Lots of Valentine events in the area

DRIPPY--As this week begins, it's a little wet but not too bad and of course, if you were inside watching the Super Bowl, it really didn't matter what the weather was doing! Hope you were a Packer's fan, or the damp weather went along with your dampened mood! It was the most watched TV program of all time with over 11 million viewers!

STORMS--After I turned in my news last week, I heard from several folks who were dealing some serious weather issues. Former resident Cheryl Moore Stamper was dealing with some very icy conditions back in St. Louis and although she was just a mile from work, was told to stay home; my niece, Holly, lives back in Wisconsin and they were shut down completely with some of the heaviest snow in years there; former resident and 67'er Sharon Stout Servis sent pictures of her area covered in drifts of snow back in Indiana; Sandra Gibson was down in Texas and not expecting the freezing temperatures and snow that she was experiencing, while Barbara in New Jersey, said everything was white with no plows in site to dig out her car, so folks weren't going anywhere there either and down in Australia, massive flooding was being followed by a cyclone of epic proportions and even south of where the worst areas were, it rained enough to flood streets and collapse roofs where former resident, Kelly Heiner lives, so, I think we were quite lucky in comparison! As I am finishing up my column on this Tuesday morning, I'm seeing blue sky and sunshine and it's looking great, so we'll enjoy it while we've got it as I hear more rain is due this weekend.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from February 10-16 are Mykall Stensland, Angela Stensland, Shayla Almer, Connie Shrum, John Thompson, Angel Thompson, Ellie Carosa, Derek Phipps, James Hoven, Selah Hoven, Wendy Havens, Ethan Havens, Lucas Havens, Austin Havens, Ronny W. Cothren, George Hanigan, Hailey Blain, Blake Hess and 67'er Pam Below Lazor. Belated birthday wishes to my cousin, Annette Miller, who I forgot to mention last week, as well as Jessica Wood. Hope you had very happy birthdays! Happy Anniversary wishes this week go out to Mr. and Mrs. Bill Ower, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry DeBriae, Mr. and Mrs. Danny Poe, Mrs. and Mrs. David Black and Mr. and Mrs. Stan Thacker. May all of you have wonderful celebrations on your special days.

NEW BIRTHDAY--Ronald Rust, who was recently here on a visit from Alaska, had to share the news that he's got another grandson; little Judah Rust was born to David and Lauren Rust and was not really too little, as he weighed in at eight pounds with blond hair on January 28. Congratulations to Grandpa Ron and the rest of his family on their new addition. Ron's son was named after my brother David Pedersen, as they were good family friends and fishing buddies, and I had to chuckle when I heard the news, as my youngest grandson was born on that date as well so our link continues on.

VALENTINE'S DAY--Ok, this is it fellas, you'd better have gotten that special lady in your life a Valentine's surprise or you'll be in big trouble, as you've certainly had enough warning! The various restaurants in the area are having special dinners and of course, the fair board is cooking up some mighty fine filet mignon for you at the Skamokawa Grange Hall this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 and the proceeds go to help fund the fair. Your support would be deeply appreciated, so we hope to see you there. And ladies, if your fella hasn't bought a ticket for you by now, head down to the Bank of the Pacific and pick a couple up yourself and treat him out to dinner!

On Sunday, you could head to Naselle to the school commons room and share in a big Valentine Smorgasbord put on by the American Legion Auxiliary, Deep River Post 111; it's always a tasty array of food and adults are only $10 with lower prices for children. Serving times are between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., great for after church dinner! This helps take care of various needs of veterans and also scholarships for the kids and other charitable efforts.

WILLAPA HILLS--The following Saturday, February 19, the group Willapa Hills will play at the Pioneer Church in Cathlamet as a benefit to Pioneer Church Association, with tickets costing just $10. You can get tickets ahead of time at the Bank of the Pacific. I hope you go and hear their great new songs, many of which were written by the members themselves. Members of the musical group who reside in Skamokawa are Andrew Emlen, Sunrise and Jessica Fletcher and Kerrie McNally, while Jennifer Hanigan and Fern Fey live in Cathlamet and Puget Island. They have all performed at our Skamokawa Grange Hall during one of our "Follies" shows and we sure do appreciate all their talent! Their new CD will be available, so I hope you'll pick one of those up as well. It's music, it's history, it's just plain good!

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--The next meeting for the Skamokawa Grangers is on Valentine's Day at 7 p.m. at the Skamokawa Grange Hall. The following meeting is February 28.

CRAB FEEDS--Don't forget to buy crab feed tickets on sale now, either for the one at Rosburg Hall on March 5, put on by the American Legion, call 360-465-2234, or the one on Puget Island at the Norse Hall on March 12, which is sponsored by the Wahkiakum Chamber, call 795-9996. These are both fun events and both are good causes. Ticket prices are $25 and $30 respectively.

VISTA PARK ANNIVERSARY--The next meeting for the "Vista Park Market" on July 30 to celebrate 30 years of Skamokawa Vista Park, will be on February 16 at 1 p.m. at the park office. Every business in this area or organization is invited to come and toss around ideas on this event, which should give our area a real boost and a perfect opportunity for all those who want to promote their product, business or organization. Locals are going to be given the first shot at filling up spaces for vendors, so don't delay and register before March 31. Free set up should be a good incentive to show up. After March 31, spaces will be offered to those outside the area. We're excited about the feedback we're getting. This will be a great time to meet and greet the fair princesses and buy fair passes for this year. Set up should be at 9 a.m., with the event to run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The park office has limited hours now but you could call Janet during office hours at 795-8605. If you can't reach her at that number, call 360-355-4006 or Kayrene Gilbertsen at 849-4421.

MARKETING--Many of us old timers know when and where events are and who to contact, but many new folks and tourists have no idea. If everyone had their events listed with the Chamber, and it was in print, you would see there is no reason for anybody to be bored due to "nothing to do." There's a niche for just about everyone, I think.

The biggest reason some events are not well attended is because they are practically a secret with little or no advanced marketing. If you are the head of any class, event, show, or anything else, get on a list; make yourselves known and spread the word. Each group or organization needs to share with one another and post each other's events. Working together is really vital to make these things a success. This is a new year, let's get our county's activities out there and draw folks in from near and far!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!