COLD BEGINNING--As this week began, we not only saw some extreme fogginess, but it was also below freezing, which meant the water buckets for the animals were covered in ice and it definitely meant being inside was much more pleasant. Once the fog let up, we did get to see some sunshine which was most welcome. According to the forecast, we are going to be back to rain by this weekend, so while I didn't care much for the freezing cold, I sure enjoyed the dry part that came with it. Let's hope the rainy stretch is a short one!

FINGERS CROSSED--For all you new folks, this coming month has traditionally been a very trying one when it comes to weather issues, so I wouldn't get too comfortable with any nice weather we may be having now and wind up getting caught off guard if things go sideways. As I look through my diaries, a pattern of snow, freezing temps, flooding and slides are extremely common in February, but I guess we can hope and pray that this year will be an exception as we've had plenty of all that nasty stuff already!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 27-Feb. 2 are Becky Thacker, Brandon McClain, Sam Tarabochia, Kyle Gribskov, Varsha Martin, Courtney Zurick, Nicole Emery, Susanna Cooper, Gary York, Kristie Andreas-Donias, Troy Gorley, Sean Masters, Emma R. Lindsey, Don Claussen, John Elfers Jr., Annette Elfers, Pam Moore, Maddux Moore, Mike Nollan, Nicholas Kubacki, Pamela Everest Priestly, Madilyn Freeman and my youngest grandson, Luke Sechler. Have a wonderful time celebrating those special birthdays, everybody!

CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION--The Puget Island Fire Hall on SR 409 will be the place to be this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. if you are in need of some warm, winter clothing. The Auxillary group has been collecting warm clothing for awhile now and according to Sherrill Bollen, they have lots of good quality items to give out and that includes items from toddlers to adults, so please spread the word to those you know who may be in need but don't get the paper, so they don't know about this wonderful opportunity to get a nice jacket, gloves or a warm scarf. If you have questions, contact Sherrill at 360-951-3985. Kudos to all of you who were kind enough to donate your extra warm clothing items for this "Gift of Warmth" clothing drive and also to those that set this all up; super nice!

FROG OVERLOAD--Speaking of the rain, did you happen to witness the massive frog migration during the recent rainy evenings along SR 4? The straight stretch along the game refuge between the west end of Risk Road and the bridge is a place where thousands of frogs try to get to the other side. As witnessed by the carnage left on the asphalt, a whole bunch of them didn't make it. This occurs in several places, but this particular area always seems to be the most impressive when it comes to the amount of frogs one sees at one time. The migration of frogs from one side to the other has always been one of those weird sights and I'm pretty sure anybody that is new to the area was a little bit freaked out by it, but it's an annual thing so we hope you didn't swerve around too much trying to avoid hitting them!

THIS SATURDAY--If you have tickets to the Crab and Oyster feed in Rosburg put on the by the American Legion Post 111, on Saturday, January 29, don't forget to pack those oyster shuckers and crab picks!

OUT SOON--The Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce has announced that their Events Calendar should be out soon, if not already. This will really give the community a great tool to see what events are coming in 2022, so I hope you'll get one so you don't miss out on all the great things happening around here. Not only are there the usual things, but I understand there will be some new things too. For example, there is going to be a Chamber Awards Dinner held on April 23, in which the Grand Marshal will be announced for this year's Bald Eagle Day. This dinner will be held at the Norse Hall. To find out more about this event, and others, as well as the calendar, contact the Chamber at 360-795-9996 or check out their web page: http://www.wahkiakum.us.

CHAMBER CRAB FEED--If you didn't get to attend the Crab and Oyster Feed in Rosburg, or you did but you just want some more of that delicious seafood, you can always buy a ticket for the upcoming feed on Puget Island put on by the Wah. Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 19. This is the 36th annual feed put on by the Chamber, and would be a great Valentine gift! Once again, this event will take place at the Columbia River Ranch located at 381 West Birnie Slough Road, with tickets costing $40 each. As always, there will be some great items being raffled off and of course, if you'd like to donate something for their raffle table, they would be more than happy to receive that donation. If you happen to have any of those standard tables that are usually used for these kinds of occasions, like about 5 - 6 feet long, they'd sure enjoy borrowing some. There are also three different seatings so hopefully one of those times will work out for you. Besides contacting the Chamber to buy tickets, you can also purchase them online at: http://www.wahkiakum.us/crab. According to their poster, this is an adults only event.

GET WELL--We were sorry to hear about Tom Webb's recent fall on the ice which resulted in some ankle surgery, so we certainly wish him a speedy recovery. When one is used to being on the go all the time, I'm sure that having to sit still for awhile may be a difficult thing to do, but we hope Tom has found a good book or is happily watching his favorite television shows. Take care, Tom!

Also, we want to let Keith Lawrence and his wife, Karen know that we are hoping they feel better soon, as they have definitely been under the weather. Miss "go-getter" Karen has had the worst of it lately and so with multiple issues, we are truly wishing that she sees some improvements to her health soon, but we've loved her ability to keep her sense of humor throughout her various health issues.

Janelle Gilligan shared some recent health issues lately and of course, we wish our former resident all the best as she grapples with the changes she'll be making in her life. We certainly hope that after a few changes, that she feels better real soon.

REDMEN HALL--Just in case you were wondering, the Friends of Skamokawa will reopen their historic hall/Central School/River Life Interpretive Center on March 4, which is a Friday, so they hope you can come by. However, thanks to their website, you can always purchase items online, as they have a nice Gift and Book shop and with items made by local artisans and books written by local authors, it's really a great place to shop here in Skamokawa.

HUGE SURPRISE--When two little girls came downstairs for breakfast the other morning, they were met with some backpacks and suitcases piled up in the living room. Then their Dad told them they'd better get dressed as they were heading to Disney World in Florida! Then there were squeals of delight and the big question, "When?" To which, Adam and Samantha Pedersen replied, "Right now!" Naturally, the two little gals flew up the stairs and the four were out the door in no time. Needless to say, this won the "best surprise ever" award according to those two very happy little girls, who happen to be the granddaughters of my nephew, Mark Pedersen.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1942, the last few days of January were rainy and cold and on the very last day, it was windy as well. Elsie Everest returned to work that week after being out sick for several days. Thankfully her son-in-law was around that evening so he could take her down to work the late shift rather than walking down the hill in the dark. On the last day of the month, the Everests were able to buy the first of the sugar rations: the cost was 7 1/2 cents per pound and they were allowed two pounds. Krist Pedersen spent the last day of January in Kelso where he would be fishing for smelt.

February began on a great note, as it was warm like springtime although not all that sunny, but beat the cold rain they'd had for the several days prior to that. That first evening saw Ralph and Elsie Everest and many others headed to the show, where "Smiling Through" was playing. They thought it was good. The following day was just as nice and made walking to work for the early shift a real treat. However, the joy of that morning disipated by late afternoon when a storm rolled in. Fortunately, Mrs. Goodman was able to give Elsie and her grandkids, Frankie and Donna, a ride home.

This week back in 1952, the end of January was a mix of nice, sunny weather one day and then pouring rain and very stormy the last two days. Dick Day and his brother stopped by the telephone office on that one nice day as they headed home from the beach and said it was like summer down there. Featured that week in the paper were the Dionne quintuplets, as they were attending a celebration in their honor in St. Paul, Minnesota. They were the first surviving identical quintuplets and were born in the village of Corbeil just outside Callander, Ontario on May 28, 1934.

February began with a lovely warm day and it was just the perfect day for the Walker Drylands to welcome a daughter into this world. They named her Carol Nadine, who was their fourth child. On Feb. 2 there was a carnival being held at the school so beings Gene Healy wanted to go to that, he spent the night at his Grandma Elsie's, as did his other grandma, Gertrude Healy. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.