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

CLOUDY START--As I begin this column, it's pretty cloudy with just a smattering of raindrops, but it appears we'll be seeing some more "real rain" a little later on, so I hope you've kept the boots and umbrellas by the door! For now, the snowflake that had appeared in the forecast on my weather app has disappeared and I sure hope it stays gone. Considering there is a blizzard going on back east with tens of thousands without power and feet of snow on the ground, I'm quite happy to put up with the rain! Let's just hope February is nicer to us than January was.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from February 3-9 are Bailey McKinley, KC Garrison, Alyssa Montgomery, Bob Montgomery, Ed Stornetta, Grant Johnson, Kathy Tarabochia, Terry Ostling, Bret Hart, Ann Pedersen, Tyler Havens, Alivia Lindsey, Daniel Rose, Blaine Cochran, Jessica Vik, Alecia Mosteller, Kennedy Ann Rusk, Annette Miller, Aunika Taylor, Troy Kyle, David Pedersen and Scott Pedersen.

Celebrating their anniversaries this coming week are Jason and Jami Rainey, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilson and Mr. and Mrs. Randy Montgomery. Enjoy your special days, everybody!

WARMTH THIS FRIDAY--The folks of this community were so generous in their giving of warm clothes to the Puget Island Fire Department Auxillary's clothing event that while they gave away a lot last last week, they still have plenty of warm clothes to give away this week. So, please spread the word to those who you think could benefit from some free warm clothing items, like coats, hats, gloves and scarves for young and old, men or women, boys or girls and head to the P.I. fire department located along SR 409 this Friday afternoon from 4 to 7 and pick up what you need. Because of this clothing drive, there's no reason to be cold this winter, so head that way if in need!

PLAY BINGO!--Head to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds this Saturday where the Youth Building will be nice and warm and welcoming for all of you enthusiastic bingo players! The doors open at 5 p.m. so you can enjoy a hot dog, Polish dog or some cheese nachos beforehand and check out the prizes, as well as buy a few raffle tickets. Hope to see you down here this Saturday, February 5 at 5 p.m!

CLAM SEASON--If you happened to have been out and about on Saturday evening, or you live along SR 4, you may have noticed a massive amount of traffic headed East that evening. From what I heard, that's because all the clam diggers were headed back home from their successful digs in the Long Beach area. It may have been that they got their limits, but they sure had a low speed limit when it came time to get through the main street down there, as I was told it took 30 minutes to go four miles! It appeared the clam diggers were out in full digger mode that day.

CELEBRATING 100--Speaking of Long Beach, did you know that the city is celebrating their 100th birthday this weekend? For all you new folks in the area, if you haven't been here long enough to witness one of their July 4th fireworks shows, then you could get a taste of that this Saturday evening at 7 p.m. when they light up the sky in celebration of their birthday in front of their famous boardwalk along the beach. At the moment, the forecast is for clear skies, so let's hope that holds and all those that opt to go down there wind up having a great time enjoying the colorful celebration.

BIG GAME COMING UP--If you like watching the Super Bowl and want to share a good time with your friends, then be sure to head to your local hang out and take in all the specials that they're bound to have. From food and drinks to drawings and prizes, it should be a fun time, so mark Feb. 13 on your calendar and enjoy the game and here's hoping you get to win one of those great prizes. Now we'll get to see which "beast" will win: the Bengals or the Rams. Sorry, Bengals, but I'll be rooting for the West coast team!

VALENTINE'S DAY--This special "heart day" is falling on a Monday this year, but your local Skamokawa restaurant will be open for limited hours from 4 to 8 p.m., in order for you to delight your sweetheart with a special dinner, but you will be required to make advance reservations. So, if you'd like either a special Sirloin Steak dinner or maybe a Chicken Cordon Bleu special complete with all the trimmings plus dessert, be sure to make your call today: 360-795-6055.

CRAB FEED--Just a quick reminder of the Crab and Oyster Feed held by the Wahkiakum County Chamber of Commerce, on February 19. This event will have three different seatings and will take place at the Columbia River Ranch on Puget Island. Don't forget to bring all your utensils for cracking that crab and shucking those oysters! For all the rest of the information and to purchase tickets, call 360-795-9996.

SYMPATHY--I heard from Amanda "Punky" Tover Chambers recently and she told me of the passing of her family member, Bernice Tover Ellison. I visited Bernice whenever I managed to make a trip to Seattle, but sadly, with Covid and all, I hadn't made it up there while she was still in her home, and the care facility where she had been living had been closed to visitors. Bernice was a lovely lady with many family connections here in our community, who slipped away peacefully in the night on January 13, just six days prior to her turning 96 years old. We offer all of her family and friends our sincerest sympathies. A graveside service will be held with a memorial gathering this summer in Seattle.

I also want to send my condolences to Ed Houston of Puget Island, as he has lost more than one family member in recent days and we certainly feel sorry for his loss, as well as the rest of his family members. Our thoughts are with you, Ed.

PIGYS--Because we've got people asking about it already, we would like to confirm that according to event co-ordinator, Sandie York, the Puget Island Garage and Yard Sale will take place this year. This event takes place on the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of June with hours being between 9 and 5. That would make the dates June 23, 25 and 26 this year. People have often had their main sales days on Friday and Saturday and then have a "half off" or even "free" sale on Sunday, but that's up to the individual. So, if you're thinking of doing some Spring Cleaning, that might be a way for you to make a few bucks while you clear your house of some extra things you don't need.

If you don't want to have your own sale but would like to clean house a little earlier, like in April, Sherrill Bollen of the PI Fire Dept. Aux. will be taking donations in late April so that they can take part in this big Puget Island sale as well. This not only gives you a place to take your good, reusable items but also gives them the opportunity to make a few extra bucks to operate with as they continue to do their good works for our community. Win, win!

So please spread the word and make this Puget Island garage and yard sale a successful event once again!

WALKERS/JOGGERS/BICYCLISTS--Help! I've lost a key! If you happen to be one of those folks who travels the highway between Skamokawa and Cathlamet while riding a bike or walking or jogging from here to there, or even around the Cathlamet area, and you happen to find a key with a mostly blue square, resin key chain that says "Bahamas" on it, please give me a jingle, as it happens to be mine. As stated in my paid ad elsewhere in this paper, there is a reward to be given to the finder of the lost key, so maybe by some stroke of luck, you might've found it and I'd love to have it back and will happily give you a reward for its return!

GRAYS RIVER'S UNIQUE FEATURE--Many folks and their knowledge of the past are no longer with us, so the new folks here may be unaware of the one of a kind construction event that took place 22 years ago in Grays River. It all started in December of 1999 when massive flooding hit our county and wiped out the Grays River water system, which was located in a different area than it is now. Obviously, flooding is nothing new but what happened next certainly was. For the first time in the entire nation, a water line was designed and placed up on telephone poles! This unique idea had never been accomplished before but in January of 2000, the folks in the tiny town of Grays River were able to turn on their faucets once again after they got this truly remarkable water delivery system! So, who was the guy who engineered this water line in the sky? He was Bill Chamberlain, my now retired hubby! After all these years, I thought those who live in the Grays River area might like to hear of what happened all those years ago, and how their little community had the distinction of being the recipient of this one of a kind construction project right in their very own back yard, designed by one of the "local" guys, who may not have had a fancy engineering degree but he sure had a whole lot of ingenuity! While it's no longer in use, it's still there as a reminder that it's the "hands on - think outside of the box" kind of guys who make the world go around.