The Sunday doubleheaders at Flanders Field are starting earlier and earlier. You’d better get there at 8 am if you want to play in the first game. Kudos to Kevin Oliver of the Menemsha Market for donating a case of bottled water to this thirsty August crowd. There was an inside-the-park home run. However, Sophie Balaban’s lemonade, at a dollar a crack, was the hit of the day. How great it was seeing Charlie Weiss playing catcher after having a baby earlier this year. You can’t keep a good woman away for long at these softball spectaculars!
Jennifer Christy is back from a week of clerk school in New Hampshire. I am not quite sure why she needed schooling since she has done a remarkable job settling in at the town hall.
Lukas Frank is in town for the month of August; once again, playing his drums and a cameo role at the Texaco. His LA band, Hazel, has released two really cool songs and are available at hazeltheband.bandcamp.com.
One of the three resident milking cows at Middle Road’s Mermaid Farm was chased into the road by a dog last week and struck by a passing vehicle. Allen, Caitlin, Everett and Kent Healy, sadly, lost her and her baby to be. Friends, neighbors and visitors, please be reminded to obey speed signs and the leash law.
Congratulations to Marina Len, assistant to the Chilmark Board of Health. Marina studied hard and learned her dirt. Yes, she passed both the written and field soil evaluator’s class.
Joy, Steve, Genevieve, Allison, and Sarah Flanders are back after a remarkable Alaskan cruise and adventure. I have seen a few amazing photos from their trip and look forward to sitting down and reliving their trip with them through their magnificent pictures.
Harvey Crocker, brother to my kids’ grandmother, Kathie, visited this past week from Peabody. He arrived in his sporty black Dodge Challenger ready to catch up with the family by way of cookouts, target shooting, and sunset rides.
Greg Mayhew is back in town after a Med Flight helicopter trip to Boston last week. He is looking quite well and even swung by the Texaco to be waited on by his son Galen who is working for us a couple of days a week. Gwen Mayhew is on leave with the Navy and managed a trip home to catch up with family and friends. Seeing her wandering the dock with Ali Flanders at her side makes you think nothing ever changes around here.
John, Hillary, Adelaide, Thea, Ella, and Lathrop Keene are back from a trip to visit Hillary’s family in Colorado. Before they left, John’s sister Katy managed to sneak a trip up from her home in Philadelphia to see the gang.
Dylan Glenn is in town visiting friends and catching up on the Vineyard social scene, which includes the celebration of Maggie Nixon’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday, Mags.
Congratulations to Julie and Bill Coleman on the birth of their granddaughter Ella Maria Lord Pena. She greeted her proud parents Chandra and Lawrence and big brother Lucas in Miami on July 1. The happy family will make a trip to Chilmark in September.
Julie also reminds us that the Chilmark Women’s Hiking/Walking group is in full stride. The walkers meet every Thursday at 9:30 am. Today the group will tackle Middle Ridge Preserve. Please call Julie with questions or for details 508-645-2261.
This evening join Charles Ogletree at the Community Center at 8 pm as he discusses his latest book regarding the arrest last summer of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Admission is free for members and $5 for others.
Don’t forget, the annual summer meeting with selectmen will be held at the Community Center on August 9 at 7 pm.
Junior high and high school kids, don’t forget the deadline for the poetry contest at the library is August 9. Please call Kristin for details 508-645-3360.
The Chilmark Historical Commission presents “And She Alone Remains: The Past, Present, and Future of the Charles W. Morgan, (the only remaining American whale ship),” hosted by Matthew Stackpole at the Chilmark Public Library on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 5:30 pm.
The Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund presents Menemsha — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, with Warren Doty on Thursday, Aug. 12, at 5 pm at the Chilmark Library. The program will be about the fishing fleet in Menemsha, what it was years ago, what it is today, what we hope for the future. Admission is free. Call 508-645-3360 for more information.
July treated Chilmark to cardiac arrest, a massive fire, a grease spill, a broken window, a sinkhole, and more. I hope that August will provide butterflies, rainbows, warm breezes, an abundance of fish, glorious sunsets, and hugs from dear old friends.
