COLD ENOUGH?--Holy cow, has it been cold or what?! Couple the low temperatures with winds and some snow and those temperatures really took a nose dive. Out here in West Valley, I had a reading of six degrees one early, early morning, although my thermometer on the south side of the house said, eleven degrees, but either way you look at it, it was just bitter cold out there. By the time you read this, we should be back to rain if the forecasters are correct and I hate to say it, but rain would actually look good right now, even though this latest layer of snow is awfully pretty.

DINNER CANCELLED--We hated to do it, but the Christmas dinner planned for this Saturday at the Skamokawa Grange Hall has had to be cancelled; definitely a huge disappointment! However, frozen pipes at the cooking site have forced us to do just that as even if it warms up some, pipes won't thaw that fast nor will repairs that will surely be required, be able to be finished by cooking time, so we had no choice. The Skamokawa General Store is still selling tickets for the huge holiday basket giveaway for a couple of days, but we will still draw the winners on Saturday, so let's hope you get a phone call and find yourself on the receiving end of that great prize. We have several other gifts to give away as well, so hurry on down to Skamokawa and buy those last minute tickets and maybe you'll be a lucky winner! We grangers are thinking we should have "Christmas in July" so that we don't have to constantly deal with this nasty, cold, unpredictable weather.

In spite of this event being cancelled, we certainly want to thank the people who made this possible with their donations: Skamokawa Resort operators, Lance and Shannon Britt; Ed Stornetta; Duck Inn, Logan Britt; Mary and John Gustafson; Matt Miller; Cathlamet Pharmacy; and various grange members as well. We also appreciate Santa (Chuck Nadgwick) offering to stop by the grange a little early, but sadly for us, he's got a little more free time now.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 12-18 are Elaine Lindsey, Paul Stewart, Cristina Luthi, Lori Miller, Angel Hall, Melanie Quigley, Riley Brown, Ruth Linquist, Breanna Smith, Sandy Bergseng, Dennis Emery, Erik Anderson, Kristin Souvenir, Tracie Souvenir, Abby Buennagel, Olga Goldinov, Elaine Rolf and Sharon Servis and Mr. and Mrs. Gary Backman and Mr. and Mrs. George Wilde are celebrating their anniversaries. Here's to wonderful celebrations for you all!

COLLUPY GLASS--If you're still looking for that unique gift or you'd just like to treat yourself to a beautiful piece of artwork, I hope you will meet up with Skamokawa glassblower, Treasure Collupy and wife, Michelle, this Friday and Saturday at the Hotel Cathlamet lobby from 10 to 5, where they will hold their annual Holiday Art Show. A little hint for the guys: buy one of the vases and then head down to Kullerful Bokuets and fill it full of flowers. That would chalk up some brownie points with the woman in your life for sure! Remember, anything you buy from the Collupy's has a double impact as it not only helps a local business, it also helps St. James Family Center as they are donating part of the profits to them.

FESTIVAL OF TREES--Be sure to check out the Bank of the Pacific and the Festival of the Trees, as the time for bidding on one of them is will close on Monday, Dec. 16.

SERVICES--We attended the Celebration of Life services for Gary Huber last Saturday and having the local veterans there and the Army color guards which displayed the flag while playing taps and then presenting the flag to Betty, was very moving. As Gary's services were being held on Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day, Betty asked that Irene Martin, who was officiating the service, say an extra prayer for those lost and for those who are continuing to serve and protect our country in the Armed Forces, which was a very nice gesture I thought.

WERE YOU READY?--One thing about this cold snap, it really shows where are weaknesses are in regards to being prepared for them. We don't often get a cold snap that lasts this long, but it's hit here before and what's bad is, it isn't even officially winter yet, so if you had problems recently with freezing pipes or having to do without things, this is a good time to make out a list of the extras you need to keep around the house or things you need to do differently. At any rate, I do hope you came through this bitter cold unscathed, but if not, make that "need to get/buy" list now as if this is a taste of how winter is going to be, we'll be wanting all that stuff to be added to our Christmas list for sure!

OUT OF THE PAST--This same week back in 1958, the week was mostly nice with only one wet day and some morning fog. It was very cold back East though with heavy snow and lots of wrecks, fires and other troubles. It was reported in the paper that Wahkiakum County was leading in gains of sales of the 1958 tuberculosis Christmas seals. Pearle Burns hosted the Home Ec. Club members at her home for the 10th year in a row. She was assisted by her son, Leroy in making the clever decorations and sweets for the occasion. Gladys Crouse was given a new gavel as the new chairman of the group, and out going chairman, Kathryn Johnson was presented a car coat by Bethenia Foster, as a token of her many years of service. The Home Ec. club was the one that was responsible for holding the childrens' Christmas party at the Elochoman Grange Hall, where 50 parents and their children met to enjoy a musical program directed by Mrs. Walt Tibbs and assisted by Mrs. Albert Foster. Each child was given a bag of candy and nuts and an orange by Santa at the end of the evening. Later on, in spite of a bad cold, Elsie Everest baked bread and cookies and was writing out her letters and cards to send out to family and friends. On Dec. 17, it was her first official day at the new Museum as Manager.

Back in 1963, this was a big week for the Everest family as they were hustling and bustling to get all their Christmas cards and letters ready to send. Then they headed downtown to see if they had won a turkey in the big drawing down there but no such luck for them this year. The week had begun with a nice crisp, clear day below freezing but the rest of the week was either wet or extremely foggy. It was a first date for the Everest's granddaughter, as Kay Pedersen went to a school dance with North Welcome Slough neighbor, Greg Lloyd. The "blue velvet" dress she wore matched one of the songs of the time. All this according to Elsie Everest's diaries.