Local organizations need new members

HOLDING ON--As this work weeks begins, it’s really nasty out there and depending on which weather guy is talking to you, we may be in for some really wild weather. I am writing this early just in case we wind up with no power to type or send things via the computer. The one big storm that is due has yet to arrive. I think we are all hoping it fizzles out and we don’t get the strong winds. We got some fairly strong winds Sunday night, and the coast saw up to 82 mph Monday.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from November 19-25 are Barry Brown, Jessica Wright, Dorothia Farmer, Matt Bennett, Mike Brown, Sheryl Parker, Dana Montgomery, Larry Holland and Hank Ferguson. Happy Anniversary wishes to the Jim Mendozas and the Carl Linquists. Here’s to terrific celebrations to all of you.

HELLO--I got a call from Robert Fritzie and it was good to hear his voice. He was enjoying my last letter and was looking for some more news. If you have a minute, why not drop him a line at: Vancouver Health and Rehab Center, 400 East 33rd Street #47, Vancouver, WA 98663. I know he’d love to hear from you! Keep on working hard Robert!

THE POWER OF ONE, OR TWO--It’s amazing what a person can do when they put their mind to it. Michelle Collupy did a fantastic job last week of meeting her neighbors in East Valley and gathering food for the food bank. She was truly overwhelmed by the giving spirit that her neighbors had and in return, she had her hubby, glass-blower Treasure Collupy, make Christmas ornaments for her entire list. Wow, what a treat that was for those who were totally unaware that they would be getting such a treasure, so to speak! Michelle had started her quest with a letter and a magnet to remind folks of her intended pick up date for the food and that in itself was a very unique idea. Then, when she came to collect the food items, she gave them a gift bag with a hand-blown ornament! The food bank was delighted to get the many items Michelle's neighbors donated and we congratulate them for making Michelle's quest a great success and to her for coming up with such a unique idea and we thank Treasure for his time and generosity on the special gift he provided! We are grateful to have this fine young couple in our area and we really enjoy the fact that they are so generous and giving.

COMING UP--We hope you’ve got your turkey picked out and you’ve got all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast. In the giving spirit of the Collupys above, why not give a few food items to the food bank of your choice and help spread a little Thanksgiving cheer around. The great thing about Thanksgiving is the “giving” part! Don’t forget the clothing bank. Some nice, good, clean, warm clothing is in demand this time of year.

WIN ONE--If you don’t have your turkey yet and you like to play bingo, maybe you’ll be one of the lucky winners of the “turkey bingo” planned for this Friday! This is an annual fundraiser put on by the Wahkiakum County Fair board and will take place at 6 p.m. at Julius Wendt Elementary school. There will also be a bake sale.

WINTER APPROACHING--With the approaching winter season, there will be a couple of “shut downs.” Redmen Hall always closes for the month of January, and the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum will be closed from January 1 until May 6 this year, a longer period than usual. Currently the museum is open from Thursday to Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. With a lot of new things added to the museum and more things listed in their computer base, they are really coming along with their goals. Most organizations find they always need funds to keep them afloat, so if you’d like to help them out, join the historical society. Or buy one of the engraved bricks that are being added to their walkway. They come in various sizes for $35, $50 or $100. On the Westend, call 465-2595 or 849-4193 on the east side for more information. If you have some time to spare, their board of directors could use more folks and you could fill a spot at their annual December 12 meeting. You could volunteer to help with their various projects, as the museum is one of our county treasures and it needs our help.

GRANGE--We are having more and more people interested in renting the grange hall and if you’d like to do so, please give Kitty Speranza or Jessica Fletcher a call. Their numbers are 795-0585 and 795-8770 repectively.

We are talking about showing movies very soon, so I’d like to hear your input: Friday or Saturday night? January or February or March? What kind of show would you like to see? All your suggestions will be taken into consideration.

Our next meeting will be Monday at 7 p.m. Come and join us and meet some of your friends and neighbors. We are looking for community minded people who are committed to keeping our grange doors open so we can provide a great place to hold a vast array of functions in our county. It’s been great to have the car show housed out of there, the wine tasting, the Fair’s Diamond Dinner, the Follies, weddings and more, but we need your help to make it an even better place to hold things in, because as you know, it takes time, money and lots of people pitching in to make it all happen! So, join us today, won’t you?

NEW ITEM--I got a call from Janine Helms and she knows that The Eagle has a lot of faithful readers so what better place to mention that “Howie’s Corner” now has soup on their menu. I hear they have some good coffee and some great morning pastries, so now with some soups added to their menu you’ve got even more variety to choose from.

MUNCH ON MONDAYS--If you happen to be in the neighborhood of the Duck Inn on Monday nights during the football game, you can take advantage of the great “Taco Touchdown” menu in the bar. Watch the game and have a great taco salad, or make up some nachos or just have some tacos while you cheer on your favorite team!

PLAYED GREAT--When my son, Pete Sechler, was coaching his daughter’s basketball team to seven straight wins recently, he had high hopes of them being number one in the championship games this past weekend. Unfortunately, four of their great team members wound up out of the hoop matches and while they fought hard and the games were close, they came home with third place. Not bad considering how many teams there are in Seattle. The team that beat them was the team that took home first place, so they were up against the best. Congrats on placing in the top three Tessa, good job!

TIME IS TICKING--Christmas is just a little over a month away, so I hope you’re paying attention to all those holiday bazaar/sales dates out there, (St. James, Redmen Hall and Gribskov Glassblowing) and of course, getting those Christmas cards ready to go. Making some to take to the nursing home is a great idea too. Don’t forget that packages to send overseas should be mailed the first week of December.