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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
December 30 - January 5, 2004 Edition
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WEST TISBURY December 30, 2004 Hermine Hull - 508-693-2525 - hrmhull@gis.net The sun is finally shining, a creamy light warming the snow-and-ice landscape we awoke to find Monday morning. Our woods and plantings were bent to the ground, affording us a long view instead of the cozy cluster of rhododendrons that we are accustomed to seeing. The enormous burning bush, the icon of many of my paintings, was totally flattened. Mike had to shovel us out, all of us; the snow-blocked Grace’s cat flap and a path for Jake and Talley to get off the porch. After I finished my column, my job was to shovel a path to the woodpile to replenish the inside pile beside the stove. Lots of us in West Tisbury lost our power Sunday night around 9:30 pm. Mike and I had just gotten into bed with our books and I was eager to find out how the murderer had accomplished his/her crime when our lights flickered, went out, came back on, then went out for the rest of the night. Several of our neighbors reported seeing a flash of green or blue light before the power went out, so I called NStar to find out what happened. No great mystery: tree branches laden with ice had fallen across electric lines causing what was basically a blown fuse. Our power was back in time to make coffee for breakfast, but when I spoke to NStar, I was told that many customers across the Cape were still without power. Also, SSA boats were not running. It makes one a bit philosophical about self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, West Tisbury has been aflutter with comings and goings of family and friends. Allen and Lynne Whiting welcomed daughter Bea with her new husband, Dr. Jason Spendelow, for Christmas at the Davis House on State Road. The young couple is here for the winter after completing their studies in New Zealand. Bea has earned her masters in psychology and Jason in clinical psychology. All of West Tisbury wishes them both much happiness in their life together. Welcome also to Benjamin Campbell Skillen, new grandson of Ken and Cathy Campbell of Old County Road. Ben was born on Dec. 10 in Ithaca, N.Y., to parents Beth and Jamie Skillen. Henry and Louise Bessire of Edgartown Road had a full house of children and grandchildren. Paul Bessire and his wife, Anne Kaplan, arrived from Brookline with their children, Nicholas and Emma. Mark and Aimee Bessire and their children, Blakey and Clay, came from Portland, Maine. Also celebrating together were springer spaniels, Sophie, the grand-dame, and her great-niece, Muddy. The Riggs/Fielder/Jones clan shared Christmas dinner for 15 at Bill and Ann Fielder’s house on New Lane. Their daughter, Dionis (Dinny) and son-in-law, Gary Montrowl, were there with their children, Sarah and Jared. Gary’s sister, Patricia Montrowl, was with them. Also Evan and Chris Fielder attended with their sons, David, Bill, and Bradley. Gary and Patricia Montrowl’s mother, Gail Montrowl Urbach, will join the family today on Tiah’s Cove Road. Sarah Mayhew arrived from California to spend the holidays with her parents, John and Shirley Mayhew, of Music Street. Their family festivities featured a Christmas Eve dinner at Deborah and Katie Ann Mayhew’s house on the Panhandle. Christmas breakfast and present-opening took place at Jack, Betsey, Caroline and Lucy Mayhew’s house off State Road. Frank and Ursula Ferro’s granddaughter, Ava, arrived from New York City with her parents, Tova Ferro and Mark Grandfield. I enjoyed meeting Ava at the library, where she was checking out lots of books and visiting with friends, being shown off by her beaming grandmother. The Ferro’s other daughter, Marta, and her partner, Sean O’Riordan, came from Los Angeles for the holidays. Karen and Michael Colaneri traveled to Barrington, R.I., to spend Christmas with their daughter Sara, son-in-law Mark, and grandsons Nick and Ryan Bonneau. Their other daughter, Nicole Galland, flew in from Oakland, Calif., to meet the family in Rhode Island, then to return with Mike and Karen for a stay on the Vineyard. Nicole has just published her first novel, “The Fool’s Tale, A Novel of Medieval Wales,” and will be featured at an event hosted by the Bunch of Grapes on Friday evening, Jan. 7. More details will follow in next week’s column. Bruce and Mary Lu Keep traveled to Wellesley to spend Christmas with their son Stephen, and his wife Dana, and their children, Ryan and Matthew. Linda McGuire spent the Christmas holidays in Chicago with her son, Daniel, and his family. Cynthia Riggs just returned my earlier call to tell me about the “rather interesting” (quote from Ann Fielder) Christmas Eve dinner she attended at Muriel Bye’s home on Edgartown Road. The guests were, besides Cynthia, Leonard and Cliff Athearn and their sister, Louise Kernick. The conversation was mostly about genealogy and West Tisbury history. It would be difficult to find a more informed group. It turned out that they all share a bit of a “connection,” as Cynthia is a third cousin to Muriel on her mother’s side and the Athearns are third cousins to Muriel on their father’s side. I hope I got that straight. Peter Rodegast and Nancy Cole with their children, Stuart and Emily, spent Christmas in New York City. They had a full itinerary planned, including visits to Ellis Island, the Guggenheim, and newly-refurbished MOMA, skateboarding and ice skating, lots of shopping and walking around the city, and enjoying their time together. Many of us celebrate with family that is next door or just across town. We are lucky enough to share the dropping in for tea with parents, picking up grandchildren, nieces, or nephews after school, having daily dog walks and errand-running, as well as the grand holiday get-togethers. Howard and Diane Wall, and daughters Hilary and Tessa, had everyone at their house for Christmas. Diane’s sister, Jan Paul, and her husband, Rich Rooney, with their daughter, Jenay, were there, as well as Jan and Diane’s parents, Ben and Florence Paul. Bill and Betty Haynes spent Christmas at home with their children and families: Janice Haynes and Jeremiah Brown and sons Mike and Chris, Bruce Haynes and his fiancée, Jennifer, and children Nathaniel and Jessica. Our family had Christmas Eve dinner for 20 at my in-law’s house two doors down the Edgartown Road. Bobby and Richard’s living room was beautifully decorated, as it is every year with greens and colored candles. Earlier in the day, my sister-in-law, BZ, and niece, Charlotte, moved furniture and set up tables the length of the living room. We all brought food and drink and convivial good cheer. Dan Hull, his wife, Xiaoshi, and their daughter, Sunday, came from Somerville. Charlotte, Jared and BZ’s daughter, is home from her first semester at Mt. Holyoke for most of the month of January. Cecily’s son, Joshua Bryant, came home from Raleigh, N.C. just for the weekend. Never long enough. Christmas Eve we sat at the table together. Our patriarch, Richard Hull, at the head, his wife, Bobby, a seat away. Jared, BZ, Charlotte, Cecily, her husband, Jim Thornley, Josh, Mike and me. Our cousins, Hannah Beecher with her partner, Brian Ruddick, Dan’l, Xiaoshi, Sunday Hull. Amy Eisenlohr and her son, Ezra Agnew, Robin Brown, Tom and Emily Wetherall. Christmas breakfast at Cec and Jim’s, then a beach walk at Lucy Vincent with all of our dogs (seven.) Congratulations to Fran Bradley. She has a new job doing EMT transports for Oak Bluffs. I’m going for a walk up our road to look at the snowfall. I hope it will all be melted soon.

©The Martha's Vineyard Times 2004 - www.mvtimes.com