JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark rolls on. Plans are in the works to repair the Menemsha docks burned last week and there are many signs of cleanup and progress. The cars have been removed, by barge and crane, from the fill dock where they were marooned as a result of the fire. Burned materials and boats have been removed, and it all shows signs of progress toward a speedy repair. Everyone seems upbeat and helpful.

Bill and Betsy Ramsey have left Larsen Lane for Wayland, but Bill Gilmour will be here one more week and is now enjoying the company of his daughter, Nancy Quinn, and her guest, from Northboro. Bill will be back at his Larsen Lane home in late August.

Friends of Chris and Christina Soulagnet enjoyed brief visits with them and their boys, Chase and Cameron. The family was in Chilmark for a short reunion with their many friends here. They hope to be back for the Fair in August. They now live in Connecticut.

Charles and Marjorie Phillips enjoyed a gathering of their family at Bretton Woods for a week this month. Their son, Chip, and his wife, Marsha, came from Richmond, Va. Their daughter Susan and husband, Ed Weber, came from Union, Maine, and their daughter Anne, with her husband, Allan Davey, were there from Vineyard Haven. The families and children enjoyed all the delights of the area during the reunion.

Ted and Judy Mayhew entertained Freda Peters and Ernest Cobb of Brookfield, Conn., this week. They came to join the festivities surrounding Ted’s 70th birthday. The friends met 25 years ago at St. Maarten and have met annually ever since then.

The storybook character Peter Rabbit will join a singalong at the Chilmark Community Center on July 26 at 11 a.m. Kristin Maloney of the Chilmark Public Library will lead the sing-along. Please note, parents, Peter Rabbit will be adult-sized, and some young folks may appreciate knowing this before they arrive! This program is thanks to the Martha’s Vineyard Library Association’s children’s librarians.

The Chilmark Community Center’s summer lecture series will present Nell Irvin Painter, who will discuss her book The History of White People, on July 22 at 8 p.m. The community center phone number is 508-645-9484 for details.

Vicki Divoll will speak at the Chilmark Public Library’s Wednesday program at 5:30 p.m. on July 28. Her subject will be Targeted Killing of Americans by the Obama Administration. The Chilmark library phone number is 508-645-3360 for details.

The Chilmark library hopes to encourage young poets to submit poems to the annual Elise Brickner Poetry contest. There are two categories: junior high school and high school. There are cash prizes for first and second place poems. The deadline for submitting poems is August 9 and the awards program is August 16 at the library. Please ask the librarians for more information.

Bob and Phyllis Conway welcomed their daughter, Robin, and her husband, Tom Morley, with their daughter, Emily, and a family friend, Cathy Tracy, all here last weekend to celebrate the Conways’ 61st wedding anniversary and Bob’s significant birthday! Cheers from us all!

Jean Granum is happy to tell us that her daughter in law, Elena Swenson, will give a piano concert at the Grace Church on Sunday, August 1, at 7 p.m. Elena is a noted Russian pianist and winner of international awards and a professor of music. The public is invited to attend. Jean’s son, Robert Swenson, and Elena were married in April.

Jonathan and Christina Neumann and their children, Elijah and Simona, have returned to Portland, Ore., after a July vacation with Jon’s parents, Conrad and Jane Neumann.

This weekend Monina von Opel and the Yard are presenting a one-woman program by Joanna Rush entitled Asking for It. The program will be offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Please call the Yard at 508-645-9662 for times and details.

The Women’s Walking group will meet on July 29 and walk Middle Line Road. Please call Julie at 508-645-2261 or Judy at 508-645-3460 for details.

Arnie Reisman of Larsen Lane will cohost a free dramatic reading presented by the ACLU of Massachusetts at the Chilmark Community Center on Thursday, July 29. Please consult the community center booklet or call 508-645-9484 for more details.