The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

SUNNY BEGINNING--The temperatures here haven't been super hot during this last week of July, which is fine by me, but for those beach and heat lovers, well, it's been sort of disappointing, as we had hotter days in the spring time! As this work week begins, we not only saw a little less sun and cooler temperatures, but we also saw a new month show up! You know what that means don't you? Well, it means everyone with kids will be frantically getting those vacation days figured in their schedule before the kids have to go back to school and fall weather and fall sports start taking over! Plus, there's all that school shopping to do for those folks too, so good luck with that!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those enjoying a birthday from Aug. 4-10 are Fred Hoven, Austin Smith, John L. McClain, Brian McClain, Jenny Benfit, Marsha Helms, Treasure Collupy, Cassi Luthi, Maureen Zacher, Danny Eaton, Terry Bonny, Amy Gorley, Fred Johnson, Penny Pethoud, Wendy Blix, Bob Hendrickson, David Zacher, Tim Crouse, Keil Parker, Jason Blain, Paydn K. Pedersen, Jenny Pedersen, Jeff Nicol, Jacob William Fletcher, Sally Palmer and 67'ers Judy Lindwall Bergman, Marnee Ostervold Davis and Martin Ostervold. Happy Birthday wishes to each and every one of you!

Belated birthday wishes to Ed Stevens who celebrated his birthday during the last week of July.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to the following this week: Mr. and Mrs. Rick Kuljis, Mr. and Mrs. Don Speranza, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce McClain, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Baldwin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hoven, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Schubert, Mr. and Mrs. Steve (Janna) Doumit, Mr. and Mrs. Doug Manary, Mr. and Mrs. Darril Corbin, MacKenzie and Kristen Allen. Happy days everyone!

FOS--We hope you have been one of the 200 people who have viewed the new exhibit at the River Life Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall, but if not, you're in luck, as the "Rolling on the River" exhibit is there all month. We urge you to check this out, as there are scale models of sternwheelers that used to ply the Columbia River and stopped in our town from 1850-1927. There was a lot of tugboat activity as well, and a great book was written by Peter Brix about the tugboat industry from back then, to current day.

In the gift shop, there are many hand made items from local folks and they make great gift items, as you know, (don't hate me now) the holidays are just not that far off! Receiving a special, homemade gift by local artisans is always a welcomed gift.

The FOS is looking forward to their big annual fund raising event on the second Saturday of September, the Wine Tasting and Auction event, and we hope you'll be able to attend. They are also looking for donations for items for the live and silent auction, so if you have something to donate, contact the hall at 795-3307. The more items they have to display, the more items can be bid on and the more exciting it is for everyone. September 10 will be here before you know it, so please jot that down on your calendar today. This is an adult evening out, complete with a wide variety of wines, some great food and wonderful items to bid on, and most of all, lots of fun!

In case you didn't notice, the hall is sporting a new roof, so it's all set to go for the winter. "All Top Roofing" was in charge of this very steep project, so kudos to them for all their challenging work! They happen to be the same people who put on the roof at the Skamokawa Grange. Having fund raisers, like the one listed above, is one of the ways the FOS continues to raise money for the continuing maintenance and restoration of this historic building, built in 1894. If you aren't in the area, or you are unable to attend this major fund raiser, but you'd still like to help the Friends of Skamokawa in their goal to keep the Redmen Hall going, you can always mail in a donation to the FOS at P.O. Box 67, Skamokawa, WA 98647. The hall is open Thursdays through Sundays, so you could call 795-3007 for further information.

SKAMOKAWA G.S. ALUMNI--Gary Emery gave me a call and Julie McKagan was able to send me an email about an important Skamokawa Grade School Alumni meeting that is coming up during fair time at 2 p.m., Aug. 20 at the Vista Park office. They are holding this meeting to discuss plans for creating a memorial plaque which would be installed at the site of the old school. It would also include a photo of the school and the years the school was in service. If any member has a good picture of the school, bring it with you. Also, there is money being held by the school alumni and they want to finalize the disbursement of that for college scholarships for WHS graduates. So, you're encouraged to attend this meeting, chaired by Gary Emery, which should last less than an hour he believes. You can contact him directly at 360-795-0884 with any questions you may have.

LIONS CLUB--Just a reminder that the "Frozen Berry sales & free Reading Glasses" event is happening this month. Look for the order form for the berries in local stores and the form will be in The Eagle next week. Raspberries, strawberries, marionberries, blueberries and blackberries will all be available; great for pies & jams.

The reading glasses will be available at the West End Food Pantry Aug. 4, Aug. 11 and Aug. 18, so if you need some reading glasses, there will be a wide array for you to choose from. They will be available at the Cathlamet Clothing Bank on Aug. 24 and 31 as well. More places are hoped to be added for September. If you know a Lions Club member, you can ask them all about these two events, or if you don't know anyone, you can contact Carol McClain here in Skamokawa at 795-3337.

BUSY PLACE--If you stopped by Skamokawa Vista Park this past week, you were able to check out a batch of Hoby Cats and a whole batch of campers, as the place was really bustling with people. I always enjoy talking to the "just discovered this park" people as those who live here can wind up taking this "jewel of a park" along our mighty Columbia River, for granted sometimes.

Just in case you forgot, you can get your treats and specialty drinks at the "Ship Channel Coffee" coffee cart located within the park near the boat display. It's open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., so be sure to stop by and check them out.

NEW ADDITION--If you've gone by the Skamokawa Resort recently, you would have noticed a little construction going on to the west of the condos/suites area. We aren't going to spoil the surprise, but just suffice it to say, Lance and Shannon Britt think that their guests will love it! You may notice their new sign out front as well and lots of folks are finding the resort a wonderful place to stay. It's neat and clean, handy to kayaking and all water sports, as well as the park, the fairgrounds and nice flat areas to ride bicycles, and the Sk. store gives them a little bit of everything they need as well. If your family is planning an event in the near future, contact them about a place to stay; call 795-0726.

TOUGH WEEK--There seems to be no end in sight of those who are dealing with health issues and my sister-in-law, Peggy Pedersen (Mrs. Ralph) was one of them, so we are hoping and praying she gets to come home from the hospital this week. Also, Robin Robbins, a former truck driver that many knew around here, has not only been battling cancer, but now he's dealing with a broken hip and possible hip replacement, so we want to wish him the best as he recovers from this latest incident, which is not what one needs when you're already fighting a hard fight! There are several others who have been feeling pretty weary due to severe health issues, like Amanda Gibson and Kelly Recupero to name a couple, so we want to let them know we'll be thinking of them as well. There are those who don't wish to be named but we know who you are, and we encourage folks to keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well. Here's to all of you feeling better soon!

SUPER BUSY TIMES AHEAD--The next couple of weeks are packed with things to do, and it all starts off with the WHS 100 year Commemorative Reunion on Aug. 13 at noon, at the Wahkiakum High School. So bring a dish to share, maybe a folding chair, and come and gab with others from your class and others.

Then there's the Wahkiakum County Fair which takes place Aug. 18-20 but remember, all those entering things need to get a new exhibit number and most things are entered into the fair starting earlier that week and even some, the week before, so check out your hand book and get those items put in at the proper times, as judging takes place at different times and days as well. The fair is always in need of volunteers to set up booths, take care of the grounds and other projects as things really get kicked into high gear here these next couple of weeks. Leave a message on the fair phone if you can help; 795-3480.

The following week the annual "Hook the Hawg" Fall Salmon Derby will take place at the Elochoman Slough Marina in Cathlamet, so watch for those forms and all the rules and regulations coming up about that.

There is a lot coming up in between time too, like Bingo at the Norse Hall on the second Saturday evening of the month, Skamokawa Grange meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and the Farmers Markets going on: one in Grays River on Tuesday and the Puget Island Market at Stockhouses' on Fridays at 3 p.m., complete with entertaiment and more, so there's no reason to be bored around here!

SCHOOL AND FOOTBALL--Don't forget the biggie, as the 2016 Fall opening of schools here at our Wahkiakum school district is August 29, so we'll soon be out cheering for our favorite teams, be it the Warriors or the Mules or Lady Mules! If you want to be a sponsor to help support these athletes, you can do that directly at the school, or if you want to show your support by being a booster sponsor through The Eagle, get ahold of The Eagle office, but whatever you opt to do, let's be sure to wish these athletes "good luck" in the coming school/sports year!