Neewollah Daze and Halloween are near

NICE AND NIPPY--We have had some nice Fall days lately, as the sun has been shining since last Friday and it's been great. The nippy evenings caught some of us by surprise, as it was below freezing a couple nights and a thick layer of frost sparkled in the morning sunlight; a reminder that winter is on the way. We need to start thinking about getting ourselves prepared for whatever the next few months brings us. Actually, as I write this, the weather man is saying the rains are on the way, so I hope you've enjoyed these past few days of sunshine, as they are about to end I guess.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from October 21-27 are Michelle Collupy, Justin Garrison, Aron Kuller, Ray Wood, Valle Mae Ledtke, Gary Backman, Mary Heagy, Kristy Knowles, Miranda Doumit, and Don Wages.

Happy Anniversary wishes to Sunrise and Jessica Fletcher, Lori and Greg Parke, Wayne and Karen Bell, the Cory Cothrens and the Greg Bains. Enjoy your special days everybody!

COMING RIGHT UP--From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Friday and October 22 and 23, the Grays River Methodist Church Friendship Circle group will serve a special lunch. For a goodwill donation, you can get a bowl of beef stew, some cheese bread, a dessert and a beverage. You can even get orders to go. While you're there, check out the bazaar which includes baked goods and hand-made crafts.

COUPLE MORE--There are only two more weekends to enjoy the Two Islands Farm Market on W. Birnie Slough, Puget Island.There are all sorts of goodies over there. Don't have a pumpkin yet? Don't forget that Rob Stockhouse has his pumpkin patch open, so here's to carving the perfect pumpkin to light your porch, as Halloween is only 10 days away!

MONDAY--There will be a meeting this coming Monday at the Skamokawa Grange Hall at 7 p.m. for their usual second meeting of the month. They meet the second and fourth Monday of the month. It's getting close to Halloween, so there might even be a "treat" for the group after the meeting. If you're a granger, be sure to show up and if not, you are more than welcome to attend as well.

HALLOWEEN BECKONS--It's that time of year when ghosts and goblins and superheros abound. Halloween is the weekend after this one and it falls on a Sunday this year. Prior to that big day though, "Neewollah Days" are happening in Cathlamet on October 29, so kids, get those costumes on and head to the Bank of the Pacific where prizes will be awarded in many categories with the judging to begin at 4 p.m. There is also a poster contest, so for more details on that, stop by the bank or give Penny Paulsen a call at 795-3228.

FUN, RELAXING TIME--According to Linda Toste, several members of the Class of '67 got together at Long Beach for a fun, relaxing time, which included our fun-loving class president, Dale Jacobson, Elaine and Phil Rolf, Kathy Peek, Shari Gorman and friend, Roger. Also a good friend of Dale's, Kenny Bunn, who celebrated a belated birthday with the 67'ers. Keith and Karen Lawrence even celebrated their anniversary.

THE SHORES--While my classmates were enjoying their weekend in the sun in Long Beach, Bill and I were with my nephew Mark Pedersen and his wife Rhonda at Ocean Shores. Mark likes to sing karaoke and with thousands of songs on his computer, we had plenty of music to choose from as we "warbled" for about six hours straight one night! It was great fun and of course, we thought we rocked!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION--Fred Nollan celebrated his birthday in style this past weekend, as the whole family showed up at his daughter Katie (Pete) Sechler's house on Sunday for a big birthday bash. They thoroughly enjoyed the sunny day, the kids and their kids and of course, all the good food. With the Sechlers going to football games for sons Blake and Luke on Friday night and Saturday morning, and then Pete coaching a hoops game Saturday afternoon, and family spending the night Saturday and going to Tessa's BB game Sunday morning, and the party Sunday afternoon, well, they were pretty well bushed by Monday morning...but as Grandma Elsie would say, "A good time was had by all," so it was worth it.

CABARET--The "Ballroom Blitz" cabaret show in Longview last week was met with good reviews, as over 100 people signed up to sing and dance this year, and four of them were from here. I hope you got to see it. Mike Linn was the first of our locals to perform and he did a funny song called "Humble Pie." He got a lot of chuckles with his "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way" lyrics! From Cathlamet, Cheryl Nelson was "spot on" as she tap-danced through a couple of numbers, and Russ Durrah was looking debonair as he sang his solo, "Sway to the Music." He was also featured in a large photo in the slick program handout. Adele Swift, who is our director for the Skamokawa Grangers "Follies," was fantastic as "Madame LaZonga" as she can really belt out a tune and crack you up with her facial expressions as she struts around the other performers in her number! The four performers were spotted in other acts as well. Good job guys and gals!

OUT OF THE PAST--In 1960 this week, it was mostly wet with only one nice day, the rest of the time it was rain with fog, rain with a sun break and just plain rain all day long. George, Ruby and Patty Everest left their home in Longview and moved to Amador City, Calif. that week. It was a sad time for the family left behind. The football game between Washington and Oregon was exciting. Washington won with a score of 30 to 29 so it was very thrilling. Grandma Elsie Everest visited with son-in-law Leon Healy's mother, Gertie Healy, late in the evening one night. Ralph Everest got his fair money that week: $63.99. This came at a pretty good time, as Grandpa Everest turned 73 that week. Grandma baked him a cake and they enjoyed calls and cards from many members of the family. The Gerald Ackerson's of St. Cloud, Minnesota had a baby girl that day. They called her "Lee-on-a" although not spelled anything like it sounded.

In 1965 this week, it was beautiful all week long with some cool foggy mornings but bright blue sky days. The Everests headed to De Moines to visit the Dowlings who were living there now. They had a nice lunch and dinner with them and then it was back home; a long day but it was good to visit old friends and former employers as well. Marian (Everest) and Leon Healy moved that week into their new place...corner apartment at Orth's Apartment complex across from city park in Cathlamet. The house of Krist and Carol (Everest) Pedersen was full of guests for cake and coffee, as daughter Kay and Raymond E. Sechler Jr. were married at the Assembly of God church by Rev. John Turner that week. Jessie Sawyer sang and played the organ. The Everests attended church that Sunday and then went to dinner at the Skamokawa Grange. Grandma said it was cold in there so it wasn't too enjoyable but they did have a good visit with several friends. Grandma Elsie and Mayme Johnson exchanged Scrabble pieces. They had both played their games so much that they could tell the letters from the wood patterns on the back of them. Lou Ann Pederson wrote in The Eagle, under "Cathlamet News" that Major Patricia Miller was serving in Viet Nam. She was in charge of all the nurses in the 523rd field hospital there. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Miller who had lived out at Crown Camp several years ago. Ralph Everest turned 78 that week and the family met at Marian and Leon Healy's for a nice chicken dinner to celebrate. All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.