JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
Well, the weather has been unusually mild all week allowing us time to put up the storm windows without freezing our hands. However, it does not look so good for the weekend. Our foliage, what there was of it, is not quite the peak color but leaves are beginning to fall rapidly. Scarecrows and pumpkins dot the landscape these days in all parts of town. Remember to avoid confusion and please be mindful that at two o’clock next Sunday morning (Nov. 6) we will return to Eastern Standard Time and the daylight hours will grow shorter. There has been a flurry of activity on Music street. A flock of domestic turkeys is inside a pen (most of the time) in BL Bird’s field. Many a car has stopped to take pictures because they have escaped and like to camp in the road.
With the large number of yard and estate sales around town this month I remembered that Lee Revere remarked to me last year that the Friends of the West Tisbury Library are accepting books in good condition for the 55th annual book sale to be held in late July next year. Books may be dropped off at the library during business hours.
Monday night we will celebrate Halloween. Its origin comes from an ancient Celtic festival that was at least 2,000 years old. The American tradition of trick or treat dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. Poor people would beg for food and were given pastries called soul cakes. By the 1920’s Halloween had become a community holiday with parades and townwide parties. Today we spend an estimated seven billion dollars on the occasion annually, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday.
The annual Halloween party sponsored by the West Tisbury park and recreation committee will be held Monday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Agricultural Hall. There will be refreshments, games, costume parade and maybe a spooky hayride. For further information please call 508-696-0147.
The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School Scarecrow Festival is in full swing! There is a record number of businesses this year: 67. A list of all the scarecrow locations is on the charter school Web site: mvpcs.org. Scarecrows will come down on Tuesday, but many builders will be bringing them to the porch of the Mansion House for an additional group display until the following Sunday.
Linda Baughman, of Philadelphia, Pa. has arrived for her annual two-week fall visit with Phyllis Meras. She really likes this season of the year and Halloween.
Shanti Blum, of Music street, returned home recently after visiting her daughter and family in Toronto, Canada. She reports having a wonderful time.
Brenda Denham and Sam Lansing, of Erie, Colo., were married on Monday afternoon. Several years ago Brenda lived on the Vineyard and chose to be married here. They report having a wonderful time and great weather.
Jennifer Tseng, over at the library, reports that all children are invited on Monday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. to their annual library Halloween party. Jennifer asks that you bring along a snack, as they just need a few things to supplement what they are making. There will be games, treats, crafts and hayrides. So come in costume and have a good time. This afternoon at 4 p.m. the JC Trio will be playing jazz for your listening pleasure. Next Friday at 4 p.m. Nancy Hoffman will give a talk on the history of The Feminist Press, From Life in the Iron Mills (1861) to Tango: My Life Backward and in Heels (2011): Reflections on the Feminist Press’ Forty Years of Publishing. Questions and answers will follow. Refreshments are served. It is free and open to the public. Also a silent film series begins next month.
When you are in or near the woods these days remember that the archery season for deer is in its second week. John Varconda, manager of the Manuel Correllus State Forest, would like to remind people who enter the forest to wear bright colored clothing to be on the safe side. Be extra careful when driving, as deer are apt to cross the road day or night at one of their favorite crossings.
The Permanent Endowment Foundation held its annual Creative Living award in the Grange Hall last week. The recipient was Dan Waters. A full house was present and everyone enjoyed the ceremony.
Jane Coakley, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society reports that they will sponsor a concert next month at the Whaling Church in Edgartown. $20 for adults; students admitted free; tickets sold at the door. For more information contact her at 508-696-8055.
Lynn Ditchfield reports that the Adult and Community Education (ACE MV) has a busy week of scheduled programs, Wild Edibles with Suzan Bellincampi, Greenhouse Construction Operation and Maintenance, Creative Non-Fiction, Salsa with Saskia Vanderhoop, Conversational French for Beginners, and The Art of Cake Decorating seminar with Eniko Delisle, and a Belly Dance class with Jamie O’Gorman. Contact her for time and location at lynn@acemv.org.
Liz Villard reports that tomorrow in Vineyard Haven she will lead folks on a tour of the old town cemetery located on Centre street.
Nan Doty reports that the Occupy Wall Street – MV photo in support of OWS will take place at Menemsha Beach on Sunday at11:30 a.m. Unite for the good of all. Bring American flags, your kids, your pets, and a thermos of coffee to share with friends. By showing up our democracy is strengthened.
As Halloween is nearly upon us let me remind you of the biggest spoof accidentally played on the public. It was the famous radio broadcast in 1938 of Orson Wells’s dramatization of H.G. Welles’s tale, War of the Worlds. Anyone who was listening to the program, Mercury Theatre of the Air, on CBS radio that evening was horrified and genuinely scared by the news of an invasion from Mars covered by live reports on the radio. This dovetailed with the fact that we were also increasingly concerned about the growing crisis in Europe from the nightly transatlantic radio reports from CBS correspondents. The headline on page one of The New York Times the following morning read, Radio Listeners in Panic Taking War Drama as Fact. If, however, that Sunday evening you were listening to the program that was broadcast over the NBC radio network you knew nothing about “the invasion” and enjoyed their weekly program. So what was the name of that comedy show that featured a wooden man and was sponsored by Chase and Sanborn Coffee? In his diary Frank Adams listed it as one of his favorites. Simi Horwitz, down in New York city, and Ava Plakins in Doylestown Pa. knew the answer immediately; they also included the time of the weekly broadcast and sent it to me via computer, you see they receive an early copy of my column.
Happy birthday to: Brian Alwardt and Travis Wood today; Paul Wells, Joe Capobianco, Natalie Salzman, David Christensen, Paul Wells, Fran Finnegan and Barbara Moment tomorrow; John Adams, Lisa Epstein, Deborah Johnson, and John Bugbee on Sunday; Barbara Coogan, Adam Church, Laura Entner, Morgan Alwardt, Marjorie Dolan and Cole Ferraiuolo on Monday; ace reporter Hermine Hull, Coco Brown, Laurie Larsen and Timothy Donovan on Tuesday; John Mayhew, Julie Skinner, Doug Kent, Mike Rouse, Ken Leuchtenmacher, Gabrielle Knight and Elizabeth Bouck on Wednesday; and Rainy Monast, Charlene Douglas, Carey Rosenthal, Mary Lee McCormack, Lucy Mayhew, Gail Rowe and Suzanne Howes on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Stephanie Fesko and Hunter Moorman.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Happy Halloween everyone!
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