Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The volunteers for the Finnish-American Folk Festival in Naselle are moving into high gear as it fast approaches on July 23-25. It will once again be held at the Naselle School at the junctions of highways 4 and 401 and is a celebration of the culture and community of the area. More than 70 performers will participate in the festival in more than 15 groups on three stages. They will dance, sing, recite, and tell stories of their “mummus” (grandmas). Most performers live in the Northwest. Naselle choirs, kanteles, and marimba band are just some...
It was hard to tell if it was sun or the ceremony making everyone smile during the Naselle High School graduation. The graduating Class of 2010 had a total of 31 students. Alan Erickson was valedictorian and Karli Nelson salutatorian. Erickson, Nelson and Drew Macy also graduated with High Honors and grade point averages between 3.75 and 4.0. Erickson also won the Bob Chamberlain Award. Educational Honors also went to Emily Green, Nicole Laney, Calen Thompson, Orianne Condon, Tim Blaylock and Jesus Martinez for receiving GPA’s between 3.2 ...
To The Eagle: It is quite clear that, prior to the removal of the two floodgates on the lower Kandoll Road, and their replacement with two 13 foot diameter culverts, the Seal Slough Dikes were quite stable, and had been so for decades. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (actually, a Fluvial Geomorphologist!) to determine that the flow of tidewaters back and forth, through the culverts, is affecting the dikes. Rather than do a complex three dimensional incompressible fluid flow analysis of the river and the slough to prove what is self evident,...
Lifelong Naselle resident Audrey M. Wirkkala, 76, died June 10, 2010 in Kirkland, Washington. Survivors include her husband of 56 years, Howard Jr., of Naselle; sons Jerry, Chris and Andy Wirkkala; daughters Julie and Jenelle Wirkkala; and seven grandchildren. Audrey was known for her photography skills which she shared at the annual Finn Fest and in the Chinook Observer newspaper. Viewing will be Thursday, June 17, 1 until 7 p.m. at Penttila’s Chapel by The Sea in Long Beach. The casket will be closed at her service. Funeral will be Friday, J...
To The Eagle: What great communities! The Derby Dollars For Scholars and the Rods & Reels Rod Run cannot give enough thanks to all that make the Sturgeon Derby and Car Show such a success. Naming each Sponsor would fill this page, let alone, the volunteers, participants and spectators that give so much. So in keeping this short, thanks to all that supported the Derby Dollars for Scholars and the Rods & Reels Rod Run. The community's support for this event is overwhelming. Whether you are a fisherman or a car enthusiast, you can be proud that...
School’s out, but where is summer? Only a few teaser days so far, so that must mean it will be a warm late summer, right? After our whirlwind weekend last weekend it was great to come home and just sit for a while. We attended a high school graduation in Redmond. Oregon on Friday night for our grandson and got up the next morning for the four hour drive to Ellensburg for the college graduation at 1:30 p.m. Lots of driving and lots of celebrating (not to mention, while in Oregon, we celebrated three birthdays as well). Time certainly does f...
PERFECT--No matter that it was raining last Friday or that it was just an all day soaker on Sunday, what really mattered was that on Saturday, the Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars annual car show and sturgeon derby was basking in sunshine all day long down here in Skamokawa at the fairgrounds and surrounding area! Everyone involved had all been holding their breath all week long, so when I woke up and saw the fog, I knew we'd have sunshine soon to follow, so it worked out perfect! There were over 200 awesome cars and trucks registered this year...
The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) is working on a design concept for three new projects on the upper Grays River. CREST has received a $40 thousand research grant through an operating agreement between NOAA and the Ecotrust “Whole Watersheds Restoration Initiative.” The grant is to begin the conceptual design phase of a job that, if funded, would restore several areas of riverbank and salmon spawning areas along the upper Grays, constantly being impacted by winter floods and erosion. Amy Ammer is CREST’s Habitat Resto...
Local high schools will hold commencement ceremonies for their senior classes this week. Wahkiakum High School's graduation ceremony will be Friday, 7:30 p.m. in the high school. Naselle/Grays River Valley High School will hold its graduation ceremony on Saturday, 4 p.m., in the high school. Thirty-four seniors are set to graduate from Wahkiakum. Valedictorian is Erin Turner, and salutatorian is Jordyn Wirkkala. They will speak, and joining them will be Class Choice Speaker Andrew Weiler and Faculty Choice Speaker Jeffrey Vik. Thirty-one...
The Finnish-American Folk Festival of Naselle will host musicians Pekka Pentikäinen and Perttu Paappanen from Finland, for a pre-festival concert. The event will be held June 22, 7 p.m., at Johnson Park in Rosburg. Pentikkäinen, who has played for the Finnish-American Folk Festival of Naselle several times plays two-row and chromatic accordion, while Paappanen plays both accordion and fiddle. Both graduated from the folk music department of the Sibelius Music Academy. After graduation Pentikäinen began working for the Katrilli dance group as...
Artist in residence John Paul (Jack) Braman lives quietly in Naselle, near the Covered Bridge. Like the man himself, his house is a reflection of the quiet solitude his life needs to capture nature in paints. Jack’s house sits in the shade. His dog barks inside, wanting to go with him to his studio. It’s outside and up the hill behind his house. Jack talks quietly as we walk, “I moved here from Portland in 2005,” he said, as we settled down to talk in his studio, “and its taken awhile to get this space built.” The studio is open and airy. A...
It is beginning to look like the warmer weather will be here sometime soon. The sun has actually shown a few days in a row, as well. I also see plants poking their heads up out of the gardens, so maybe, just maybe we will have a summer this year. News from Naselle: High school graduation! A whole new chapter in life for the class of 2010, after 13 years in school, muddling through all the pains and joys of growing up to this point, and now—where to from here? Just coming this far has been a huge accomplishment for many and we need to commend th...
The third annual Smoky Water Follies will be held June 25-27, at the Skamokawa Grange hall in the Skamokawa National Historic District. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee is at 2 p.m. Set in the early 1900s, the show highlights music and comedy from the heyday of traveling vaudeville shows that brought entertainment to towns in rural America. Della and her traveling troupe of vaudevillians present three shows only, including the Can Can-Can Cannery Girls, A Fishy Tale melodrama, scenes from Svenson’s Tavern, and the r...
The Finnish-American Folk Festival Committee is looking for people of all ages to share their “Mummu” or grandma stories during the Finnish-American Folk Festival from July 23-25 and will continue to accept them until June 20. The Committee is particularly interested in more “local” stories from Pacific, Wahkiakum and Clatsop Counties. To make entries even more inclusive, grandmas ( Mummus) can submit their own stories or participants may enter a story about a woman who was like a grandma to them. The stories are limited to 650 words or 5 mi...
SW Washington Class 2B State Meet May 28, 29 at Cheney Local athletes earning medals by finishing in the top eight at the state 2B track meet last week were Naselle Comette Nicole Laney, third in pole vault, 8'3", and Wahkiakum Mules Blaine Land, fourth in discus, 114', and sixth in shot put, 32'7"; Brett Chaput, fourth in discus, 149'2", and Shay Bingham, fifth in pole vault, 11'9". Boys: Riverside Christian 70, 2. NW Christian (Lacey) 58, 3. Willapa Valley 49, 4. SouthBend 39...11. Mossyrock 21...19. White Pass 13...22. Wahkiakum 9, 24. Pe...
SOGGY--Well, most of this past Memorial weekend was pretty damp I'm afraid. There were a few hours on a couple of days where it was not raining and not too terribly cold, but if you were out camping, you would probably not think this was the most terrific weather for doing so. I know walking around through wet grass or mud puddles is not that much fun, and neither is loading up those wet tents and things when the weekend is over, so hopefully you stayed late enough that you got to dry things out when that sunshine finally showed up about 3 p.m....
The Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds will be covered with fancy cars and lots of people, as the Dollars for Scholars event is this Saturday. Some lucky fishermen will bring in big prehistoric looking sturgeon to be weighed and measured for the Sturgeon Derby. There will be lots of raffle prize drawings and good food. Stop by and support this fund-raiser that provides scholarships for the Naselle and Wahkiakum High School graduating seniors, see you there! We will be having another work party today (Thursday), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the fairgrounds to...
The Long Beach police and civilians who helped save Washington State Patrol trooper Scott Johnson after he was shot in the line of duty were honored at a ceremony last Wednesday. In February, Trooper Johnson, a Naselle resident, was on duty at the scene of a suspected DUI call in Long Beach when a man walked up and shot him in the back of the head, police said. Johnson survived and attended the event honoring those who helped save his life and apprehended the suspected shooter. Led by State...
The Naselle-Grays River Valley School Board met on May 18 and heard reports from students and staff. Middle school student Katie Olsen announced that eighth grade move-up will be on June 14 at 6 p.m. and all are invited to attend. District Business Manager Jon Tienhaara reported that current enrollment stands at 308.5 full time students and the district’s reserves are at $618,251. May was the first month that the school received money from local property taxes, said Tienhaara.. Principal Karen Wirkkala announced that Naselle Middle School w...
The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) was recently awarded $40,000 to begin conceptual designs for three restoration projects in the Grays River. The funding is provided through the a NOAA/Ecotrust partnership titled the Whole Watersheds Restoration Initiative. The projects are proposed to restore in-stream habitat and improve bank conditions for the Gorley, Sorenson, and Gudmundsen families. The three project sites have been heavily impacted by flooding and damaging river processes in the Grays River. CREST’s actions will t...
The 29th Annual Bald Eagle Day will begin on July 16 with a special Two Islands Farm Market beginning at 3 p.m. The Chief Wahkiakum Trolley will bring visitors to the market from the Marina and downtown areas. There will be great produce and fruits, artisan breads and pastries, old world sausages, goat, lamb, beef and chicken by the cut, fresh cut flowers, along with music and hot food. On Main Street in front of Ace Hardware, the Sidewalk Art Contest will showcase young and adult artists from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. A panel of judges will review...
As I sit here writing this column, I’m more than a little sore after a wonderful weekend with our kids in central Oregon and our oldest son and his family from California. On a whim we decided to try out our new rain gear and make the trip on the Harley. It worked out great except that my husband’s boots weren’t waterproof. Needless to say, wet, cold feet don’t make a guy very happy. After a five-hour ride, we arrived and began to enjoy the weekend. On Saturday we headed to Smith Rock for some hiking and four hours later we were all headed...
SW Washington Class 2B District Meet May 20 at Raymond Boys: Willapa Valley 119, NW Christian 102, South Bend 90, White Pass 83, Mossyrock 52, Toutle Lake 43, Naselle 38, Wahkiakum 31, Ocosta 27, Pe Ell 25, Napavine 20, Vancouver Christian 16, North Beach 14, Adna 1, Raymond 1 Wahkiakum Mule and Naselle Comet results: 200m--3. Devin Thompson N 24.2. 800m--7. Connar Riley W 2:12.91. 1600m--7. Cramer Smith N 4:59.68. 3200m--8. Smith N 11:27.74. 4x100m relay--1. Comets (Kai Leach, Rob Baker, Thompson, Drew Macy) 45.88; 7. Mules (Jeff Vik, Shay...
WET--It's hard to believe that we're at the end of another month and well into Spring, but we are still experiencing plenty of rain. We got a bit of a break on the first day of this work week but as Tuesday morning rolled around, it was pouring once again. The forecast was not looking too great, so we can only hope that a batch of wind shows up and blows these rain clouds elsewhere, as this soggy and nippy weather is sure getting old! SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from May 27-June 2 are Don Anderson, 67'er Linda Toste, Mary Ann...
Smashed and flattened! It was a mighty wind storm that knocked over the big cottonwood tree at the fairgrounds. We were lucky it fell where it did, it missed the cyclone fence and fell away from the restroom building. Sadly, the two balloon toss little buildings are history. Looks like another project for Jeff! Some good things are happening too. Handyman Jeff Beerbower has built new steps and put new railings on the mini-stage. This is very important to entertainment committee chairman Jerry Ledtke, as he is planning to hire a country rock...
