Chilmark

Welcome, September, and Ann Raymond, the new outreach coordinator for the Up-Island Council on Aging.

Thank you, Sig Van Raan, for covering the summer 2024 Chilmark softball season: “On this final Sunday, we had hoped to get a game in, but dreary skies and the threat of rain earlier kept us from having a quorum. A hearty group of 10 mostly senior players did show up, and softball commissioner Hans Solmssen used the occasion to announce his transition to emeritus status, designating Ed Eger, another veteran player, to take his place as active commissioner.

“It was a great season of well-played games, great sportsmanship, and a wonderful combination of younger and older players. Most heartening were the many combinations of parent/son/daughter players. It harkens back to the legendary days of Chilmark families gathering at the Flanders backyard after Sunday church for those pickup games — the predecessor to these Sunday games. It’s the kids of summer, creating memories, playing a game where time isn’t measured.”

The last Chilmark Community Church Flea Market is Sept. 7, 9 am to 2 pm. This week the vendors gave a heartfelt thanks to Annette Anthony, who has managed the field for 13 years. Along with gifts and messages of thanks, Dan (“the Leather Man”) Sanderson presented her with a bag to carry her passport.

Annette summed up when she said in thanks, “What the church wants everyone to know: It’s not about religion. It’s about love and remembering that everybody has a hard day, hard things happen all the time, and it’s OK. There is always tomorrow. Faith and hope.”

As the crowds thin, we find it easier to get out. Missis Biskis — Ellen Biskis and her husband Taurus, Don Groover, Geordie Gude, and Stuart Gardener — played at the Cliffs in Aquinnah last Thursday evening under an exquisitely beautiful Georgia O’Keeffe blue sky painted with horsetail and fish scale, like clouds that slowly soaked up pink and orange while the sun set. These clouds form before the wind picks up, and are a sign that the weather will soon change.

Ellen closed with NRBQ’s “Macho Maria” in memory of Harriette Poole Otteson. Macho Maria rides a Harley-Davidson, and has a tattoo that says “No Regrets.” Ellen remembers a delighted Harriette entering her town hall office with photographic proof of her motorcycle riding.

Harriette is buried in Abel’s Hill, a welcoming, restorative, and peaceful place. It is a place where memories mix with inspiration. Harriette leaves us with these words: “It was a great ride.” Carved into her gravestone.

Missis Biskis are scheduled to play on the patio of the Chilmark library, Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, cganz@live.com.