Town Column : Chilmark
By Jacqueline Sexton
Published: May 29, 2008
Memorial Day visitors saw Chilmark and the rest of the Island at its springtime best over the weekend. There should be something in this brilliantly technological age that we could click to make the weather remain as beautiful as it has been lately.
Choreographed by nature like a stage setting, the colors seem more colorful than usual, with the bright pink of the ornamental cherry and the drifting white apple blossoms blending with the purples of the lilacs. While underfoot the dandelions and buttercups are mixed up with the blues and whites of the asters and other tiny flowers. Gardeners are rejoicing at the apparent return of the bees and are getting ready to plant tomatoes and other edibles.
It's all perfect timing for the Pennies for Peace festival the kindergarteners and first graders are putting on tomorrow, Friday, May 30, 1-2:30 pm. Be sure to look in on it and find out what the children have been learning about the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan - their clothes, schools, and culture. There will also be booths displaying crafts they have made.
The library goes into its summer hours starting Monday, June 2. This means it will be open Fridays from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and on Tuesdays until 5:30 pm in addition to the regular winter hours.
The book sale at the library continues with books selling at half-price starting today: hard covers are 50 cents and paperbacks 2 for 25 cents.
Former library director Cathy Thompson has been in town from Lake Forest and has enjoyed visits with family and friends.
Chilmark will host the Neighborhood Convention at the fellowship room at the church, meeting first at The Yard at 10:45 am. The Rev. Susan Heafield will lead the worship. The theme is "Behind the scenes at The Yard," and choreographers will share their vision.
There's a nice tale in the church newsletter, "The Flame," about Diane DelMoe's grape jelly made with uncultivated grapes from the parsonage backyard. Rev. Heafield took some of the jelly with her on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where it was a big hit. When Rev. Heafield was invited to give the sermon at nearby Owl Rock, she incorporated the jelly - the grape vines, the branches - into her message with passages from Isaiah and John. Her husband, hymn-writer Brian Wren, wrote a new hymn on the same subject, and everyone sang along.
Vineyard grapes travel well.
