JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

An extra day in this February might provide some sunshine . . . it has been a gray week with lots of rain. However, it was the perfect school vacation . . . if you went off Island.

Congratulations to Eric and Margarite Cottle, who celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on Feb. 25. I am happy to tell you that Eric is now home from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital where he has been for most of February. We all send cheers and best wishes to them. Their son, Wesley, visited this week to help them celebrate.

Please mark your calendars for March 6 when the Friends of the Chilmark Library will host a 100th birthday party for Peggy Freydberg at the library. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. and there will be, among other things, poetry readings by John Maloney and Peggy herself. Peggy requests that there be no gifts.

Eighteen contestants participated in the annual crossword and sudoku challenge at the library this week. The winners were Steve Auerbach for adult crossword and Kyle Joba-Woodruff for youth crossword. For adult sudoku, it was George Balco and for youth sudoku, it was Margaret Joba-Woodruff. The winners received gift certificates to Bunch of Grapes bookstore, courtesy of the co-sponsor of the event, the Vineyard Gazette.

Remember the special town meeting called for Monday night. It will be at 7:30 p.m. at the community center.

We send condolences to the extended family and many friends of Samuel Storey, who died earlier this month at home in San Francisco, Calif. He was a man of many talents and interests. He had been a seasonal resident of Chilmark for many years. On a weekend visit to the Vineyard in 1952, Sam met his future wife, Sylvia Lisberger, thus began their Vineyard life. He was a devoted user of the Chilmark library. The staff and trustees appreciate that the family requested donations in his name to the library. His many friends at all of his favorite places across the Island will miss him.

Chilmark seasonal resident and rising filmmaker David Modigliani had a private fund-raising screening of his new movie Crawford at the Harvard Faculty Club on Feb. 4. The film will premiere at the South by Southwest Festival soon. The audience at the Harvard screening was favorably impressed with the film. David invites us to visit his Web site, crawfordmovie.com, to learn more and, perhaps, contribute to the very high costs of filmmaking. The film is being completed in Austin, Tex. David’s address there is Crawford Movie LLC, 1312 Willow street, Austin TX 78702.

The Chilmark Community Church will continue to offer soup suppers at the church’s fellowship hall on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 6 p.m. through March 18. All are welcome.

Meg Orlando, our town clerk, reminds us that there are several town jobs in need of candidates this spring and that Friday, March 7 is the last day to take out nomination papers. The last day to submit them is March 10. Please check with town hall to learn what posts are available. The elections will be April 30 this year.

The trustees and staff of the Chilmark library wish to thank Carol Goldberg and Linda Fairstein, both Chilmark seasonal residents, who have both contributed new materials for circulation. The gifts will be enjoyed by all.

A flea market is set for the community center on March 8, opening at 9:30 a.m. Crafts and attic treasures will be offered and food will be available. Please call Coco Adams at 508-645-3414 if you wish to set up.

Selectman Warren Doty tells us that he and Nan have increased their family by acquiring Nubian goats. Let’s hope Warren knows they really don’t eat tin cans!

A couple of Chilmarkers with health problems deserve our good wishes. Virginia Poole is in Martha’s Vineyard Hospital as I write and Ted Meinelt is at home with travel required weekly. We send both of them our hopes for a quick return to good health.