School to start next Wednesday

WARM--This work week is starting out real nice and there seems to be a promise of some nice days ahead. While these first two days are supposed to be the hottest, it still looks to be in the 70s most of the week, at least as forecasted at the time of this writing; not too hot or too cold.

SCHOOL BEGINS-- It's hard to believe that school will be starting soon, September 1, so Fall sports will be in full swing right off the bat and it will be time to watch for school buses and kids on their way to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon. And when going to outside sports events, leave your animals at home; they are not allowed on school grounds.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from August 26 to September 1 are Mike Vincent, Wayne Bell, Mickey Paulsen, Bob Wegdahl Jr., Linda Ougendal, Kathy Perkins, Arlene Luthi, Meredith Cothren, Jaimie Quigley, Judy Danielsen, Debbie Melton, Nanea Carroll, Terry Heagy, Sandra Hoven, Carol Thacker, Sandy Nelson, Elinor Bridenhagen and Linda Cook. May all of you enjoy these birthdays to the fullest!

Happy Anniversary wishes to Leslie and Larry Horman, Duncan Cruickshank and Heidi Heywood, Mr. and Mrs. Beryl Curtis, Mike and Sara Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Bud Holten, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Doumit, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Tischer and Floyd and Trude McClane are celebrating 40 years at the beginning of September. Congrats to everyone and may you have many more celebrations together!

CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS--It won't be long and the Lions Club members will be taking orders for next year's calendars. If you'd like to have your name included on their calendar or your name is misspelled or on a wrong date, then now would be the time to get that corrected. Contact a Lions Club member, such as Wes Whittle on Puget Island or Carol McClain here in Skamokawa and they can get the corrections or additions on their lists and take your order for a calendar or two. They make great Christmas gifts.

GET WELL--Speaking of Carol McClain, she was one busy lady this year at the fair as she worked the grange booth and the Lions Club booth and spent long, long hours there this year. To top it off, she had the worry of her granddaughter Samantha, who was injured in a car accident. Carol told me she is doing okay after surgery and we want to send her our get well wishes.

THIS WEEKEND--This weekend will be a very busy time in Cathlamet as Friday through Sunday, there will be longboarders in town for the second annual Downhill Corral. These racers will be around town beginning Friday at 4 p.m. around the Main and Broadway Streets and then other kinds of races at Broadway and River Streets, so you may need to re-route your activities at that time. On Saturday, they will be doing push races so you'll need to use caution in the areas where they will be. They will be racing down town hill for the grand finale on Sunday so that should be quite spectacular. Catch that action beginning at 9 a.m. I believe I heard there were about 40 racers, so this should be quite a show. There is going to be a live band at the Elochoman Marina on Saturday night and there will be a beer garden there as well, and Sunday morning, there will be a breakfast at the Marina from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. The monies raised will go to the Wahkiakum Community Network's Youth Program against substance abuse and violence prevention. If you'd like to help with this event, I'm sure you could contact someone at the Chamber office, 795-9996.

LABOR DAY--Everybody likes to have the last big "hurrah" during the Labor Day weekend, so let's hope for some decent weather. The big doings in Cathlamet will be the Seventh Annual Chili Cook-off on September 4 at the Marina. This is really a fun time and I always enjoy seeing whose chili winds up being the favorite as there are many, many variations and it's quite the competition. They have a beer garden as well as other beverages and it's just a great time to socialize and enjoy the great view of the river and marina.

Another thing you might want to go to or even take part in, is the big Swap Meet at the Appelo Archives Center parking lot in Naselle on September 3-6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you'd like to rent a space with your own table, it's $15; if you need a table provided for you, it's $20. To reserve a spot now, call Anita Raistakka at 360-484-3376.

EXHIBIT ENDING--Head to Redmen Hall before Sept. 5 if you want to catch the exhibit, "Summer Focus." This batch of artistry was presented by the Columbia Artists Association, which local artist Mitzi Christensen belongs to. As usual, there are many nice books and gifts on the first floor of Redmen Hall, with the second floor, the RiverLife Interpretive Center, holding the exhibits. They are open Thursday to Sunday. Call 795-8007 for more info.

FOLLOWING WEEK--The Friends of Skamokawa will hold their annual Wine Tasting and Auction on September 11. There are always a lot of great foods to nibble on as you sample little cups of wine and saunter through the tables of silent auction items. Then, the live auction begins and it's a real kick to watch. It will be held at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, which is wheelchair/handicap accessible.

VISITS--Coming to West Valley in Skamokawa from Benton City to stay for a few days while the fair was going on, was former Grays River resident and family member Veryl Chamberlain. Veryl had a good time checking out the new arena, and visiting with all of his friends and neighbors from the area. He took the train here but got a ride back from our friend Connie Shrum who was here with friends and enjoyed the fair as well. The only thing that Veryl didn't enjoy so much was our cooler temperatures, as they were in the 100s there and they were on their third cutting of hay, while we were lucky to hit 70 and cooled down to the 40s and we were lucky to get one cutting of hay in most places!

FAIR/GREAT TIME--When last Thursday morning came about and I was using my windshield wipers as I headed to Skamokawa, I was thinking, "Yep, it's Fair week--it's raining!" Luckily, it didn't last too long and the sun came out later in the day, but while it was cool, it was great "stew weather" and we had people flocking to the Grange Food Booth just to get some of Esther Gregg's old-fashioned, homemade, hot stew and we sold out! When I mentioned this to my son Pete, he said that while others say, "If you get lemons, make lemonade," we can say, "If you get rain, make stew." It was certainly a big hit! The chicken dinners went well the first couple of days, but we were up against the fish BBQ this year on Saturday. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the fact that the fish BBQ tradition was being brought back after many years of it being eliminated and kudos to all those that worked on putting that together.

All of us grangers, and especially head of the booth Donna Moody, really appreciated the ones who stepped up and helped us out in the booth this year. Naturally, we certainly hope to see them next year too, as without them, we'd be in quite a bind! If any of you have some great ideas, like a new menu item, etc., give me a call. We are thinking of making some changes and would love your input/constructive criticism. This food booth is a huge fund raiser for both the Grays River and Skamokawa Granges and we depend on this money to keep things running through the winter time, so as I said before, thank you so much for coming to eat at our booth and support the granges, which began the fair 102 years ago!

It seems we heard the same comments from a lot of people: the fair was real nice, but attendance seemed down. Sales were down, but they had a good time. So, while none of the food booths or vendors were getting rich and we were feeling a bit down about it, word has it that all the fairs have been suffering this past year with attendance and sales, so we are not alone. It's not just "us" in other words; it's the economy. I hope everyone will hang in there and continue to show up as a vendor and maybe try a different approach on your products and prices in order to do better next year. This is the time to bring out that "can do" attitude, which I think I can now muster after giving my feet a couple of days off! See you there next year!