Hosana Musicale will be held April 1

WHITE STUFF--As this week begins, and with Spring just a couple of days away, I am seeing white stuff in the sky as it lazily floats down and covers the hills with yet another layer of snow; oh, say it isn't so!! I hope this will be the last of such occurrences as I feel chilled to the bone and cannot soak in a warm tub of water forever, so here's to Spring and warmer weather!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 22 to 28 are Sharyl Hjaltalin, Sig Hjaltalin, Nova McNally, Makenzie Anderson, Emily Tanksley, Hans York, David Whitney, Jerri Webb Foster, Hap Anderson, Mary Dominique, JoAnn Prestegard, Juanita Rodahl, Jason Wallin Jr.and 67'er Sandy Quigley. A new birthday got added to the list as former resident, Krista Blix McGuire added a grandchild, Finley J. McGuire, on February 10. Congratulations to her and her son Ryan. Enjoy your birthdays, everybody!

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Brett Deaton, Mr. and Mrs. Stan Woody, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Backman and belated wishes to Layton and Pam Elliott who celebrated 35 years together last Monday. Here's hoping everyone enjoyed their special days.

Please remember that I need to turn my news in to The Eagle office on Tuesday morning so early notification of special events is a must. Thanks!

THIS SATURDAY--I got word from Linda Holland Toste that graveside services for her (and Larry's) dad, Marvin Holland, will be held March 24 at 1 p.m. at Greenwood Cemetery. A Celebration of Life gathering will follow at 1:30 p.m. at the Norse Hall and you are welcome to bring your favorite dish if you'd like.

HOSANNA MUSICALE--On Sunday, April 1, the Skamokawa United Methodist Church will hold their annual Hosanna Musicale with all donations being given to the St. James Family Center in Cathlamet. The music begins at 3 p.m. You will be enjoyably entertained and support a good cause as well.

GOOD TIME--It was great to visit with friends, neighbors and relatives and meet some new folks, too as we dined on the corned beef and cabbage dinner put on by the Sons of Norway at the Norse Hall. It was all very good and those of us that attended appreciated all the work that goes into one of these dinners.

The next event sponsored by the Sons of Norway will be the Syttende Mai Tea on May 12. Keep watch for news from this group.

BINGO FUND RAISER--April 6 at 6 p.m., at J.A. Wendt Elementary multi-purpose room, you can play bingo in hopes of winning one of the many hams or chickens being given away that evening, just in time for Easter Sunday. This is a fund raiser by the Wahkiakum County Fair Advisory Board. Three will be several gifts to give away at their raffle, with the big winner getting a 42 inch flat screen TV. Not too shabby! Doors open at 5:30, so come early and buy your tickets. Cards are three for $10. If you bring a can of food to donate to our local food bank, you will receive one free card. Everyone wins with that deal!

EASTER EGG HUNT--The Annual Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt will take place at Skamokawa Vista Park on April 7. There are special prize eggs for the different age groups, so the kids can win some awesome baskets if they're lucky enough to find one. The fun begins promptly at 11 a.m. so don't be late!

FEEL BETTER SOON--Art Vik had to take a trip to the hospital last week so we hope he's feeling much better now and stays out of that place! I was about to pick his brain about the cheese factory on Puget Island, but that will have to wait until a later time. Others have been under the weather as well, and some have had loved ones in the hospital, which don't want to be named, but we do want to say get well, take care, and may you all be back to feeling 100 percent real soon!

ALL WA-KI-HI ALUMNI--It's time for all those who went to WA-KI-HI to send in their $20 (per person) and their RSVP to the reunion chairperson so we can get a head count for food purchases at the Mule Train All School Reunion to be held August 4 from noon to 5 p.m. If you are planning on attending, please include the following on a piece of paper: NOTE: RSVP TO AUGUST 4 REUNION and your name; your maiden name if applicable; your class year; your guest/spouse if bringing one; total amount included and make money orders or cashier checks payable to: Mule Train Alumni. Send this to Susan Kuhn at PO Box 440, Cathlamet, WA 98612 as soon as possible, with the cut off date being July 4. If you'd like to send a personal check, contact Susan at sjmcQ1@yahoo.com to make sure it's okay. Susan has a huge job ahead of her as she keeps track of all the book work involved in this undertaking and we're trying to make it as easy as possible for her. The FFA will provide burgers, hot dogs, chips and a pop at this event, and we'd like to give them an idea of how much food they need to buy for this event. I've heard a lot of people say that they are planning on attending, so this is the time to send that RSVP in and get on the list! You can also get this form and more information on Facebook/Mule Train All School Reunion or Alumni.com.

Each class will be responsible for planning their own mini-reunion, so make sure you contact the person who usually heads up your class reunions and start making plans today. For the Class of 1967, I have given them three options so far: meet at a fellow classmate's house, meet at the Skamokawa Grange or meet separately as a class at the school towards the end of the day and avoid a lot more work! If you're a 1967 graduate, contact me and let me know what you think!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED--Do you like to paint? Rearrange displays? File things? The Wahkiakum County Historical Society could use you at the museum as they are sprucing it up prior to this year's opening on May 1. Kari Kandoll can be reached at 849-4353 or wahkiakumhistory@gmail.com and I'm sure she'd appreciate the help. The museum is a wonderful place to get to know your ancestors and requests can be made to Kari for information on them.

I was hoping someone could come up with the names of the two guys sitting on top of the gas pumps at the Canham Store during the flood awhile back, but so far, no one has come forward. My grandma had this picture in her scrapbook, but unfortunately, she didn't have any names beneath it, very unlike her, so maybe she didn't know who they were, but I hope someone out there can solve the mystery.

MORE INFO--I keep getting bits of information regarding questions that I asked about various things in Cathlamet years ago, and here's what I found out from Kari Kandoll and Gene Healy: I had asked about a Safeway store in Cathlamet, and sure enough we did have one. It was on the corner of Main St. where Howies Corner is currently located. It had also been (Al) Bussone's cleaners and a liquor store at one time as well and Cramer's had the liquor store at one time in that same spot as did Mary Spitzer Dominique. In regard to my inquiry about Joe's Cafe, it seems this was run by Joe Marchovich who was the father of Marie, who married Mr. Didricksen and when they had it when I was growing up, we knew it as The Spar, which was a great hang-out for us kids with its wonderful burgers and Green River milkshakes! In later years, it was also known as Jeannie's and after that it wound up being a place for German/Bavarian food and Chinese food, but is currently vacant. I heard Joe's was pretty famous for its steaks back in the day! Did you know the PUD was located right by Joe's at one time? I was very surprised when I saw its sign in a picture!

I had mentioned several grocery stores, which were certainly abundant back then, and was told that the Red and White was located in the area where the ATM machine for Bank of America is now located--true? I also got a call from Nina Rose Snyder and she was wondering what the name of Mel Coates' store was? I think it was located on Broadway street going down to the city dock. Anybody have a name of that store? I really enjoyed talking to Nina who was the niece of Tig Snyder. She enjoyed reading about her family's part in the gas station business. I had no idea she was a relative of the Hanigan and Watkins families and my brain was filled with connections and stories from her. I am definitely going to need a mini-recorder as folks are stopping me in town and talking about all kinds of places back when and I just can't remember it all, but thanks for sharing, everybody and I hope to give you some more details later on. I have to agree with Nina, as it seems we grew up in a great time. We certainly have had some wonderful memories of our times growing up in a small town. I'd like to see a picture of the old Rodahl gas station/store located by St. James way back when, so if you have one, would you share? Thanks!