NICE BREAK--As I begin this column, we are having a nice break from the rain. While it was so foggy in West Valley on Sunday morning that it blocked our television reception for a bit. It did clear up and warmed up some and wound up to be a pretty decent day. However, by the time I went to bed, we had gotten down to freezing again, so I hope you've had those faucets covered and your plants inside. It looks to be dry for Wednesday when this paper comes out, however, it looks like the rain will be returning for your Thanksgiving Day dinner, so please drive carefully if you're out and about so you'll get to and from that holiday dinner safe and sound!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 24-Dec. 1 are Danny Silverman, Matt Helm ll, Mike Linn, Kadi Allen, Sharon Deaton, Sandy Everman, James Jacobsen, Rae Anne Wilson, Dana Montgomery, Bryce McCoy, Sarah Clark, Joe Teachman, Samantha Wright, Terri Slape, Cindy Montgomery, Linda Ostervold, Butch Owen, Jennifer Hoven, Mike Paulsen, Tricia Coleman, Jace Gibson, Dylan Cothren, Shane Souvenir, Trace Tarabochia, Joyce Ower, Dominic Diaz, Robert Kyle, Drake Cook, Obed Rodriquez, Kevin Palmer and Samantha Everest.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Tom and Rosalie Webb, Jeff and Shelly Hedges, Mr. and Mrs. Bud Cowan, Mr. and Mrs Adam Stratton, Mark and Sherry McCormack and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Holland. May all your celebrations be memorable ones.

NEW ADDITION--The J. Pedersen family line is continuing as Libby Davison and hubby, Bryan Bach celebrated the birth of their first child, a baby boy, this past weekend.Bennett Glen Bach was born Saturday, November 20 in Kennewick, and the little blondie was oh so adorable and his first time Grandma LuAnn Davison was certainly thrilled. LuAnn is the daughter of the late Walter Pedersen, who was the son of Jonas Pedersen, so my line of cousins continues on; awesome! Congratulations to Libby and Bryan and to all of their family members who are over the moon with this new addition.

THANKSGIVING--There are always a few places to get a great Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, besides Mom's or Grandma's, and one of them is by calling our local restaurant here in Skamokawa at 360-795-6055 and reserving a spot for this Thursday Nov. 25, from noon to six. Part of the proceeds from each meal will go to "Shop with a Cop." Need a meal to go? That can be arranged but calling ahead would be prudent.

GREAT TIME--This past Saturday the Duck Inn held another benefit for the above group and not only was the wide array of smoked, BBQ meats delicious, but all those that attended were super generous and it made for a fantastic fund raiser. To top it off, there was a fifty/fifty raffle which was won by Sheryl Irving McMahon, who then donated her half back to the "Shop with a Cop" fund raiser in order for the officers to buy more gifts for those in need; so generous! Hats off to Logan Britt and Duck Inn crew for putting on such a great fund raising event and cooking up such a scrumptious meal! I'm sure that all those benefitting from the Star Program will be delighted.

GOOD VISIT--We were also very pleased that former residents, John and Sharon Buennagel, were able to come over from their home in Hawaii just in time to join in on this tasty fund raiser mentioned above. It was definitely an evening full of gab and great laughs and my hoarse voice on Sunday morning confirmed that we'd talked quite a bit! The couple will be flying off to Las Vegas later on, and then meeting up with their two daughters, Abby and Sara. While visiting everyone here was great for them, I'm pretty sure the warmer temperatures of LV will be welcomed and much closer to what they've gotten accustomed to these days.

THIS SATURDAY--We are so pleased to hear that our former resident and WA-KI-HI graduate, Laurie Miller will sing at the Christmas Tree Lighting this Saturday, Nov. 27! We hope you will all show up in front of the Cathlamet courthouse by 4:30 when all the festivities begin, as carols will be sung and Santa will be around and local shops will be open late to help kick off the holiday season, so you don't want to miss it!

FOS--Just another quick reminder that the "Deck the Hall" event at Redmen Hall starts on Friday, Nov. 26 and will continue through Dec.12 so stop by and check out all of the specialty items there. They will be open from 10 to 4, Fridays through Sundays. The Friends of Skamokawa would also welcome new members and donations, so if interested, stop by or call 360-795-3007.

ANNUAL GLASS SALE--Also coming up this Friday and Saturday is glass blowing artist, Kyle Gribskov's annual 20 percent off sale of his beautiful glass works. If you're new here and haven't seen his work before, you'll want to be sure and come to 123 Middle Valley Road in Skamokawa and check out all his wonderful creations. These items are truly a gift anyone would love to receive so come down between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on either Nov. 26 or 27 and find your special hand-blown item by this fabulous artisan that we are so blessed to have living in our area! More info? Call 360-795-8419.

SMILEMOBILE--If you are uninsured or have the Apple Dental plan and need to see a dentist, you're in luck as from Nov. 30-Dec. 3, the SmileMobile will be in Cathlamet. They will be set up at the Johnson House which is located at 80 Division Street, (behind town between the museum and Butler Street) but due to current protocols, you really need to call for an appointment, so please give them a call at 888-286-9105 right away and get that set up, as well as getting all the questions you have answered.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR--On Dec. 4, next Saturday, you won't want to miss the annual Christmas Bazaar located at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds in Skamokawa, as there is always a wide array of items to purchase from various vendors. This will take place from 10 to 3 and if you'd like to participate by renting a table for just $10, you need to call the fairgrounds at 360-795-3480 ASAP. Also coming up at the fairgrounds will be their monthly flea market on Dec. 11 and the Christmas lighting there, as that's been a big hit since it got started, so watch for those hours coming up in a couple of weeks.

CHRISTMAS PARADE & MARKET--The following Saturday, Dec. 11 is the next super fun event at the Elochoman Slough Marina, with a lighted parade, a holiday artisan market, a beer garden, food vendors and a trunk sale. This event is being presented to you by the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce and if you'd like to take part in the parade, & to sign up, you can contact Paige Lake at: paigelake101@gmail.com. There is a $5 entry fee or you can bring a donation to the food bank. Your entries need to be in by Dec. 6, so don't delay. You will then get all your instructions and a map of the route. The parade will begin at 5 p.m. sharp, so be sure to have your entry all set up and down at the marina by 4:30! Main Street and other side roads will be closed during this time, so be sure to remember to be wherever you need to be ahead of time so you don't get stuck somewhere you don't want to be.

If you'd like to sign up as a vendor, contact Carisma at: carisma@rivermile38.com. Tell all your friends and family to come down to the "Wahkiakum Lighted Christmas Parade and Holiday Market" and do some local shopping while you're there!

LIKE LEATHER?--One of our local gals makes handcrafted leather goods, and I'm not sure too many of you have heard of her, so I'd like to mention Kylie Thacker and her business called "Truant Co." She is truly a talented leather-smith and makes some beautiful leather bags, large and small and her handstitched wallets look awesome as well. So, if you happen to want a custom leather bag made, why not check out Kylie's website at http://www.truantco.com/ or her Facebook page and if you'd like to give her a call to see what she has available or order something, her number is 360-430-6688 or email her at hellotruant@gmail.com. Here's one more chance for you to shop local.

SYMPATHIES--We were sorry to hear of the passing of Jacquey Ostervold earlier this month, as she was certainly a wonderful woman and always seemed to have a ready smile for those she met. I want to express my sincerest condolences to her family on their loss. A spring time memorial is being planned.

COUNTING DOWN--We've got just a month before we'll be ushering in Christmas and as usual, it seems like it comes way too quickly after Thanksgiving! I know many put up their Christmas decorations already, as it's a lot of work, but I have been adamant about holding off until after Thanksgiving. Needless to say, with the nine million things that need to be done in the coming days, I totally understand why people set things up early, and I hope I don't regret not starting earlier but at this point, what gets up, gets up and what doesn't, well, that's just the way it goes I guess!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1941, it was cold and rainy and stormy, which took down power and telephone lines around the area. Luckily, on Nov. 29, while still rainy, it was not too terrible and Grace Pedersen married Delbert Moore over on Puget Island at the little Lutheran Church on Welcome Slough, which was the same church her brother, Krist got married in six years earlier. Marian Everest Healy served coffee at the reception later on.

The world was in "a mess" with war raging in North Africa and U.S. troops being sent to Dutch Guiana and talks going on in Berlin and earthquakes happening in Lisbon, along with a bunch of other unhappy events taking place.

This week back in 1951, the week started out dark and nasty, before turning beautiful, but that was short lived and it turned totally miserable after just one nice day. Headlines in the papers were reading "Gale, High Tides, Pelt the Northwest, Damage Coast," so that sounds fairly familiar! Locally the power went out after a batch of thunder and lightning rolled through the county while wind and pouring rain made traveling uneasy. It was on that really bad day that Reta Rose Lundburg had a baby girl so she definitely made a stormy arrival! The next day was none too nice either and on that day, the Myletts welcomed a baby boy to their family.

After the Krist Pedersen's Buick met with the Puget Island bridge a couple weeks earlier, it was time to welcome a new Mercury to the fold, which the couple took to Yakima that week. They had a good trip over to Yakima but skipped a scheduled trip up to Seattle due to the weather.

A newspaper photo showed the wreckage of a B-29 that crashed in Denver along with a survivor, Sgt. William Zippel and his very happy wife, Iva. This young man happened to be the son of the Ralph Everests' good friends, Will and Ethel Zippel so they were all happy to hear of his surviving this horrendous crash.

All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!