DRIPPY START--As this week begins, it's a drippy kind of Sunday, but I'm told we'll have some dry days between now and when you get this paper, so I hope you were able to enjoy them like we all did last week, as those sunny days were certainly uplifting. I have to say though, my biggest surprise came on Monday morning when I woke up to snow; I did not see that coming! Luckily it was all gone by noon but just as I was getting ready to enjoy some blue skies, another big, black cloud came over and dumped some hail on us; what a day! For now, it looks like the beginning of Spring, which starts this Saturday, is looking more like the "springing of leaks from the sky" kind of a day, so whenever we do have a dry day or two, I guess we'd best enjoy it!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 18-24 are Connie Bassi, Gaylene Johnson, Pat Kehrli, Carol Wegdahl, Randy Hoven, Lanie Hannah, Danette Bardsley, Laurie Miller, Ana Marsyla, Lance Souvenir, Josh Curtis, Cathy LaBerge, Katie Turgeon, Angie Nettles, Taya Deal, Jimmy Montgomery, Keri Havens-Peterson, Shelby Deaton, Luke Thomason, Jamie Brons, Jordyn Wirkkala, Sig Hjaltalin, Larry Firkus, Sandy Quigley and Mathew Kyle.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Layton and Pam Elliott, Tyson and Sarah Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Brett Deaton, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Vincent and Aron and Wendy Havens. May all of your special days be enjoyed to the fullest!

ADDITION--We are happy to announce that Max and Ashli Scudder will become parents for the first time this September, so we want to congratulate them on this good news! I'm sure Max's Mom, Rhonda Pedersen and hubby, Mark are super excited for this special addition to show up, as well as all the relatives. We will be happy to add another name to our birthday list come September.

FOS MEETING--The Friends of Skamokawa will hold their annual membership meeting on March 28 at 2 p.m., but with the current Covid restrictions, it's asked that you call and reserve a seat by March 23. This will be a general meeting as well as a time to elect officers and set goals. Guests will include Robert Pyle and Judy VanderMaten as they will do a book reading and signing that day. You can call the hall at 360-795-3007 for further information.

If you're new to the area, this meeting is held in the River of Life Interpretive Center on the second floor of Redmen Hall in Skamokawa, across from the Skamokawa General Store, you can't miss it!!

HAIR CUTS--Next month you'll be able to get "Klassic Kuts" at 40 River Street in Cathlamet, which is right next to the post office, so for $10, you'll be all nice and trimmed up once again. The hours will be from 10 to 5 Tuesdays through Friday and Saturday they will be 9 to 1; walk ins only. If you bring in a canned food donation to help the local food bank, you'll save $2, you can't beat that! Here's hoping you'll all keep Kelli Anne Quaschnick busy and "congrats" to her for this much needed service in our area.

NEXT FLEA MARKET--Mark April 10 on your calendars, as that's when the next Skamokawa Flea Market will take place at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds in Skamokawa just off East Valley Road.

EVENTS--Some of you have been asking about a schedule of events that happen around the area. You can pick up one of those schedules at the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce office in Cathlamet, or they are available at various stores. Locally, our Skamokawa Resort's general store has some for the taking. Some of these events will be subject to the Covid rules and regulations at the time, so when in doubt, contact the people or group that have their phone numbers listed with that event to make sure it will still take place. With things changing so often, one never knows, so I almost hesitate to mention them. If you have an event you are sure is going to happen and you want me to mention it, be sure to give me a call.

PIGYS--One of those events that is indeed happening, is the annual "PIGYS" event and for those of you who are new to the area, this means, "Puget Island Garage & Yard Sale!" For a small fee, you get to have your name on a map of Puget Island and you are given a number and these maps will be handed out to shoppers so they know which houses to stop at that are taking part in this annual sale. Due to Covid, this was not held last year, but organizer Sandi York says that it's a "GO" this year, so we hope that you'll do some Spring cleaning, set up your sale stuff and get your name on the list and maybe make a few bucks while all the yard sale fans have some fun days shopping! The dates for this event are June 25-27. Give Sandi a call at 360-430-0951 and find out all about it.

BEFORE THEN--Before the big PI sale, I hope that some of our other scheduled events will take place this coming month however, as April is usually the time for Easter Bingo at the fairgrounds, the Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt at Vista Park, the Annual Loggers' Reunion in Naselle and the Tidy Up the Town event in Cathlamet, so let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can all put those on our "for sure" list soon.

The same goes for all the upcoming events in May, which includes the Skamokawa Farmers Market (contact Lori Cagle 360-703-7291) and the Great White Tail Run so we hope that those and several other things, will take place as well. For now, we'll keep our ear to the ground and see what happens and let you know as soon as I find out positively that they will take place.

VOLUNTEERS--In the meantime, if you'd like to help out with one of our community events, I know one that always needs extra hands, and that's our Bald Eagle Days Festival in mid-July, so contact the Chamber of Commerce at 360-795-9996 and they will surely give you something to do.

Another one is our county fair, which we believe will take place in mid-August, as the need for a clean up crew, painting crew, superintendents, ticket takers and more are almost always needed. If you're interested in that sort of thing, you can leave a message on the fair phone 360-795-3480. Theme this year is "Hats Off to the Fair," so keep that in mind when you're entering things.

If you're brand new to the area, this is a great way to get yourself introduced to the community, and trust me, there is rarely a time when some group somewhere, isn't looking for a helping hand, so jump right in and help make these events your own. Remember, it's pretty hard to fit in if you never join in.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week in 1946, the first three days were really nice but then it turned cloudy and cool and then just down right cold, wet and nasty! On a couple of those nice days, it was the perfect time for walking across the Puget Island bridge and enjoying the beautiful river scenery. It was also the perfect time for a bit of flying, and a small seaplane was down by the Cathlamet docks and picking up people to take them for rides up above and around Puget Island and the river, so that was a neat treat for those that got to go. Two of those people were Ralph and Frankie Pedersen, who were just thrilled! They spent the night with their grandparents, Ralph and Elsie Everest, and then got to go to a show after that, so they'd had a very fun couple of days.

On one of the nasty days, Grandma Elsie said it was very busy in the telephone office, but when she got off work she headed out to the BPW dinner meeting at the coffee shop early that evening. After that, she was off to the Rebekahs' Lodge meeting at 8 p.m., and they had drill practice and she didn't get home until after 11:30 p.m., so she'd had a long day and was all tired out!

That Saturday, Rosemary Faubion was the hostess of a luncheon with several ladies who gathered to celebrate Elva Mast's birthday and they all had a nice time. (A cute picture of Pam Faubion and Jimmie Mast are included in this diary on that day.)

The following day was a sad day, as Grandma was expecting her youngest son, R. Marshall to come for a visit. Sadly, Hannah Everest had fallen and was not doing well, so he had to cancel his plans; she was truly disappointed and couldn't help but shed a few tears. Upon seeing her sadness, little grandson, Frankie Pedersen said, "Work helps, so maybe if you washed the dishes you'll feel better Grandma!" She had to admit, after the seven year old said that, she did feel better; gotta love kids!

On March 24, the F. Carpenters welcomed a baby girl into their family. That same day, Elva Mast and Elva Olmstead met up with Elsie Everest after Rebekahs' practice. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.