DAMP--We started this past weekend with some heavy fog and some drizzly conditions, and I don't know about you, but all that dampness seemed to chill me to the bone, even though it wasn't super cold. Looking at extended forecasts, it's possible that we may get some dry times coming our way, and that certainly would be nice. We'll keep our fingers crossed as often these extended forecasts change at the last minute.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 21-27 are Danny Silverman, Kinsley Helms, Mike Brown, Gordie Oman, Kyle Parker Jr., Toni Below, Kayli Quigley, Tari Peterson, Cheryl Parker, Sharon Deaton, Sandy Everman, Dana Montgomery, Sarah Clark, Don Ross, Hank Ferguson and Harvey Good.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Scott Tomlinson, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Garrett, Virgil and Lisa Cothren, Jeff and Shelly Hedges and Mark and Sherry McCormack. May you all have wonderful celebrations this coming week!

GOOD NEWS--In case you haven't heard, the lights and construction that have been on the Puget Island Bridge for ages, is now all gone; yeah! I am sure all those that live over there or commute to and from there to take the ferry, will be extremely delighted to have clear sailing across the bridge once again. Having a new surface on the bridge was certainly needed and the new coat of paint is nice too, and with the holidays coming, and more folks going to and from their homes to go shopping or to attend those special events, "the end" couldn't have come at a better time.

FREE MOVIE--The Community Center in Cathlamet is located at 101 Main Street and will show another free movie this Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. This is a documentary fit for everyone. Free popcorn is included with the free movie and you can always bring your own in with you as well. Don't forget, there will be no movie next Friday, Nov. 29.

TURKEY BINGO--If you don't want to watch a movie, it's hoped you'll come down and play some "Turkey Bingo" in the heated Youth Building at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds located in Skamokawa this Friday night! According to the community events calendar, your contact person for more info is Patty Dursteler at 360-795-3480.

RSVP DINNER--According to Jean Beerbower, she will once again hold a "Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner," at the Hope Center in Cathlamet, which is located on the corner of 3rd and Maple, (former church) and is just across from the grade school. This dinner will be served from 1-4 p.m., but you need to call Jean and let her know you're coming. If she is not there, you can leave a message at her home: 360-849-4360 and she will get back to you. There is no set charge, but a donation of some kind is appreciated, whether that comes in the form of cash or by helping out with this dinner. She said she wanted to provide a dinner for those who may not have any other place to go this Thanksgiving. It was deeply appreciated by those who attended last year.

BAZAAR--It seems like I was talking about the annual "A Country Christmas" Bazaar at St. James Family Center, and that it was a long ways off, but it's here this Saturday! Those in charge of these events/fundraisers, are hoping you're ready to do some shopping and show up at the center between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Nov. 23. For you new folks, the center is located at 1134 Columbia Street in Cathlamet. This is a festive occasion with many vendors with a variety of things for sale, gift baskets that will be raffled off and things to buy in the "store" that is just for kids under 12 to shop in, where nothing is over a dollar, so they can treat their folks to a gift that they picked out themselves. Naturally, Santa's helpers will be able to show them around and get those gifts wrapped up for them as well. So, here's to Scandinavian goodies and other great lunch items to keep you fortified while you enjoy this wonderful shopping opportunity!

LOOKED GREAT--I totally forgot to mention last week that in the November issue of the "Viking," which is a magazine for members of the Sons of Norway, that on page 37, you will see a couple of well known people in our area. They would be Helgland 30, Lodge President, Jan Silvestri and long time member, Jean Wika Kenner, as they rode through the Bald Eagle Day Parade in a red Corvette driven by Cameron Monte. It was a wonderful sunny day and the two ladies were looking mighty fine in that ride!

WELL WISHES--Here's wishing one of my good pals, fellow classmate as well as a fellow "slough rat," Greg Lloyd, some "get well soon" wishes, as he's been under the weather lately. With a little luck it was just a short term "bug" and not the full blown flu that's been popping up in different places. Back in the day, the Lloyds lived where the Lee Tischers live now and there was a great big barn across the road from them. Things have certainly changed a lot since those days! Anyway, take care Greg; hope you feel better soon.

Someone else not feeling so great is Becky Ledtke and we hope she's her bright and cheerful self real soon!

REDMEN HALL--Next Friday, Nov. 29, the Friends of Skamokawa will start off their annual Holiday Open House, "Deck the Hall" event, beginning at 10 a.m., that day. This is always a special time at the hall as it's all decked out in its holiday finery and it's a good time to come and get those unique holiday gifts you're looking for. Besides the vendors items that will be there, the Gift Shop on the lower level of Redmen Hall is really full of wonderful books, and some of them are written by some of our very own local authors. There are books for all ages as well, and nothing beats sitting by a fire with a good book on a chilly day, so here's hoping you'll check it all out. There's even a nice new hand rail along the path that goes into the hall from the upper parking lot, so I'm sure that's going to make a lot of people happy, as that extra security while you're walking will be nice. A big shout out to Brian O'Connor Construction for getting that in just in time for this big holiday event. The hall will be closing for the winter in mid-Dec. so don't miss out! For more info call 360-795-3007.

FATHERS' WEEKEND--It's that time of the year when all the kids at Washington State University get to be visited by their Dads and got to entertain him too, as it was Dads' weekend this past weekend. For Pete Sechler, that meant that he was traveling to Pullman to see son, Luke, and so I knew they'd be having a good time, as there's always a football game involved that weekend. The fact that the WSU Cougars beat Stanford meant that all those Dads were extra happy, and beings it was a really good game, it made it even better. From what I could tell, Dads' weekend was a big hit!

To top it all off, it seems that Pete and Katie's son, Blake was accepted into WSU as well, so it looks like there's going to be a total of five Cougs at the Sechler home when they all finish up!

SYMPATHIES--We want to offer our sympathies to the family of Charles Wilt, who passed away recently and who was remembered in a gathering this past Sunday.

We have lost yet another person from Skamokawa this past week, as Dwaine Almer passed away last Monday, and as a West Valley neighbor, we were all very shocked to hear this news. It seems he'd had to have open heart surgery recently, but was unable to recover from that. We extend our condolences to his entire family.

SAID GOOD-BYE--Even the skies were weeping this past Saturday as services were held for Kerrie McNally, and the Skamokawa United Methodist Church was packed with standing room only and the love and respect for this woman was certainly evident. Duncan Cruikshank was the speaker that day and infused just the right amount of levity as he spoke, just like Kerrie wanted him to. Andrew Emlen also spoke as a friend and member of her musical family, who were all there too and they joined together to sing and play several of Kerrie's songs. Many of her songs were about nature, our town and way of life, and a very poignant last song called, "Be the Change." Kerrie definitely had a way with words and that last song really hit home with everyone I think. If we want to see a better community or a better world, then we each need to lead by example and be the kind, caring, pay it forward kind of person that Kerrie was; she was a shining example of a woman who worked hard to make a better life for herself and her family and to be a good person and share her talents with all of us. She will truly be missed.

GIFT GIVING--Often times we forget how much our local community members do for us and how some groups are definitely in need of extra funding for various things, so if you've got some folks who have everything, why not give a cash gift to one of these groups in their name? I know I mentioned quite a few of these groups awhile back, but here's a couple more: Wahkiakum County Fair, P.O. Box 1 or Skamokawa Fire Dept., P.O. Box 145 or the Skamokawa Grange #425, P.O. Box 123 or The Friends of Skamokawa, P.O. Box 67, all of which are here in Skamokawa, WA 98647.

TAKE A BREAK--Just in case you want to leave all that cooking and baking to someone else on Thanksgiving, our very own local restaurant is taking reservations for a full turkey dinner, complete with dessert, so that may be right up your alley this year. Maybe that will give the "cook" a chance to kick back and enjoy the holiday too and she'll really appreciate it; something to think about with busy Christmas season just around the corner! Anyway, you must make reservations so call 360-795-6055 right away and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner without all the fuss and muss, and all those dirty dishes at your house!