JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, last weekend a pickup team of baseball players was busy playing ball on the school ball field that had patches of snow in the infield. This weekend it was a different story as it was buried under 12 inches of snow. We had a classic blizzard last Friday and Saturday. It started as a rain/snow mixture along with high winds and drifting, and cancelled SSA boats for a day and a half. In this section of town, we lost electric power amazingly for a total of seven minutes! Monday afternoon we suffered a two hour power interruption when a transformer failed in Vineyard Haven.

Our back door was frozen shut as the snow mixture froze. If you parked your car on a grassy surface it also was frozen solid. The driving ban put into effect by the governor as part of his state of emergency worked well up this way as nary a car was seen until Sunday. Then again, there really was no place to go anyway. The strong sun and warmer temperatures began to thaw gigantic mountains of snow by Sunday.

A great number of kids tried out their new sleds at the Tashmoo hill on Sunday. Traffic was backed up in both directions. There was a time when the hill on the Newhall property was used by the kids in town and around the Island for sledding. If you were good at it, when your sled hit Parsonage Pond and you were able to veer the rudder to the left, your momentum would carry you the entire length of the pond.

The Congregational Church canceled worship services on Sunday. The annual church meeting has been rescheduled to this Sunday. The annual Democratic meeting was moved to tomorrow because of the storm.

Today it is the start of a long holiday weekend. Presidents Day is celebrated on Monday. The school, post office, library and all municipal buildings will be closed. School vacation week starts next Friday. While many of you will be taking a winter break off-Island, we expect to have a modest influx of visitors next week if the weather is reasonable. Several stores will be offering special sales on Monday.

Alex Small of New Lane reports that Secret Garden opened yesterday at the school. She urges you to go and see the talented students perform in the play. Also check out the wonderful scenery and costumes.

Anna Alley of State Road went up to visit grandson Robbie and his family last weekend. They had a swell time and got to visit with her sister in Providence. Anthony Saccocia of Waldron’s Bottom Road, head chef of the Grill on Main in Edgartown, reports that his establishment was quite busy on Valentines Day and it was nice to see so many friendly faces. He will continue to offer two-for-one dinners every weekend for the remainder of the winter season. The Harriet B. Freedberg Learning Center at the Hebrew Center will be showing two films at 4 p.m. on Sunday which document the passion and intensity of living the creative life. Both are the work of longtime Island film makers and members Robert and Marjory Potts, who for nearly 25 years made a variety of documentaries and educational productions from their West Tisbury studio.

Richard Paradise reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center is hosting an Academy Awards telecast and party with a professional photographer on hand and prizes for winning Oscar ballots on Feb. 24. A limited number of tickets can be reserved for the evening by calling 508-696-9369 or emailing info@mvfilmsociety.com. Dress formally or informally.

Tara Whiting, town clerk, reports that so far only candidates for re-election have filed nomination papers to run for office. All nomination papers must be submitted to her by Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. The annual town meeting is April 9, and town election is on April 11. The last day to register to vote in the annual election and town meeting is March 30. There will be a special primary election to fill John Kerry’s senate seat on April 30.

On February 16, 1945 Bert Cahoon, Daniel Manter and Albion Alley received letters of thanks and commendation from Lieut. Commander Norman G. Asbury, officer in charge of the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, for the immediate and timely aid they rendered to a pilot of a plane forced down on the Orlin Davis property on Middle Road in Chilmark. This aid “was of immeasurable help in the prevention of shock and exposure to the pilot and will shorten his period of recovery,” the letter said. Albion, chief of the guards at the NAAS, and Bert, operator of the garage, were on their way back home from finishing an assignment at the Peaked Hill military installation and witnessed the crash in a field near the road. Over 60 years later Everett Poole of Chilmark notified this correspondent that he has hanging in his garage the propeller from the aircraft that crashed that day.

Happy birthday to Kevin Peter Jr., Karen Child and Suzanne Fenn today; Dan Gouldrup, Don MacDonald, Megan Higgins and Nancy Cox tomorrow; Leslie Eaton, Barbara Paciello, Janice Feltz, Garrison Vieira and Richard McAuliffe on Sunday; Patricia Duffy, Susan Wasserman and Marilyn Bergeron on Monday; Bob Knight, Joyce Wright and Florence Paul on Tuesday; Charlene Kelly on Wednesday; Lila Fischer, Lenny Jason Jr. and Dick Johnson on Thursday. Belated anniversary wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Mavro and belated birthday greetings to Jean Morton Fischer O’Reilly, Meg Higgins, David Schuster and old friend Don Evon.

Well, that is all of the social news for this edition. Please call or e-mail with news you wish to share with others. Have a nice President’s Day weekend and a great week.