To whom it may concern:
The floors have been mopped, tablecloths, pot holders, aprons, etc. have been machine-washed, sinks cleaned, chairs washed, windows/paned that-were-broken-out and screens replaced.
Work to be done:
Several panes need to be puttied yet.
Erma Slate and Chris Matthews went to the Carriage House on Wednesday evening after their long day's work thinking they had to clean up after Old Home Day, and to their surprise, a fairy tale had happened right there on the church corner! The tables were set back in their places, the trash was taken away, and the note above was there on the table! They came around to the nearby houses to find the elves. But there were no elves nearby.
A second note in a different handwriting gave a clue: "Please have the children take home their clay creation so we can finish cleaning the bureau. E.B."
Mr Gipson says he knew of two crews who had turned up as if by magic before to clean the Carriage House: Brenda Slate, Erma Slate, and Chris Matthews were the first. They cleaned the parsonage before the minister's family arrived. The second crew was the whole Marra family who cleaned before the carnival. The third crew turned out to be the Brooks family from the south shore of Grindstone.
Elaine Brooks and Bruce Brooks, daughter-in-law and son of Irving and Jesse Brooks, remembering the care their parents gave the church, and knowing how hard the all-winter residents work in the summer, gathered their friends to come lend a hand. Carol Pascucci helped daughter Janice Brooks Bice move tables. Jane and Alvin Grube, whose son is a Methodist minister, helped the most. On Sunday, Janice welcomes the congregation to the Aunt Jane's Bay Service which will be held on the traditional spot on the Brooks property next Sunday, Aug. 11 at 10:30 a.m. In case of rain, the outdoor service will be postponed until the next Sunday.
To continue the news from Aunt Jane's Bay, Mrs. Shirley gave me the following note: "My nephew from California is visiting me for 10 days, and Jeff Atkins, also from California joined Marie Moore at their place. The bad news is that Doris Brooks is in the Good Samaritan hospital in Watertown, and that Jack Thompson, Polly's brother is also there, suffering with a leg broken in two places. Polly, who hurt her back in a freak boat accident on her way home from church a few weeks ago, is recovering, but still has to be very careful."
Around the island at Midriver Farm, Cleveland Dodge Rueckert, who is seven years old, gave this account of this week's St. Lawrence skiff race which was held at the Antique Boat Museum in quite a different wind from last week's race: "The river was really rough! A wave came right over the bow where I was bailing so Daddy said I could sit back on the first seat. We went so fast we were nine feet over the starting line when the starting whistle blew and had to come round again. When Eric Groat's boat whizzed past us across the line, Eric called, "We're in bad shape." I told Daddy, "Look at that boat, it keeps getting lower and lower." Then it sank. All we could see was Eric's mast. Another boat tipped over, but it got around to the last marker some way. I don't know how they got the water out. We came in fourth. Daddy told me it was all right if we didn't win, but we would try hard to finish the course. And we did finish!"
On Saturday evening, the Rev. John Marks baptized Abbey Claire and Philip Paul Carnegie, children of James and Laurie Carnegie. Jimmie and Laurie were in Bible school and children's choir in the '60s when Mr. Marks was summer minister. Zeke Brown and Lisa Daly were godparents for Abbey, and Peter and Golda Mellon were godparents for Philip.
Tina Marie Scanlon and Tracy Louise Scanlon, two relatives of Erma Slate also came to be baptized in the Grindstone Church where their great-grandmother had no doubt been baptized. Mr. Marks promised to look for the record of her baptism in the old brown church book. After the service, Laurie and Jimmie invited everyone to the Dodge Community Hall for some cake and quiet conversation before people arrived for the Saturday night party.
The party was, as it always is, lots of fun. People came from all over the island, the ham and hot dogs were eagerly devoured, John Morrow was DJ., and pleased everyone. Clay Kole won the 50-50. Salt Garnsey won the Grindstone hat! Next week Larry Krauter, who plays at Summer Place West will bring his guitar, and Bubby Bazinet will call some square. Live music is always the best!
A few final notes: Aug. 11, Aunt Jane's Bay service; Aug. 18, pot luck lunch and Auction 2; Aug. 21, Robbie Lashomb will talk about his experiences in Saudi Arabia;
Aug. 25, pot luck lunch and charge conference. On Thursday Willette Gipson will be back on the island for the weekend with Niahope, to make Papa William and Jalyce very, very happy! The congregation will be almost as happy!
So it is.