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

NOT SO GREAT-- As I sit here on this Memorial Day, the rain is coming down in buckets and the wind is blowing and well, it's just not nice. A good deal of this Memorial Day weekend wasn't so great. It certainly wasn't the sunny, warm days that I’d hoped for with folks lying on the beach in the sun. Instead, folks had to keep the sweatshirts on and the boots and umbrellas handy. Hopefully you were in a drier spot than I was!

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays this coming week are Christeena Lindsey, Justin Rainey, Tim Rushing, Gary Emery, Amy Knowles, Benjamin McClain, Barb Bain, Gale Luthi, Terry Vik, Justin Lindsey, Robyn Longtain, Jill Havens, Leroy Beard, Becca Keilwitz, Mike Wegdahl, Stephanie Prestegard, Roger Davis, Sharon Hart, Mason Pittman, Sharin, Shannon Cochran and Brian Good. Happy Anniversary wishes go to Mr. and Mrs. Al Bergseng, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Melton, Sharon and BJ Servis and Karla and Robert Kyle. May you all have wonderful celebrations.

CAR SHOW TIME--This Saturday is the big Dollars for Scholars Car Show. Keep your fingers crossed and let's see if we score another wonderful day for the car show. There will be lunch with fish or burger options, music, a trout pond for the kids and some totally awesome gift tables with a huge TV, BBQ, camping stuff and more. Plus, there are lots of door prizes for those of you who have entered a car, so head to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds this Saturday. It's free to look around at all the cars. This is a fundraiser for scholarships for the Wahkiakum High School graduates, so please help support this great cause for our kids.

BREAKFAST FIRST-- If you get your car entered early, be sure to go over to the Skamokawa United Methodist Church to have breakfast! You'll be filled up with pancakes, sausage, eggs and coffee and that should tide you over until the car show folks serve lunch. Even if you're not showing a car, stop by the church for breakfast between 7 and 10 a.m. to help them out with their fundraiser.

NEW EXHIBIT-- Thanks to the Rock 'n Roll Congress, a new exhibit of kids' artwork will be featured at Redmen Hall beginning on June 15. All schoolage kids who are interested in taking part are urged to pick up a form at school and fill that out and get it in as soon as possible. The artists have an opportunity to sell their artwork as well as show it. There will be an evening reception for the artists on opening night.

BINGO DATE CHANGED--The Sons of Norway will be holding their monthly Bingo game on a different date in June. The regular second Saturday was not going to work for those in charge due to family obligations, so they will be having Bingo on June 15 instead. The group’s monthly meeting will take place on June 5 at 7 p.m. at the Norse Hall on Puget Island.

SHOW CANCELLED-- It is with extreme regret that after a lot of thought and consideration, the Skamokawa Grangers are cancelling our "Smoky Water Follies" show this year that was scheduled for the end of June. Things were going along really swell and we had a wonderful band lined up, but the kids in the show had to bow out of the production due to other obligations. This particular show needed children and without them, we felt we couldn't do it justice, and with only a month before the show, the chances of putting together a whole new plan just didn't seem feasible. So rather than put on a sub-par performance or make all of us with "old brains" try to relearn something else in a short time, we opted to cancel it this year and hope for a better year next year. I want to thank Adele Baker-Swift and Sunrise Fletcher for all the work they'd done up until now to get this show going, including band rehearsals, searching for music, script writing, and more. I also want to say thanks to the performers who were learning new songs and finding new outfits and all, but trust me, your work won't have been in vain, as next year, we'll get back together and get this show on the stage!

BIG SALE: PIGYS-- One thing that has not changed is the Puget Island Garage and Yard Sale, and that will take place during the last weekend in June as planned. Contact 360- 849-4253 for more information and make sure you mark that weekend down on your calendar if you enjoy garage sales.

VENDOR'S MARKET--For all of you who would like to take part in the Skamokawa Grange Vendor's Market at Vista Park on July 27, I urge you to send in your contract right away. We'd like to get a count of who's going to be there so when we advertise for it, we can list you and your wares. Contact me today (795-3425) if you don't have a contract or you can pick one up at the Vista Park office as well.

NOW IS THE TIME--Time is flying by, so don't forget that the Wahkiakum County Fair will take place in mid-August. It’s time to get busy taking pictures, making quilts or jewelry, and trying out new recipes so you can enter the best ones in the baking section. This year’s theme will be "Treasures Shown - Made at Home.”

LOTS OF PRAYERS--It's been a rough week around our area and prayer chains have been kept busy as have many good friends and neighbors with their positive thoughts and prayers. I was sad to learn about the death of East Valley resident Eric Sims. He was one of the original land owners of the area called Lucky Mud, and he was a super-talented and nice guy. I send my deepest sympathies to his family. According to Jessica Fletcher, they are planning a Celebration of Life service at the Skamokawa Grange Hall on June 22 in the afternoon.

Also, my brother Ralph Pedersen suffered a stroke last week and was taken to the hospital by one of our wonderful ambulance teams. Our family appreciates all the well wishes and prayers on his behalf. He is currently at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver but should be moved from there before long. The family asks for no visitors at this time as Ralph's speech and vision have been affected and it's just too frustrating for him to try to communicate right now. Anyone who knows our family has observed that talking a lot is in our DNA, so I hope Ralph is back to his chatty self very soon and in the meantime, please keep those prayers coming.

This past Sunday, Deb Moonen Holland took a nasty tumble on her quad and she too is currently at SW Medical Center. According to family members, she has several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a back injury. While thankfully her injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, she is certainly going to need some time to recuperate from these serious injuries, so send good thoughts and prayers her way for a full recovery.

Kelly Nettles Recupero has asked for prayers on her behalf as she'll be undergoing surgery on her back this week, so I send my best wishes for a speedy recovery down there in Australia.

Jamie Hjaltalin has asked for prayers on her dad Dave’s behalf as it looks like he may have to have open heart surgery soon. I want to help her spread the word and while our list of those who need a loving thought, a big hug and lots of prayers continues to grow, I hope you'll find it in your heart to keep them in mind as they go through some serious struggles right now.

LARGE GATHERING--The friends and family of Veryl Chamberlain gathered last Friday to lay him to rest at the Grays River Cemetery next to his wife Barbara and son Robert. Veryl's six immediate grandchildren, which include the two Chamberlain boys, Brandon and Nathan, and the four Blains, Jason, Rachael, Jenny and Robert, were the pallbearers. All 12 great-grandchildren were there to lay a flower on the casket, which was topped with a decorated saddle, which was only fitting for a horse lover like Veryl.

Afterward, everyone went to the Rosburg Hall where Veryl's grandson Robert Blain led a memorial service for him and played a picture slideshow set to some of Veryl's favorite songs for us to retrace Veryl's walk through life. While we will miss Veryl's presence, we will have the memories that we shared with him forever in our hearts.

According to Esther Gregg, the Grays River Grange will drape the Charter on Veryl's behalf at their meeting on June 11.