Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Answering an invitation from founder Carlton Appelo and serving on the original board of directors, Anita Raistakka has been a dedicated volunteer at the Appelo Archives Center since 2010. One of her earliest projects was organizing the Finnish library, a fitting role for someone who proudly claims to be 94 percent Finnish. Although she doesn't speak Finnish fluently, Anita grew up hearing it at home, especially when her dad was upset. That's where she picked up most of what she knows today. "I...
December 15 8:05 a.m. A driver on SR4 in Skamokawa called to report a vehicle driving erratically had almost hit several other drivers, possibly drunk. 11:25 a.m. A Skamokawa resident called to report that horses on a neighboring property appeared neglected. Deputies drove by and determined that the horses seemed to be getting their needs met. 12:09 p.m. A Grays River resident called to report that a mystery dog showed up on their porch. The Sheriff reunited the animal with the owners. 7:15 p.m. An elderly Cathlamet resident came to the...
Last Saturday, both the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District and Wahkiakum School District student teams competed at the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics Interleague tourney in Olympia. A total of 32 teams from as far north as Shelton and as far south as Vancouver competed to see who was the top in SW Washington. These teams competed, two-on-two, in matches, with two robots per side to score as many points as possible while shooting 5" balls into baskets. Each team played a total of 17...
Both Naselle and Wahkiakum have a break from the basketball court for the holidays. With the dust settling on the first part of the season, there's plenty to celebrate for both schools. Naselle Naselle's girls basketball team is off to a high-flying start, as they entered the two-week furlough on a four-game winning streak. Two of those wins have come in league play, and the Comets' 5-1 record is a statement end to 2025. The two most recent victories came against North Beach and Willapa Valley....
Westside Stories By Lisa Yeager This past Sunday was filled with Christmas events throughout the West End and Naselle, and while it was impossible to be everywhere at once, the holiday spirit was hard to miss. I spent the afternoon manning a table at the Christmas Bazaar at Naselle School, but by all accounts, the concert at Deep River Church was packed. Festive music filled the church, with performances by Carl Wirkkala, along with Wren Hendriks and Erik Friend of Skamokawa Swamp Opera. A...
The holiday break for Naselle and Wahkiakum is fast approaching. While students from both schools could probably use a respite from their studies, the break also means a hiatus from getting up and down the basketball court for the Comets and Mules. The final games before the holidays will be this week. With that in mind, let's take a look at how Wahkiakum and Naselle have begun their campaigns in 2025. Wahkiakum Basketball Head Coach Rob Garrett and the Mules boys basketball team have hit the gr...
The weather forecast definitely wasn’t exaggerated this week. It poured heavily, straight through Sunday and into Monday and, by late Monday night, the Grays River had had enough. It jumped its banks and spread across the valley, swallowing fields, creeping into barns, and shutting down roads all over the West End. SR4 went under in Grays River and Seal River, and parts of Naselle weren’t any better. The Grays River Grange Christmas party was canceled, and Naselle Schools called off school for the day on Tuesday. Mark and I slogged out int...
It's basketball season for the Mules boys and the Comets girls and, before either program gets into the jam-packed December schedule, let's hear from the teams' head coaches about what they hope this season has in store and what they expect from their teams. Wahkiakum boys basketball After making the playoffs last season and graduating just one senior, the Mules boys basketball team holds plenty of promise for this season. Head Coach Rob Garrett and the Mules have high hopes, and the focus is on...
November 23 4:46 p.m. A Cathlamet resident called to request medical assistance for her boyfriend who had been choking but was now just coughing. The patient was transported to the hospital by Cowlitz Emergency Medical Services. 4:51 p.m. A driver struck a building in Skamokawa and was transported to the hospital. 4:55 p.m. The Grays River Ambulance transported an elderly Rosburg resident to the hospital for chest pain. 7:19 p.m. A Puget Island resident called to complain that dogs were barking on E Little Island. 8:01 p.m. A Naselle resident c...
On Sunday, Dec. 14, the Finnish American Folk Festival is packing the day with Christmas events, and the organizers are eager to share it all with the community. Tour of Homes – 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The Annual Tour of Homes features four decorated homes in Naselle and Rosburg. This long-running tradition gives residents a chance to show off their holiday décor. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance at Hair Villa and FinnWare, or at any home on the tour. Questions can be directed to Haleigh See at TourofHomes@nasellefinnfest.com. Ch...
The quarterfinals of the 2025 Washington 1B Football State Championships took place this past weekend. While the Wahkiakum Mules advanced to the semifinals, Naselle saw its season end in the final eight. The margins are always tight in elimination games, and even if the final scores weren't close, there were plenty of plays and moments that culminated in those results. Naselle Knowing Almira-Coulee-Hartline (ACH) would be a tough matchup in the Nov. 21 quarterfinal, the Comets made the...
Because the dates line up, The Eagle has decided to reprint events from 1975. Thank you to the volunteer Julie O’Neil and volunteer curator, genealogist, and board member Kari Kandoll. Downriver Dispatches News of Grays, River, Rosburg and Deep River Marilyn Gudmundsen Mrs. Olive Barr Malone a native and longtime resident of Grays River is in a Portland Hospital with a broken hip. She was the victim of a fall, and surely would appreciate mail from old friends. She is an aunt and cousin to DeWitt and Louise Barr and Ruth McAllister and A...
Phyllis Rae Boldt Sotka passed away on November 19, 2025 at the age of 91. Phyllis was a devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She was born February 12, 1934 in Astoria, Oregon and lived in Pillar Rock much of her early childhood, at a time when everyone had to ride a boat to Astoria for groceries and other supplies. After the family home in Pillar Rock burned down she moved to Cathlamet to attend high school. She met Norman Sotka at a grange dance and they...
HELLO. Welcome, library members, readers, and Wahkiakum residents to our monthly update. GINGERBREAD HOUSES. Saturday, Nov. 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., bring your gingerbread houses to Pioneer Center (125 Columbia St.) for final decoration in celebration of the annual Tree Lighting and Lighted Parade event. Cookies, cocoa, and tea will be provided. YOUTH OPEN HOUSE. Friday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. is our Library House Warming for Youth event. Pizza by the slice will be available for all...
Members of the Cathlamet Woman's Club gathered on Nov. 19 during senior lunch at Rosburg Hall to announce their 2025 Citizen of the Year. Woman's Club President Pearl Blackburn had the privilege of presenting the honor to Westend resident Mark Letham. Mark was recognized for his years of community service and for his volunteer spirit. His commitment to Wahkiakum County Fire District 3 is notable. For fourteen years, he has responded during some of the most challenging moments families face, answ...
November 17 2:54 a.m. A Cathlamet resident was transported to the hospital due to stomach pain and being combative. 6:09 a.m. The Cathlamet Ambulance transported a Cathlamet resident to the hospital for hip pain and shortness of breath. 3:50 p.m. A Beaver Creek resident called to report that they’d been receiving fraudulent text messages. November 18 9:34 a.m. Deputies performed a wellness check on an elderly Puget Island resident after she had not been heard from since a tour she attended days prior. Deputies made contact with the resident w...
+We’re deep into fall now, and the rainy season has settled in for good. Recently, we were gifted a small orchard-in-the-making with two lemon trees, two kumquat trees, and an olive tree, and we’ve been scrambling to protect them before the first frost hits. Since they came from the comfort of a greenhouse, we needed to get them under cover. Last weekend turned into a full-on construction project by our shop. Using pallets, PVC pipe, and a healthy dose of redneck ingenuity, we cobbled together a temporary winter shelter. The plan is to dra...
The Naselle girls volleyball team had some momentum heading into the state tournament, but, unfortunately, they ran into Wilbur-Creston-Keller. Winning the first set 25-18, the Comets lost three of the next four (20-25, 25-21, 16-25, 6-15) to dash their hopes of a state title. However, the girls won three straight consolation games against Northport, Wahkiakum, and Taholah to finish the tournament in seventh place. In the loss to Wilbur-Creston-Keller, Naselle was led by Jessie Smith's 42...
Wahkiakum and Naselle both secured blowout wins in the first round of the 2025 1B State Football championships. The quarterfinals await each team on Saturday afternoon. With only eight teams remaining in the bracket, the most difficult challenges are still to come, but the Mules and Comets have given themselves a strong statement in the first round, one that should give them confidence in the next round. Naselle and Wahkiakum both weathered early adversity in their games en route to comfortable...
By Kirk McKnight The votes for the general election were most recently tabulated last Friday, Nov. 7, at 10:45 a.m. As of Friday, a total of 1,998 ballots were counted out of 3,661 registered voters in Wahkiakum County, with only an estimated 40 ballots left to count. The voter turnout of 54.58 percent was greater than that of neighboring Pacific County, which had 41.23 percent voter turnout. The ballots for both of these counties included Joint Resolution 8201. According to the Washington State Legislature website (leg.wa.gov), Joint...
In honor of Veterans Day, members of American Legion Post 111 were up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning, whipping up pancake batter, cooking eggs to order, and brewing buckets of coffee for the crowd. Rosburg Hall was filled with community members enjoying breakfast served by local youth who kept our cups full and the tables cleared with cheerful efficiency. I had the pleasure of sitting across from Sheriff John Mason and his wife, Jodie, and congratulated him on retaining his position for...
Just like that, there are only 16 teams left vying for the Washington 1B football state championships, and Naselle and Wahkiakum both have their eyes on the trophy this season. The Comets come in as the #5 seed with an 8-1 record, and made their way into the bracket when Charles Wright Academy forfeited in the crossover play-in game. On the other side of the bracket, the Mules are #3, having earned a bye into the final 16 as conference champions with a 9-0 slate. Let's dive into whom Naselle...
Naselle’s girls volleyball team had two impressive wins to begin its postseason last week, starting last Wednesday. Hosting Willapa Valley, Naselle was able to win in three straight sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-17). Jessie Smith led the way with 34 assists and five aces, while Sophia Colombo led the team in digs with 21. Mylee Dunagan had 13 kills to lead the team, while Haylee Rose and Kaitlyn Steenerson co-led the team in blocks with three each. Rose also had nine digs, while Steenerson managed six kills in the win. Rounding out the stats for N...
As Veterans Day approaches Tuesday, Nov. 11, the following events and activities will be occurring locally to honor and celebrate our veterans. On Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Wahkiakum VFW Post 5297 will have a recruitment and fundraising booth at the Cathlamet Market. Depending on manpower, the Post may extend the days to Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 10-11 during the same hours. On Saturday, Nov. 8, there will be a Veterans Dinner hosted by the Our Savior Lutheran Church (549 State Route 409) and other organizations...
When the unexpected happens - such as a winter storm knocking out power, floodwaters blocking rural roads, or a wildfire getting too close - there's one person whose phone never stops ringing: Wahkiakum County's Emergency Management Coordinator Austin Smith. It's a title that sounds bureaucratic, but the job is far from it. Smith's responsibilities include planning, prevention, response, and recovery from disasters that could overwhelm the county's typical resources. In a small county like...
