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

by Suzanne Holmes, President

On October 22, 2016, the Pioneer Community Association sponsored our first annual community-wide cleanup event in support of National Make A Difference Day. Every year, since 1992, millions of people across the United States volunteer and perform projects on the fourth Saturday in October for their community, for individuals in need and for charitable organizations. We launched “Tidy Up the Town” (TUTT) believing that we could make a significant improvement in the appearance of downtown Cathlamet with a handful of volunteers, and we were right! People joined together and gave just a few hours to remove weeds from Main Street sidewalks, blackberries from the Waterfront Trail, and reclaimed the overgrown flower beds around the Library/Community Center. It was a tremendous success by any measure.

When Spring 2017 rolled around we saw an opportunity to, once again, roll up our sleeves and “Tidy Up Our Town” before it was time to roll out the red carpet for the upcoming tourist season. Since then, our community has stepped up to take on projects twice a year; in October for the Fall TUTT and April for the Spring TUTT. Additional project sites have included Erickson Park, Wahkakum County Museum/Strong Park, Wahkiakum County Courthouse, Julia Butler Hansen House, and the Cathlamet Pioneer Center. Positive changes were made all around town.

The wonderful news is that thanks to the amazing work of Wahkiakum Blooms and Forrest Mora Landscaping, Cathlamet has never looked better. The Town of Cathlamet has made major improvements in Erickson Park and they deserve our thanks for investing in a long overdue facelift.

Does this mean our work is done? Absolutely not. It is now time to spread out. Covid concerns create an opportunity to change things up. Rather than having everyone meet at the Cathlamet Community Center, get work assignments, and head off to complete some dirty work, we are issuing a challenge for everyone to look around you and see what needs a little TLC and jump on it. Check out your neighbors, local churches, the streets around you, the park by the ferry, boat launches, or ballfields. Pick up garbage, mow some grass, pull weeds, paint a fence, and know that when we all take a little time it can make a big difference. Also make time to take a picture of your crew at work and share it on Facebook. Let us blow up Cathlamet Area News with photos of our terrific community continuing the tradition of Tidy Up the Town this Saturday, April 24 from 9-noon. What can you do?

“I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.” ~Jana Stanfield.

Thank you.