Aquinnah

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Well that wasn’t much of a storm, let alone a hurricane. What am I going to do with all the buckets of water stashed around my house now? Why is it that whenever the weather people make such a brouhaha about a storm it’s nothing, but when they tell you we’re just going to get a little wind and rain, your boat gets smashed up in the harbor and there are tree limbs everywhere? What I’m nervous about is that there will be a storm in a couple of weeks that we won’t pay attention to because we got all bent out of shape about this one, and it will really knock us flat.

I must say though that everyone was really helpful in preparing for this “hurricane.” My husband, like many others, had to get his boat out of the water on short notice, and friends made themselves available to assist, and Chip and Buddy were at West Basin to help deal with the bottleneck of boats that were being hauled out. People passed the storms in many different ways. With restaurants closed and a driving ban in effect, many people stayed home, but some ventured to the water’s edge to check out the waves. Drinking seemed to be a popular activity, I heard of many down-Island trips for “supplies” before the driving ban went into effect. Surfers were delighted with the waves the next day and it was nice that a day set aside for clean up could be used in other ways. But many of us in the restaurant industry could have used the money that we would have made on what is seen as the last big weekend of the summer.

On Friday, Sept. 10, there will be a 17th Century traditional bone tool-making demonstration at the Aquinnah Cultural Center. Join Philip Wynne from Mashpee as he shows how to make all sorts of things. The demonstration is free with museum admission. The museum will be closed on Saturday because of the 6th Annual Aquinnah Wampanoag Powwow, which takes place up at the cliffs on Saturday and Sunday — grand entrance is at noon on Saturday. Come for drumming and dancing, and to see your neighbors transformed by their traditional Wampanoag roles and garb. This event is not to be missed and with it comes what feels like the true end of summer.

Phil Weinstein will speak about William Faulkner at the Old Town Hall this Saturday from 5 to 6 pm as part of the library’s late-summer speaker series. His talk is titled, “Faulkner in Love, Trouble, and Hollywood.” June Manning will speak Tuesday, also from 5 to 6 pm about the history of the Wampanoag tribe from 1870 to the present. The series concludes on Tuesday Sept. 21, with Alan Brigish and Susan Klein talking about their book, “Martha’s Vineyard — Now and Zen.”

The primary elections are this Tuesday at Town Hall, where polls will be open from 7 am to 9 pm. Absentee ballots are available from Carolyn Feltz at Town Hall.

Have you noticed that the house next to Juli’s (20 State Road) is gone? It is now an affordable-housing lot, and applications are available from Carolyn Feltz (the go-to lady these days). The drawing will be in December.

Being relatively new to the Island (I’ve only been here ten years), I frequently hear about past events and traditions that have ceased and that people miss. The Wintertide Coffeehouse is one of those and now all you lamenters can come out to Nectar’s on Sunday at 8 pm for a Wintertide Reunion Concert featuring Kevin Keady, Dan Waters, Jemima James, Dayna Kurtz, and Kim Hillard. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Y’s teen center.