Free spaghetti dinner on Saturday

BRR!--I am very happy that we are not flooding or buried in snow or being blown to bits by strong winds, but I have to admit, I'm having a tough time warming up after these last few days of below freezing temperatures and heavy fog, which keeps the sun hidden until mid-day. It's great to see the sun when it comes out, but it sort of fools you into thinking it's warm outside but just step out there with no jacket on and boy howdy, you'll be right back in the house grabbing a coat--brr! However, it looks like we'll be seeing it warm up a bit and then we're going to get a stretch of rain they say. I can't say I'm looking forward to that much either, but after all, it is December so I shouldn't be so particular I guess!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from December 8-14 are Kitty Speranza, Meg Wright, Collin Parker, Jai Snow, Carol McClain, Elaine Lindsey, Christina Luthi, Paul Stewart, Aaron York, Tom Bosch, Ian Anderson, Tyler Johnson, Todd Souvenir, Derek West, Amy Prestegard, Joyce Cothren, Laurie Smith, Sandy Bergseng, Sam Patching and Dennis Emery. Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Emery, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Knowles and Mr. and Mrs. Gary Backman. May your birthday and anniversary celebrations bring you memories that will last a lifetime.

THIS IS IT--The Free spaghetti dinner at the Skamokawa Grange Hall will be this Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. This is an open invitation to the community to come and enjoy a meal, meet your neighbors, sing a few songs and have the kids get a treat bag from Santa, who I'm told is planning on stopping by around 7 p.m. This is also the night that the huge basket of goodies worth over $200 will be given away. Norrie Wise was nice enough to donate a beautiful Noble Fir for your Christmas tree this year, so that was a great addition to the basket of goodies you can win! You don't even have to be present to win, so you can buy a ticket, eat your dinner and go home if you want, but you could still be the winner when we call that out around 7:30 p.m. You still can buy a ticket at the Bank of the Pacific in Cathlamet or the Skamokawa Store, but they will get picked up Friday a.m. so get your ticket for just a buck today! This event is co-sponsored by the Skamokawa Grange #425 and Skamokawa Fire Department. It is free, but donations are always welcomed. See you there!

LOCAL PERFORMING--One of our Skamokawa recording artists Greg Parke, will be at the Pioneer Church on December 17 for a Christmas Concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for $10 may be purchased at the door or prior to that at the Bank of the Pacific. Greg sings and plays guitar and is just a wonderful entertainer, so we hope you'll head to the Pioneer Church in Cathlamet a week from this Saturday and enjoy Greg's musical talents.

ARTISAN IS SHOWCASED--If you'd like to buy a special gift for your loved one, you've got a terrific opportunity this Friday and Saturday at the Skamokawa Resort meeting room, where Collupy Glass made by local artist, Treasure Collupy, will be showcased in a wonderful Holiday Gift Sale. Not only will you get a great gift, but 20 percent of the sales will be donated to the St. James Family Center, so there's a real win-win-win purchase; what a deal!

REDMEN HALL--You've still got time to head up to Redmen Hall and enjoy their array of goodies. It's great to pick up a bar of soap here, some cards there, maybe a book or two and some homemade jams and jellies, and tuck them all in with a beautifully smooth wooden spoon made by Skamokawa Enterprises and put them in a basket and give as a wonderful local gift. They'll love it! The hall is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Head down and check it all out!

THIS SUNDAY--The Grays River Grange Hall will be the site to be this Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., as Carlton Apello is being honored for his many years of serving as a Commissioner in Port District 2, which he began, and who is Washington State's longest serving Port Commissioner. We hope you'll help pay tribute to a man who's done so much for our community.

MONDAY NIGHT--Skamokawa Grangers will have a very brief meeting next Monday night as they plan on having a Christmas party for their members, which includes a gift exchange. All members are invited to come to the party and join in the fun at 7 p.m.

TRAVELER RETURNS--It was a wonderful week over the Thanksgiving holiday for neighbor Sharyl Hjaltalin as she traveled back to North Carolina to visit her daughter, Jamie and her husband David and their four little boys. What a time they had! Sharyl said the weather was in the 70s the whole time she was there with just a bit of rain one day, so it was great to be outside, where her four grandsons were thoroughly enjoying their fenced in back yard at their brand new house. With a family of six, they certainly needed a nice new home, which they bought in May, and so Jamie was happy to be able to show it off and have their first Thanksgiving in it with her mom there. With Grandma there to watch the boys, Jamie and David did a little early Christmas shopping one night and enjoyed a date night as well, so Jamie and her Army husband got some quiet time away for a change, while Sharyl got to enjoy the boys a little more. While she was there, the family had an early Christmas as his grandma got new PJ's for all the boys so they'd have them to wear on Christmas. After her break from the norm around here, which includes a daily postal route, Sharyl said she felt totally rejuvenated. That's a good thing with the holidays coming and more cards and packages to be delivered during this holiday season!

FOLLOW THE RULES--Speaking of the post office, be sure to address those Christmas cards and packages very plainly so they will be delivered to the right people and not get delivered back to you. Also, letters weighing over 13 ounces need to be taken to the postmaster to be weighed and checked out before mailing. This includes those letters with lumps and bumps in them as some things need to be hand cancelled so as not to be torn up or ripped open when going through one of the postal machines. Plus, there's nothing like getting a Christmas card with a personal letter from friends and family about what's been going on in their lives. E-mail is one thing, but a letter just seems extra special.

NAMES NEEDED--Susan Kuhn would like me to remind everyone to get a list of names and addresses of their classmates to her. You can check out the Mule Train All School Alumni page on Facebook and check out what's going on, or contact Susan there. It is hoped that we will get a big crowd together next year on August 4 at the Wahkiakum High School, so spread the word everybody and keep watch for the next meeting as currently we're taking a holiday break and all the school reunion plans will have to be put on hold until after New Years!

COUPLE CALLS--Awhile ago, Ray Peek said he wanted to know who had the shop down on the flats with a guy who had no legs and scooted around on a cart. Well, I got a call from Dave West and he said he believed this was Ray Brach, or Braack, or Brauck. We're not sure about the spelling, but he didn't think it was "Brock," but pronounced the same. According to Dave, he used to give 4-H kids classes in small motors and after leaving here, he had a saw shop in Longview. Does this ring any bells with anybody? Dave Hansen called me up and was telling me about the various owners of the shop , like Tig Snyder and the Nepsunds. It seems he remembers that it was a Union 76 station and it was situated up where the doctor's office is today. Anybody remember that? As we were talking about the town, it's easy to see where those of us who lived in different parts of the area (Islanders versus Cathlamet versus Skamokawa) and those of us of different ages, certainly remember different things about the area and we should all be writing them down, as soon this history winds up being lost to all of us. Only later do we ask the questions, "Who was that guy anyway?" "Who lived there?" "What used to be here?" and many others. The museum is closed for the winter but there is a lot of information there and pictures that will make you marvel at the way things used to be, so when it opens up in the Spring, I hope you'll go down and check out the great pictures there, as they will really make you take a double take about the town that you know today. Hopefully some of the folks today will take the time to take pictures and write their stories, as I'm thankful every day that I can look back at the pictures and scrapbooks and diaries of my Grandma Everest and see what things used be like way back when. It was a different town indeed.

SAD NEWS--We have lost several people that we have known for a long time lately and we want to offer our condolences to the families of Pat Madden, Ruth Kaste and Ragnar Hokanson. All of their services were held last week and we mourn their loss along with the rest of their families. It's tough to lose somebody, but losing them near the holidays seems to make it all the rougher; our thoughts and prayers are with them.