Windemere residents
Folks at Windemere share their favorite gifts — what they’ve given and what they’ve received.
Name Dianne Rhoades
From Massachusetts
Best gift received A sweater, raincoat, and gloves to keep me warm in the winter
Best gift given Most things I’ve given to my sister over the years
What would you like receive this holiday? A little love
Best holiday memory Nothing in particular, but overall good Christmas memories
Name Charleane Corrigan
From Port Charlotte, Fla.
Best gift received Small refrigerator for my room at Windemere
Best gift given A glass vase from a local glass factory for my daughter Judy
What would you like receive this holiday? I haven’t really thought about it. I’m 100 years old and I don’t really need much.
Best holiday memory I grew up in North Carolina, and I remember big Christmases with my grandmother; it was always a big huge thing. It was wonderful.
Name Betty Immelt
From Ohio. Spent 56 summers in the Campground and traveled a lot.
Best gift received The best presents aren’t things. Having children home with us and celebrating together has been the best gift. We did a lot of traveling and even though life was always changing, Martha’s Vineyard was always a constant; it’s home.
Best gift given I’ve always given gifts that are practical or wearable. A lot of jewelry, and things that are classic and meaningful.
Name Doris Gaffney
From Fitchburg, Mass. Came here 22 years ago and decided to stay because of my granddaughter.
What would you like to receive this holiday? Enough snow to make a snowman!
Best gift given Bringing my family to midnight Mass was a gift.
Best holiday memory I lived atop a hill, and I would make a pot of coffee and we would go sledding. We would stop traffic. Cars would stop at the bottom and wait for us to sled down to the bottom.
Name Terri Burke
From Grand Rapids, Mich.
Best gift received My sister gave me this beautifully soft stuffed dog from FAO Schwarz.
The Tisbury Senior Center Ukelele Group
Ukulele players at the Tisbury Senior Center pipe up with memories of holiday gifts, including a mysterious rabbit hair collar. The group preferred to have their answers be anonymous and part of a group answer.
What’s the best holiday present you have ever received?
– I was 9 years old and got a globe. Mom got it from Sears, Roebuck. I really wanted a globe and was so excited to get one!
– I got a horse saddle. I didn’t have a horse, but put it on the banister and rode it down the stairs.
– I really wanted a Ginny doll. Christmas morning I found Ginny under the tree along with an armoire that my dad had built for her. It was lined, and had a shelf for her hats and a pullout drawer for her shoes, and it had tiny hinges and a lock just like real ones. My mom had sewn an entire wardrobe for Ginny. I could have her go out to dance, or to dinner, church, or work in the garden. She was outfitted! It wasn’t until years later that I found out that Ginny’s real rabbit-fur muffler and hat belonged to Salt, one of a pair of rabbits that I had and who my mother always threatened to take to the animal shelter because they would get into her garden and destroy her plants. They did disappear that autumn before Christmas. I still have Ginny and her armoire.
Best holiday present you have ever given?
– I gave my wife a huge coffee-table book on quilts. It inspired her to make another lovely quilt.
If you could have only one “only on MY” present (something local and specific to the Island), what would it be?
-A walk on the beach, preferably Bend in the Road
– A walk on a private beach
-Ten pounds of bay scallops
– Blue sea glass
– A painting by Allen Whiting
What’s your funniest or craziest holiday memory?
-Missing the boat and having to stay in a B & B on the Woods Hole Road
What’s the best way to get in the holiday spirit?
-Playing the ukulele!
-Making presents for people
-Blue Goose in a blue sea-colored glass
-Making cookies
-Being with family … or not