JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Last Saturday we were walloped by a nasty northeaster. We had heavy rain and strong winds that gusted more than 70 miles per hour. There were power outages lasting from two to five hours depending on the damage in your area. Telephone and electric lines were knocked down on most every road. There were trees, limbs big and small that fell all over the town. Richard Olsen and Jesse Oliver did a fantastic job keeping the roadways clear. The wet weather and wind also dropped thousands of leaves to the ground. The huge tree at the corner of Old County and Edgartown Road split and came down with a roar that could be heard far away. Having to clean up one or more tree limbs in your yard the next morning was sort of a status symbol.

On Sunday the weather was mild and people were playing tennis on the town courts at the school while others were practicing their golf swing at the Agricultural Society field. If it wasn’t for the noise of chainsaws and chippers, all was calm. We returned to Standard Time last Sunday morning making the daylight hours mighty short with darkness falling shortly after 4:30 p.m.

Today is the start of a holiday weekend. The post office, school and all other town and county buildings will be closed on Monday in honor of Veterans Day. This holiday was created to acknowledge the armistice that ended World War I. Over 50 years ago the day was rededicated to honor the veterans who fought in all of our country’s armed conflicts. Let us pause for a moment over the weekend to remember all of those who have gone before us.

Bob and Dianthe Eisendrath of Belmont spent the weekend at their home on Middle Road. They plan to return for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Bob and Barbara Day of Willow Tree Hollow visited their daughter and son in law, Catha and Dave Carlson and their children, last week, as they have recently movedto NewYork city. Whilethere, they visited severalmuseums, walked around General Theological Seminary whereBob spent ayear, spent timeon the television set of Law & Order during production of a coming episode in which their granddaughter, Jessica Carlson, appears,and enjoyed strollingalong Fifth Avenue during the marathon.

Whit Manter, Danny Bryant, David Tilton and Tim Rich were in Minnesota deer hunting again. They returned home yesterday. Danny shot the first deer this year, and Whit has shot the other one. Whit’s dressed in at 180 pounds. His wife, Diana, reports that he told her it was much, much larger than Danny’s. Danny, who has a reputation as a deer slayer, came up lame, as everyone else in the party got at least one.

Ben and Paddy Moore of Alley Way returned home last Sunday rather than Saturday, having been rerouted to Hartford because of the storm. This was their 50th trip to the Mississippi Delta to work on Habitat for Humanity houses. Ben reports there are now more than 28 houses in Sherard and Farrell, Miss., that were not there 15 years ago. Other members of the group were Mary Miller of Edgartown, John McCarthy and Chris Stokes of Oak Bluffs, his sisters, Gay and her husband Art Nelson of Factory Brook Road, and Martha of Middle Point. Also helping out were old friends Chuck Redmond, of Cambridge and Sara Nascent of Englewood, N.J. The crew worked on a h ouse in Farrell completing the unfinished sheetrock work, sanding, priming and applying two coats of paint on the walls and ceilings, installing vinyl siding on the gable ends of the house and storage shed. On Wednesday after afternoon they drove across the river to Helena, Ark., to revisit their fi ne museum, in its old railroad station, showing the history and photographs of the Delta and its people. On Thursday they were treated to a potluck dinner provided by the board members and homeowners, which was delicious. On Friday they had dinner at Morgan Freeman’s Maddi Restraint in Clarksdale. It was a week of satisfying work, reconnection with friends and homeowners in Sherard andFarrell, great meals orchestrated by his wife Paddy and the assistance of many others, lively conversation, laughter and great joy.

The annual meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society will be held next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the hall on Panhandle Road.

The Barnraisers’ Ball will be held tonight at 7:30.

Old friend Catherine Mathieson died last week. Our condolences to her family.

On Nov. 14, 1947 Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Fischer and their daughter Eleanor returned home after visiting Arnold’s brother in law and sister Mr. and Mrs. Robert Potter of Hopedale over the Armistice Day weekend. During their absence Fred Fisher Jr. of Lambert’s Cove assisted with the care of the dairy cows at Island Guernsey Farm.

Happy Birthday to: Sharon Estrella, Gabriella Camilleri and Nicole Casey today; Ken Hurd, Teresa Nelson, Michael West and Linda Talbot tomorrow; Richard Cohen, Marian Mohr, Mary Jo Joiner, Andy Brunk, Cynthia Eakin and Linda Sibley on Sunday; Tina Fisher, Barbara Hoffman and Wendy Hitchcock on Monday; Bob Gothard, Lucy Mitchell, Al Littlefield and Rosemary Jean Jackson on Tuesday, Geoff Currier and Louise Fragosa on Wednesday; George Hough and Allison Whyte on Thursday.

Happy anniversary to Nicole Alley and Arsen Hambardsumian on Sunday.

That is all the social news for this week’s column. Have a great week.