The Chilmark Store is open, the Chilmark Store is open! We don’t have to drive half an hour to get milk, or toilet paper, or sugar, or the Sunday Times, and it’s all just ten minutes away. Yay! I love it when that store opens.
That was the good news, Aquinnah, and now for the bad: Our beloved head librarian, Jenny Christy, is leaving the library. She would like to spend evenings and weekends with her kids and she feels that she has done what she set out to do and is ready for a new challenge. That’s all well and good, Jenny, and I’m very happy for your family but very, very sad for us. For the past five years, Jenny has made the Aquinnah library a community hub — she has created programs for kids and adults alike, hosted movie nights and celebrations, increased circulation and the general collection, and made it a warm place to visit. Most importantly, she has fought to make sure that the library was given its share of the budget and that the people of Aquinnah got the library they wanted.
Honestly, I didn’t even know we had a library until Jenny came on board. Her commitment to the library and the people of Aquinnah was remarkable and she is going to be sorely missed. I know Jenny did not do it all alone; she has had two great associates in Michelle and Natalie, and I know that the library will not fall to pieces with those two in place, but it will be a loss and a period of adjustment while a new director is found. When Jenny gave me the news, I told her, “That’s the worst news I’ve gotten all week.” And I still feel that way. Jenny will leave in mid-June and there is no news yet on who will replace her.
Donna and Gordon Perry will be opening Dreamcatcher, their snack bar at the Cliffs, on May 22, not the 15th as they previously had planned.
On Sunday at 12 noon, the Alzheimer’s Miles of Memories Walk will be held in Oak Bluffs. For more info, call Tom Dresser at 508-693-1050 and to donate go to walk@alzcapecod.org.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital will provide $1,075,000 for community health projects on the Island over the next five year. The money will become available to the community through a grant process starting in late summer/early fall of this year. There are two forums next week to help determine what our most pressing health needs are. The first will be held Tuesday, May 18, at the Howes House in West Tisbury from 7 to 8:30 pm and the second on Thursday, May 20, at the Vineyard Haven Library, also from 7 to 8:30 pm. This is a lot of money and people from up-Island should be present. Seriously, this could have great impact on our health and well-being for years to come.
There was a lovely block party on Sunday, hosted by Isaac and Noli Taylor and Alexandra Taylor and Sean McPhail. Although it did get chilly, there were a couple of fires going, drinks to be had, and lots of kids running around. Nancy Benoit and I talked about what a great group of kids we have right now in Aquinnah. A nice mix of ages, boys and girls, and all delightful in their own ways. Noli had recently returned from L.A. where she was with her sister when her sister gave birth; she said it was a great experience. I also saw a very glowing Aretha, who is pregnant with her first child due in November. It was a great cap to a very happy Mother’s Day.
I need to give props to my husband who took the hint from my column; I awoke on Mother’s Day (late) to an amazing spread of chocolate-covered fruit, chocolate-covered pretzels, and cookies, and homemade pancakes. Nice work, honey. I hope all the up-Island moms were appreciated in the way they wanted to be. I have to start planning an amazing Father’s Day.
