Snow was still falling as I drove into my yard last Friday afternoon. The sight took my breath away. Tree branches and evergreen leaves were highlighted with a white dusting of snow. Against the dark, almost black, leaves and needles, it looked like a charcoal drawing, a remaking of my familiar landscape. So unexpected, and such a gift to see and appreciate my view so transformed.
Of course, I always like snowy days. I had been out raking my garden the day before, and knew the snow would disappear by the next day, as it did. A clump of Tete-a-Tete daffodils has big yellow buds already. Our weather has been so deliciously unpredictable this winter. We may have a 70° day this week, and the official first day of spring is only a couple of weeks away.
I was surprised and saddened to hear that Deborah Pigeon died last week. She was my age, someone who we sometimes ran into walking our dogs. The dogs would play and we would stop for a short chat, a casual Island-type acquaintance. My condolences to her family, her sweet dog, and to all who knew her.
The Friends of the Library ask that anyone planning to drop off books for the book sale at the West Tisbury School shed please hold off until the beginning of April. Thanks.
Events at the West Tisbury Library this weekend include the all-day family craft (making accordion butterflies), 10:30 to 3:30 on Saturday, March 12, in the Children’s Room. The Lego Club also meets this Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30. On Sunday afternoon, the library is hosting a cookie swap and recipe exchange from 2 to 3. Bring three dozen of your best cookies and the recipe to share. You get to taste everyone else’s cookies and go home with an assortment of your choosing. What a great idea for a winter afternoon. Friends and cookies. I hope tea will be served, too.
Patricia Cliggott announced that she is having a Lovingkindness Big Sale on yoga pants and T shirts this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 4, at her home on Indian Hill Road. A percentage of all sales will go toward the prevention of elder abuse. For more information, call Patricia at 508-687-9847.
If corned beef, boiled vegetables, and Irish soda bread is one of your favorite meals, and you want to get an early start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, there will be a dinner this Saturday, March 12, 6 o’clock, at the First Baptist Parish House, 66 Williams Street, Vineyard Haven. Dinner is $12 per person. Takeout is also available. Call 508-693-1539 for more information.
Worried cat parents Rosemary and Glenn Jackson are missing their 8-month-old kitten, Avery, from their home on Stoney Hill Road. She went out with their two adult cats the morning of Feb. 18, and hasn’t been seen since. She is a beautiful, all-white, longhaired girl, rather shy, not known to stray before. If you see her, please call 508-696-9486 or 508-627-0543.
I saw Avery’s photograph on Rosemary’s desk when I went to my dentist’s appointment last week with Dr. Garrett Orazem. Dr. Orazem is always good for a story or a bit of arcane information on just about any subject, making my sitting in his chair with my mouth open for an hour or so a usually entertaining and educational time. This was no exception.
My appointment was last Wednesday, the day after Super Tuesday. I was curious about Bernie Sanders’ win in Minnesota, and Garrett, a native Minnesotan, was the person to ask. If you watch political news, you might also have seen Senator Sanders’ speech in a Minnesota school auditorium that looked like a surprisingly ornate concert hall. It was Garrett’s alma mater, Hibbing High School. Here’s the story:
According to Garrett, Minnesota was an early spot for Populist politics and labor liberals. Back in 1916, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie ran a mining operation that became U.S. Steel, in Hibbing. At one point, they decided their property taxes were too high, and they refused to pay, fired all the workers, and shut down the mines. The mayor of Hibbing hired all the mine workers to do jobs around town (the town had plenty of money from taxes paid by the mining company), and had police details guarding the mining stockpiles, so that none of the ore could be shipped out. The mining company eventually gave in, paid their taxes, and reopened the mines.
Two years later, the mining company wanted to expand and access new veins of iron ore under the existing town of Hibbing. The mayor, once again, made a deal. The town would move, but the company had to build a new City Hall, school, library, and courthouse in the new location. By the time negotiations were completed, Hibbing had its municipal buildings, a two-story Carnegie library, and a $4,000,000 K-through-High School that included a community theater, a trade school, and a two-year junior college. The auditorium where Senator Sanders spoke was a copy of the Capitol Theater of New York City, built using the theater’s original blueprints. It has a full-size professional stage with all manner of equipment, enormous crystal chandeliers, gilt decorations, and blue velvet seats for the audience.
Earlier in the day, Senator Sanders had met with local Native American leadership, and a group of 2,000 miners who had been laid off in the past six months because of changes in the world market for iron ore.
Some of the information Garrett gave me was printed from Aaron J. Brown’s blog, minnesotabrown.com. If you are interested, you can read more yourself.