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

MIXED BAG--It's been a week of this and that for weather, as one day it's pretty dry and the next it's blowing sideways and coming down in buckets. Needless to say, when you saw the sun peek out for a few minutes, you used that opportunity to fix the leaky gutter, take out the trash or anything else that needed to be done outside, so you didn't get soaked when the "switch got flipped," as when it came down, it was nasty out there! Of course, as of this writing and in spite of all the rain, we've got no reason to complain considering what folks on the east coast are going through with all that snow and ice. Now that's truly miserable as well as being deadly. We hope they get some relief soon, as some of our friends and relatives back there are getting mighty tired of it.

GREAT TIME--I was happy that the weather was pretty calm Valentine evening, as the packed crowd at the Duck Inn got to open the door and let a little fresh air in beings it got pretty warm with all the folks celebrating. It was a special night for the Pat Dennises as they were also celebrating their anniversary there that evening. Early in the evening, Tony Jones played his guitar and sang for the crowd and he did a terrific job of entertaining everybody. Later on, the King Brothers Band were there and I have to tell you, there's just nothing like a band with a saxophone! I mean, you can't play "Tequila" and do it justice without one, and let me tell you, it was fantastic! It was a real treat to be there and listen to them play. Kudos to the Duck Inn staff for all the hustle and bustle and making sure we had such a great time.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 20-26 are Sara Buennagel, Mac Johnson, Rebecca Castillo, Wyatt Parker, Darrin Dow, Ray Danielsen, Shari Gorman Parker, Truchet Madden Miller, Logan Blain, Morgan Spieth, Sally Nollan and Ursula Jorgensen. Celebrating their anniversaries are Mr. and Mrs. Terry Heagy and Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Wirkkala. Hope all of your special days bring you lasting moments to remember forever.

PIE SOCIAL--One of the events cancelled due to the snow a couple weeks ago, was the Pie Social, so that's been rescheduled for tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 21, at the Tsuga Gallery in Cathlamet, so they hope you stop on by and buy either a whole pie or donate something for a slice. This fund raiser is from 1 to 4.

THIS IS IT!--Saturday evening, Feb. 22, is the time to head to the Skamokawa Grange Hall and enjoy a bacon wrapped filet mignon dinner, enjoy a chat with your friends and maybe a class of wine or a little sparkling cider and help support a good cause as well, so we hope to see you there! You can still buy a ticket in Cathlamet at the Bank of the Pacific or on the west end, at the Rosburg Store, but they will not be there long as dinner co-ordinator, Maureen Zacher will be picking them up on Friday sometime. However, tickets will also be sold at the door so if you can't get them purchased prior to the dinner, you can still attend. To be on the safe side, you can call Maureen at (360) 849-4222 and have her hold some for you. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will start being served right around 6 p.m. Don't forget that you will get one free chance to win a beautiful diamond bracelet and gift basket. More tickets will be sold for just $1 each and other door prizes are being offered as well. Good luck everybody!

LIBRARY--Earlier on Saturday, the Cathlamet Public Library will have their grand opening from 2 to 4 p.m. with the dedication of the Children's Book section to Noreen Holten, as well as showcasing all their new features, like ebooks and other things to come. Refreshments will be served as well.

GRANGERS WILL MEET--The Skamokawa Grange #425 will meet Monday, Feb. 24, as long as there's no huge weather event again. We will certainly hope there will not be an issue with anymore snow or flooding which would cause us to have to cancel it once again. The potluck will start at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. With the recent Seed Exchange being such a big hit, the grange will be joining with Wahkiakum's WSU Extension office this summer and show folks how to raise a winter crop of veggies. With skyrocketing food prices, this could be a very valuable source of information.

PERFORMERS WANTED--The Skamokawa Grange is still looking for a few more performers for a two day variety show that will take place on May 17 and 18. We've got several rounded up and are excited about having them on board, but we'd certainly like more youth in the area to become involved. We are welcoming local Kerrie McNally, who will soon be releasing a brand new CD of her own music, and beings we all know what a great voice she has, I know you're going to enjoy her at our show, where she will also be doing a duet with Jon Peterson. They'll be great I'm sure! If you're interested, please contact me at 795-3425. Remember, you can perform what you like and we'll fit you in. Love to hear from you!

ANTIQUE SALE--Redmen Hall is still looking for some antiques to put on consignment, as they are having their Antique Sale March 1 - 2 and 6 - 9 from noon to four. This was a big hit before, so if you want to do a little Spring cleaning, now's the time to see if somebody wants that old vase, pot, or bowl or other such item that you know your kids are never going to want, so why not let someone else enjoy it and have a few extra bucks to spend? They will be accepting items for consignment at the hall from noon to four on Feb. 24 and 25. Call 795-0561 in the evenings for more information.

LAST GAME--Sadly, the Mules played their last basketball game at Rochester Monday night against Raymond, and just missed out on winning. It was close all the way but the boys just couldn't convert those shots into points when they needed to, so we lost by three points. One of the Raymond players got super hot from the three point line and elminated the lead we did have very quickly. A three point shot attempted at the buzzer by Shane Souvenir to tie the game was really close but as many other shots that evening, it was just a little off. I know that these sports really take a toll on the kids, so we thank them for putting themselves out there, where they are open to a lot of criticism and yet they spent a lot of hours working in the gym or traveling on the road when they could have been home watching TV and relaxing, so we appreciate their effort. As in life, sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to, so while it certainly would have been nice to win, it's not the end of the world. After all, the most important chapter of these young men's lives will begin shortly as many of them will soon be graduating.

OLYMPICS--If you've been watching the Olympics lately, you'll have noticed several athletes that were expected to win a gold medal, or at least be on the podium, who actually did not wind up being in medal contention at all. These are the people who trained six to eight hours a day and who have dedicated their lives to their sport and who had won everything they'd attempted, but yet on that particular day, wound up falling, crashing, stumbling, or just going too slow and wound up losing; that's how sports go sometimes. Even among the best of the best, someone lost. We're thrilled that the US Ice Dancing team of Davis and White got the gold for the very first time ever, and our two-man bobsled team medalled after over a 50 year drought in that sport. Some of the new sports which involved women for the first time, were very exciting to watch as well.

SAD NEWS--I got a call from my cousin in Australia recently and she gave me the sad news that her father, Ralph Marshall Everest Jr., had passed away. He had been the last of Ralph and Elsie Everest's immediate family. Now George, Carol (my Mom), Marian (Healy, Vik) and R. Marshall are all gone. He had just turned 88 on Jan. 25, but for the past year had been undergoing a host of medical problems. Uncle Marshall leaves behind a daughter, Pamela in Australia and a daughter, Patrice and her children, and son, Denis of New York, where he passed away Feb. 16. Preceeding him in death besides his parents and siblings, were his wife, Dorothy and grandson, Jonathan Powell. While we called him Uncle Marshall, he was known to his immediate family back East as Mike, which always threw us a little bit, but it seemed that in his wife's language, the name Marshall translated into Mike, so that's how that came to be. A service is planned for him in Clifton Spring, New York this week. To me his death means I no longer have any living aunts and uncles from either my mother's or father's side, which I find quite sad. They are all dearly missed but I hope they are having a grand party in heaven!