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

NICE WEEKEND-- Summer officially begins tomorrow (Friday), and the forecast says we'll have a nice weekend to enjoy.

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays this coming week are Keith Hoofnagle, Mary Baldwin, LaRita Bennett, Jonathan Hauff, Signe Sause, Jerry DeBriae, Bobby Helms, Lori Smith, Danny Helms, Kay Holland, Nicci Bergseng, Judy Marsyla, Stan Woody, Jack Gorley, Larry Horman, James Anderson, Bill Ower, Barbara Hanmore, Rhonda Pedersen and Katie Sechler. Happy birthday, everyone!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Susan and Randy Kuhn, Steve and Debbie McClain, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Souvenir, Phil and Elaine Rolf, David and Libby Whitney, Larri and Sally Palmer and Mark and Rhonda Pedersen. Have terrific celebrations, everybody!

NEW BIRTHDAY-- The Pedersen family has one more name to add to the birthday list, as Miss Bailey Pedersen made her arrival June 14 in Maryland to Adam and Samantha Pedersen. My brother Ralph Pedersen and wife Peggy, Bailey’s great-grandparents, were very thrilled, as she's the first great-granddaughter for them. It's hard to imagine that I now have a great-grandniece.

ON FRIDAY--It's Farmer's Market time on Puget Island, and there are many yummy things for sale. Rob Stockhouse has built a pizza oven and so you could purchase a pizza to snack on while browsing the plants, vegetables, and more for sale. Head to West Birnie Slough Road on Friday afternoons at 3 p.m. to check out the wonderful local products that are for sale.

COMING RIGHT UP-- This weekend, Skyline Golf Course will be bustling with golfers as they bring back the 2K Golf Tournament in memory of Ken McNally and Ken Quigley. The activity begins with a Calcutta night on Friday. Call Skyline at 795-8785 to sign up.

Stop by the Pioneer Church in Cathlamet Saturday night to enjoy a performance by pianist, recording artist and composer Scott Cossu. He will be joined by John Croarkin on harmonica, saxophone and bass flute. Tickets are $15 at the door $12.50 if purchased in advance at Bank of the Pacific. The event is a fundraiser for the historic church building.

ACROSS THE RIVER--The 46th Annual Scandinavian Midsummer Festival is occurring this Friday through Sunday at the Clatsop Fairgrounds in Astoria. There will be fantastic food, arts and crafts and activities for all ages. For all of the information and scheduling of events, check out the website: http://www.astoriascanfest.com.

NEXT WEEKEND-- The big weekend for garage and yard sales is almost upon us. I hope that you'll drive carefully and park respectfully on Puget Island next weekend as you cruise the island roads amongst the array of sales and pick up those great bargains. Don't forget to stop by the Norse Hall to enjoy a delicious tri-tip steak sandwich and some Norwegian treats prepared by the Sons of Norway.

NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT--After a hard day of shopping the garage sales next Saturday, you can enjoy live music provided by Nick Danger and the Classic Rock Crusaders at the Duck Inn Lounge.

VENDORS NEEDED-- Skamokawa Grange is holding a Vendors’ Market at Skamokawa Vista Park next month and we'd like to get a few more vendors. The cost to register as a vendor is $10. Stop by Vista Park’s office or call me at 795-3425 to get a contract.

TOUCH UP-- Speaking of the grange, the old letters on the front of the building got a little sprucing up recently thanks to Tom Blalock and his son David. We appreciate their help. As a little side note, I got a message from Susan McClain Kuhn, who said her dad had made the letters for the grange hall many years ago, and so while I can't be positive that these are same ones he made, it was an interesting bit of information which I'll have to check into. Thanks for sharing, Susan.

The grange will meet June 24 at 6:30 p.m. for potluck with the regular meeting following at 7. All the grangers are very involved with different things right now, from guests to gardening, to meetings and state conferences, and so I applaud all their endeavors.

FUNDRAISER--To raise some money for the Wahkiakum County Fair this August, the fair board will soon start selling $1 raffle tickets for an iPad Mini. Be sure to watch this column for places to buy tickets. The winner will be chosen during the fair.

ART EXHIBIT-- With all the things going on the past weekend, you might not have had a chance to attend the opening night of Rock ‘n’ Roll Congress’ Youth Art Exhibition at Redmen Hall. The exhibit continues through July 13.

LOCAL WINNERS-- Skamokawa residents Judy Garrison and son Justin were two of the lucky winners this past weekend at the Sons of Norway’s bingo night. If you missed this weekend, the next game night will be July 13.

CONGRATS-- College graduations are a very big deal because they show the hard work and dedication that one must go through to reach that goal, and so I offer my congratulations to Valle Ledtke and my great nephew Ty Finkas, who both graduated recently. Their parents, Jerry and Becky Ledtke of Skamokawa and Steve and Lori (Pedersen) Finkas of Castle Rock, must be ever so proud of them!

WRAP UP-- This past weekend was a busy one, including several gatherings to remember those who had passed on. Memorial gatherings included Bob Engle’s friends and family out in East Valley, one for Julie Gorman Chamberlain on Saturday at the Skamokawa Grange and one on Sunday at Wahkiakum High School for Jim Bjorge. Wherever you went, it was a time for friends and family to gather, to remember and to share in people's lives. Whether in joy or sadness, it is obvious that our community knows how to pull together and support one another.