Be careful with fireworks, it's dry

HOT HOT HOT--Hot was the word for this past weekend and the start of this week, so for all you sun lovers, I hope you got your fill of it, as the rest of us folks who don't enjoy it as much, have had plenty of it! Being nice and warm is one thing, but once temps climb into the 90-100 range, it's just so dangerous for man and beast, that I really dread it. I hope all of you came through this heat bubble unscathed, as getting sunburned or having health problems from too much heat is not only miserable, but in some cases, can be deadly. Let's hope we get a break from this excessive heat and soon, as when we're breaking records and getting temperatures higher than Texas, that's hot!

BURN BAN--I wouldn't think we'd have to state the obvious, but unless some unexpected storm comes in and dumps a bunch of rain on us out of the blue, we will still be under a burn ban, so be very, very careful in the days ahead. A hot muffler on a tractor can start a hay field fire, or a spark from a dangling chain on a travel or boat trailer can start a fire as you travel down the road, and of course, setting off fireworks in an area where there is dry grass, should definitely be avoided. Here's to no call outs for our fire departments in the coming days over somebody being careless and causing a bunch of misery over something that could have been avoided.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 1-7 are Matt Helms III, Dave Hjaltalin, Sandie York, Debbie Kuller, Hope Neilsen, Elias Cochran, Danny Poe, Jaxton Nicolazzi, George Exum, Lee Wages, Jordon Fritzie Collins, Mary Watkins, Mike Swofford, Philomena Thomas, Dale Jacobson and Nathan Chamberlain.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Steve and Lorie Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Seaberg, Mr. and Mrs. Hap Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Florek Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Gary Emery, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ehrensberger, Mr. and Mrs. Lance Souvenir, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Howarth and Mr. and Mrs. Greg Lloyd. Here's to all of your special days being celebrated in special ways.

Belated anniversary wishes go out to Dan and Barb Lloyd who celebrated their special day on June 24, Dean and Judy Snyder who celebrated on the 25th, and to Randy and Susan Kuhn, who celebrated their 22nd annivesary last Saturday, and belated wishes to Dave and Sandra Gibson and the Dave Whitneys who celebrated their anniversary that day as well. Sorry about missing those!

GET SOME DEALS?--The big, annual Puget Island Garage and Yard Sale, (PIGYS), took place this past weekend and if you were selling things, I hope you made a bit of money and if you were a shopper, I hope you got some good deals! One could not say it was too wet and nasty for it, as it was plenty dry and toasty out there, so here's hoping you stayed hydrated and had a great time shopping around the island. I know a couple of folks who called it quits a little early and quite frankly, I can't say that I blamed them; hot and hotter was the theme for this year's event!

For those of you who are new to the area, this event takes place on the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of June each year, so please keep that in mind for next year. To those that have been here forever, please be sure to spread the word to all your new neighbors about what's going on, and most importantly, have them subscribe to our local paper, so they'll have a clue as to what's happening in the coming months.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--Becky Ledtke told me that the Skamokawa Grange might be interested in your sale items that you didn't sell at PIGYS this past weekend. If you have some decent things that you'd like to see go to someone in need, then maybe you could give Becky a call and see if they'd be interested in it. You can call her at 360-795-3434 and find out for sure.

EVERY TUESDAY/EVERY FRIDAY--Don't forget that every Friday afternoon, there is a Farmer's Market at the Elochoman Marina in Cathlamet, beginning at 3 p.m., and there is another one at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa, every Tuesday, beginning at 4 p.m. Here's hoping you get to check them out, as they may just have that item you're looking for, from fruits and veggies to all kinds of handmade items, it's probably at one of these two places.

BIG HOLIDAY AHEAD--It's time for the big Fourth of July weekend; hard to believe! If the forecast holds, temperatures should be in the mid to upper 70s. However, it still means things are bone dry so it's imperative to be very careful during your upcoming BBQ gatherings and any fireworks that you may want to let off. With multiple drownings, boating accidents and other water related tragedies occuring in our river communities, I hope we will not be joining their ranks in the days ahead. Take care; be safe and have a "Happy Fourth of July" everybody!

COMING TO AN END--We were sorry to hear that Sharrel Mooers has had some difficult health issues lately so she and her hubby Maury, have opted to close their antique and collectible shop, "Mooers Alger Creek Station." They will hold a "Moove it out" sale from July 2-5 at the store located between Cathlamet and Skamokawa, 957 W SR 4, so if you're still looking for bargains, this will be the place to be. Opening day for this big clearance sale is July 2 and will have open hours of 10 to 7, with the other days being, 8 to 6, 12 to 6 and 10 to 2. Contact 360-795-3454 with any questions.

Again, we are sorry to hear that health issues have caused the Mooers to have to close their shop and we wish them the very best in the days ahead.

FLEA MARKET--The monthly Flea Market at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds will take place on July 10 from 9 to 3, so come check that out. You can rent a table for $10 and sell some of your own things if you're so inclined, so call the fairgrounds and let Patty D. know, 360-795-3480.

BULL RIDING--On July 16 the "Challenge of Champions" bull riding event will take place at the fairgrounds. Advance tickets are already on sale and they will save you $5 if you get them now; for you Skamokawa folks, you can pick them up at the Duck Inn. The gates open at 4:30 and the riding starts at 7 p.m. Come early and enjoy a bite to eat and have a beer in the beer garden! Want to become a sponsor to help with this event? Call Lore at 360-431-5247.

BALD EAGLE DAYS--After the bull riding event Friday night, the next evening all of you new folks will be treated to our local fireworks show and Bald Eagle Days on Saturday, July 17 in Cathlamet. This is the only place that honors the bird of our country, the mighty Bald Eagle, so we feel pretty proud about that. I have yet to see a full schedule but on Friday they usually have the sidewalk chalk art contest and I believe that is still happening.

On Saturday, you can start out the morning at the marina where the Kiwanis Club usually holds their BED breakfast from 7 to 10. There will be vendors set up all along Main Street so that street will be closed. You'll have to go behind town to bypass that. The parade will take place at noon and other things will be going on with fireworks at dark. So plan on a full day of fun and bring your chairs, your patience and some sunscreen if it's hot out! I'm sure the Chamber will be putting out a full schedule real soon, so watch for that.

BOAT SHOW--Please mark Aug. 7 on your calendars as the Cathlamet Yacht Club is bringing back the Cathlamet Wooden and Classic Boat Festival that day. Spread the word to those who may not have heard of this before, it was cancelled last year, so they hope folks come by from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and check them out. As always, this will be held at the Elochoman Slough Marina. More info on that at a later date but keep this event in mind as we're glad they're having it again!

FOS/LOOKING AHEAD--For those of you who like to plan ahead, I just wanted to let you know that Friends of Skamokawa will once again have an online auction in place of their actual Wine Tasting & Auction event that had previously been held in September. This online event will have a preview night on Oct. 8 and then the auctioning/bidding part will take place for several days, Oct. 9-16, so please mark down your calendars for that event coming this Fall.

As always, your donations for items to auction off would be greatly appreciated, so if you'd like to donate something, contact Redmen Hall and let them know you'd love to become one of their sponsors/donators: 360-795-3007.

GREAT COMMUNITY--We appreciate living in a small community when trouble comes our way, like when son, Brandon Chamberlain wound up in the hospital recently. We truly appreciated all the phone calls and well wishes for his recovery and of course, Brandon appreciates all your get well wishes, so a big thank you to one and all for your concern; you're all great!

PREPARED?--We usually talk about being prepared for really cold miserable weather, but we don't think too much about the other extreme, but as we can see, it too brings challenges and our need to be prepared. So, how did you do? Did you have enough fluids on hand and sunscreen and a plan to keep your house cool? Normally, we don't have to deal with this kind of heat at all, so I'm not sure how ready we were for it, but at least we had plenty of warning, so hopefully you were able to implement a plan to keep your home and yourself cool and comfortable.

Bigger problems occur for those with a lot of animals and the possiblity of less access to water for them. You'll never know how much a cow or a horse drinks until you have to start packing water to them in some way, so I hope you got that plan in place before this heat wave began. I have never heard horses raise as much fuss about being without water as cows tend to do, but if you hear them making lots of racket, it is always wise to check on them.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, the week began with a very nice day so going to the Pocahontas Lodge meeting was quite pleasant. Several people had stopped by earlier in the day, and dropped off some nice suprises: Mrs. Lechner brought strawberries and fresh honey over; Rosemary ? brought some roses; Jimmy Osborn had brought some clams for them to enjoy and Mickey Risk even came by with some nylons. Grandma Elsie was thrilled to have so many thoughtful and kind friends come by with such treats! The next day it was a bit cool and cloudy and the news from the grocery store was not so good, as butter had gone up to 80 cents a pound and meat was up sky high and setting a record of all time high prices. The next couple of days were warm and muggy and family members headed to the beach to enjoy some time there. Mrs. Shamley made a stop by the Everest home one evening and Florence West stopped by the next one, with Jim and David W. coming by a bit later. The next couple of days were nice and Mary Anne Risk and Elsie E. headed to Ruby Hanigan's for a visit and met with Mabel McGowan there. Then it was off to Bozeman's for lunch! The last day of the week was just "lovely" and so it was a good time to go to Wests and pick raspberries, then made jam, before heading to the baseball game and visiting with daughter Marian Healy. World news included the announcement of the Phillipines gaining their independence that week. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.