Town Column : Chilmark
By Katie Carroll
Published: June 25, 2009
The calendar says summer has arrived, but the weather does not seem to share the sentiment. There was but one transient boat, Ancient of Days, that spent the weekend at the far end of the yacht dock. It sat shifting in the tide and the wind as if it was the last boat left at the end of a long summer.
As I mentioned last week, the children in the K/1 class at the Chilmark School were preparing for the birth of their babies. At last count, there were nine fuzzy little chicks peeping in Robin and Eleanor's classroom. Some are black and some are yellow and all put on quite a show for the folks peeking in on them throughout the day. It appears that one of the two incubators had some trouble regulating temperature so we may not see anything emerge from it. That, too, is a life lesson to be explained, discussed, and learned from.
According to Bob and Emma Shalhope, their daughter, Adelaide, will be visiting this upcoming week. She has recently returned from a trip overseas that I look forward to hearing about.
Steve Lewenberg recently returned from his 45th Cornell College reunion. It was a four-day event with classes, speakers, friends, and fun all intermingled. Steve described his half-week of fun to me with a twinkle in his eye. I wish I hadn't misplaced the notes I took so I wouldn't forget to mention all of the details. But, alas, the hectic pace of the last week of school and trying to ready a business for summer got the best of me. I apologize, Steve. It won't happen again.
Caleb, Chris, and Celia Slater were here visiting Caleb's folks, Herb and Jane. Not only was the boat launched, but Chris celebrated a birthday.
Stephen and Kerry Taylor will return shortly from a transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2. As they headed out of New York last week, with ball gowns, bathing suits, and gym clothes in tow, Stephen snapped a picture of M/V Islander docked in the foreground of soaring skyscrapers. There sits a piece of Vineyard history.
Tom Langman has returned to Menemsha for the summer from Washington, D.C. He is back on the water in Phoenix II with one minor mishap which luckily took place alongside the dock. One of his fishing poles went overboard but, fortunately, Alan Porter donning his wetsuit retrieved it in short time. Alan is but a phone call away from any dive job you may need. Tom, I am sure, will have a smooth summer from here on in.
Wildlife biologist Luanne Johnson will share the results of her doctoral research on the behavior and habits of coastal striped skunks on the Vineyard. Her lecture, titled Skunks without Borders: the Movements and Behavior or Coastal Skunks on Martha's Vineyard, will be held at the Chilmark Public Library tonight at 5 pm. All are welcome at this free event.
From 12 noon to 5 pm on Saturday, the library will have a Quest Launching Party. A Quest is a treasure hunt designed to connect people with a place - its details, stories, and history. Chilmark School students and Kristin Maloney created the two quests. In addition to the Chilmark Library Quest and the Chilmark Village Quest, there will be a stamp making workshop and crafts.
