MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Despite the mild temperatures, Chappaquiddick has an almost wintry look now, with most of the oak, sassafras, and beetlebung leaves off the trees. Some of the bushes, like the honeysuckle and autumn olive, are noticeable once again as they’re some of the last to lose their leaves. In the early spring, they’re the first to leaf out and become visible. Bushes have to make good use of the time before and after the trees hog the light.

On my “everyday” walk along the beach at Cape Pogue Pond, the shore looks like wintertime, too, except for the edges of the marsh where the groundsel bushes still have their leaves. Walking regularly along a stretch of beach you can see how much it changes from week to week. Right now there are pockets of tiny colorful scallop shells inlaid here and there where they’ve collected in sandy crevices. Since they washed up a few weeks ago, the shells have been cleaned by the birds and tides. The sand washed in, too, and covers part of the rocks, making a nice pathway along the shore.

We share the Island with a well-celebrated person; Edo Potter is receiving her second award of the year. On Dec. 1 she’ll be awarded the Spirit of the Vineyard award from Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard. All are welcome to come and celebrate at the Edgartown Yacht Club at 5 p.m. The award is given to people who have served at one or more nonprofits and made a difference to people or the community. Edo more than qualifies on all those counts!

She started on her path of community service about 40 years ago, when she and Bob came for the winter when he had a sabbatical. Back then there were 32 people living here. Edo thought she’d go stir crazy, so she brought lots of projects to do. She learned to hook rugs, and she and Bob took a celestial navigation course. But it turned out she didn’t spend much time on her projects — being a sociable person she found she’d rather go to town meetings.

The first thing she did was come up with a zoning bylaw for three-acre lots at a time when the zoning was one-acre lots on Chappy. The Chappaquiddick Island Association wanted to propose larger lots, and Edo, using her note-taking skills from Vassar College, collected some other towns’ zoning bylaws and pieced together one that the planning board was happy to put on the annual town meeting warrant. Then she joined the planning board, and later the selectmen — and also the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, Land Bank, and Sheriff’s Meadow, to name a few organizations. She is still a member of the town’s conservation commission, although she thinks she may retire now that she’ll be turning 85 in January. We are grateful for all her work to make and keep the Island what it is.

The Edgartown Library’s fall film series, the Music Makers, focuses on music, composers, and performers. The films are presented on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and continue on Nov. 29. Desserts will be served. You can check out the calendar page on the library’s Web site for more information and events.

The Chappy Open Space Committee leads a two and a half to three hour walk — the Chappy dream walk — on Friday, Nov. 25, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Chappaquiddick Community Center. A shorter version of the walk will be available to those unable to make the long trek. For further information, you can contact Nancy Hugger at 508-627-8364.

On Saturday, Nov. 26, the CCC holds its open house and craft sale from 2 to 4 p.m., featuring refreshments, tea, and hot cider. CCC photo calendars will be for sale or pick-up (pre-ordered copies have been mailed). Order forms can be printed from the CCC Web site. Chappy-made knitted goods and crafts will also be for sale, and anyone is welcome to sell their homemade items. You can e-mail the CCC at chappycc@verizon.net, or just show up that day.

Mark your calendar for the annual Ferry Crew Appreciation Potluck on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. Peter told me that on a recent ferry trip across, he noticed that one-third of the people were named Bob – and there were nine people on board! I wonder what’s the highest possible ratio of Bobs to total people on the ferry on a November day? It could be 100 per cent when Capt. Bob is driving.

An odd fact is that six of the seven Bobs I can think of live more or less in a straight line across the center of the island. Sidney suggested maybe Bobs like high ground. The odd Bob out, so to speak, is Bob Gurnitz, who lives over toward Katama Bay. Maybe Peter should get all the resident Bobs together for a picture on the ferry. He’d have to get this picture organized soon, because Bob and Ellen leave for Florida for the winter soon.

It was Bob Gurnitz who told me that there was period of years when Robert was a very popular name to give a baby. I looked at the Social Security Web site that tracks the popularity of names, and found that Robert was the number one male name in the 1930s. Its popularity dropped steadily through the 1980s, and then in the 1990s it dropped to 20th. By the 2000s it was down to 36th place. Sounds as if there will be a real shortage of Bobs in another few decades. Now the popular names are Michael, Jacob, Joshua, and Matthew.

The Web site (easiest to find with a search for “popularity of names”) is actually very interesting. You can track your own name, or which names are most popular by year or decade since the 1880s. I found out Margaret reached its peak of popularity as third most chosen name in the first decade of the 1900s. No wonder I feel behind the times so often.