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

MIXED UP BEGINNING--As this week began, Sunday was sure a wild mix of weather, with some sun, some rain, some hail and even some very gusty winds in certain areas. I think much of West Valley escaped the worst of the winds, as I got very little of that here at my house, while folks elsewhere seemed to get the brunt of it and even had their gazebos torn apart! Further east, there were even some power outages, so it definitely depended on where you were as to how bad the weather was that day. I think this is the second time this year that we've actually had conditions that were better than others, as that's not usually the case!

While my snow drops bloomed, along with daffodils, when it opted to freeze again on Monday night, they looked a little droopy, but thankfully they perked up once the temperatures rose a bit. I was hoping we were over that freeze warning part of the year, but evidently, not quite yet!

SUGGESTION--We have had a lot of fog around here lately, and it amazes me how many people are still out driving around with no headlights on. Those little bitty running lights of yours? They are totally invisible until we're right up next to you. Anyway, I'm a firm believer in defensive driving and the minute I turn the key on in my car, I turn my headlights on, no matter the weather, as one's car is so much easier to see that way. Here's to some safe driving in the days ahead!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 27-March 4 are Mary McLaughlin, Audrey Petterson, Deb Moonen Holland, Taylee Britt, Shelley Olsen, Becky Hoven, Jessica Hoven, Tony Parker, River Wallin, Rena Brookshier-Havens, Kathy Bond Peek, Felicitie Knight, Karalin Reynolds, Jonas Owen, Judy Pedersen and Krystal Ellison Zickefoose.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Adam and Sara Fletcher, Nicholas and Becky Keithley, Cathy (Ackerman) and Darrel Smith and Brian and Spring Dorion. May you all have terrific celebrations on your special days!

REMINDER--Just a quick reminder that there is no movie this coming Friday, Feb. 28 at the Community Center in Cathlamet.

COMING SOON--It's almost time for Daylight Savings Time to begin. Be sure to "Spring Forward" on March 8, but do all the clock setting before you go to bed on March 7, or you're going to be late for Sunday School!

FOS MARCH 6-8--Don't forget, the Friends of Skamokawa will reopen the historic Redmen Hall/Central School next week with their "Antique and Vintage Fair" so you won't want to miss that! There are always lots of great treasures to see and to buy and for those of you who are new to the area, it's a great time to check out this awesomely renovated building. Hours of business for this sale are from 10 to 4. You can always call the hall at 360-795-3007 if you have any questions.

UMC SALE: MARCH 7--If you happen to come to Redmen Hall next Saturday, you might want to head over the Skamokawa Creek bridge and turn onto Vista Park Road, where you can check out the "Craft and Bake Sale" that will be going on at the United Methodist Church that day. Nance Collupy tells me they are going to be there from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., so stop by the church and check it out. If you happen to have any questions, contact Nance at 360-795-3315.

SECOND SATURDAY--March 14 will be time to head back to Skamokawa and check out the monthly Flea Market, which features various vendors with new and used things. This market takes place in the Youth Building at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds on Fairgrounds Road and it goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you'd like to rent a table ($10) to sell your things, call the fairgrounds office and leave a message for Patty at 360-795-3480.

BINGO--Don't forget, all you bingo lovers can head over to the Norse Hall on Puget Island on March 14 and enjoy a few rounds of bingo for cash prizes, so make sure you mark that date down on your calendar. If you want to check that out, be there at 5:30 when the doors open and games will begin at 6 p.m. Cards are $5 each.

SAVE THE DATE--Gary Emery would like to remind all of you "kids" who ever attended the school in Skamokawa, that there will be another "all school" reunion held on August 22. This was very well attended the last time with 55 classmates showing up, so they hope to have that many or more this year. You may remember that this Skamokawa school reunion is only held every other year, so when it's time for this reunion to take place, it's really important to show up if you can, as nobody is getting any younger and they'd all love to visit with you! As always, this is a potluck affair that will be held at the upper covered area in Vista Park at 1 p.m. We hope all of you will help spread the word and keep reminding people of this date. This will also be the last day of the fair, so you can come to the fair and also the reunion and make it a super special day indeed! Gary says he's getting a new phone shortly but if you have any questions, give a shout out to his wife, Pam at 360-218-6504 and she'll be happy to try and answer your questions or hook you up with Gary.

FUN TIME--For all you new folks that may not be aware of this, Skamokawa is home to the only disc golf course around here with 21 holes on 40 acres, so if you ever want to try this out, you'll need to come to the Inn at Lucky Mud at 44 Old Chesnut Drive. Of course, you may want to call ahead first at 360-795-8770.

This past weekend, Adam and Sara Fletcher held a fundraiser there for the Friends of Skamokawa with the money going towards the continued support of our Historic Redmen Hall/Central School, so that $900 will truly be appreciated. They had great support from various sponsors, one of which was our very own Skamokawa Resort. There will be several upcoming events, so check out their webpage or their Facebook page and find out all about this unique sport!

THANKS--In my column last week, I mentioned that I couldn't remember where the Seventh Day Adventist Church was located, and thanks to Bruce Holland, he filled me in, as it was located on School House Road, which connects West Birnie Slough Road to North Welcome Slough. I should have remembered that as I walked by, or biked by, or drove by there a million times, and even played on the swing set there, but I had totally forgot about it. Anyway, thanks, cousin Bruce, for jogging my memory for me!

GREAT JOB--Don and Kitty Speranza were pretty proud of their son, Mark, as he recently helped make and install a metal flag of our country on a street in Longview. They told me it is located near Vandercook Way and Commerce Avenue, so if you happen to be by that area, keep a look out for it; it's very distinctive. Good job to all those creators and welders who took part in making this piece of art!

UNDER THE WEATHER--We'll be sending a few people "get well" wishes, as Cindi Pedersen, Becca Keilwitz, Sunny Manary, Sandra and Dave Gibson and a few others have not been feeling real chipper lately, so here's hoping they all get back to feeling much better, real soon.

CONGRATS--It's great to see our Lady Mules bringing home the hardware as they were crowned 2020 2B District IV basketball Champions this weekend. Way to go Mighty Mules! Your hard work and dedication has paid off; good job!

MORE BB THIS SATURDAY--The Lady Mules will play against Adna at Mark Morris this Saturday, Feb. 29, at 6 p.m. Regardless of the outcome, they'll be headed to the State playoffs held in Spokane next week. Our Mule boys will play at Mark Morris also, at 4 p.m., but they will need to beat Kittitas to advance to State, so let's cheer them on. Go Mules!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week in 1950, February ended with some nice weather, and March started out the same way. Unfortunately, that didn't last long and the rains and wind resumed, with only the last day of that week turning out "Spring-like." The Everests were busy with the house as they were hoping to get it ready to paint. Nevada Shamley, May Watkins and Donna Hatton all joined Elsie Everest for dinner at Jim's Cafe as they celebrated Elsie's birthday a little early that week. The Pocahontas group got together, and afterwards, Mary Ann Risk and Mrs. Benson and Grandma enjoyed dinner out once again. The show playing at the theater that week was, "Good ole Summertime" which Grandma Elsie thought was real funny, so she and a friend really enjoyed seeing it, and seeings how it was a rainy day, it was the perfect time to be inside! This info provided by my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.