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

CRISPY--As this week began, we were seeing sunshine along with very nippy temperatures as we're down in the 20's and it's white with frost which is sparkling in the sunshine, so while it's cool out, it's sure pretty. Of course, I talked to a few people who said they had the sunshine but no frost or freezing temperatures, but you know, I think we must be "special" out here in West Valley as we always seem to be colder than everybody else! By the time you read this, we're supposed to have warmed up and we might even see a good amount of rainfall, so it will be back to boots and umbrellas I guess, but hopefully no flooding!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 14-20 are Joey Moore, Russ Durrah, Jan Silvestri, Kim Web, Elaine Robinson, Beryl Curtis, Brittney Robbins, Randy Rodahl, Kortnee Vivian, Ashley Turner, Vernonica Wallin, Theresa Kuljis, Bruce McClain, Shanna Havens, Chris Danker, Trystan Mendez, Tim Hanigan, Jody Kephart, Bernice Tover Ellison, Holly Pedersen, Shane Pedersen and 67'ers Wayne Olsen and Don Marsyla.

Celebrating their anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Gary Bergseng, Mr. and Mrs. Glen Holt, Mr. and Mrs. Len Lindsley and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ohrberg. Here's wishing all of you a super day on your upcoming special days!

CLASS OF '66 MTG--The time has flown by and it's already time for the Class of 1966 to plan their 50th class reunion; hard to believe! Vickie Bergseng wanted me to let all members of the class know that they plan on having a meeting this Saturday, Jan. 16, at the 38 Mile Brewery, located on the road going down to the marina in Cathlamet. The group is hoping to do something during Bald Eagle Day, but of course, they will also be wanting everyone to show up to the big WA-KI-HI all school, 100 year reunion on Aug. 13.

GREAT MUSIC/FEED--It's almost time for the annual crab and oyster feed in Rosburg (Jan. 23) and new this year, will be the appearance of "The King Brothers" for the dance that takes place after everyone gets stuffed full of crab and oysters! If you've heard them before, you already know how great they are, and when they play here in the Duck Inn Lounge, the place is always packed! I mean, who doesn't love the old rock and roll and the sound of saxophone?! At any rate, the annual feed always has a good turn out, the food is always great, the evening is always fun and now I think it will be even a little bit better! I heard that there are still tickets available for this event so call Ken Elliott at 360-465-2271, Dale Rose at 360-465-2234 or Nick Nikkala at 360-465-2595 so you can take part in this great feed, fun evening and worthy cause. It's important to support those that do such a good job of supporting our community.

NEW CD--Local musicians, Jerry and Becky Ledtke have put out a new CD, entitled "It's My Country" with a little help with some of their friends on a couple of tunes. If you pick up a copy of this latest CD, at either the Skamokawa Resort, the Video Store in Cathlamet or the Cathlamet Market, or online, you will see that other local musicians, like Cliff Garrison, Pat Conrad and Andrew Emlen have joined Jerry and Becky on this latest venture.

It's always amazing to me that we have so many folks in this small county who are musically inclined and who seem to be entertaining us in a variety of ways. Some have live performances at the brewery in Cathlamet or during the spring and summer, there is a spot to perform at the Farmer's Market on Puget Island, and some are at the Little White Barn performing, as well as up at the Pioneer Church or Redmen Hall or at our fair and other local places, so it's nice to support those who provide us with such a wide variety of entertainment.

NEW THIS YEAR--I hear that the upcoming "Valentine Diamond Dinner" will be held in a new location this year, so keep that in mind when you're headed this way for this annual event. To help cut expenses, it will be held at the fairgrounds this year, so the place to head to is the 4-H/Youth Building. All monies from this event help support the Wahkiakum County Fair so we sure hope this mid-February event is on your calendar for next month.

SHORT VISIT--I got to talk to our former Duck Inn lady, Judy Smith recently. Judy was down here visiting her good friend, Betty Koziel, and it was an opportune time to do a little catching up with her and give her my belated Christmas gift. It seems there were just too many things going on between the two of us to meet up prior to the holidays; and the weather didn't help! At any rate, it was good to see her and with a little luck, we'll get to visit with her when she gets off her shift at Parker's Steakhouse in Castle Rock sometime soon!

GREAT NEWS--I was sure happy to hear that Jim Koziel is doing well and is back home now, and of course, wife Betty is thrilled. It's always scary when the ones you love wind up being taken to the hospital, so having them return home is truly wonderful. Being back in time for his birthday this past Saturday was a great birthday gift indeed!

SURPRISED--Taco Tuesday at the Duck Inn is always a fun time as we gab with our friends and enjoy an inexpensive dinner out, but last week we got a little extra treat while we were out and about. As we were gabbing away, I looked up and saw a blonde headed our way, and lo and behold, it was Kelly Nettles Recupero who now calls Australia her home. Needless to say, seeing her back here was a big surprise indeed! We were sorry to see that she is still suffering from a fall that she took on the job down there and has had incredible back pain and just been miserable for a long time now. With the aid of a walker, she was getting around though, so I was tickled to see her and I got to say an early "Happy Anniversary" to her and Louis who will celebrate eight years together later on this month.

WRAP UP--There was a good table full of 67'ers and some of their spouses this past week in Longview, when they met for the first time in the new year. I wasn't able to attend the last luncheon in November due to high water, so I had some catching up to do. It seems we all survived the holidays and several were overjoyed with all their holiday gatherings which included some members of their family that hadn't been able to attend for some time, so that's always a cause for celebration.

The award for traveling the farthest for lunch went to Kathy Peek and her friend, Micki, as having her take a three hour drive to see us, is truly appreciated by her fellow classmates! Also attending were Nancy Brady from Woodland; Elaine Rolf from Rainier; Kieth and Karen Lawrence from Kelso; Mary Toste from Stella; Dale Jacobson, Pam Lazor, and David and Kathi West all from the Cathlamet area, and yours truly, Kay Chamberlain from Skamokawa.

The next 67'ers gathering will be held on Feb. 20 at Izzy's on Grade Street in Kelso, near the Three Rivers Mall, at 1 p.m., so we hope other classmates will join us for an afternoon of gabbing and laughter!

CONTACT SUSAN--The above get together will also be a good time to spread the word about the upcoming reunion celebrating 100 commerative years of our Wahkiakum High School, which is scheduled to take place on Aug. 13 at the high school. Susan McClain Kuhn is in charge of this event and is really in need of some helpers with some great, workable ideas and solidifying these plans in the months ahead. For instance, what would you like to see food-wise, catered or not? Who would do this for a minimal cost? And what kind of a price would need to be charged to cover expenses? Should tickets be sold ahead of time, should they be hand-made, or made professionally? Entertainment? Who would like to take charge of setting up the chairs and tables, etc? Needless to say, this is a huge job and everyone's help and input in pulling off this grand day would be appreciated as it can't all be done by one person. Please help spread the word to anyone who went to school here at one time, so that everyone winds up knowing what's going on. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other method you can think of to help get the word out. It would be helpful if you put "100 year reunion" on the subject line to an email to Susan so she knows it's not spam, and you can email her at: sjmcq1@yahoo.com. So, whether you want to help out, or to just get on her "contact/information list", please contact her ASAP.

CELEBRATION--The Pete Sechlers will celebrate a couple of things this coming week, as Katie has recently sold her cafe in the Seattle area and will no longer be tied down to that seven day a week job, so that's definitely a reason for celebration! I'm sure the guys at Cash and Carry will be missing seeing Pete coming into their place for almost daily supplies, but that will be another thing on the list of things they won't have to do anymore either. Anybody who has ever operated a restaurant knows how much work it is, so this will also give Katie some time to heal up from a recent surgery she had, so it'll be a dual celebration for the busy duo. With a new puppy at their house, having some free time to focus on the new addition will be welcomed as well. I'm sure all of Katie's regulars will miss her special goodies and all of Pete's tasty soups, but it was just time to pass down the ladles and the spatulas to someone else, so hats off to them as this new year starts with some rediscovered freedoms that I'm sure they will enjoy!