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

TRANSITION WEEKEND--Well, last week was pretty toasty around here as temperatures were up in the 90s last Friday. However, on the coast it was much cooler that day and we got some of their cloud cover the first half of Saturday. Then the wind picked up and we cleared off quite a bit by afternoon and saw the sunshine and it was nice again. However, by late afternoon it was another story, as that wind came back up and nothing but dark clouds covered us by early evening. Needless to say, the rain that I saw on Sunday morning was no surprise and it was really sort of nice to have things washed a bit as it was all tinder dry around here.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from September 13 through 19 are Conner Parker, Jay Mace, Dory Hicks,Frank Bosch, Cindi Riley Baldwin, Wade Cothren, Roger Reed, Dean Snyder, Penny Paulsen, Ray Peek, Gerry Brennan, Michele Smith, Jim Spitzer, Linda Elliott, Cayden Mendez, Hannah Mendez, McKenna Mendez, Korina Hoven, George Bates, Lori Bergseng, Rhonda Heiner, Susan Peterson Shook, Naomi Pedersen, Adam Pedersen and Veryl Chamberlain. Here's to happy, happy birthdays to you all!

Belated birthday wishes to Sheryl Irving McMahon whose special day was this past Sunday and she celebrated with a nice birthday surprise at the Duck Inn, so she had a very nice day!

Celebrating their anniversaries this coming week are Fred and Sally Nollan, Quin and Christeena Bassi, Dan and Carla Keilwitz, Mr. and Mrs. Grant Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Prestegard, Eric and Sandy Bergseng, Ray and Judy Danielsen, Gwen and Arve Ronninghaug, and Adam and Samantha Pedersen. May all of you have wonderful anniversary celebrations. Belated anniversary wishes to Jim and Darlene Almer who celebrated 35 years of marriage this past Monday.

SICK, SICK--Well, it was no fun to spend almost all of last week sick as a dog so if you didn't see me at any of the festivities that I'd been plugging, that's the reason why. Recovery has been slow and I've been laying low so hopefully I didn't give this bug to anybody else. It's a dandy! Don't be surprised if you don't see me; I'll be hiding!

WINE TASTING RECAP--Well, in spite of my not being there, I was able to hear about the Friends of Skamokawa's annual Wine Tasting and Auction from several folks. As usual, a great crowd was there and everyone had a wonderful time, with fun bidding wars with some great encouragement by auctioneer Brian McClain who kept it lively and kept zthose bids coming! Along with some great food prepared by Serene Snow once again and some wonderful desserts and pleasurable wines to drink, a good time was reportedly had by all!

TICKETS FOR SALE--The Wahkiakum Fair Foundation is still selling tickets for the unique planter boxes that they were made by local folks and that you might have seen in the cow barn at the fair. This drawing is a fund raiser for the foundation so they can continue their approved projects at the fairgrounds. I loved the Covered Bridge one but all the kids were crazy about the dinosaur shaped one. It was pretty neat! Find a fair foundation member, like Cheryl Backman or Lore Twiet and ask about those tickets. They are three for a dollar.

NEEDS HELP--Have you ever worked at the museum in Cathlamet before? Well, they need your help this month and they'd like to have someone who has done it before to volunteer so they don't have to take time to train somebody new. So, if you'd like to help out and have either September16, 22, 29 or 30 free, please let Kari Kandoll know at wahkiakumhistory@gmail.com right away. If you don't have internet capabilities, just call her at home, 849-4353.

MULES WIN AGAIN--I was pumped to hear about the Mules' win this last Friday night against the Winlock team, as it was quite a rout with a 40-8 trouncing! I was under the weather so I couldn't go, but I was pumped to hear that grandson Austin Good made a great 81 yard run for a touchdown! In a game for the Warriors school team, his younger brother, Bryce, was given the most Inspirational Award for their game against Pe Ell as he was taking on guys twice his size and doing a great job of it at that.

It goes without saying that all our sports teams and their players are great, so here's to all of you, good job! The Mules Varsity team faces a tough game with the Adna Pirates this Friday night at home. Go get'em! The JV's take them on in Adna on Monday.

The Warriors boys football team is playing at home tonight (Thursday) at 6 p.m., while next Thursday, they'll play in Onalaska.

VOLLEYBALL & CROSS COUNTRY--Don't forget to root for the volleyball team tonight, as both the Varsity and JV teams play here at home. On Saturday, there's a Varsity only tournament in Mossyrock. Then on Tuesday, it's MWP at White Pass where both teams play, quite a schedule!

Cross country athletes will be taking part in their sport in Ilwaco this Friday. Here's to good luck to all our kids over the coming week in their various sports!

THIS SATURDAY--The Friends of Skamokawa will be hosting a reception this Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Redmen Hall to honor Gary Rasmussen and his cousin Peggy Long and their families, as they have generously donated a parcel of land next to the hall. The piece of land has been in the Rasmussen family for many, many years and the FOS is truly appreciative of this generous gift. A plaque will be mounted on the wall in their honor, with a map and picture of the property. Members of their family attended the school in Skamokawa, so come and hear about their time and memories of Skamokawa and share your own. Refreshments will be served.

GRANGE NAME--Well, last week I spoke of the new proposed casino and gaming center in Wood Village, Ore., that wants to call itself The Grange. For now, it seems the fraternal organization that we associate that name with, the National Grange, has come to a truce in the matter and will wait to see if this big project is approved by the public in that area, as it will be on an upcoming ballot in November. If this project gets the go-ahead, then the National Grange and the promoters of this new fun center will enter into another phase of negotiations. I still urge you to contact the group at http://thegrangeoregon.com/ and leave a message under their contact tab, asking them to think about a name change that would more accurately portray what they are planning to build.

CHANGE OF PLANS--Well, the scheduled Pomona meeting at the Skamokawa Grange this past Monday was cancelled, so we just had a regular meeting Monday evening after a potluck. The Pomona meeting will be held October 8 at 5:30 p.m., with a potluck and regular meeting after that. This week we spoke about how things went at the fair and what we plan to do at the fair next year, plus our next big event which is our free holiday dinner, to be held on December 8.

It's never to early to sign up for our big musical show, the Follies, June 28, 29 and 30, as we can always use more talent, and then we've got the Vendors' Market, where we'd love to have more vendors and then there's the fair again, so hey, plenty there to think about for sure!

SYMPATHIES--Well I was certainly saddened to hear of the recent passing of Marion "Mickey" Carver on August 31. I will miss not seeing her at the Follies at the Skamokawa Grange, as she really loved our shows, and I'll always remember her as a super friendly, smiling person that always gave me a hug when I saw her and who just made you feel good after a visit with her. She certainly will be missed by all who knew her. Our deepest sympathies to her entire family including her daughter, Carol Carver-Exum, and her family. Her services were held this past Monday afternoon for those here, but a service will also be held back in North Carolina later on this month.

Condolences to the family of Judy Lorenzo who also passed away on August 31. While I didn't know her personally, she'd met up with my mom and had shared some stories and pictures of the past, as the family lives in what used to be my grandpa Jonas Pedersen's house on Welcome Slough. Also, we want to express our sympathies to the family and other loved ones of Barbara Lee "Barbie" Worrell who lost her battle with cancer at the young age of 50. Both of the women above had their services held this past Saturday.

For those of you who knew Diane Clark, who also recently passed away, her family is having a Celebration of Life gathering at the Duck Inn on September 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and everyone who knew her is invited to attend. Diane and her husband Alan, had lived on the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for over 30 years.

A of G--The River of Life Assembly of God Church has a group who call themselves "GiGgles", which stands for "Girls in God's grace, loving, eating, serving." They recently gathered at Sugar Lilies for their quarterly birthday luncheon and so those whose birthdays fall in July, August and September have their lunch paid for by another group in the church, called, "WinGS", which stands for "Women in God's Service."

COMING UP--With time flying by so quickly, I want everyone to remember that the first Friday and Saturday in October will be the wonderful Columbia River Country Days with a multitude of activities on Friday and a 4-H Open House at the Wahkiakum County fairgrounds on Saturday, and ending up with the fabulous 4-H Covered Bridge Dinner beginning at 4:30 p.m.. Tickets are $25 dollars for seniors and veterans and $35 for all other adults. More on this to come but I was just wanting to make sure you get that on your calendar.

WATCH FOR IT--I understand the owners of the Oasis Tavern is really making progress with all their renovations so they may be open very soon. Keep your eyes open for those big open signs. Can hardly wait to see what they've done to the place!