Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The Washington State Department of Agriculture grant papers for our new bleachers have been signed by all the appropriate people and Mr. Chuck Beyer told me I can order the bleachers! After an email to the company representative I think I may wait a few months before I place that order. The order will take only four weeks to be completed and this time of year it is still too wet to get the area prepared where these bleachers will be set up. Once in place, they will be there permanently because they weigh a lot even though they are aluminum. My...
It’s cold and snowing, yet wintertime projects at the fairgrounds continue to be planned and completed. One of our continuing projects has been to try to make all of our buildings wheelchair accessible. Last summer we built a goat, sheep and pig barn complete with animal pens, built out of the materials we had available. We built the barn on a concrete slab that was designed for a former building. The concrete slab had some dirt areas where we needed to have an aisle, these dirt areas made maneuvering through the barn difficult. T...
This week I will fill out the paperwork to apply for state funding for the Wahkiakum County Fair. Let’s all send positive thoughts towards Olympia as Washington State budgets are getting close to being finalized. County fair funding may or may not be included in the state budget. Letters asking for fair funding support have been sent to Senator Brian Hatfield, and Representatives Brian Blake and Dean Takko. I have done my best to make each of them understand that the Wahkiakum County Fair is very important to our community. I hope you will a...
The Wahkiakum County Fair is supported and maintained each year by Fair Board fund raising events, State Fair funding, the Wahkiakum County commissioners, camping fees from our park, private Fairgrounds event rentals, rummage sales, Horse Game Shows, Fair time vendor fees, raffles, gate admissions and very appreciated donations. The Wahkiakum County Fair received some very generous donations from local people and businesses this week. Thank you to Cathlamet Realty West, Jason Delamater, and The Campbell Group, LLC. Your donations will be put...
This year has been a very busy year with a long list of projects completed by a wonderful crew of volunteers and employees! I look forward to the new projects planned for completion in 2012 and wish everyone in our community a “Happy New Year!” If you would like to help plan the 2012 Fair, now is a good time to become a Fair Board member, pick up an application at the Wahkiakum County Commissioners office. You can also go online to www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us then go to the bottom of the first page and under the heading County Advisories you wil...
Merry Christmas to the Wahkiakum County Fair! This is what I was thinking after opening a letter from the State of Washington, Department of Agriculture. Last October I applied for a grant from the Department of Agriculture to replace two of our old wooden bleachers. The new bleachers that I asked funding for are aluminum, seat 91 people each, they have an aisle in the middle with a hand rail for easy access to the seats and are enclosed on the back and sides with a chain link guardrail. Knowing we would be facing a limited 2012 budget, I...
The lights at the fairgrounds are beautiful, the free holiday dinner was delicious and the people attending were wonderful to visit with. Last weekend's Skamokawa Grange and Fire Department dinner was a sparkling success, hope you attended! Fund raising plans for 2012 are already starting to take shape. On February 11 we will serve our “Valentine Diamond Dinner” at the Skamokawa Grange Hall. We are still in the process of lining up the entertainment for this special evening. If you have attended our dinner, you know we will find some great ent...
It was a fun 4-H Jamboree Event that Deb Gribskov and Shawn Deal organized last Saturday at the Wahkiakum High School. The Jamboree was attended by 4-H’ers of all ages and they made decorated cookies, delicious fudge, berry jams and created a multitude of crafts items. The kids completed all the projects by themselves with a little guidance and a tiny bit of help from the 4-H leaders and parent volunteers that attended. Even the littlest kids mashed berries, added pectin and sugar to make berry jam. These little ones worked with their p...
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner! I was very thankful that the high tides, big gusts of wind and inches of rain predicted did not cause flooding at the Fairgrounds. Earlier in the week I had asked some local volunteers, Bill Chamberlain, Ed Stevens and Jerry Ledtke, to watch for any approaching flood water problems as this storm moved through our County. We have one tractor we use throughout the winter that they would move to higher ground if flood waters started threatening to go over the dike surrounding the Fairgrounds. Why...
The Wahkiakum County Fair Board would like to say thank you to the many bingo players that attended Turkey Bingo last Friday night. Every game of bingo played was suspenseful and exciting. The winning card holder would receive a turkey or a ham for their bingo. Sometimes there would be two bingos at the same time. Mike Backman, our number caller, would have to do a bingo run off to determine the winner. Now that’s intense bingo! I suspect there will be some delicious Thanksgiving dinners in Wahkiakum County cooked this week by many of our lucky...
Attention all bingo players! Tomorrow night, (Friday) at 6 p.m., the Wahkiakum County Fair Board’s Turkey Bingo, at the J. A. Wendt multi-purpose room will begin! There will be two fund raising raffle drawings at the event. One raffle drawing is for multiple prizes, many are useful items but we also include some funny items in this drawing . The grand prize raffle is for a 42 inch flat screen color TV. Raffle tickets are only $1 each for both drawings. Bingo cards are three for $10, bring a can of food to donate to the food bank and we will g...
Attention all Bingo players! On November 18, at 6 p.m., the Wahkiakum County Fair Board's Turkey bingo held at the J. A. Wendt multi-purpose room will begin! There will be two fund raising raffle drawings at the event. One raffle drawing is for multiple prizes, many are useful items but we also include some funny items in this drawing. The grand prize raffle is for a 42 inch flat screen color TV. Raffle tickets are only $1 each for both drawings. Bingo cards are three for $10. If you bring a can of food to donate to the food bank you will...
I received some amazing information last week from Kayrene Gilbertsen. The Wahkiakum County Fair owns a double-ended Columbia River gillnet boat! The boat was built between 1913 and 1916. It has been stored for over 30 years in the Vista Park Port Shop in Skamokawa. Since we now have a gillnet boat, I spent some time reading up on these sturdy fishing boats. The double-ended gillnet boats were designed for fishing in rough water. We all know how quickly the Columbia River can become a white cap terror if you are in a small boat and the tide...
It’s been a cold and wet October at the Fairgrounds. This type of weather doesn’t bother Search and Rescue (SAR) members or their special dogs. The SAR met at the Fairgrounds last Sunday and held their dog training exercises. I was asked to be a track layer. This was something I didn’t know anything about, so was given instructions by Diane Morrow, the trainer for the six dogs in the SAR program. I was given a walkie talkie, a flag, some pink tape and four objects to hold so my scent was on them. Then I was shown where to start my track layin...
Did you cash your fair check yet? Don’t forget! Fair checks have to be cashed before the end of October. I will keep reminding you each week! If you haven’t received your check yet, give me a call. Want to help sponsor next years fair? Donate your fair premium check back to the Fair. Send your check to: Wahkiakum County Fair, P.O. Box 1, Skamokawa, WA 98647. Thank you, Frans Eykel for donating your fair premium check back to the fair! This week volunteer Ed Stevens and I worked on the area in the arena where people gather to watch events. All...
We are starting our Fairgrounds winterization projects! A huge thanks to Ed Stevens, Mark Crary, Barbara Clark and Georgie Billings for moving our big freezers, refrigerators, ice machine, ice cream freezer and stoves out of the food booth and onto the entertainment stage. Our new stage built by Contractor Mark Crary can hold the weight of these appliances because Mark used 2” by 10” floor joists to support the floor. We will hope for a dry winter but we are getting prepared for a wet one. The stage will be the new high and dry home for our...
If you grew up in Wahkiakum County you already know there are lots of elk and deer that live in the mountains and valleys that surround Skamokawa. Hunters, if you need a place to camp, our park is 20 minutes away from South Fork Ridge, where you will probably be hunting. We have camp sites available at the Fairgrounds Park with rest room facilities and a shower. Your camping fees will be used to operate and fund the 2012 Wahkiakum County Fair. Give me a call if you need a campsite. Did you cash your fair check yet? Don’t forget! Fair checks h...
A fund raising event to benefit our local 4-H Clubs is happening this weekend! It’s called Columbia River Country Days and is presented by Friends of Extension and Wahkiakum County 4-H. This is the famous dinner that is set up inside the Grays River Covered Bridge. How unique is that? Be sure to get your ticket at the Bank of the Pacific or the WSU Extension Office for this special dinner before they sell out. Share a delicious dinner with friends and you will also be supporting the 4-H Clubs in our area too! Did you cash your fair check y...
Fair premium checks are done! They are in the mail and you should receive yours in the next couple of days. Take a look at the amount of premium money you received this year. Next year, try to bring five more exhibits to show at the fair. There will be more exhibits at our fair to look at and even more premium dollars sent your way. A county fair wouldn't be very interesting if we didn't have all the animals, grown items and handmade crafts you bring in to exhibit. Thank you for helping make our fair a success again! If you purchased a horse...
As Fair Manager I have the honor of giving out a Manager's Award. This year I gave the award to two volunteer superintendents who spent many weeks building, cleaning, painting, decorating and preparing paperwork before our Fair started. These two volunteers worked many long days and through it all smiled and enjoyed every minute! They made their Rabbit, Cavy and Poultry building a special place for exhibitors to bring and show their animals. The 2011 Manager's Award was given to Deb Gribskov and Shawn Deal. Congratulations and thank you for...
The greatest news this week has to be about Mike and Carrie Backman. Two very nice people in our community met, fell in love and were married last Saturday. They held their reception in the Fairgrounds Park and invited all family and friends to attend. Congratulations Carrie and Mike! The Fairgrounds Park is a great place to have special events like weddings, receptions, private parties and family reunions. It’s private and big enough for a huge crowd. If you are interested in reserving a week-end or a day, give me a call. How many people a...
I hope that everyone had a chance to stop by and enjoy the 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair. We had a great line-up of music entertainment for each day plus magicians, reptile shows, line dancers and fencing demonstrations. There were a lot of animal and still life exhibits to look at, animal shows to attend and the weather was perfect. It was a wonderful Fair! As Fair Manager, of course I had a few “oh no, what do I do now?” times, one being the spelling bee. The person who was to conduct the spelling bee was told the wrong day. It was time for the...
At 10 a.m., this morning, the gates were opened and our 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair festivities and livestock shows began! The Fairgrounds is filled with still life exhibits, 4-Her’s showing their animals, food vendors, game vendors, business vendors and vendors selling fun , good quality products. I hope you saved the flyer that I sent out with The Eagle newspaper last week, it will help you know when the entertainment you would like to watch is happening. We have a pretty busy schedule of entertainment already, but I was able to add another g...
We are going into high gear this week as a lot of event details are finalized. Buildings will be cleaned and decorated as we get ready for the thousands of entries that we hope to receive from the community. This community of family and friends make our fair the special meeting place it is each year. I encourage everyone to bring their crafts, photos, flowers, baked goods, garden vegetables, canned goods, fresh berries, quilts, sewn items, oil paintings and exhibit them at the Fair. If you have a special talent, like knitting, basket weaving,...
The Vista Park 30 year celebration was a success! It was a beautiful hot day and lots of people attended. I sold firewood raffle tickets, gave out fair books, exhibitor tags and forms. Thank-you for purchasing fair passes and baked goods from Ashley Hedges and Akaysha Stonebreaker our 2011 Fair Princesses at the celebration. We have some great contests this year in the baking department. If you use Bob’s Red Mill Products, here’s your chance to win prize money and their products. Bring in your baking exhibit, a recipe card showing one of the...
