JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark celebrates with the rest of the country . . . if not for the elected contestants, then for the process of the election. Where else in the world could all the differences be resolved by vote without violence and insurrection? We can all be proud of our country and those smart men who came up with the system 200 or so years ago.

Chilmark town clerk Jennifer Christy successfully organized the election day activities and vote count at the Chilmark Community Center. She supervised 32 counters and five election officials — some of them worked all day. She reports that 734 registered voters voted. The 213 absentee votes were a record number for Chilmark. Chilmark has a total of 902 registered voters at this writing. Thanks to Jennifer who made it all look easy and professional.

Before I start on next week I need to refer to some of last week’s activities. Chilmark can be proud of the nice work done at the community center during Hurricane Sandy. The Red Cross and Salvation Army offered a shelter with overnight facilities for any who needed it, as well as hot food and cheer. There was an EMT center there to keep things organized, and it was a welcoming and well-organized operation. Thanks to all who helped put it in place.

Many thanks to Katie Carroll and all her helpers who annually entertain us all at the Firefighter’s Halloween party at the community center. As always, the party was a hit with decorations, food, costumes and judges to set the mood for the Halloween night of fun for the town’s children, young and old! Next year there should be a few prizes for the adult costumes as they are always spectacular!

The Chilmark Community Church will welcome Sherry Thomas of Warner, N.H. as their guest preacher on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 9 a.m. All are welcome to this Veterans Day service.

Terry Meinelt of Topsfield was in town this weekend for a visit with his dad, Ted Meinelt. He was happy to report that his new home on Wade’s Cove suffered no damage from the hurricane.

The Chilmark library’s Wednesday program will be a joint program with the Chilmark Board of Health to bring us information on How to Protect Yourself from Tick-Borne Illnesses. Speakers will be from the board of health and medical professions. All are welcome at no charge and the speakers begin at 5 p.m.

We send get well wishes to Chuck Hodgkinson, who is in Boston for some surgery as I write. We hope to see him back at his desk in the Chilmark town hall soon. Chuck, who lives in West Tisbury, is well know to Chilmarkers because of the work he does at Chilmark town hall. Cheers from us all!

Best wishes to Conrad Neumann, who, as I write, is recuperating from a second surgery in Boston earlier this week. We look forward to his return to Chilmark soon.

Chilmark endured more bad weather on Wednesday. Early on, the wind and rain seemed less threatening than the warnings that preceded the storm. How did we manage these northeasters before we had the forecasters to arouse us? I’m sure we appreciate the alerts, but we still just have to wait them out. Some things don’t change.

I can’t resist another New York Times and Chilmark story. Imagine my surprise when, on Oct. 30, the Science Times section carried a half-page color picture of my friend from early childhood in Chilmark, Peter G. Neumann. The paper carried an in-depth story entitled Killing the Computer to Save It. Peter is a renowned computer scientist in Menlo Park, but to me the picture brought back memories of softball games in Chilmark and visits with his interesting parents whose home on Middle Road now houses Peter’s daughter, Helen. Peter and Liz are annual summer visitors to Chilmark and many enjoy the annual catch-up visits with long-time friends. Congratulations, Peter, on your many successes in your interesting field of work — your Chilmark friends are made proud!

The Allen Farm tells us that the shop will be open for your holiday shopping on weekends (usually at mid-day) through the holiday season.