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

NICE BEGINNING--We wound up with a real nice weekend and as this week begins, we’re off to another nice, dry, warm day and I do hope you’re all taking advantage of this wonderful stretch of “finally Summer” weather! It’s too bad we all have nine million things to do after such a long, dreary wet Spring, and so trying to pick what to do first in our long list of chores is fairly daunting, but here’s hoping you just took a giant leap and dove into that list head first.

If we do get a lengthy spell of dry weather, just remember that we can dry out in a hurry so we all need to be very careful with any fires we may have. The last thing we need is a forest fire or a house fire because we didn’t dispose of hot coals properly or let sparks fly into our neighbor's dry hay fields. Here’s to everyone being super savvy when it comes to fire safety!

BED WEEKEND--The festivities for the 41st Annual Bald Eagle Days will start this Friday, July 15, with the Chalk Art Contest on the sidewalk near the Museum from Noon until 3 p.m., and then there will be the Farmer’s Market at the Marina from 3 until 6 p.m. Then there will be the Art In the Park event on both Friday and Saturday in Strong Park, located by the Museum from 11 to 5, so we hope you’ll get to enjoy all of those events. Also on Friday, the Tsuga Gallery on Main Street will celebrate their 11th anniversary, so be sure to stop by there and enjoy their Freaky Friday specials and help celebrate their anniversary. If you time it right, you might even get a slice of pizza or a cookie!

On Saturday, the day starts off with the Terry Bonny Walk/Run events, so good luck to all of you taking part in that. Don’t forget, we’re all going to find the Main Street of Cathlamet closed off in the morning so vendors can set up, so be sure to make your travel plans accordingly, as you’ll be rerouted behind town and around all the vendors that will be lining the street for your shopping pleasure. The Vendor Fair will be going full bore uptown from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the advertisers and there will also be a Vendor Fair at the Marina from 5 to 10 p.m., so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do some early Christmas shopping! The Parade will take place at noon and there will be a big Fireman’s Waterball Fight at 2 p.m., near the Bank of the Pacific, so be sure to cheer on your favorite group of firefighters! There’ll be music going on and a Kids’ Zone down by the museum and of course, the grand finale at 10 p.m., when the fireworks show starts at the Marina, so here’s hoping you all have a grand day at our “Bald is Beautiful” Bald Eagle Day Festivities this weekend. Have fun, everybody!

NORSE HALL BINGO--I hope you stop by the Sons of Norway booth on Main Street and pick up some Norwegian goodies that they will sell during the day. However, don’t forget, they’d love to have you head over to the Norse Hall for some great bingo games on Saturday evening as well and if they happen to have any leftovers, they might just have those available too--maybe!

BLOOD MOBILE--Speaking of the Norse Hall, the Blood Mobile folks would like me to remind you that they will be setting up at the Norse Hall next month, August 29 and then again on October 24 and they sure would like to see more folks come over and donate blood. I know this is a ways off, but I thought I’d toss it out there and hopefully you’ll put that on your calendar now and will be able to stop by there when the dates arrive. I’ll be sure to give you the hours when I find out what they are.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 14-20 are Jamie Kincaid, Marietta Montgomery, Jerry Ledtke, Luke Schmitz, Rick Benfit, Bev Moonen, Keri Moonen, Mary Schroder, Janelle Seaberg, Brysen Coleman, Denise Parker, Pam Elliott, Mike Clark, Rocky Rose, Cameron Havens, Ella Doiron, Kelsea Blix, Don Wright, Tracy Elliott, Delores Hanes, Barbara Brewster, Liz Brown, Lonney Kubacki, Kalei Meyers, Jensen Finkas, Nicholas Rodriquez, Kyle Sechler and 67er Sharon McKie. Happy Birthday, folks!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mike and Julie Iverson, John and Mary Gustafson, Mr. and Mrs. Rocky Rose and Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Prestegard. Enjoy those special days, everybody!

FOS--Have you been up to the historic Central School/Redmen Hall building here in Skamokawa yet? It’s really a wonderful building that was lovingly restored by a group of very ambitious and like-minded folks who just couldn’t sit back and let this historic building fall into total ruin, so they came together back in the 80s and saved it. It was quite a feat! The group called themselves the “Friends of Skamokawa” and they have been working diligently ever since then to maintain and preserve this eye-catching building on the corner of SR 4 and East Valley Road. They are usually open Thursday through Sunday, but you can call 360-795-3007 for more details.

There is a new display on the second floor of the hall, which is where the River Life Interpretive Center is located and it is called the “Grand Ole Flag” Patriotic Exhibit and it’s really very informative and interesting. I think it’s made even more interesting due to the fact that there are several of our “locals” on display there as well. One of those was Kent Martin, who served in the US Navy and was trained as a torpedo man and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI. Another Navy “boy” was Dennis Reid who served on the USS Topeka as a radioman. A couple of guys who served in the Army that you will surely recognize are Ben Peterson who served in World War II. Ben Peterson, when I knew him, lived on Puget Island as did Johnnie Ray Anderson, who was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany during his time in the military and was a neighbor of mine on South Welcome Slough. If you get a chance, I hope you are able to check out their photos and remember the sacrifices they all made while they were serving in our military forces.

KAYAKING--In case you’re new to the area and you haven’t heard about the kayaking outfit located down here in Skamokawa, I just want to let you know that they are indeed here at 957 Steamboat Slough Road, Suite #1 located on the left side of the building, and are called, “Columbia River Kayaking.” You can check them out on Facebook or on their webpage, but just know that they have a brand new logo and some great new merchandise. They’d love to see you at their store. They are open Thursdays from 2 to 4 and then Friday through Sunday from 12 to 4. Call 360-747-1044 for more info or to make reservations, etc.

FAIR IS COMING--We’ve got just a little over a month before the 114th Wahkiakum County Fair takes place, Aug. 18-20 so it’s time to get those things together and get them entered. Don’t forget, the them this year is “Tractor Wheels and Cowboy Heels” and that’s a great theme and should lend itself well for those who are entering photos in the photography section, or card making section, etc. The fair books are out now, so check your local businesses and pick one up or stop by The Eagle office and get one and start planning on what you’ll be entering this year!

REUNIONS--To all of you who are having WHS class reunions this coming weekend, I hope you have spread the word and that you get a real good turnout for your special gathering; after all, we’re not getting any younger and so it’s great to get together while we are still kickin’; like the Mules we are! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!