“It used to snow in March,” I said to Mike one morning last week. I had gone out to his workshop to tell him about the lovely morning I was having. I had taken my coffee and newspaper outside to an Adirondack chair in a patch of sun in our backyard, comfortable wearing just a cotton shirt. No sweater. No coat. Snowdrops and crocuses were blooming in beds, and across the lawn, where they had naturalized and spread. Abby lounged at my feet, a golden presence amid white and purple. It was a beautiful spring day. But it was only mid-March, and it wasn’t so long ago that it used to snow in March.
For several years during the 1990s, I used to take care of my friend Lyn Hinds’ cat, Max, when she and her husband went to Florida for the month of March. We invariably had a blizzard right after they left. I have pictures Mike took of me standing on their porch in well over a foot of snow.
And ticks are already out. I have taken them off both Abby and Nelson. Make sure to check yourself, your children, your animals.
West Tisbury lost two fine gentlemen last week, Ike Russell and Robert Knight. Both had been vibrant members of our community, well-liked, and well-respected. My condolences to their families and friends.
Planning has begun for an Earth Day beach cleanup on April 27. Contact beachbefrienders@vineyardconservation.org.
Also on that day, West Tisbury tree warden Jeremiah Brown has planned an official Arbor Day event. He is looking for volunteers to help plant trees in the town’s Historic District from 9 am to noon. Professional arborists will be on hand to provide training. Refreshments, too. More information to follow.
Washington Ledesma opens his studio every spring for a spring-cleaning show and sale of his ceramics. If you love his whimsically designed and brightly colored pottery, come to his studio this weekend, March 22–24. Hours are Friday, noon to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday, noon to 4 pm. His studio is at 5 Murrant Ave., O.B., the first left off Sea Glen. For more information, email washledes@gmail.com.
Special events at the library include a meeting of the Non-Fiction Book Club at 1 pm on Saturday, March 23, and a Mindful Money Management workshop at 3:30 pm. There will be a “Great Ballads and Classic Jazz Standards” concert at 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon, performed by Debbie Major and Steve Riddick with the Jon Bates Band. The LGBTQ Book Club will meet on Monday afternoon at 5:30 pm. Email the library for more information and copies of book club books at wt_mail@clamsnet.org.
Congratulations to Jenelle Gadowski, who was honored by the Boston Celtics as a “Hero Among Us” for her advocacy for the LGBTQ community on Martha’s Vineyard. The event was held at T.D. Garden. Jennelle has been an activist on the island for several years. She established the first annual Pride Parade here, and is a member of Young Activists for Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, and the League of Women Voters.
For those of us who have known her all her life, it should come as no surprise. Jennelle comes from a line of women who saw a need and determined to fix it. Her grandmother, Jennie Gadowski, remains a legend in town for her establishment of the up-Island EMTs. Now Jennie runs the Up-Island Council on Aging desk with energy, grace, and a deep knowledge of our community.
A recent email of Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters From an American” was a photograph by Peter Ralston of a painted sign of names of nearby communities in Maine. They were Freedom, Liberty, Harmony, Unity, Union, and Hope. Underneath the list was painted “Friendship Is Here.” I leave you with that thought.
If you have any West Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Hermine Hull, hermine.hull@gmail.com.
