JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

All of Chilmark was saddened to learn of the death last Saturday of longtime Menemsha fisherman Lenny Jason. He came to Menemsha many years ago as a fisherman from New Bedford. He liked Chilmark and soon moved his young family to property here where he built his home and many sincere and lifelong friendships.

He continued to fish on his boat, the Little Lady, for many years and he served on several Chilmark town boards and as town shellfish warden. He had a well-deserved reputation for being a fair and likeable man who always had a positive word to say and a story to follow it up. He was blessed with a long life and until recently, he was able to join the fishermen on squid row for a daily gab. We will all miss him and cherish the many memories he left us with. His sons Lenny Jr. and Dennis are well-known Chilmarkers. He leaves his wife Hilda, his sons and grandchildren. We send condolences to all.

I talked last week about two of the livestock pounds in Chilmark. Ted Meinelt reminds us that there was also a pound on South Road. It is across the road from the Bassett/Stanley house. Ben Frank Mayhew who was married to Eliza Tilton built it and it can still be seen. I am wondering if there are others in Chilmark and are there pounds in our neighboring towns of West Tisbury and Aquinnah?

Stan and Marie Mercer are back from a vacation trip to the Southwest. They flew into Phoenix and with a rented car they visited Sedona, Flagstaff, Jerome, Canyon de Chelly, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. While in Sedona, they took a helicopter ride into the local canyons to see Indian ruins. They spent a night and a day at Mesa Verde in Colorado and in Colorado they visited Marie’s son, Steve Seward and his family in Placerville. They report that it was a wonderful and spectacular trip.

Tom and Barbara Rivers are back at their Chilmark home after a recent cruise on a small ship out of Warren, R.I. They cruised up the coast from New York city to Quebec. They enjoyed entering the New York harbor at sunrise with views of the famous Manhattan skyline. They cruised up the Hudson River to West Point and across the state via the Erie Canal, across Lake Ontario and then the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City. It was a wonderful time of year for that cruise.

We all send get-well wishes to the mother of the Flynn clan who run the Menemsha Bite. Michael, Karen and Jackie closed a day early to travel to Boston to be with her following a mild heart attack. We hope all is well.

Jim and Bichette Harding of New York city and Oak Beach, N.Y., are visiting the Robert Cavanaghs at their North Road home. The Hardings are related to the Chilmark Hardings of a generation ago. Bob and Wendy are back from Europe where they traveled on a bike tour from Vienna to Budapest. Bob confessed that even though he is close to 78 he is still planning their next bike tour.

Bob Vincent of Schenectady, N.Y., is at his home on South Road for a fall vacation.

Will Kirkland and his sister, Christina, came from Panama to close the family home on D.H.’s Hill.

Chilmark enjoyed the fall holiday weekend. There were lots of visitors and fishermen and family reunions. The beach was as busy as any day in summer. There were many weddings around town and we hope the fog added to the true feeling of New England.

There is more going on at the community center this fall than I covered last week. Myron Garfinkle and Primo Lombardi are just back from Santa Fe, N.M., where they attended five days of advanced therapeutics. They teach Anusara-inspired yoga and classes will be taught by Myron at the center on Monday and Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. Primo’s classes will be Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. These schedules begin on Oct. 15.

Oct. 25 is the date of the meeting of the book discussion group at the library. They are reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and the discussion will begin at 4 p.m.

By this time next week we will know who won the derby . . . good luck, Lev.