Only 10 days left until Christmas!

STILL COLD--This weekend we had a bit of rain, so we warmed up just a bit but it was still plenty cold outside in spite of the sun on Sunday afternoon. They say we're going to have some more freezing nights before we slip back into some rain, so I hope you're all driving carefully and keeping those headlights on as you travel to and from all these holiday gatherings as whether it's rainy or foggy or freezing, it's time to take extra caution with all these nasty conditions and extra traffic on the roadways.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from December 15-21 are Abby Buennagel, Melanie Quigley, Angel Hall, John Lindsey, Lori Miller, Alysha Twiet, Jerry Knowles, Tracie Souvenir, Kristin Souvenir, Jimmie Lou Cleveland, Gwen Gorley, Ruth Linquist, Erik Anderson, Kimmie Wright, Barbara Moore Johnson, Sherry Stewart and 67'ers Elaine Rolf and Sharon Servis. Here's to wonderful birthday celebrations for all of you!

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Brian Havens, David and Jamie Kincaid and Roger and Jo Reed. Enjoy your anniversary celebrations everybody!

THIS SATURDAY--It's time to enjoy some Christmas music, as singer, writer and all around talented musician, Greg Parke, perform a Christmas concert at the Pioneer Church in Cathlamet this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased at the door or at the Bank of the Pacific, so we trust you'll take advantage of this chance to hear Greg and enjoy a wonderful evening of music.

GREAT TIME--Last Saturday night the Skamokawa Grange Hall was bustling with people who came to enjoy the free spaghetti dinner given by the Skamokawa Grangers and the Skamokawa Fire Department. As I was making announcements, the hum of voices pretty much drowned me out, and that's tough to do, so there had to be quite a few people there to do that! We were thrilled to see such a great response. Everyone also loved the festive look of the fairgrounds and the grange with all its lights aglow in the night sky, and we'd like thank Ed Stevens for doing that, as it looks awesome. Maybe next year we could have a lighting contest between businesses and organizations in Skamokawa. Wouldn't that be fun?

This was something that the grangers in the past did for their community; to help bring friends, neighbors and newcomers together in a spirit of goodwill. Today, like yesterday, there are folks that we just knew would enjoy a free meal and a bit of cheer and that's what the Christmas season should be all about--giving to others. So we gladly give this day to our community, and in return, we are rewarded with their support; it's a win-win situation!

One of the best times for me is to have the kids there, as they just seem to bring out the magic in any gathering. They didn't seem to mind that Santa showed up a bit earlier than expected, and it all worked out just fine. The kids came up on stage and convinced Santa that they'd been good all year, so Santa gave them all an early Christmas treat, which they all seemed to enjoy.

Our big attraction appeared to be the gift basket table, as we sold a whole lot of tickets, and with seven other baskets besides the great big one, it seemed to motivate people to take a chance on one of them. The large one, which was worth almost $300 by the time you added all the donated items up, was won by Maury and Sharrel Mooers. The winner of the second largest basket donated by Longbottom Coffee, was won by Layton Elliott and wife Pam. I can't remember all the winners but I know Seth Kuljis, Judy Garrison, Iris Coover, Bob S. and Susan Kuhn each got to take home a gift. The Skamokawa Grange and Fire Dept. really appreciate the support everyone showed by coming out, and we hope to have as good a crowd next year.

HONORED--Carlton Appelo was honored for all his years of service as a Port Commissioner last Sunday at the Grays River Grange and a nice group was on hand to hear his speech and view his pictures and enjoy some cake. Kayrene Gilbertsen and Janet Bryan were serving and seeing that everything was going all right. I enjoyed a chat with Carlton who was telling me about some fun stories from his youth; if there's one person who's got a story to tell, it's Carlton! We certainly appreciate all his years of hard work and our jewel that he helped create: Skamokawa Vista Park!

MONDAY NIGHT--The Skamokawa Grangers held their Christmas party last Monday evening as the temperatures began to plummet. Everyone enjoyed another round of spaghetti and fixings, thanks to Jessica Fletcher and all of us got our fill and topped it off with cake for dessert. A lively round of "No, that's my gift" took place and Pres. Kay Chamberlain got the coveted lucky number one, which meant she got the last choice for a gift; a gorgeous flameless candle, so we were quite happy!

There is no other grange meeting this month as we take the rest of the month off to enjoy our holidays and attend other gatherings. Our next scheduled meeting will be January 9, 2012, weather permitting!

GOOD TURNOUT--Treasure and Michelle Collupy held a Collupy Glass Holiday Gift Sale at the Skamokawa Resort last weekend and they were very pleased with the response they had to their show. I can tell you, the variety of items and colors is absolutely exquisite--definitely a gift someone would love to receive! If you'd like to talk to them about seeing more of their things, call them at 795-3663 or 430-4843.

TEN DAYS--I guess you know by now that Christmas is just 10 days away; hard to believe! If you're still thinking of what to get that person who has everything, and doesn't want anymore things, why not get them something that won't collect dust, like a stay at the Skamokawa Resort, which has wonderful hotel rooms or wonderful suites with a terrific view of our mighty Columbia River. Maybe that person you know has a love for old fashioned times and what better way to support that, than a donation to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds in their name, which will help keep this old-fashioned fair going? Send your donation to P.O. Box 1 in Skamokawa. Would you like to memorialize your loved one? How about getting a brick made with their name on it and have it placed at the WCHS Museum; a terrific way to honor your loved one and help the museum as well. Is your special person involved in helping out others? The Skamokawa Grange #425 is trying to keep things going so that our kids have a place to hold their fair dances, the 4-H can hold movies or meetings and our fair board can host dinners and the Friends of Skamokawa can hold auctions and wine tastings, and we can continue to hold Christmas dinners, so if you'd like to help keep the doors open, you could make a donation to P. O. Box 123 in Skamokawa. Don't forget the FOS when speaking of keeping history alive as keeping the historic Redmen Hall going is another worthwhile cause, so there's another great present, maybe a year's membership? Send money to P.O. Box 67 or call the hall at 795-3007. Our Skamokawa Fire Department helps people in need and a donation to them would be welcome too. There's just no end to the giving you could do in someone's name; they'd feel good and so would you, and those you support would be truly grateful! Of course, you could always give The Eagle as a gift, as I can't tell you how many people I hear say they didn't know about this or didn't know that, and why is that? Because they don't get the The Eagle and therefore, have no idea what's going on around them. So get them informed, that's a great gift indeed!

CORRECTION--While I was at Carlton Appelo's doings, I ran into Ray Bauer and he said that "the wife" wanted me to know that it was not the Union 76 Station up by where the doctors' office is now, but it was Tig Snyder's station. Of course, I was only repeating what someone else remembered, as I have no recollection of either, but I'm guessing Ora Loraine is probably right. The Union 76 station used to be where the new Cathlamet Fire Station now is, so thanks for setting the record straight.

SADDENED--We'd like to send our sympathies to the family of Carl Wingate, who many around here might not have known, but whose wife, Mary is well known in our area as one of the pharmacists at the Cathlamet Pharmacy and is one of the members of the Buennagel family. Carl's services were held last week. He was a dedicated teacher and loving husband and he will be sorely missed by all his friends, students and his very large family; our condolences to all of them on the loss of this beloved family member.

SPREAD THE CHEER--We know you're busy but we hope you'll take the time to take some cards and head up to our local nursing home and hand out a Merry Christmas to those there; time's ticking away, so don't delay. Give a card to those who may not get too many, today!