Community

Oysterponds Column: Orient Fire Department hosts open house this Saturday

Baseball season will be winding down, but Saturday was a great day for us Mets fans. Miriam, make sure you tell your Uncle Richard (see last week’s column) that I was thinking of him as “my” Mets whooped the Phillies in two games in one day. It will be sad to see the boys of summer pack up the bats and balls and head for the dugouts — but there’s always the World Series for those of you lucky enough to have a team participating. Jeffrey Lyons has been quiet as of late. Check in with some of your baseball wisdom or maybe some “wild” news. Betcha this is the first time Red Sox fans are rooting for the Yankees. There must be a statistic here.

All of Oysterponds is invited to the firehouse for Orient Fire Department’s open house/community day this Saturday, Oct. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m. This free party is OFD’s way of saying “thank you” to the community for their support throughout the year. The menu is hot dogs, hamburgers, shrimp, clams, salads, etc. — plus wine, beer and soda. Music will be provided by “The Locals.” There will also be a 50/50 raffle and, as Bud Griffiths (my source once again) says, the odds are better here than across the Sound!

Since I’ve been doing a catch-up on those who rose to the occasion during Irene, I failed to mention that Orient Congregational Church also opened as a shelter during the storm and hosted a family (without a parrot). OCC is used to setting up in a heartbeat for guests, since they are a backup facility for the homeless shelter, John’s Place. As Pastor Ann scooted across the grass to fetch some milk for coffee from the parsonage the morning of the storm, she missed the falling of the huge tree by just a few minutes. Timing is everything.

OCC will host its monthly fellowship supper on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m. Bring a dish to share. All are welcome.

Speaking of timing and Irene, Oysterponds extends its sympathy to Tiffany Bell and her family on the death of her mother, Anne, who was one of those unlucky Irene statistics who didn’t survive the falling tree in Maryland. May she rest in peace.

Sympathy also goes out to Brianna and Colin Van Tuyl and Miriam Buckley on the loss of their father-in-law/grandfather/husband, Don Buckley. He was a very kind man and hopefully enjoying catching up with daughter Janet, whose tragic accident occurred 17 years ago, almost to the day. May the family be comforted by the love of family and friends.

That segues me into the passing of another Oysterponds silhouette, Betty Rose, who most likely was Orient’s “oldest” resident. (Help me out here: Do we have any other centenarians in Orient/East Marion?) Betty reached the milestone of 100 this summer and has moved on to the great yard sale in the sky. I guess she took the term “no early birds” seriously. Betty was a fixture at OHS and operated Shinbone Alley for decades. (For you newbies, Shinbone was a retail antique shop that is now the curator’s residence.) There will be a memorial at Orient United Methodist Church  Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. It promises to be an interesting and memorable exchange of stories.

Don’t forget that this weekend is the last chance to catch the OHS summer exhibit.