JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

It is with much sadness that we report the death on Sunday last of Robert N. Flanders of Menemsha. He was most closely associated with the water and for many years was a familiar fisherman in Menemsha. His roots go deep in Chilmark and he was a respected and hard working husband, father, brother and neighbor. We shall all miss him and send condolences to his many friends and extended family.

The flea market at the community center is tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 16. There will be food available for lunch or a snack and vendors of treasures and crafts.

Next Saturday, Feb. 23, is the date of the 2008 Crossword Puzzle and Sudoku Challenge at the library at 2 p.m. There will be puzzles for adults and youths in both categories. The four winners will each receive a $25 Bunch of Grapes bookstore gift certificate. The Chilmark library and the Vineyard Gazette are the co-sponsors of this event.

Best wishes to Eric Cottle who, as I write, is in the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. We all hope he will be at his Menemsha home soon.

The many Chilmark friends of Helen Manning of Aquinnah mourn her passing and send condolences to her family. Her busy and productive life spanned interests in all the Island towns and she was highly regarded by all. We shall miss her.

Arnie Reisman and Paula Lyons were at their Larsen Lane home for a brief winter visit.

We send condolences to the family of Michael Lee Vincent, who died unexpectedly this month at his southern California home. He was born on the Vineyard. His brother, Dick Vincent, remembers happy hours when the brothers enjoyed fishing and visiting together in Menemsha.

The Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund will sponsor a series of programs beginning with two films to be shown at the Chilmark library on Feb. 20. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and the public is welcome. The two documentaries are The Water Talks to Me, a look at the fishing in Gloucester, and Last Season: Portrait of a Trawler, which depicts New Bedford fishing. This is the first of eight programs about the problems confronting today’s fishermen. For more information, please call the library at 508-645-3360.

I am off-Island this week, so please e-mail me with the news so I can catch up when we get back.