Grangers do good work; need help

HALF AND HALF--What a difference a day made in our weekend. On Saturday it was pouring down rain all day, a real soaker, but on Sunday, after a brief bit of morning drizzle, it was time to shed the rain gear and kick off the boots to strut around in sleeveless tops while enjoying a BBQ on the patio. A super nice day! It was a pretty pleasant Monday as well, so it was definitely a good way to start off the week.

BACK ON--I am happy to report that I now have my computer back up and going. Whew, that was a long time without that source of communication! It's a reminder of how reliant we are on all this technology; not always a good thing! I did lose some messages via my phone during this time, so if I did not respond to a call, I just might not have gotten it. Hopefully that problem is cured as well. Please try calling again!

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays from October 14-20 are Adelaine Durrah, Sami McKinley, Lindsey Brown, Heidi and Heather Knowles, Randy Kuhn, Curt Moore, Laura Brown, Keith McNally, Heidi Heywood, Mike Phelan, Davey Hoven, Kathy McClain, Brianne Helms, Myles Whittaker, Fred Nollan, Jennifer Kyle and Debbie Chamberlain. Here's to very special birthdays for all of you.

Happy Anniversary wishes to Dennis and Vickie Reid, Kim and Erik Anderson, Brian and Linda Elliott and Matt and Lori Kyle. May the anniversary you share this year be extra memorable.

THIS WEEKEND--The next few days will be your chance to see some of our local performers strut their stuff at the Columbia Theater. There are evening shows tonight, (Thursday) and also tomorrow night (Friday), and then there will be two shows on Saturday, a matinee at 2 p.m. and an 8 p.m. evening performance. You can call the Columbia Theater to verify the times and ticket prices, as matinee prices do differ from evening performances.

FOS--The Friends of Skamokawa have a new exhibit going up at Redmen Hall soon as David Meyers and Judy Vander Maten will have their artwork on display until mid-December. They also are having their annual meeting at 7 p.m. on November 21, so if you'd like to see what's going on with the group, or would like to join or run for a spot on the board, that would be a good time to show up and find out all about the FOS and their mission to preserve the historic Redmen Hall. Call the hall for more information, 795-3007.

NEXT MEETING--The Skamokawa Grange #425 will have their second meeting of the month on October 25 at 7 p.m. If you have some great ideas for fund raisers and would like to share them with the group, please stop by. The grangers are always looking for new members and we'd welcome your participation. The Skamokawa Grange Hall is an excellent building in which to hold meetings or family gatherings, or hold your political forums or have a dance, so if you're interested in renting the grange, please give Jessica Fletcher or Kitty Speranza a call. Their numbers are 795-8770 and 795-0585 respectively. Can't reach them? Give me a call and I'll see what I can do! If you'd like to make a contribution to the continuing good works of the grange, you can send your donation to P.O. Box 123, Skamokawa 98647. For the folks who have everything, maybe a donation to the grange in their name might be a great holiday gift.

Also, Grangers collect good books and give them to schools and libraries and they collect those small bars of soaps and shampoos that you pick up when you travel and donate them to the Ronald McDonald house, which puts up family members so they can be near their children who are dealing with serious illnesses, and we collect eye glasses to give to others, we donate our clothes to local clothing banks and will soon be making a donation to the local food bank, so the grangers do good works throughout the year but we could always use a little help. Give me a call if you'd like to pitch in!

SPECIAL THOUGHTS--I got a call from Evelyn Carroll recently and she wanted me to let folks know that her hubby, Calvin was dealing with some serious health issues and could certainly use our thoughts and prayers from all of his former Wahkiakum County friends and neighbors. Evelyn and Calvin moved several years ago from our main street area and currently live down towards La Center with other family members. We certainly want to keep them in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

NEEDS HELP--Currently a young lady in our area is in need of our help due to a health issue that can be very serious for her. In order to help her "sense" her medical distress, she needs to raise money for a service dog, which could really save her life. If you'd like to help Kenzie Abbott, you can make a donation at the Bank of the Pacific in her name, or you can help her by submitting recipes for a cookbook she wants to put together and sell or even buy one of her custom made T-shirts. You can send money or recipes directly to her at Alexander/Abbott - P.O. Box 496 - Cathlamet, WA 98612 or call at 795-0575 for more information.

THREE LEFT--There isn't much time left to visit the Two Islands Farm Market on Puget Island, 3 to 6:30 p.m. on Fridays. Make sure you get your produce local, which certainly means fresh, and enjoy seeing all that they have to offer. If you are interested in pumpkins however, Rob Stockhouse will be having his patch open beginning this Friday and then it will be open Thursday through Sunday until Halloween. Get your pumpkins soon!

SYMPATHIES--Our deepest sympathies are extended to the families of Hank Johnson and Dewey Smith, as they were both lost to us just recently. I always enjoyed Dewey's great smile when he was at the clinic and he was sure a wonderful addition to it and we were all saddened when he left. Hank Johnson had been a regular down this way and was always swapping stories with the guys over coffee. His input and presence since he's been ill has been missed. Again, their families have our sincerest condolences.

FAMILY LOSS--Sadly, I write this column with a heavy heart as our family lost one of their own this past weekend. My youngest brother Marshall Pedersen, 55, passed away in New Jersey on October 9. He leaves behind his companion of 25 years, Barbara Hanmore. She had been his rock during his years of injuries and illness, and especially in these last few months during his battle with cancer and subsequent surgery. While Marshall grew up on Puget Island, and attended schools here in Cathlamet for most of his school years, he actually graduated from Cape Pole, Alaska, where he was living with our mother during that time. After graduation he went to work in the woods, where he was injured in a logging accident. He opted to give up the life of a logger and go into the Navy where he served for many years aboard the USS Reeves. Marshall had no children and had lived back East since getting out of the military. Our parents, Kristian P. and Carol (Everest, Pedersen) Smith preceded him in death, as did a brother, David Pedersen. He leaves a brother Ralph (Peggy) of Cathlamet, a brother Frank (Carolyn) of Castle Rock and me, his sister, Kay (Bill) Chamberlain of Skamokawa. He also had three step-brothers, Don Smith Jr., Kenny Smith and Lonney Kubacki, as well as multiple nieces, nephews and cousins. While I am saddened by his death, I am also relieved that he is now free of all his pain and suffering, as he may have been alive but he was certainly not living; a big difference in my book. I was so glad that I got to go back to New Jersey in May with my son Pete and my grandsons Kyle and Blake, to see him and will cherish those memories forever. It makes one realize that we need to do things today as tomorrow may never come. Rest in peace brother dear.

We send our sympathies also to cousins, Sherry Stewart and Art Pedersen, as they lost their Uncle Jay this past week. He was the last surviving sibling on their mother, Betty (Moffitt) Pedersen's side of the family.