SOGGY--We ended last week with a gorgeous day, as Saturday was just super sunny, but we have started this week, with a whole lot of rain this Sunday! The first part of this week may be on the damp side, but not to fret, as our Monday morning has been pretty nice and forecasters say by Wednesday, the skies should be drying out and we'll have a nice long stretch of dry and warmer weather, so that should make those "hay makers" happy!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from June 17-23 are Jason Ledtke, Keith Hoofnagle, Bobby Helms, Danny Helms, Mary Baldwin, Lori Smith, Megan Vincent, Lore Twiet, Krista Fritzie, Tom Parker, Dawn Wika, Erik Grasseth, Monica Frank Gaillard, Tyson Clark, Apollo Recchia, Billie Bardsley, Signe Sause, Travis Gibson, Logan LaBerge, Kay Holland, Angel Rose, Nicci Bergseng, Jack Gorley, Dean Snyder, Jerry DeBriae, Rhonda Pedersen and Katie Nollan Sechler.

Belated birthday wishes go out to Ava Abel who celebrated her special day this past Monday.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Steve and Debbie McClain, Calvin and Cindy Grasseth, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Nortrup, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Souvenir, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan McCoy and from the class of 1967, Elaine and Phil Rolf. Happy days, everybody!

TENTH ANNIVERSARY--This Friday, June 18, the Tsuga Gallery in Cathlamet will celebrate their 10 year anniversary and also their grand-reopening, after having been closed due to Covid restrictions. They hope you will join them at 4 p.m., to celebrate this dual event and honor its founder, the late Janet Kerstetter Cimino as well, as her love of art is celebrated every day in this gallery of beautiful things by such talented people. If you'd like to show your work or make a donation to them, you can contact the gallery at 360-795-0725.

DELAYED--The swimming pool in Cathlamet did not open on Monday because the needed equipment for reopening did not arrive. They hope it will arrive this week, so folks can enjoy it during the nice days ahead. Remember, the swimming lessons don't start until July 5, and everything should be fine by then. You do need to get signed up though, so either call 360-795-6515 or email them at cathlametpool@icloud.com.

FRIDAY AND TUESDAY MARKETS--The Farmer's Market at the Marina in Cathlamet was canceled last Friday due to torrential rains, but it looks like things should be much nicer this Friday, so they hope to see you there from 3 to 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, you can come down to the fairgrounds in Skamokawa from 4 to 7 and check out their market and beings it's held in a building, it will take place, rain or shine.

VENDORS AND ENTERTAINMENT--The Wahkiakum County Fair will be held August 19-21. They are still looking for vendors and entertainment, so give the fair office a call and get yourself on their list, and we hope to see you there! Now is the time to show off your talent or set up a booth and sell your wares; call 360-795-3480.

THIS IS IT--This Sunday is Father's Day, so let's celebrate all the great Dads in our area. We hope you'll treat your Dad to something special too! Happy Father's Day to all who are a father figure to someone in your life. Have a great day this Sunday!

NEW EXHIBIT--In case you missed it, the Friends of Skamokawa currently have a new display on the ground floor of the hall, called "A Salute to the Order of Red Men," which will give you a better understanding about how the "Redmen Hall" came to be after the building was no longer the Central School. We hope you'll stop by this weekend and check it out from noon to four, Saturday and Sunday. For you new folks, this is the big building on the north side of the road at Milepost Marker 29 here in Skamokawa; you can't miss it! This historic building is truly one of our community's greatest treasures! You can contact the hall by calling 360-795-3007.

BIG SALE COMING--If you're new to the area you may not know that this next weekend, June 25-27 is the annual massive garage and yard sale on Puget Island, fondly known as PIGYS (Puget Island Garage & Yard Sale.) People sign up by contacting Sandie York at 360-430-0951 and get their addresses added to a list on a map, and then folks pick them up as they come onto the Island, and then away they go! This has always been a great hunt for those treasures that you really need to add to your home and get a good price as well. For other folks, it's a fund raising event, like the one being held at the Puget Island Fire Dept. on SR 409. Please remember not to block access to people's mail boxes and be courteous to the sellers and their neighbors.

DONATIONS?--If you don't want to sell things yourself at the above mentioned event, please contact the Puget Island Fire Dept. group and see if they'd still like to have some donations for their sale. These should all be good, sellable items, so stained, worn out clothes and funky furniture would probably not be appreciated. Contact Sherill Bollen at 360-951-3985 or Liz Beutler at 360-200-2247 to find out.

LOCAL MUSEUM--In case you are sorting out things and happen to come upon some white sheets that you could part with, our Wahkiakum County Museum could sure use them. These sheets would be cut in strips in order to make runners to put inside the cabinets and displays. The older display cases were all various heights, etc. and they have since been replaced with a half dozen new ones that are all the same, so they will look much nicer and hold more things. Most of the time, the museum would be open by now, but due to the Covid restrictions and all the work that was being done in the museum, this just wasn't possible. It is hoped it will be able to open before too long but all these things take time and bodies and sometimes neither are available. So, if you have sheets to donate, please contact Kari Kandoll at 360-849-4353 and if you'd like to join the historical society or help out hosting or doing work around there, then please let her know that as well.

BULL RIDING EVENT--The Challenge of Champions Bull Riding event will take place July 16 at the Wahkiakum County fairgrounds at 7 p.m., but the gates will open at 5, and as usual, if you get your tickets early, they will only be $15, but at the gate, they will cost you $20. Kids under five are free. You can buy tickets in Skamokawa at the Duck Inn, at Johnson's One Stop service station in Naselle or Bob Surplus in Longview. You can also buy tickets in advance from the board members for the lesser price. Besides the bull riding, there will be food available and a beer garden, so put on those boots and jeans and come on down for a fun evening in the arena!

COWBOY DOES GOOD--Speaking of riding and roping and all that good "cowboy" stuff, we have to mention Landon Luce, who is making the covers of magazines, as he has been doing a fantastic job riding that horse of his and wound up being the division champion in the Amateur Derby part of 2021 DT Horses Western Derby held in Scottsdale, AZ recently. Way to go young man, and kudos to that super smart horse of yours too, as you and "Time to Lay It Down" definitely handled those cows with no problems at all it seems. Congratulations! We love to hear success stories that have local connections.

CONGRATS--We were remiss in giving our Wahkiakum High School Seniors a hearty "Congratulations" as they began their new lives away from high school life this past week, and after the year they've had, I'm thinking that maybe they are ready to spread their wings a bit! We wish them all the best of luck.

We had two graduates from WA-KI-HI in West Valley, so "Good Luck" to Bryson Havens and also to Tyson Hjaltalin, who graduated on his birthday.

GREAT SHOWING--Our WA-KI-HI Mules basketball teams sure did a great job this year, so congratulations to them! The Lady Mules came home with the trophy for becoming the 2B Girls Basketball District Champions once again and of course, that made everyone very proud. Tom and Tina Merz got to celebrate a little bit extra as daughter Jansi joined the special club of becoming a "1000 Point Club Achiever," so an extra congrats to her!

To all the Mules sports teams: Your hard work and your commitment to your sport is acknowledged and representing our school in an honorable fashion is truly appreciated by the entire community; good job!

GIVE THE CRITTERS A BREAK--Beings it's that time of year when all the new "babies" are showing up, it would really be helpful if those who are driving our country roads would slow down just a little bit! Our Mama does and their tiny fawns can barely get around, let alone run from a speeding car, and now that the baby elk are out, well, they may zip out in front of you a lot more often than their smarter (usually) parents!

Plus, it wouldn't hurt if people would refrain from honking their horns or revving their engines, as having these poor animals spooked and tangled in fences is not a pleasant sight! They will saunter through the open gates when undisturbed, which makes life easier for them as many are already suffering from hoof rot, so it would be nice if they didn't have to deal with any more unnecessary pain.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, the week began with some gorgeous weather, which wound up being quite warm at 88 degrees a couple of days later, so when it cooled down the following day, it was actually more enjoyable. By the time the Summer Solstice took place, it was cold and wet and stayed that way for three days. On one of the nice days, the members of the Pocahontas club met and they all had a wonderful time after the regular meeting, celebrating Ruby (Hanigan maybe?) and Mary Ann's (Risk maybe?) birthdays. Visitors that day at the Everest home were Georgia and Hugh Douglas. Unfortunately, Elsie Everest fell ill and slept through one of the nice days, and found herself at the Doctor's office the day after that. Thankfully she soon felt better and went for a walk and stopped to visit Harry and Edna Foster for a bit. A couple of days later, the Wests came by for a nice visit. For Carol Everest Pedersen, it was a time to head to Astoria where it seemed her oldest son, Ralphie B, was going to get some glasses. It was off to the movies that week as "Weekend at the Waldorf" was playing and the Everests thought it was good. The week ended with the Mules basketball team losing to Centralia. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1946 diary.