DAMP BEGINNING--As the week began Sunday morning, we had some light rainfall which was most welcomed by all those who received it. When it falls real lightly after a long, dry spell, it's really good as it gets a chance to soak in and not just run off and do little to help the parched lawns and surrounding fields, so it was just perfect. However, as the work week began, we saw sunshine return and the chance for more warm days, so it looks like we'll be closing out August with some decent weather and begin September with the same.

SPECIAL DAYS--As we head into another month, those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 30-Sept. 5 are Nanea Carroll, Carol Thacker, Quin Bassi, Jamie Jacobosen, Brett Deaton, Kathy McNally, Joe Turgeon, Debbie Melton, Jasmin Lindsey, Jade Havens, Dallas Gott-Burdick, Dan Lloyd, Linda Cook, Donna Peterson Bernard, Scott Baldwin and hubby, Bill Chamberlain.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Grant and Ashley Turner, Mike and Carrie Backman, Todd and Kristen Souvenir, Mr. and Mrs. Buzz Moore and Lee and Diane Tischer. May all your birthday and anniversary celebrations be wonderful!

Belated anniversary wishes to former county residents, Phil and Nancy Corbin, as they celebrated their 60th anniversary this past week, so a hearty, belated, "Happy Anniversary" to them!

NEW BIRTHDAYS-- Former resident, and 2009 Wahkiakum High School graduate, Brittney Robbins Haddix and hubby, Jesse, just welcomed their first child, a baby boy, into their home in Carthage, New York. This new addition was named Declan James Haddix and he was born on Aug. 25, weighing in at seven pounds and two ounces and was 18 inches long. This meant that local, Gina Robbins, is now a very happy grandma, so we send our congratulations to everyone in the family as they celebrate this new little bundle of joy!

I also see where Julia Iverson posted a picture of a new baby boy, a grandson that was named Bowe Dean Hamman, on Aug. 24. Congratulations to all!

FREE MOVIE--There will be a free movie with free popcorn this Friday evening at the Community Center in Cathlamet. The movie will begin at 7 p.m., as usual and you are able to bring in your own snacks as well, so if you're looking for a cheap date night, that's it!

FOOTBALL BEGINS--Don't forget the Wahkiakum High School Football team will take to the field this Saturday. This will be a double header game. The first teams on the field will start at 10 a.m., and those two teams will be the Napavine Tigers playing against the Liberty Lancers. Then the Mules will play after that game ends, which is guessed to be about 1 p.m., then our mighty Mules will take the field and play against the Colfax Bulldogs. We hope you'll head to the high school and cheer on this young team as they start off this new season at WA-KI-HI. Go Mules!

FROZEN BERRY SALE--The Wahkiakum Lions Club is currently holding their annual "presale/prepaid Frozen Berry" fundraiser. The sale has already begun but you have some more time to get those orders in. The last day will be Sept. 10, so don't delay. If you don't see a berry order form around town, call 360-849-4003. All checks are to be written to Wahkiakum Lions Club, P.O. Box 214, Skamokawa, WA 98647.

CALENDARS--The Lions Club is also rounding up information and taking orders for their new calendars, so if there are any corrections that need to be made, now is the time to correct your listings. Please call the same number about changing things or ordering a calendar, which can make for some great gifts for Christmas, as this is a fund raising event for the Lions Club and they do a lot of good works around here.

GET WELL/HEAL QUICKLY--We heard that Jonnie Lawson Knowles took a tumble in the garden and wound up with a broken femur, so that wasn't such good news. We certainly wish her a quick recovery from her injury. Miles away, it seems her gandson took a tumble, also in a garden, and wound up sporting a sling, so we hope he recovers quickly as well and hopefully they both stay out of their gardens for awhile, or have supervisors on stand-by if they opt to go there again!

It seems Gary York had to be taken to the hospital recently and while we're glad he's back out of there, we trust he will soon get "back on track" and he feels a whole lot better in no time. Also, it seems Kari Martin and Samantha Everest are feeling a bit under the weather right now and we hope they are feeling better soon as well. Here's some "Get Well" wishes to one and all!

RUMBLE GRUMBLE--As many of you have noticed by now, we not only have a rumble strip down the center of our highway, but recently, there were these rumble strips put on the fog lines as well. With only the one strip, we knew if we heard that rumbling sound, we needed to turn our steering wheels to the right as we were too close to the center line. However, when you hear that sound now, you hopefully don't become confused and turn your wheel the wrong way. In the meantime, there is plenty of grumbling going on about these rumble strips and we can only hope that this winter they aren't more like the "slip and slide" strips when the water that builds up in them, winds up frozen. Good luck to us all!

EMPTY NESTERS--Even though you know it's coming, it's quite a shock when you find yourself alone in your house and it's very quiet, and you actually miss all the commotion that having a bunch of kids have made for so many years, and such is the case with Pete and Katie Sechler. The couple recently returned from Washington State University where they dropped off their two youngest, as Tessa is now a Senior and Luke is now a Freshman in Pullman. Needless to say, the quietness of their house seems strange and eerily deafening, but hopefully they'll embrace this time alone as I'm betting it won't last too long!

Of course, I'm finding it hard to believe that the youngest of my six grandchildren is starting college. Where did the time go?

QUIET TOO--Neighbors John and Nicole McKinley got to experience a brief empty nest when the two kids, Bryson and Bailey, got a chance to go to Alaska for a bit, but in different parts of the state with different people. It's always great to have your kids enjoy some new experiences and going to Alaska with family and friends was definitely a new adventure for them. However, Nicole said she was not ready to be an empty nester just yet and couldn't wait until they both returned from their trips up North!

REMEMBERED--A great group of family, friends and co-workers gathered this past Sunday to celebrate the life of Joan Evenson, who left this world so suddenly at the end of May. The Skamokawa Resort's conference room was filled with some of her favorite things, like her kites that she loved to take to the beach and fly, and her Christmas tree, which she would put up and leave for months, and a family member even cooked up a dessert from all the berries she loved to pick and kept in her freezer. A wonderful array of picture boards were put together by her sisters, as well as a video that ran continuously, and they were a great representation of Joan and all the things she loved to do and the special family bond they had. She may be gone, but she certainly will not be forgotten. The family has announced that they are having a sale of household items at Joan's place this coming Friday and Saturday.

HOLIDAY WEEKEND AHEAD--It's always the "last hoorah" before school starts, as the three day, Labor Day weekend is happening this weekend. Needless to say, we hope everyone will enjoy this long holiday and be careful as they travel to and from their destinations as many take their last family trips of the summer this weekend.

It's also a time to remember that with school starting, we need to be very aware of school buses and the rules surrounding when you are to stop for them, and being even more watchful for the kids walking to and from school. Here's to a safe weekend and to the start of another fantastic school year!

COMING UP SOON--The 28th annual "Cornucopia of Wines" fund raising event held by the Friends of Skamokawa will take place September 8, with both live and silent auctions, at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, located at 18 Fairgrounds Road. This event takes place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and we hope you'll head down here to Skamokawa for a fun filled evening, complete with a variety of wine samples, as well as non-alcoholic beverages to go along with their delicious hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are two for $25 or $15 single. You can buy yours in Cathlamet at Daisy Chain Floral or First Interstate Bank and also here at the Skamokawa Resort/General Store or at Redmen Hall. Call the hall at 360-795-3007 for further information or to tell them you'll be donating something for the event.

MUSEUM--The wonderful museum in Cathlamet is operated by the Wahkiakum County Historical Society and it is "your" museum, meaning, if you live in this county, this museum stands as a representation from the far western part of this county, to the eastern side of this county. There are wonderful things there from all over the place with almost everybody knowing somebody that is listed inside this museum, whether it be from a donation or a place, or on a picture, something. Even if you're new here, it's a great place to come and check out and see how it all began, and who it was that donated land for the schools and to check out where things used to be, etc. It is a place that many people before us, worked hard to build and contributed to in order to make it even become a reality so that our past could be recorded and preserved. Today, this wonderful gem of a museum could stand some help, so I would implore you to think about volunteering for a few hours on a weekend, or if you can't donate your time, maybe we could all make a monthly donation to keep the fans and the heat running during the winter months ahead. If we can get a whole lot of people chipping in just a few bucks each, it can add up to quite a bit and in turn, make a huge impact! You can mail a donation to: WCHS, 65 River Street, Cathlamet, WA 98612. If you can volunteer some weekend, contact Kari Kandoll at 360-849-4353.

Don't forget, you can also "buy a brick" and either you or someone you love, can be immortalized outside the museum in the brick entryway. This would also make a great Christmas gift for the person who has everything!