Mike and I drove along State Road last Friday afternoon, passing the fields of the Whiting farm and the cemetery, commenting how it looked the same as it always had. It was a moment when West Tisbury felt timeless, that it hadn’t changed at all. We were on our way to the Ag Hall to celebrate the life of Prudy Whiting.
Prudy’s house hadn’t been built when she and I first met, but it had weathered into its place in her cornfield. She changed the trim color early on to a weathered gray that added to its iconic appearance. I don’t even think that Davis had been born yet. The Ag Hall, the new Ag Hall, hadn’t been built either. It went up as a community project in 1994, after a barn-raising the previous November. Still, those changes had been long enough ago that they had become what was always there, too.
I sat in the Ag Hall that afternoon listening to stories, looking at familiar and beloved heads that had somehow turned gray over the years. “At least we are all growing old together.” That was the wistful, joking comment either Prudy or I made whenever we saw one another these last years. It was shared, as well, among most of our cohort.
Looking back, we were all so young together and now we had aged together. We have shared a lifetime of hopes and dreams, of marriages and babies and divorces, of building our houses, of serving on town boards, of haying and farming, of shoveling snow and manure, of dog walks, of projects and disagreements, of gloriously happy times, and of illnesses and losses too terrible to bear.
I just learned that Carlos D’Antonio died last week. Condolences to Nancy Dole and their family.
There are lots of special programs at the library this week. Sit on the back porch every Thursday morning at 8 am to write morning pages with Kate Feiffer. Make fairy and gnome houses at 3 pm. on Friday. Register at wt_mail@clamsnet.org. Tuesday is the 6th annual Dionis Coffin Riggs Day of Poetry. Come to readings by Ellie Bates, Jill Jupen, Dionis Montrowl, Fan Ogilvie, Brooks Robards, Valerie Sonnenthal, Ellen Martin Story, and Claudia Taylor. Lots more on the library website.
The Up-Island Council on Aging has mailed a survey to residents over 50 asking how residents use the COA and how we envision future use. It will take about 15 minutes to fill out either the paper form or online: westtisbury-ma.gov/island-council-aging.
Vote by mail ballots are going out this week. Dates for early voting to follow. If you didn’t receive a “Register to vote by mail” application postcard, find it online or at the town clerk’s office. For information, call Tara Whiting-Wells at 508 696-0148, or email: townclerk@westtisbury-ma.gov.
If you have enjoyed seeing Mitch Gordon’s paintings outside his Turpentine Gallery on State Road, come to a reception this Sunday, August 4. It will begin with an artist’s talk at 3 pm.
I told someone recently that writing this column is my weekly love letter to West Tisbury. It is a record of the passing seasons, of friendships, and of the history that has bound us together. Being part of this community is being settled into my life. Many have closer connections of longer duration. It’s not a contest; it is just what is. I thank you for every precious minute.
If you have any West Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Hermine Hull, hermine.hull@gmail.com.
