Community Columns

Oysterponds: Attend these communities meetings at Poquatuck Hall

This Saturday, Sept. 19, Poquatuck Hall will be the site of two very important Oysterponds meetings.

At 9 a.m. there will be the annual meeting for Oysterponds Historical Society. All members are invited and encouraged to attend this vital gathering. Please bring your ballot with you.

At 5 p.m. that same day, Oysterponds Community Activities will hold its annual assemblage (how many times can I say meeting?). They hope there will be a strong turnout from our community in support of all the efforts that have been carried out on behalf of Poquatuck Hall and all the village’s monuments. Come and hear what is planned next. The current project that is almost completed is a new handicapped accessible lavatory. (A long time coming but worth the wait.) Wine and refreshments will be served. P.S.: OCA is always looking for flags to fly over the monuments. If you find one in the attic, send it along. The weather is rough on them.

At 10 a.m. the following Saturday, Sept. 26, the Orient Association will host a forum to discuss land use at Poquatuck Hall. All are invited.

It’s time to get a good meal for a worthy cause. The annual “Italian Nite Dinner,” sponsored by the ELIH East End Branch Auxiliary, takes place Thursday, Sept. 24, from noon to 8 p.m. at Soundview Restaurant in Greenport. Tickets, available at the door, are $20 and include your choice of spaghetti and meatballs or chicken parmesan. Takeout is available. For more info, call Carol Sieban at 477-2047.

One of our most valuable resources in Oysterponds is Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport. The annual budget vote will take place Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 2 to 8 p.m. at the library. Please make your way there and support this valuable asset. Go to floydmemoriallibrary.org and check out the calendar of events. The building is extremely well-utilized. For more info, call 477-0660.

The Oysterponds PTA has a new president, Gail Barlow — mother of first-grader Stella — and a new project. They will be selling beautiful and colorful fall mums. The cost is $7 and they must be purchased by Sept. 25 for Oct. 1 pickup. The following link can be used to place an order: oysterponds-pta-fall-mum-sale-fundraiser.cheddarup.com.

The PTA is also conducting its membership drive. For info, email [email protected]. Dues are $10.

John Holzapfel’s next “Nature’s Journal” talk will be given at Peconic Landing at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25. It’s always a treat. Thanks for doing this, John.

This week’s public service announcement centers on the Orient post office. Please check your mail to make sure you are the addressee before you toss that pile of mail in your box. One of our residents suspects that a catalog or two that she ordered somehow got put in the wrong box and tossed without being identified as theirs. Thanks in advance. (Not sure how much good this is doing since dogs are still pooping on the sidewalk and folks are still parking in the wrong direction in front of the post office, but I’ll keep trying.)

On Saturday morning I was heading to a yard sale on Grandview and if I didn’t know that Jeb Bush was campaigning somewhere other than Orient I would have bet my life he passed me in a convertible, top down. This man was a serious doppelganger to Jeb. My question: Anybody have any idea who he is?

Our OFD is offering a CPR basic skills course for two days in October: the 7th, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the 24th, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sign up at the Country Store or by emailing [email protected]. I will remind you in my next column (Oct. 1).

When you open my imaginary dictionary to the words “kind,” “devoted,” “hardworking,” “dedicated” and “great husband” you would for sure find Ted Rackett’s picture there. He died at San Simeon last week at age 99 (he was my June 25 birthday twin). I will remember him with a special twinkle in his eye. Oysterponds extends their sympathy to Hattie, his bride of 75 years. May he rest in peace.

Contact Oysterponds columnist Carol Gillooly at [email protected] or 323-3899.