Big thanks to the Chilmark Firemen’s Association for once again hosting its annual Halloween get-together. The Center was filled with fairies, cows, ghouls, pirates, gangsters, and dudes, police officers, and prisoners, a wide range of action figures, and Winnie the Pooh characters — and more. Extra special thanks to Donald Poole, Scott McDowell, George Szilassy, Tim Carroll, Linda and Robert Coutinho, Bob and Irene Hungerford, Mike Holtham, Jeremy Bradshaw, Alan Porter and all the gang that pitched in early to set things up. Special thanks to Dan and Meg Athearn and the folks at Morning Glory Farm for donating cornstalks and pumpkins that adorned the room. Also, big thanks to all the families that brought yummy desserts and snacks to share. My stomach is aching just thinking about the amount of cupcakes and cookies I could have squeezed in there. The judges had a difficult time trying to award costume prizes this year. Finally, after lengthy debate our judges, Gary Fudem, Janet Weidner, and Linda Coutinho settled on the following: best animal/plant was awarded to Linden MacLeod, best princess/fairy was awarded to Delilah Oliver, best ghoul/warrior was awarded to Brooks Carroll, funniest went to Quinlan Slavin, scariest was Bella Thorpe with her glowing red eyes, grooviest was Maggie Mayhew, and the one that made the judges ask “what is that?” went to Clara Athearn. They may not have figured it out but she was clearly a purple fairy. The top spots were awarded to Ben Taylor for the most original, the best homemade category was topped by Eloise Christy and the best overall went to Imogen Taylor. Finally, great big thanks to all the folks that had their lights on ready and waiting to accept ghastly visitors.
Gertrude and Roland Shea of Hammett Lane and Gert’s sister Marilyn Fish and her husband Gene of West Tisbury hosted their sister Alice Wallace a couple of weeks ago to help Alice celebrate her 88th birthday. Alice, who was born in the Hammett farmhouse on Hammett Lane, is visiting from her home in Franklin, Tenn. Also helping celebrate were their sister Beverly Chenaille and her husband Francis visiting from Ludlow. Gert and Rol’s son and daughter-in-law Raymond and Camille ventured down from New Hampshire to join in the festivities.
Belated birthday wishes go out to Buddy Mayhew, who celebrated on October 19. Somehow his name slipped off my list. Whoops, that is a poor choice of words since he is still on the road to recovery from a slip in the shower. Sorry Bud, I am going to leave my little play on words in because I think you of all people may appreciate it. Buddy was born in 1931. I will leave you to do the math, but I will say we may need to start planning a party for next year.
Another belated birthday acknowledgement goes out to Andy Bluestein of New Hampshire, and Larsen Lane. Andy’s mother, Mary Kate, managed to be quite sneaky and organize a little surprise get-together of family and friends. She coordinated with Everett Whiting of Local Smoke who rolled in his fantastic roaster filled with a slow-cooked pig. The food and the company was wonderful. Everett was pretty awesome, too, answering all of the questions a seven-year-old might have about the process.
Did you know that MVTV will be holding a series of workshops focusing on the future of cable service, community media, and technology? Do you live somewhere off Quansoo Road and lack service? Are you a seasonal resident with concerns about cable-related needs? Go to www.mvtv.org and sign up for one of these free workshops. I haven’t given you much notice as the RSVP needs to be in by tomorrow. If you can’t attend a meeting but have something to share, there are a few links on the page where you can participate in an online survey.
Don’t forget, Tuesday nights at the Chilmark Church are an evening filled with pizza, Bananagrams, and chatter and laughter among friends. At 6 pm, the pizza hits the table, ready to be washed down with a little juice or perhaps an ice-cold Coke. If you baked some cookies and don’t want them all to wrap themselves around you waistline, bring them along — desserts are always an added bonus. All are welcome to attend. The event is free, but donations are graciously accepted. Please contact Julie Flanders with questions, 508-645-3723. Tuesday nights will soon revert back to the wintry event known as soup supper, so stay tuned for the details.
Halloween is over and the clocks are about to make the afternoons shorter. I guess that means Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
