Valentine Diamond Dinner February 13

NASTY BEGINNING--The rain and winds were obvious at the beginning of this week, with Sunday being a pretty miserable day, but football fans thought it was just right for staying in and watching playoff games! It looks like the New Orleans Saints will be heading to the Super Bowl for the first time on February 7 against the “come from behind kids,” the Indianapolis Colts, so this should be a really great game.

As this week progresses, we are supposed to have a few drier days, but it’s not going to last too long, as by Friday, I hear we are back to rain and, of course, that could mean Thursday for us, so keep the umbrellas and boots handy.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from January 28 to February 3 are Becky Thacker, Brandon McClain, Sam Tarabochia, Emma Lindsey, Steve McNally, Angela McNally, Varsha Martin, Kyle Gribskov, Grant Johnson, Nicholas Kubacki, Pamela Priestly, Maddux Moore turns three next week and grandson, Luke Sechler turns 10 years old today! Happy Birthday to all of you!

My apologies to Leslie Sullivan, Shirley Mae Toney, Gary York, Deanna Simpkins and Walt Faulk who had birthdays last week and got left off of my list. Guess I forgot to look at one of my lists. Hope you had happy days!

Happy Anniversary wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Hoby Thacker and Mr. and Mrs. Mel Dominque! Hope your special days are just super this year!

Not on the list? Give me a call. I’ll try my best to remember your special day and get that milestone celebration mentioned for sure!

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY--Our congratulations to John and Melissa Thompson who welcomed another daughter into their home this past weekend, as baby Trinity came into this world on January 23. She joins a sister Angel at home in Longview. The new baby was born just one day before her grandma Sharon Buennagel's birthday, so her special day will be easy to remember for sure.

NICE BIRTHDAY--My neighbor Ann Brown certainly had a great time celebrating her 80th birthday this past Saturday. The special milestone celebration was held on Puget Island at the home of son Kerry Brown and his wife Susan, and it was brimming with people when I was there. Ann was certainly enjoying visiting with everyone. We are happy that our good neighbor had such a special day and we wish her many more birthdays to come!

MUSICAL GALA UPDATE--The seats in the Skamokawa Grange hall were full last Saturday as the WHS band and friends got together for a great song and music fest, and it was a big success and enjoyed by all those that attended. It was topped off with a dessert bar that was out of this world as well, so it was a win-win night for those that came to support the band in this fund raising event spear-headed by Erin Turner, a real dynamo, who did a great job of getting this all together.

If you were unable to attend but would like to support the band, you have another chance when they hold their rummage sale this Saturday at the Wahkiakum High School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They have a couple thousand to go, so they could use your help. If you’re just a good hearted person and want to help them out, call WHS or stop by the office and they will gladly accept your donation!

VALENTINES FOR VETS--Valentines Day is just a couple of weeks away, so I hope some of the classes in school or maybe some Sunday school classes, have taken on the “Valentines for Vets” challenge and are getting a batch of them to send off soon. A lot of our local folks go to the Portland VA. For more information: 3710 SW U.S Veterans Hospital Road, Portland, OR 97239 and put Mail Code: P4VOL on the envelope. If you aren’t into sending cards to the Vets, maybe you can make a batch and take to our local nursing home.

SPECIAL DINNER--Speaking of Valentine’s Day, you can treat your sweetie to a wonderful filet mignon dinner at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, as the “Valentine Diamond Dinner” will take place on February 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. As a bonus, you’ll be treated to some music performed by local musicians. Tickets will be sold for just a dollar each for your chance at several wonderful prizes, which include a diamond necklace; truly a Valentine Diamond Dinner! Don’t miss this great fundraiser for our Wahkiakum County Fair being put on by the Fair Board. Order you tickets today: call Jean at 849-0001.

GOOD WORKS--Iwant to be sure and recognize the great efforts of the members of the Skamokawa United Methodist Church to share love and joy around the world. This past holiday season, they stuffed shoe boxes full of toys, candy, hygiene products and other things and sent them to many kids in far away lands, and even some here in the United States that needed a little Christmas cheer. They also visited the nursing home and spread some cheer by singing Christmas carols while being accompanied by pianist, Sheran Parker. It’s always nice to have those folks who do good works and who don’t “toot their own horn,” but we wanted to make sure they got the praise they deserve.

CAR SHOW--Speaking of good works, the Dollars for Scholars group will be putting on their fine sturgeon derby and car show and wonderful meal and prizes on that first Saturday in June again this year. They raise thousands of dollars for scholarships for the kids in Naselle and Cathlamet and do a whole lot of work all year long in preparation for it, so “way to go” people. Keep up the good work and we’ll see you in Skamokawa at the grange hall/park and fairgrounds soon!

The members of the Skamokawa Methodist Church will be putting on an early morning breakfast at the church prior to all the car and fish doings at the fairgrounds, so if you want to get in on two great meals that day, go there for breakfast and then head to the fairgrounds for their chicken and salmon BBQ later on. You’ll get to support two great groups who do good works.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week in 1945, the first few days were clear and cold but then the rain set in for the rest of the week, cold at first, and like sleet but then it was warm rain the last couple of days. During that time, 7000 boxes of smelt came out of the Cowlitz river. Everyone was out in droves to get them. There was quite a long article written about the lack of knowledge about these small fish, a real mystery really. It was said that salmon coming up the Columbia have been found with a whole smelt in their bellies, as far up as St. Helens, although salmon usually don’t feed after leaving salt water, according to the writer of the article. Salmon taken at sea have never been known to be found with smelt in their bellies, so the question has always been, “Where do the smelt go when they go out to sea?” The show “Back Home in Indiana” was playing and the Ralph Everests agreed, it was a good show. The Japanese claimed to have sunk three transport ships and one destroyer off the West Coast that week. The release of 513 prisoners by the Japanese was being celebrated.

Back in 1965, on January 30, a huge chunk of the Oregon cliff side came tumbling down into the Columbia River, causing a huge tidal wave to hit Puget Island, killing one man, Mr. Gilbertson. The one house was picked up from its position on the water side of the road and put in across the road and inside the dike. (This area was west of the current Aegerter farm.) The wave surged up the sloughs and tore loose or sunk net houses and boats, a real mess. Power, telephone and railroad was all out from the damage. There was a huge amount of flooding in both Oregon and Washington during this time, a rough winter. The month of February began cool, 33 degrees but sunny and dry. All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.