front of the post office. All the yards and fields are as green as they are in June. However, the trees are bare of leaves and the color gray is predominant. Some of us took advantage of the mild weather to get the holiday lights up ... so as not to repeat many other years’ adventures in snow and wind!
By the time you are reading this, you will, hopefully, be resting after an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day with friends and family. There were many folks in town for the weekend and there were some who traveled off-Island to celebrate. Herb and I traveled to Attleboro, and Ted Meinelt went to Topsfield, and many others were also on the road . . . read: boat.
It has been another week of warm weather with lots of sunshine in Chilmark. I’ll be happy to open with that sentence every week, but it is late fall and I will probably soon have to change my tune!
Word has reached us of the death recently of Nancy Flanders Buell. We send condolences to her family and friends. She has lived in Florida for many years but grew up in Chilmark. Her many family members and childhood friends will miss her visits to Chilmark.
Chilmark enjoyed another week of Indian summer with mild temperatures and sunshine. The crisper November days must be just ahead. The woods are still yellow and leafy and a pleasure to drive by.
Chilmark is peaceful and calm as the President’s vacation proceeds. We are hoping he is enjoying the weather, and his surroundings, and getting some of that reading done.
What an emotional week this has been! Makes it hard to focus on the ordinary again. Happy citizens gathered at the Chilmark Community Center for an inauguration ball on Jan. 20. It was the perfect way to end that exciting day. Here is a cheer from us all to the winners and a fervent wish that they can do at least half of what they hope to do!
Someone told me that Tuesday night it was 36 degrees in Chilmark and the weathermen had to look as far away as Alaska to find another 36-degree location. Wednesday was warm and sunny, just the way June is supposed to be, so maybe that cold night was a bad dream. However, the rainy days are real and still with us.
Editor’s Note: Jane Slater has been writing the weekly Chilmark column for the Vineyard Gazette for decades. This is a column she prepared specially for the arrival of President Obama this weekend.
Mr. President, Chilmark welcomes you and your family. Tradition has it that you are the third president since John Adams to spend time in Chilmark and we are honored to have you.
Chilmark is a rural community at the southwest corner of Martha’s Vineyard where farmers and fishermen have made their home since 1694.
