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

DAMP--It seems that whenever my flowers bloom and are looking pretty, we get a heavy rain or hail storm or some strong winds and my poor flowers take a beating. Sure enough, that's what happened last week. My camellias were looking real nice, as was my red rhododendron, but after being pounded by the hail and tossed around by the wind this weekend, they are looking pretty sad and droopy. Even the hummingbirds would rather get some nourishment from my feeders than to deal with those soggy, droopy plants. We're hoping to see a little more sun in the days ahead, as the grass keeps growing and the weeds are getting taller, so if we don't make a swipe at them between showers, they'll be three feet tall soon. As I wrap this up on Tuesday morning, the sun is shining brightly, so that's very encouraging. Here's to warmer weather as I'm tired of the temperatures that are still hovering in the thirties at night.

TRAGEDY--My heart goes out to the folks who were injured in the bombings that took place in Boston on Monday, as an attack like that was totally shocking and unexpected. To those that lost a loved one that day, there are no words to express how sad we are as a country for this senseless act of violence and the loss of such innocent lives at a time when they were taking in all the joys of that day. My thoughts and prayers are with each one who suffered that day. May those responsible be found quickly and dealt with sternly.

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays this coming week are Nancy Granger, Fred Bennett Jr., Max Schmitz, Marie Allen, Susan Kuhn, Alyssa Braman, Larry "Spoonie" Quigley, Esther Mendez, Tawnya Paine, Jason Wallin, Cleave Hedman, Steven Doumit, Delaney Doumit, Seth Doumit, Sarah Doumit, Matthew Miller, Eric Bergseng, Nathan Frink, Rochelle Stensland, Gwen Ronninghaug, Lynn Fancher, Susan Shane Edminster and 67'ers Sandra Davis and Greg Lloyd. I hope all of your special days are celebrated to the fullest!

Belated birthday wishes to Logan Britt whose birthday was last Tuesday but who celebrated his birthday last weekend with a live band at the Duck Inn. From what I hear, everyone had a booming good time! Stephanie Olsen and her family and friends were celebrating her birthday there as well. There’s nothing like a double whammy celebration to liven things up around here!

CALLING ALL PERFORMERS--Anyone wishing to be in the Skamokawa Grange fundraiser "Smoky Water Follies" should show up this Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Grange Hall to get your musical, acting or other assignments for the upcoming show at the end of June. This is our one big fundraiser of the year, so I hope you'll help us out by becoming one of our performers. Do you juggle? Perform a comedy act? We'd especially like to see more children come and join us, as we'll be doing a skit involving an orphanage this year, and we could use some bodies. We've got a much bigger band this year, and we'll be enjoying the sweet harmonies of the Harmony Hearts with Kathleen Morgain, Gwen Gorley, Christine Payne-Towler and Pam Emery. We'll have two great piano accompanists this year, as the wonderful Fern Fey will be joined by Kathleen Peterson. Both of these Puget Island ladies are outstanding. If you'd like to participate but can't be there on Saturday afternoon, please give Sunrise Fletcher a call at 795-8770 to get on the list.

LOCALS PERFORM-- It looks like the Rock ‘n’ Roll Congress performers had a good turn out at the new Tall Tree Cafe in downtown Cathlamet (formerly Howie's Corner) last Friday. I understand Skamokawa local Jerry Ledtke joined the group and had a rousing good time with his song “Drenched in the Rain" that had everybody singing. It sounded like a fun evening. It's great to see all this talent coming out to perform and we are all lucky to have such a variety of entertainers in our area.

NEW EXHIBIT--The Friends of Skamokawa will be showing off their new exhibit this weekend of artwork belonging to Janet Cimino. This is not just a showing of her artworks that she collected, but a sale to raise money for Tsuga Gallery, which she founded. On Saturday, the opening day, there will be a reception with Tsuga Gallery members, so I hope you'll stop by to purchase one of the many unique items that were once owned by Janet, including highly collectible items like paintings from Maude Butler. The hall will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Call 795-3007 for more information.

TEA TIME--It’s time to head to St. James Family Center to enjoy their Royal Tea. There are two seatings, one at noon and one at 2 p.m. on Saturday, so there will be plenty of time to take in both the tea and the doings at Redmen Hall. Also that day will be the annual plant sale and a silent auction. All proceeds from the day will go to benefit the center, which provides a great service for our community.

TIME FOR CHICKEN--Why not take a load off on Sunday and head over to the Rosburg Hall to enjoy a chicken dinner? You can enjoy this tasty meal put on by the Rosburg Community Club from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. It comes with some wonderful dessert options as well. I hope you'll take the opportunity to leave the fuss and muss of making Sunday dinner to someone else and help support this hall as well. It's a win-win situation.

GRANGE MEETING-- The Skamokawa Grange will be meeting April 22 at the grange hall at 18 Fairgrounds Road for a 7 p.m. meeting with a potluck prior to that at 6:30 p.m. It's always fun to see what we get to eat for dinner. So far we've made it a pretty balanced meal and haven't been surprised by an all-dessert dinner.

CONTEST ENTRIES--Donna Moody, our Skamokawa Grange Family Living Coordinator, wants to remind everyone that our spring contests are coming up very soon and everybody can enter. The day for taking in entries is April 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Call me for more information. There's a category for everybody.

KIDS CAN FISH FREE--Do your kids like to fish? From April 27 through May 26 you can take your kids (age 14 and under), out to the Burns Rock Pit to fish for free. The pit is located about four miles out the Elochoman Valley Road and is only open on the weekends. Kids age eight and younger get a chance to start at 8:30 a.m and then after 9:30, everybody up to the age of 14 can fish, with a limit of five fish. Enjoy this wonderful opportunity to let the kids fish for free and have a great fish dinner after they haul in their catch!

CAR SHOW--Now is the time to pre-register for the upcoming Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars Car Show held on June 1. Participants that pre-register their car get a meal ticket, t-shirt, goodie bag, dash plaque and a chance to vote on their favorite rigs. This event is in its eighth year. I’ll pray for sunshine and a good turnout as the cars gather at the Wahkiakum County fairgrounds and adjoining park. This is the first year that this event is a solo act (without the sturgeon derby) and so a few things will be done differently. The food choices will be salmon and burgers instead of chicken. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $5 for kids 10 and under. The meal will be served between noon and 3 p.m. There will still be the trout pond and the dart board and live music, so it's going to be a fun, fun day as usual. There is no entry fee for spectators. Contact Lee Tischer for more information or go to the Wahkiakum Chamber website or Facebook. With over 60 trophies being given away, I'm thinking there should be one with your name on it, so get your car entered today. Remember, funds raised go to benefit our kids at WA-KI-HI and all students get to enter their cars for free.

EARLY CHANCES--One of the prizes that will be raffled off at the car show is a big 50 inch flat screen HD television. This is the one item that you can buy tickets for ahead of time and that you don't have to be present to win. Tickets can be purchased at Cathlamet Chevron.

As usual, there are some other awesome items that are being raffled off and if you'd like to donate something, please let me know. If you donate $200 or more of cash or prizes, you will also get your name or business name on this year's t-shirt. I'd like to thank Heidi Heywood for calling me up and becoming one of our newest sponsors this year.

COMING IN MAY-- Whether you are on the east end or west end of the county, you'll be able to enjoy some tea time next month, as the Grays River Friendship Circle and the Sons of Norway on Puget Island are both hosting a tea on May 5.

Carlton Appelo will be celebrating his 91st birthday on May 11 with a celebration in his honor at the Appelo Archive Center in Naselle from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day.

The Sons of Norway will host their monthly Bingo night on the second Saturday of May. The fun begins at 6 p.m. I understand that Stephanie Prestegard was one of the big winners last week, so a hearty congrats to her and the other winners.

VENDOR MARKET-- Vendor contracts for the annual Vendor Market, a Skamokawa Grange fundraiser that will be held at Skamokawa Vista Park on July 27, are available to pick up at the Vista Park office.