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

COOLER/WET?--According to the forecast, we may actually see some showers this week but as of Monday morning, it was just cloudy, but drizzle Tuesday morning was a possibility. We'll also have to wait and see if the Friday forecast for 30 percent chance of drizzle comes true, and considering it's Fair time, well, we almost expect it! You see, it's sort of a running joke with all us locals as it can be dry for weeks and months on end but come Fair time, well, we wind up with some rain! Not always of course, but about 9 out of 10 times, I'd say it's come true! On the bright side, at least the temperatures should be more comfortable for man and beast if it stays in the low 70's range. We will keep our fingers crossed that if any showers happen, that they show up in the middle of the night to settle the dust and it doesn't cause any major problems. We need the rain so badly that I hate to complain if it shows up, but like most, we'd rather have it come after the fair!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 19-25 are Becky Ledtke, Riley Emlen-Petterson, Jessica Schiek, Clarity Schmitz, Kay Walters, John Gustafson, Cindy Faubion, Linda DeBriae, Larry Havens, Bryce Heiner, Kathy Durrah, LouAnn Hedges, Ashley Silva, Keith Kehrli, Greg Parker, Travis Gorley, Kody Vik, Kylee Johnson, Kyleigh Cothren, Nicholas Keithley, Roberta Leingang, Dolly Hartley, Darrell Trotter, Cathy Stuart, Vickie Gregory, Bowe D. Hammen, Anita Blix Kangas, Shannon Ellison, Patty Kellum and Sean Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are John and Nicole McKinley, Mr. and Mrs. Russ Durrah, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Barth, Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Heiner, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Quintero, Mr. and Mrs. Brian Wisdom, Mr. and Mrs. Sean Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Brian Smith, Mr. and Mr. Chris Huskey and Mark and Debb Howie. May all of your special days be ones that you will remember for a long time to come.

CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS?--As new babies are born and as couples get married, it's time to add them to the Lions Club calendar before they print them. Plus, if there's been a change in your status or a member of your family, please let them know, as the change on the calendar can be made to reflect that. The number to make those additions or subtractions is 360-849-4003.

THIS IS IT--It's Fair Time! We hope everyone got their entries in earlier this week and you're all ready to check out whether you got a ribbon on it, and what color it was. The fair is always a fun time to meet and gab with those we haven't seen in ages and if you are a person who entered various items, a great way to show off your talent and earn a bit of extra cash to boot! So, here's hoping all of you will visit our local fair, which has been around for over 100 years.

Spread the word about the upcoming fair, as it's this Thursday through Saturday (19-21) with the salmon feed happening at noon on Saturday, in front of the stage, so get ready to chow down! I hope you join me in my own fair tradition, which is: No cooking while the fair is going on, as it's time to support the locals and I'm more than happy to give up KP duty for a few days; enjoy!

BERRY ORDERS--It's your last chance to order 10 lb. containers of frozen berries from the Lions Club. The last day they will take orders is Wednesday, August 23 and they must be paid for in advance. Remember, they only have two kinds this year: strawberries ($30) and blueberries ($27) so make sure you order some today. Contact: 360-849-4003 or 360-795-3337.

SCHOOL--It won't be long and our kids will be heading back to school and those big yellow buses will be rolling by our houses. There were several incidents last year of people passing school buses while they were stopped with their signs out, and boy, I just don't know what people are thinking! Remember, that red stop sign paddle on the side of the bus, plus all those flashing lights, means you are not to pass that bus. Let's try to get re-educated on the rules that are in place when the bus has a stop sign showing, and realize that it doesn't matter if you are late and in a hurry, or that you don't see a kid crossing the road, as stop means stop - period.

AGGRRESIVE DRIVERS--Speaking of people who don't seem to pay attention to the stop signs, it seems we have a bunch of people who don't know what the "Do NOT Pass" sign means either! I was traveling the speed limit when I could see two vehicles coming up behind me at a good clip, and we had just gone by the DNP sign, but lo and behold, a small white car flew around me, which of course, kicked up the center gravel -- not good. To make matters worse, a big raised, black, 4 x 4, with great big tires, not only passes me, but even passes the speedy white car too, and again, and even worse, sprays gravel all over the place! Now between the Chevron station and down towards Cathlamet, there was an abundance of loose gravel and once again, people were passing in that 45 mph zone at high rates of speed and yes, those big tires situated right in the gravel were making a heck of a "gravel gun" to those unlucky enough to be near him. Here's hoping that by the time you read this, this gravel will be all swept away and maybe the multitude of broken windshields and paint damage will come to an end. For those less than stellar drivers, well, don't be surprised when Karma pays you a visit!

FOR NEW/INEXPERIENCED HUNTER'S--In case you missed the story in last week's Eagle, here's a quick reminder that a Hunter's Ed Course is coming up Aug. 28 and 29 at the Elochoman Marina. Everyone must pre-register online and if you need help with that and all the other information that goes along with taking this course, the times involved, etc., just contact Jerry: 360-430-9295 or 360-425-7011, or you can call Sharon: 360-795-3385.

FOS AUCTION--If you've ever taken part in the Friends of Skamokawa's Fall fund raiser, just know that it will be here in October. If you've donated before, you've proably already received your donation form for their "A Cornucopia of Treasures" online Auction. We hope you'll have some wonderful things to donate, as the more items in the auction, the more fun will happen during those bidding wars and of course, a great selection will hopefully bring in some much needed money to help out this great group, which keeps our historic hall operating. If you're new here and want to donate or want to know more about this, contact the hall at 360-795-3007 or by email at fos1894@gmail.com or check out their website at: http://www.friendsofskamokawa.org. This big event takes place Oct. 9-16 at http://www.32auction.com/fos. If you'd simply like to support the cause and want to mail them a check, you can do that as well, FOS, P.O. Box 67, Skamokawa, WA 98647.

MUSEUM--I got a chance to meet some great folks this past Saturday while I was the "volunteer hostess" at our county Museum located at 65 River Street, which is the street behind Cathlamet's Main Street, and next door to the PUD. It's always great to meet people from far away who are just passing by, as they always share such great stories about all the places they've been and I like to hear how our museum stacks up with the rest of the ones they've seen. So far, everyone has been delighted with the wide array of things we have there and marvel at the picture boards in the annex so they can see how things used to be, compared to how they are now. They all loved the "instant images" compared to having to sit at a computer to view things or check things out online or go through a lot of files, as those big, swinging picture boards give everyone a great glimpse of the past without a lot of effort on their part. I also got to meet some new folks that had moved to town and brought their family members from other states, so that was nice to meet them and find out how they came to settle in our neck of the woods, which I'm always interested in hearing about.

As always, the museum would love to have you come and visit and they'd really love it if some of you locals would volunteer a few hours at the museum a month. It's not a difficult job and it's really quite rewarding and I bet you'll find that there's a lot you didn't know about our area once you get to looking around and reading all the history of our county and towns and the people who lived here. It's all quite fascinating! If you'd like to become a volunteer, or even join the Wahkiakum County Historical Society (WCHS), please call Kari Kandoll at 360-849-4353.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, it was nice all week long. The timing was great because this was Cathlamet's big Centennial doings, which were officially held August 23, 24 and 25, but the town was already gathering on the evening of August 22 for the big "Fire Show" which drew a big crowd and everyone had a grand time. The next day it was the Children's Parade, which was really great and so was the carnival that was held on the "back street" of Cathlamet. There was a pageant of sorts that evening and the town was full of people and activity, in Elsie's words, the "town was gay!" The following day there was another big parade through town, five horseshows and a ball game going on. On the last day, there was another ballgame and the losing team on that day was Kelso. Then there was a big logging show in the park, rounded out by a show in the evening. Everyone was tired but happy that the centennial celebration was a big hit. Pictures of the Everests, Walkers and Pedersen family members dotted the pages this week. The button, the post card and the special stationary to mark this momentous Centennial celebration are all neatly stored in my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary; special items indeed! All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1946 diary.