JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Bone-chilling cold opened the New Year. But as Mark Twain said, “If you don’t like the New England weather, wait five minutes.” This week the weather was better than seasonable. Some business establishments had their doors wide-open during the day, people and joggers were dressed in T-shirts and shorts, and strangers were practicing golf in the agricultural society field.

Now this phenomenal weather is being enjoyed on the mainland. People with Vineyard ties relayed the following: Jane Konicki reports the temperature in Webster on Tuesday was 62 degrees and Judy Hall out in Oklahoma City reports mild weather with a temperature reaching 70. Every good day is a bonus and the time of daylight is lengthening each day.

Cynthia Riggs of Edgartown Road reports that she spent the Christmas holidays in Germany and Austria, the guest of my daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Paul Ricchiazzi and their younger son, Daniel, who live in Santa Barbara. Their older son, Steven, is studying forestry in Tubingen. Peter and Anne Pfeffer, who had hosted Steven during his first few months in Germany, put up the entire family including Steven’s fiancée, Victoria, a Belarus citizen, who’s studying Eastern European history. The Pfeffers took all of them sightseeing, to the castle that inspired the Disneyland castle, through the Black Forest to a glassblowing museum, to Germany’s highest waterfall, and to a cuckoo clock store and factory. She was invited to read from her books and speak to pupils at the Talheim School, a village south of Tubingen about the same size as ours where the Pfeffers live. All of the students, who ranged in age from first graders to teenagers, about fifty in all, spoke at least a bit of English. One of the teachers translated, and the students sat patiently for two hours with a break for juice and cookies. From Germany, they drove to Salzburg for two days of skiing in the Alps, castle exploring, museum hopping, and listening to Mozartplayed where the mus ic was written to beplayed. Cynthia returned home last Sunday with many fond memories of a great vacation.

Lynne Demond of Natick, our favorite amateur geologist, and her friend Steve Hart celebrated the New Year at Times Square in New York city. Steve reports that Lynne competed in the women’s division of the New York Road Race on New Year’s Day.

Paul Karasik invites you to enjoy a five-course meal of traditional fare from India tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Dr. Daniel Fisher House in Edgartown. The meal will be served to support the International Travel Fund at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School. Another international dinner will be held on Jan. 26. You can purchase remaining tickets at The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School, 508-693-9900, or Midnight Farm, 508-693-1997. The Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust has sponsored the event and guest chefs have donated many hours to plan and prepare the dinners.

Election warden Muriel Bye wants to remind you that the voter registration cards you have or will be receiving in the mail need to be filled out promptly and returned to Prudy Whiting, chairman of the board of registrars, so that your name will remain on the voting list. The presidential primary is set for Feb. 5 at the Public Safety Building.

Our condolences to the family of Bob Morgan of Edgartown, who died last Saturday. I served with Bob for several years as a county and airport commissioner and can asure you that he was a dedicated and hard worker. The funeral is at the Old Whaling Church at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 12.

Anne Marie Donahue reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group is having a potluck party celebrating survival and support on Sunday, Jan. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs. The event is free of charge and open to everyone. Come enjoy a delicious meal and celebrate the group’s happy history of survival and support. It’s a party, not a fundraiser. For more information, please call 508-693-8296 or 508-696-9849.

By Jan. 15, 1943 everyone was asked to contribute in some way to the war effort. In addition to rationing stamps, scrap drives and the purchase of war bonds women were also asked to save just one tablespoonful of waste cooking fat each day. They were urged to do so by the federal government as it would go a long way toward fulfilling the glycerin requirements needed for the war effort. Each community was assigned a monthly quota in the waste-fat collection campaign. The government did not ask for these fats until they were no longer needed for cooking. After the first four months, West Tisbury cooks had contributed about 85 per cent of their monthly allotment. However they consistently met or exceeded their assigned quota of making bandages for the Red Cross and were busy helping neighboring towns complete their work.

Happy birthday to Annabelle Brothers, Rose Campbell and Cristina Reinhardsen today; Kern Grimes, Adam Petkus, Gay Nelson and Christa Fischer tomorrow; Brian Athearn, Joe Eldridge and Pierce Kirby 3rd on Sunday; Mal Jones, Heidi Schultz, John Mancuso, Astrea Young, Rod Welles and Barbara Day on Monday; Butch Downs,  Heather Maciel and Richard Lee on Tuesday; Jordan Clements, Jane Rossi and Paul Jackson on Wednesday; and Wendy Benedetto and Dan Serusa on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Lisa Dimitri. Anniversary greeting to Tom Vogl and Katherine Long on Tuesday and Manny and Jessica Estrella on Wednesd ay. Also, belated anniversary wishes to Dan and Beth Serua.

Well, that is all of the social news for this week. Please call or e-mail me with your news. Have a good week.