Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Darrell bids farewell My health issues are preventing me from doing the job you [The Eagle] engaged me to do. I have wanted to stop writing for a couple of months, but thought these issues would pass, and they haven't. I'm sorry for such a short notice, but it has become too difficult for me to continue. I thank you, Rick Nelson, for the opportunity you gave me. Good luck in the future with The Eagle. Darrell Alexander We at The Eagle are sorry to see Darrell end his tenure as our Westend/Naselle correspondent. He has produced some fine...
Rain and Boredom Wahkiakum County is one of the rainiest places in the nation with an annual accumulation of over 94 inches compared with the national average of 38 inches of rain annually. There are on average 126 sunny days per year in Wahkiakum County. With that in mind the question I have been periodically asked by newcomers is what one can do when it is raining all the time. For many of the area farmers nothing really changes except everything including the cows get wet. The local businesses that are open get busy, yet some who are older...
Grays River Floods Again The year 2021 began with the overflowing of the Grays River watershed. This is not an unusual event, but it does inconvenience many of the farmers who live in the Westend who have to take their cattle to higher ground. Fortunately many of the farmers here have their barns secure from flooding so their cows are safe. The barn in the photo shows the extent of the flooding in the valley next to the Rosburg Store. It looks like a big lake showed up. Within the next few days...
Westend Caroling Christmas traditions vary from place to place, so it didn't seem unusual to not have few or any trick-or-treaters on Halloween or to experience Christmas traditions in the remote area of the Westend. The covid-19 pandemic has had many in fear that a few in high places had the audacity to suggest that Christmas be cancelled. Of course, that never happened and we have had the opportunity to continue with our constitutional right to celebrate. There are so many Christmas...
Tourist Attractions for the Locals This may seem a bit redundant for some; however, in defense of the readers who have been bombarding me with questions about the area and what to look for as a learning experience as well as an educational one. This is also in response to the many new arrivals to the community (less than 10 years) who have also inquired as to the historical significance of many of the old buildings. This is a brief summarization of just three of what I consider the most...
Enjoying Hunting and Fishing As a boy growing up in the Pacific Northwest, it was expected that I would hunt and fish like my father. In 1963 at the age of 12 I took a hunter safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in order to obtain a hunting license. From that day on until I was drafted into the army in 1969 I went hunting or fishing with my dad and friends. Something changed in me after returning from the army that the desire to hunt was no longer an interest to me...
Churches in the Westend As the covid-9 fiasco and the governor’s edict closed many businesses throughout the county, churches have been affected as well, with many churches closed altogether or they have their services online. Many residents of the community have addressed some of their concerns to me as to their right to worship God under the 1st amendment of the United States Constitution in spite of the pandemic. Below is a list of some of the churches that have their services online for those who want to have a way to worship: · Naselle As...
4 Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative Community Survey Wahkiakum Health and Human Services, in collaboration with Wahkiakum Community Network is asking county residents (adults 18 and older) to provide important feedback on views of youth substance abuse in the community and overall health related concerns for all ages. Your opinion matters and the information collected will be used to help improve services in Wahkiakum County. You can use the QR code, web link, or fill out a paper survey. This survey is voluntary, and you can fill...
SR 4 Finally Open Back on January 23rd of 2020, most area residents remember when a good sized portion of a hillside slid, carrying rocks, mud and trees had fallen onto the roadway at mile point 25.5 on the KM Mountain. The hillside is now not actively moving and has been stabilized. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has already built a rock buttress at the bottom of the slide. To get an idea of how bad this landslide was watch the drone video of the slide: https://youtu.be/D3r11Mk-C3w. During the closure traffic had to use...
Why Do People Eat Meatloaf? I was first introduced to meatloaf growing up as a child in the 1950s by my German mother who told me it was a common dish among German people. As I grew older I realized that there were countless recipes not unlike the jambalaya recipes from southern Louisiana; too many differences to count. I wasn’t intrigued until many decades later when I realized that most restaurants didn’t have meatloaf on the menu except on certain occasions and that depended on the locality or from a southern style buffet. After having tra...
The Evergreen State Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889. A pioneer Seattle historian and realtor by the name of C. T. Conover gave the nickname "The Evergreen State" because of the abundant forests. Although the signs entering the state have "The Evergreen State" on them, it has never been officially adopted by the state legislature. It is true that most of the trees are green; however, there are many that lose their leaves seasonally. I had planted trees i...
What Time Is It? Twice a year the time changes have caused those who forget to set their clocks to be either early or late. Daylight saving time (DST) in the United States is the practice of advancing clocks during autumn so that darkness falls later each day according to the clock. The usual application of DST is to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring and set clocks back by one hour in autumn to return to standard time. As a result, there is one 23-hour day in late winter or early spring and one 25-hour day in the autumn. George...
Unprecedented Social Phenomena We live in an era unlike any other that we know of. Each generation in this community has had to face things in their lives that the previous generation didn’t. A few examples would be the Azusa Revival in Los Angeles in the beginning of the 20th century, The Great Depression of the late 20s and early 30s, the hippie movement of the late 60s and early 70s, the disco era of the 70s. All of these are considered a type of social phenomena. All of these had their peak then crashed and disappeared into history. O...
Changes in the Westend: Only Time Will Tell It took over a thousand years of migration from western Asia to Egypt by the Hyksos (Shepherd Kings) to become the ruling majority and establish the 15th dynasty in Egypt from 1650-1550 BCE. This slow, progressive change would not even be noticed over time. Many of the Native American languages of the United States have all but disappeared with English becoming the dominant language. Much could be said of Wahkiakum and Pacific Counties. Finnish immigration was at its zenith during the years 1870-1930...
Rights of a Photographer We live in a society today where there are cameras everywhere. Cameras are so prolific that we take them for granted. While teaching a political science class at a mid-west college I gave an assignment to the class that was a real wake up call for the majority of these undergrad students. The assignment was to look for all cameras that are in plain sight from when they leave the classroom until they returned home. They were astounded to learn that they were on surveillance cameras for almost the entire time. Why then...
Westend News Just another reminder that although there are no longer senior lunches at the Rosburg Hall, the Lower Columbia Community Action Program, better known as CAP, has begun delivering take out lunches to Rosburg Hall for pickup on Thursdays between noon and about 12:15 p.m. If you have participated in the CAP luncheons in the past there is nothing you need to do but call Diane Hollenbeck at 360-465-2991 to place a lunch request. Anyone new to the program will need to fill out a short form for CAP. October’s menu will consist of the f...
The First Day of School It's so wonderful to see that our community's children are able to go back to school in spite of the covid-19 outbreak. I was pondering the different responses many of the teenagers had when informed that they would not be able to go to the prom or to attend their own graduation ceremony. Some have suggested that they will not know the difference. These teenagers have seen others have this experience and they do know the difference. These young men and women are our...
We are going to be okay During World War II in the Nazi occupied Netherlands, many of the populace were starving. One man whose family was going hungry decided to try to sell one of his family’s heirlooms, his grandfather’s gold pocket watch. He rode his bicycle out of the city far into the country until he located a farm. He walked upon the porch and knocked on the door. He was greeted by an old man who could barely walk let alone work the farm. He explained how his family was going hungry and that he was willing to exchange his gra...
Fishing in Southwestern Washington This past month I have witnessed a prolific amount of people along the Columbia River fishing. This is not an unusual event as it is not only the commercial fishermen trying to make a decent wage, but also the average Joe with his family or friends enjoying a weekend on the water. In all the years I have lived here I have never witnessed the amount of boats on the water near the Astoria-Megler Bridge and numerous people fishing from the banks of the river. I personally think it is because the lifted...
Naselle-Grays River School District classes will resume the week of Sept. 14 Following is an outline of the district's plan to educate students during the covid-19 pandemic. Superintendent of schools Lisa Nelson specified that there will not be any mandatory screening for covid-19 as a prerequisite for attending school. Those that do attend school must have all their vaccinations as required by the State of Washington. The district has decided to delay the start of school for students until Sept. 14 to better prepare their staff and families...
What is happening with the SR4 Slide? Celeste Dimichina, the communications consultant for The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), has informed me of an update on the State Route 4 Emergency Stabilization Project. As of Aug. 20, this project was awarded to Granite Construction Company. Typically, once a project has been awarded, it can take up to 45 days before construction can begin. This would mean construction on this project will begin sometime between late September and...
Appelo Archives Center Hires New Director The Appelo Archives Center is located at 1056 State Route 4 in Naselle. It has a new director named Annika Kay. She was born in Anaheim, Calif., and raised in Orange County. She received her bachelor of arts degree from California State University at Fullerton and her master's degree in Fine Arts from the California Institute of Arts. She believes that working for the Appelo Archives Center fits her life style because of the creative and intellectual...
Give Me Your Input I have often been approached by readers of The Wahkiakum County Eagle who have ideas for stories, some of which in no way, shape, or form can I print. I do not usually have trouble getting the stories of interest to the readers of The Eagle. My goal has been to bring the readers stories of public interest that are of a historical nature of the area where we reside. I also like to bring stories that are either educational or entertaining. My goal is to become the historical authority on the history of the area. I understand...
Where It All Goes Years ago I decided that I could save money by taking my trash to the KM Transfer Station. I saw all the recycle for glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. Although I was familiar with recycling, I wondered where all the rest of the trash went to. As a boy I was able to go to landfills and I was amazed at the tons of refuse that people throw away. What amazed me more was that there were people at the dump who picked through the trash looking for some kind of treasure to them. There is a saying that one man’s trash is another m...
An Acquired Taste Over the decades I have had the opportunity to taste authentic cuisines from all over the world. One thing I have found in almost every culture is that they all use some form of grain and make that into bread, tortilla, or any other type conveyance to place other vegetables and/or meats between them. In the United States we call it a sandwich. It is an incredible fact that Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches a day. Americans consume almost as many sandwiches as there are people in the nation. The sandwich might be c...
