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By Hermine Hull
Published: July 2, 2009

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By the time you are reading this, it will be Fourth of July weekend, although the cool temperatures have made it feel like it's still early May. Hopefully, we will be sitting in sunshine for the parade or at cookouts scheduled for the holiday weekend.

I have already seen several cars around the Island, windows barely cracked open, with dogs inside. Even with these cool temperatures, it gets awfully hot in a car very quickly. Please don't leave your dog in a closed car.

Joan Merry is having an official opening for her Gossamer Gallery on South Road this Sunday, July 5, from 5 to 7 pm.

Also Sunday, from 4 to 6 pm, Doug Kent's new gallery is opening at 401 Lambert's Cove Road.

Congratulations and best wishes to Beth Toomey and Ben Moskow on their recent marriage. Everyone wishes you much happiness.

Ralph Franklin extends the following invitation: "The Franklin family, with the cooperation of the Friends of the West Tisbury Library, will honor the late Betty Franklin at the West Tisbury Library on Sunday, July 12. The event, a celebration of Betty's life, will start at 3:30 pm. Her many friends on the Vineyard are invited to attend." Her "library family" couldn't be happier that her memorial will be held in a place she loved and tirelessly supported. Please put it on your calendars.

Harriet Bernstein celebrated her birthday on July 29. All her friends wish her a happy day.

Family and friends of Shelton Bank gathered at the Ag Hall last weekend to share memories and stories and, being West Tisbury, good food. His children, grandchildren, former students, and colleagues came from disparate ends of the country to be here with Janet. A highlight of the afternoon was when their young grandson joined John Alaimo in a duet. Beth Kramer commented, "It was a real celebration of his life; it was great."

Jackie Hanson came from Newport, R.I., to spend the weekend with Louise and Henry Bessire. The ladies had an art morning on Saturday, visiting "Beauty and the Best" at the Garden Club and stopping by to see me. They were full of news about Lucy Mitchell and Peggi Cole-Joliffe, new developments in both artists' work, and their up-coming exhibition at the Nye Gallery this summer.

Sunday, June 28, was Henry and Mark Bessire's birthday. "They were both somewhere else" for the occasion, Louise said.

Nelson Bryant and Ruth Kirchmeier had guests from New York City. Millie and Lo-Yi Chan are old friends of Ruth's from her city days. They came to see Ruth's new woodcuts while they were here.

It was nice to have my Aunt Janice's house filled with people and laughter over the weekend. Dan, Xiaoshi, and Sunday Hull were here from Somerville. With them were friends Linbo Jin, Dongfang Zhao, and their daughter, Emmy Jin. The Jin/Zhao family are neighbors of Xiaoshi's parents in Beijing, where Emmy and Sunday became playmates and friends during annual visits. For the past year, the family has been living in Washington, D.C., where Linbo worked as a researcher at the Brookings Institute. They will return to China this Friday. Everyone seemed to enjoy time at the beach, touring the Island, and eating American food. The little girls picked up their friendship where they left off. They swam all day at Menemsha and were painting pictures upstairs. Emmy was most impressed with meeting Tallulah. She wants a dog when she gets home and hopes for one as appealing as mine.

Sue Hruby stopped by this morning with a beautiful art book for me to look at. She went to Philadelphia this past weekend to an opening at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art. The artist is Elizabeth Osborne, a long-time friend of Sue's. It is a nice thick book with a colorful painting on the cover. Most intriguing. I can't wait to settle into my chair and read it this afternoon - as soon as I finish this column.