Town Column : Tisbury
By Kay Mayhew
Published: May 7, 2009
Everyone was talking about the wonderful meeting of the White House workers' children with first lady Michelle Obama a couple of weeks ago. Jeanne and Doug Dowling were delighted. Two of their grandchildren, Quinn (age 10) and Vivian (age 8) Hyatt, were among the group. The children's mother, Kristen Dowling, works in the Executive Office of the President. The children asked questions, discussed ways in which they could help the country, and made cookies with the White House pastry chef. Quinn and Vivi also enjoyed the White House Easter egg party on Easter Monday.
Jeanne and Doug also told us how proud they are of their daughter Shannon Dowling Moore. She ran her first Boston Marathon on Patriots Day. We should be proud of all the runners from Martha's Vineyard who completed this endurance test.
Library Director Amy Ryan says that this week a man came to the library to return a book that he had checked out as a student. He was certain he had returned it to the library, but just discovered it while unpacking some boxes. It's not unusual for books to be returned late, but this one was due on April 16, 1966. The library is happy to have the book back after a 43-year absence and did not charge any additional overdue fines. The book, "Now It Can Be Told," published in 1920, is a personal account of World War I by newspaper correspondent Philip Gibbs. It is now available for checkout from the library.
Leslie Grimm, Alex Gothals, and Rainy Goodale, swimmers on the Mansion House Masters Team competed so successfully at the New England meet that they were invited to the National Masters Meet in Fresno, Calif. There are only 15 others from the New England area who qualified to compete with 1,500 swimmers on a national level, including Olympic hopefuls and medalists.
Many shops in town have window displays of wonderful gifts for Mother's Day. There are pillows with pictures and paintings of Island scenes, lovely original jewelry, and many tempting items.
Lynne Benson is back from North Carolina where she showed off her new slim self to her family. She says the annual Mother's Day sale at the Heath Hen Yarn & Quilt Shop will be on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Of course, lobster rolls are now available at Grace Church on Fridays.
Some mothers may prefer to spend the afternoon at the Fiber Folks' final spring meeting on Sunday from 1 to 4 pm at the Ag Hall. The group welcomes all handcrafts: knitting, spinning, rug hooking, needlepoint. Bring a project to work on or just stop and visit. This is your last chance to pick up some free yarn from the exchange. The meeting is free and open to the public.
We all have memories of our school days. Oak Bluffs will host "An Evening of Memories of Going to School in Oak Bluffs, 1880-1960," a week from today at 6 pm in the Oak Bluffs Public Library. Everyone is welcome to view the many photographs and documents collected by the Oak Bluffs Historical Commission.
Big bunches of birthday balloon wishes go out tomorrow to Garry Metters. You'll probably find him at Bowl and Board. Wish the best on Wednesday to Amy Levine.
Heard on Main Street: Louisa Gould's painting of President Obama is in the front window of her Gallery. Recently a little girl pointed it out and asked, "Daddy, who is that?" The father replied, "You know who that is." The young girl said, "That isn't who it says it is." The child could read Louisa's name at the bottom of the painting. She knew it was the President, but it did have somebody else's name.
