It feels like the season is kicking in, even though up here the trees are mostly bare. There have been workers at the Chilmark Store regularly and also at 7A Foods (formerly Garcia’s, Back Alley’s), getting them ready to open.
The Aquinnah Shop at the cliffs is open. They are serving breakfast and lunch from 8 am to 2 pm, seven days a week. On weekends they may be open a little later, and of course pies are available. Everything at the cliffs should be open by Memorial Day. And of course Juli would love to start doing pizza days at Orange Peel, but the weather has yet to cooperate.
Noni and Jed Smith welcomed a baby boy this past Friday. Clovis Hugo Smith was born at 12:34 pm; he weighed eight pounds and one ounce. He joins big brothers Clyde and Claus. Congratulations to all of them.
The egg hunt at the Duck Inn was fun and exciting — as always. Elise and her helpers boiled, dyed, and hid 700 eggs all over the property. Hidden along with the eggs were other trinkets, like rubber ducks, beaded bracelets, kites, sunglasses, etc. Of course the excitement comes from the quest for the gold and silver eggs that fetch a prize if you find them. This Easter, a young boy named Matthew found the gold egg and his sister Mackenzie found the silver.
After the egg hunt people gathered inside for the potluck or continued playing outside; there were games of musical chairs, an egg and spoon race, and a “bunny” sack hop. This is always a great event and this year was no different. Most Aquinnah parents were there and some visitors from out-of-town came as well. The weather held and meltdowns were kept to a minimum. Thank you, Elise, for opening your doors to all of us and putting on a great Easter pageant.
Expect some improvements at the library where a technology upgrade will be installed by Memorial Day, if all goes as scheduled. The Friends of the Aquinnah Public Library and the AGHCA have raised funds for this over the past year. The current technology is around ten years old. There will be new computers for the public, both PC and Mac, a new server, and more.
There are two programs scheduled for May at the library. Cathy intentionally scheduled a light May, but she is promising a program nearly every day for the summer season.
The first program will be held on Tuesday, May 17, from 5 to 6:30 pm, at the Old Aquinnah Town Hall. Adam Wilson, our town administrator, will be talking about his new book, “The Road to Sagarmartha.” I love that our town administrator is also a novelist; it just proves my theory that you can’t judge anyone by their job on Martha’s Vineyard, where everyone wears many hats. Cathy says that it’s “an exciting book with many plotlines woven together in a fast-paced tapestry of adventure.”
Adam will have copies of the book available and will sign them for those who purchase them. On May 26, from 5 to 6 pm, there will be a continuation of the April book discussion of Abraham Verghese’s “Cutting for Stone.” Copies of the book are available at the library.
Here’s hoping May brings a little more sunshine and warmth.