The landscape looks overly round to me. Trees with soft, new leaves in delicate colors and abstractly rounded shapes. Big rounded puffs of clouds overhead. Interesting compositions. Closer to one’s nose are the delicious fragrances of lilacs and lilies of the valley. It’s been such a pretty spring. The weather report calls for rain through most of the week, so everyone’s plantings will be well watered-in.
My thanks to Beth for covering the column last week. Sadly, now she is in the same position, at Falmouth Hospital with her mother, Joan Hopkins.
My 101-year-old cousin, Sally Gran, died last week. I referred to her as my aunt, as that was the relationship and the age difference. She was more like a second mother to me. I was blessed to have such a loving supporter always behind me, and honored to be with her for the days following her stroke until she died quietly and peacefully with her son, my cousin Malcolm, Mal’s wife Harriet, her nurse Elaine, and me at her bedside. We had been with her all along. We had hoped she would open her eyes when Mal and Harriet’s daughter, Jackie, brought her 9-week-old daughter from Washington, D.C., to meet her great-grandmother. We hope she felt Isabel’s little body next to her on her hospital bed.
Sally lived at Heritage, an assisted living facility in Falmouth, for the past five years. It was a wonderful place and an easy walk up the hill from the Palmer parking lot. When she arrived at Heritage, she was met and introduced around by Beth’s mother and by Maureen Hall’s mother, Sheila. They were so welcoming and kind to Sally, and visits were always fun with the three ladies there. I was so grateful for their help getting Sally settled in. Now Sally and Sheila are both gone, and Joan is in hospice care. It seems like the end of an era, losing three memorable and very dear ladies.
I share Beth’s assessment of the wonderful care at Falmouth Hospital. The nurses couldn’t have been better. Everyone was professional in their duties, and went out of their way to be kind and supportive to our families.
At the other end of the spectrum of life was the baby shower I attended on Sunday for Caroline and Daniel Mayhew’s baby, due in June. A group of friends gathered at 32 Look’s Pond Way, the house that Shirley and Johnny built and raised their three children in, the house that is remaining in the family and will be where Daniel and Caroline raise their family. Mark Mazur reminisced about swimming in the pond and riding bikes with the Mayhew kids, buying popsicles at Alley’s that Albion Alley would split in half for them. So many of the guests have been friends for their whole lives. Some of us later arrivals have enjoyed that friendship for all the years we have lived in West Tisbury. So many memories of happy times in the Mayhew house, and I liked the feeling of familiarity there even though Daniel and Caroline are making some changes. Caroline’s father, Jack, is chief carpenter. His wife, Betsey, and I, friends for 33 years now, had to laugh that we are still living in unfinished houses. Dick Burt told me when I moved here that there is a zoning bylaw in West Tisbury that carpenter’s wives couldn’t live in finished houses. Although I do occasionally complain to my husband, there is something about carrying on a tradition that appeals to me.
It was easy to feel sentimental all weekend. Besides the baby shower, I went to a gathering at Cynthia Riggs’ home, the Cleaveland House, to celebrate the life of Ralph Jones, Cynthia and Ann’s sister Alvida’s husband. It was a lovely summer afternoon to be outside in Cynthia’s beautiful garden, and again, I cherished the friendships of my life since I moved to West Tisbury. I met lots of children and grandchildren of the family members I knew. The weather was perfect, just as Ralph would have ordered.
Then on to the library, where my friend Linda Hearn was being feted for her long and distinguished service as library trustee. Linda arrived on time, as she always does, and was surprised to see her daughter, Susan Collins, and son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Renee Hearn, had all come from off-Island for the event. Two of Susan’s children, Emily and Shaun, were there, too. A good friend and former neighbor, Joan Thomas, also came from off-Island. Linda’s daughter, Laura, who works at the library, was there with her daughter, Morgan Caruso. Glenn is looking forward to having his wife home more now that she is retired from the board. Lots of trustees, former and current, were there, and almost everyone from town and the Island came by.
I hope for good weather on June 10, when a group headed by Debbie Magnuson has planned a town picnic in honor of West Tisbury’s 125th anniversary. Many remember the 100th anniversary celebration we had in 1992, with lots of events and an art show at the Field Gallery, an art historical tribute to West Tisbury artists. This upcoming picnic will be held outside at the Ag Hall (rain date Sunday, June 11). Bring a picnic lunch and a dessert to share. Lemonade and water will be provided in souvenir cups imprinted with the town seal, free to take home. The committee has also gotten “dog-proof” Frisbees and picnic blankets that will be for sale at the library, the Howes House, and Conroy’s. Or call Debbie Magnuson at 508-693-0081. They have planned lots of games and amusements, and maybe a bit of West Tisbury history.
I ran into Vicki Rezendes at Cronig’s last week. She is newly home after teaching riding in North Carolina. She had a lot to say about the beautiful chain of islands she visited, and the long marshes, scenery reminiscent of here.
Ghost Island Farm will be opening full-time beginning this weekend. Hours are 10 to 5 daily. It’s not too late to join their CSA. You get vegetables, local meat, eggs, cheese, and special Island-made goods, plus giant bouquets of flowers you can cut yourself. Cheery visits with Rusty and Sarah are included.
Ellie Bates told me that the Howes House writing group has reconvened. They meet every Tuesday, 11 to 1. Bring your own lunch and/or a snack to share, along with your writing project, of course.
When I was away in Falmouth, I missed Rachel Salop’s bat mitzvah at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, an event I had looked forward to. Everyone attending said that Rachel did a wonderful job leading parts of the service, reading and discussing her Torah portion. Her bat mitzvah project was collecting clothing for children through Project 351, a job she fulfilled with distinction. Rachel is the daughter of Alex and Kate Salop, granddaughter of the late Bob and Norma Salop of Tiah’s Cove Road.
Mariah MacGregor has been working with Lauren Serpa’s third grade class at the West Tisbury School, making a stop-motion film of Cinderella stories from around the world. Small groups of students each planned one scene, doing the research, and making the characters and backdrops, each from a different country. Mariah is a Chilmark teacher and education coordinator for the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, which sponsored the project.
Bring your family to the West Tisbury library this Saturday. Components for making colored noodle necklaces will be out in the Children’s Room from 10 to 3. At 4 o’clock, Christopher Carrick will give a presentation, “Sabotaging the Saboteur: How and Why We Engage in Self-Sabotage,” in the Program Room. An episode of MVTV’s “Martha’s Vineyard Signs Then and Now” will be shown on Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm. The afterschool learning lab for kids 10 and up continues weekday afternoons from 3 to 4:30. Don’t forget that the library is closed on Sundays until mid-October, and will be closed Monday, May 29, for Memorial Day.
The phone never stopped ringing all day as I was trying to write this column. One of the best was a call from Charlie and Teena Parton, calling to ask about the impatiens Mike and I used to plant at the entrance to our driveway. We went on to talk about our dogs and cats, things we have been doing since we last spoke. Teena has been dyeing wool and knitting, getting ready for an outdoor market she will sell at this summer. It’s always a treat to see the Partons when they return to the Vineyard for a visit, and we have already made plans with them and Diane Wall for the next time they are here.