Weather holds for derby and car show

FANTASTIC--While we were all stressing out about the rain and the wind that had been going on most of last week, come Saturday, the Dollars for Scholars Rods and Reels Rod Run met with clear skies, sunshine and just fantastic weather all day long and of course, brought with it a wonderful turn out of cars once again. For the past six years we have had to stress out about the weather, as everyone knows that miserable weather means disaster when it comes to car shows, but the lucky streak has continued! The only thing you could say negative about the day was that maybe there were a few who got a little too hot and a little too pink by the end of the day, as we jumped from 50 degree weather to over 80, and we're just not used to that!

As I get ready to turn my column in, we're back to our normal wet, so I hope you got a lot of yard work done while we had those several dry days, as this is definitely not the kind of weather you have to worry about getting pink in, but between getting colder and depressing, you might turn blue!

MORE ON THE CAR SHOW--Once again the sponsors for the car show came through with flying colors and donated some fantastic prizes. The Skamokawa Grange Hall had more prizes than ever before and between the hand-made wishing well, stained glass, yard art, jewelry, the car show quilt, to the TVs, BBQs and Craftsman tool boxes, and more, there was certainly enough things to please everyone. Kudos to everyone for their generosity! Car entries were up from last year, so there was no shortage of vehicles to look at, that's for sure. From the rigs in the process of restoration, to those with spotless everything, they gleamed in the sun and got plenty of oohs and ahhs by passersby. The Naselle Marimba Band entertained us once again this year, and they were awesome as usual; what a bunch of talented kids. The DJ on the park side kept everybody hopping as well, and it was a hoot watching the little ones trying to keep their hula hoops going to the music! From the folks who parked cars, to the cooks behind the BBQs, to the servers and everyone in between, it was a fantastic joint effort between the Car Show volunteers and the Sturgeon Derby volunteers once again this year to put on this huge fund raiser for the high school students in our area. Way to go!

If you'd like to have your name on the back of next years' T-shirt, all you need to do is become a $200 sponsor (in cash or prizes) and you'll be seeing your name in print as well! Contact Lee Tischer, Dennis Reid or me and we'll get you on one of our lists. See you next year!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from June 9-15 are Brenden McClain, Tyson Hjaltalin, Bob Montgomvery, Gina Robbins, Erin Turner, Veronica Swift, Nick Danker, Tom Almer, Peyton Souvenir, Kelly Briscoe, Matalyn Longtain, Judy Lorenzo, Kylee Souvenir, Arnold Wirkala, Justin Anderson, Linda Bunce, Nikolai Almer, Andrea Hess, Kristian Pedersen, Sandra Hess, Colton Reynolds, Karen Chamberlain Blain and 67'er Noni Gilbertsen Meredith. Here's to all those with special birthdays and may you all have absolutely wonderful days!

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Stevan and Kathleen Morgain, Stewart and Ginger Moonen, David and Connie Shrum, the Wally Wrights, the Justin Watkins and the Rick Wirkkalas. May all of your anniversaries be a day of sweet surprises.

THIS SATURDAY--On Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m., the three exhibitors who will be showcased up at Redmen Hall for the next month, will be there for you to meet and talk to and enjoy a treat or two while you are there. Of course, the hall will be open at noon, so you're more than welcome to come and view the new exhibit, entitled "Explorations" but if you'd like to talk to Martie Vavoudis, Noreen Fitts or Nick Deal come by at 4 p.m. Each has a unique talent and style.

Martie Vavoudis studied her craft in Pasadena, California at the Art Center College of Design and has had several gallery showings as a ceramist.

Nick Deal is a photographer who has won many awards for his work already, even though he is still in high school and attending locally. The Redmen Hall is his first gallery showing, so the hall is pleased to be able to present this young man's works and we hope you'll come and see his view of the world through his architectural style.

Noreen Fitts is well known in the Grays River area and her watercolors reflect her love of our area. With this wide array of artists in this exhibit, there should be something for everybody. We hope to see you at the hall sometime this coming month.

Redmen Hall is open Thursday from Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., so we hope you'll come and see this exciting new exhibit.

GRANGE MEETING--The next meeting for the Skamokawa Grange #425 will be held this coming Monday at 7 p.m. The grange is currently holding a raffle for a beautifully finished wood slab coffee table and tickets are just one dollar. They are available at the Cathlamet Pharmacy, Sharon's Pizza and More, Made in Wahkiakum store and the Bank of the Pacific. The winning ticket will be drawn on the last day of the fair, August 20. Many thanks to local John Gustafson for donating this table to us to help raise some money for the grange; it's got a gorgeous, glass-like finish.

FAIR TIME--Speaking of the fair, the grounds are looking wonderful and things have been painted and flower beds cleaned and decorated, etc. so they looked great for the car show and will be in tip-top shape when it's fair time, August 18-20. With a good deal of the work being done by a small crew, several of which are the fair manager's family, they could sure use a hand down there, so if you could help out it would certainly be appreciated; please call the fairgrounds at 795-3480 and leave a message.

FLAG DAY--Coming up this next Tuesday is Flag Day. We hope you will observe that day by displaying the flag somewhere. Did you know that our country's flag is the most complicated flag in the world? Yep, it requires 64 pieces of fabric to make it, which is far more than any other country. It also has another distinguished difference to the flags in the world, as it has changed its design more than anybody else, as we kept adding states. While we've had a flag for ages, we didn't have a standardized flag until 1912. While some states felt that we should have a Flag Day, it wasn't until President Harry Truman signed a bill in August of 1949 that the nation adopted June 14 as it's official day of recognition for our flag.

SMOKY WATER FOLLIES--In just a couple of weeks, the fourth annual musical revue put on by the Skamokawa Grangers will be taking place at the Skamokawa Grange Hall. On June 24 and 25, there will be evening shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee, June 25 will begin at 2 p.m.

New this year will be the joining of two quartets, The Sweet Adelines and our barbershop quartet, along with the band and a solo singer in a grand song number, so this should be something to hear for sure. Jeffrey Reynolds, a fabulous musician who has graced us with his presence on several occasions, will be there and so you won't want to miss his performance either.

Tickets are only $10 and are now available in more places: both Banks of the Pacific, Moore's NAPA Auto Parts and the new store here in Skamokawa as well as various grange members, so we hope you'll buy your ticket soon and we'll see you at the show!

FOS RAFFLE--The Friends of Skamokawa are having a raffle that is guaranteed to delight your culinary pallet, as the Inn at Crippen Creek owners, Don and Kitty Speranza are providing a five-course, Italian dinner for six guests at their Inn, so that is one great raffle item. Tickets are currently on sale for just $5 and the lucky winner will be taking their closest friends or family members and enjoying a wonderful dinner at the Speranzas' bed and breakfast. The winning ticket is going to be drawn during Skamokawa Vista Park's 30th anniversary doing on July 30, so get your ticket today. Contact Redmen Hall at 795-3007 or if you see me, give me a shout as I have a few to sell as well.

MUSEUM--The Wahkiakum Historical Society wants to remind you that the museum in Cathlamet is now open on weekends and they could certainly use volunteers to man it, so if you'd like to help them out, it would be appreciated.

BAND/MUSIC--Do you know of a good band that would be willing to play some music at the Bald Eagle Day festival next month? If you are in a group, or know of a group and would like to perform, give the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce a call at 795-9996. Be sure to check out their new and improved website as well: http://www.wahkiakumchamber.com.

THINKING OF THEM--We've got friends and family members who have been making hospital trips this past week and we want to send get well wishes to those who are currently going through various health issues. From twisted knees to surgeries, these folks need our thoughts and prayers and hopefully they'll be good as new soon.