Well, Monday is the first day of the fall season and we are thankful for all of our summer memories as September is slipping away as quick as you can say Jack Frost! We know he is waiting just around the corner, but it doesn’t seem possible with the Indian summer weather we are enjoying. Colleen Morris reports that on Tuesday she will be celebrating Johnny Appleseed Day. Folks are busy harvesting the last of their vegetables from their gardens, and what few berries that may be left and are settling into their fall routine as the sun is now setting before 7 p.m.

A sure sign of fall is the start of the 69th Annual Bass and Bluefish Derby this past Sunday. Joyce Bowker, director of the Council on Aging, reports that the fresh fish schedule at the Howes House will be on Thursdays all during the derby. Please call 508-693-2896 after 10 a.m. that day and the staff will know the amount of fish that will be distributed to the senior citizens in the up-Island towns.

Pierce Kirby III of Moscow, Vienna, Austria and North Tisbury arrived last week to officiate at his niece Christina’s wedding. She married Wade Simmons at the West Tisbury First Congregational Church last Friday. The reception was held at the Agricultural Hall. People who came for the wedding and stayed with the Kirbys include Joe and Cassie Kirby from Virginia, Daphine and Linda Kirby from Florida, Marcus Heal from London and Robin Leed from Boston. The wedding took place on Christina’s parents’ 55th wedding anniversary. They were surprised when the bride presented them with the original cake topper from their wedding cake. Bernice said a memorable good time was had by all!

Kendall Gifford Miller of Athens, Ohio, was in town last week. He was working on the east side of the old store that abutted the now removed ice cream parlor. He had repainted the front on an earlier visit last summer. He also sold his corn from a stand, reminiscent of the one Sid Stone ran many years ago.

Amy Hoff over at the library reports that tomorrow at 7 p.m. the West Tisbury library will present Arnold Rabin’s new play, What do people talk about when they have nothing to say?, directed by Leslie J. Stark. The play is about two couples and the issues they face in their respective marriages. The cast includes Connie McCreery, Jenny Allen, Mike Adell and Leslie Stark. This one-time performance is free and open to the public.

Anna Alley went off-Island Tuesday afternoon on a business appointment. She returned home before the sunset.

David McCullough has been featured all this week as the historian in Ken Burns mini-series on PBS. Mr. Burns’ brother purchased the Old Parsonage Farm last year. David, as you may remember, wrote Mornings on Horseback and the Panama Canal, all featured President Theodore Roosevelt.

My friends at the History Channel provided this bit of history. Seventy-five years ago tomorrow without warning, a powerful category 3 hurricane slammed into the Vineyard. The Great Hurricane of 1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century. With Europe on the brink of war, little media attention was given to the powerful hurricane at sea. There was no advanced meteorological technology, fishermen and boaters were at sea and summer residents enjoying the end of the season were in their beachfront homes. Around 3 p.m., the full force of the hurricane made landfall, and unfortunately it was around high tide and resulted in severe flooding. Surges of ocean water and waves 40 feet tall swallowed up coastal homes. In Milton, south of Boston, the Blue Hill Observatory recorded one of the highest wind gusts in history, an astounding 186 mph. The Vineyard was hit hard resulting in one death and millions of dollars in property damage.

On Sept. 30, 1945, Barbara Fales and her daughter Sandra returned to her mother’s home on Old County Road after a few days in New York city. Her mother, Mrs. W. Cleaveland Foote, and the family closed the house and left for Miami, where they spent the winter. Sam Fales, who had been discharged from the service, left Florida for Venezuela, where he spent two months before taking a position in Ecuador. His wife and daughter joined him there. They planned to make their home there for an indefinite period of time.

Happy birthday to Eleanor Stanwood, Susan Block, Sara Alwardt and Melissa Thomas today; Tony Rezendes, Susan Silk, Lenny Bedford, Marilyn Hollinshead, David Laurie, Ruth Van Brakle, Lanny McDowell and Antonio Simoes tomorrow; Judy and Larry Schubert, Amanda Dickinson and Jake Bilzerian on Sunday; Carole Kimberly, Angela Scarborough and Kathy Lobb on Monday; Granville White, Mike Donaroma, Terre Young and Sean Conley on Tuesday; Lydia Olsen, Brandie Lewis, Tim Williamson, Marjorie Pierce and Heather Sharp on Wednesday, and Cynthia Wayman, Manuel Estrella III, Kali Wingood, Patricia Capello and Cheryl Metell on Thursday. Belated birthday greetings to Celine Segel. Also, happy anniversary to Noah and Susan Block tomorrow.

Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or email me. Have a great week.

Send your West Tisbury news to: alleys@vineyard.net.