April is national Grange Month

NICE WEEKEND--I saw plenty of smiling faces and heard lots of lawn mowers as last weekend brought some much needed sun and warmth after cold temperatures and snowy conditions lingered here way too long! Let's hope we see more days like those as Spring blossoms, but I understand the outlook for most of this week is wet with some drying periods by the weekend, so we'll take what nice weather we can get I guess.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 29-April 4 are Aaliyah Montgomery, Leif Carroll, Mike Carroll, Linda McClain, Dana McClain, Vaal Gribskov, Judy Bates, Pam Emery, Bob Brons, Crystal Davis, Kylie Moore, Sandi Cik, Nathan Pedersen, Mikayla Bell and Karen Bell. Here's to some wonderful birthday celebrations for all of you.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Brian McClain and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Phelan. Happy days to you!

THIS SATURDAY--The Skamokawa Grange Hall will be brimming with music as Cowgirl's Dream (formerly known as Detour) will play for your entertainment beginning at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. What better way to celebrate the end of yet another month than to kick back and enjoy some great Americana music? Hope to see you there!

THIS SUNDAY--The Skamokawa United Methodist Church welcomes you to their annual Hosanna Musicale this Sunday as they ring in the Easter season with a fund raising event for St. James Family Center. Local talent will be featured during this songfest beginning at 3 p.m.

BINGO--April 6 is your chance to win a 42" flat screen TV at the raffle taking place at Julius Wendt multi-purpose room when the Wahkiakum Fair Advisory Board hosts its annual Easter Bingo. Doors will open at 5:30 with Bingo to begin at 6 p.m. Winners get their choice of chickens or a ham. Cards are three for $10. We hope you'll come and help support your fair!

APRIL...GRANGE MONTH--April is always Grange Month and while the Skamokawa Grange will not have an official open house this month, we certainly extend an open invitation to join us at any of our regular meeting times, which are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. The Granges' theme this year is American Values, Hometown Roots and with our hall being in the center of our fairground and park area, it certainly is a fitting theme as what could be more Americana than a place where families meet, where car clubs come to gather, and fair dances take place? Currently we are busy working to get our big fund raiser of the year, the Smoky Water Follies, off the ground. Grange meetings scheduled for this month will be held April 9 and 23; the first meeting will involve a potluck beginning at 6:30 p.m Regular meeting at 7 p.m.

SPECIAL PORT MEETING--On April 23, the Skamokawa Grangers will hold a very brief meeting at 6:30 p.m., and then at 7 p.m., turn the hall over to Wahkiakum Port District #2, who will hold an open meeting for the public to discuss a Comprehensive Plan for the District/Vista Park. They are looking for new ideas in which to utilize the park or raise revenue and would welcome your input. That's April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Skamokawa Grange Hall.

FREE RENT--If you are a public-minded group, for example emergency services, health care, fire safety class, political forums, agricultural opportunities. etc., and would like to present a program that involves inviting the community to attend it, you may be able to use the Skamokawa Grange Hall for free. The free rental applies to groups that are trying to raise public awareness of various programs that may be available to folks in the county or in the state, or other things that could impact our area--anything informative that involves inviting the public may qualify for this free rental opportunity. Please call Jessica Fletcher at 795-8770 or myself if you're interested

SPRING CONTESTS--The deadline for the Grange contests is April 17. Bring items to the Skamokawa Grange Hall from 6 to 7 p.m. Chuck and Sheran Parker will take your items to Long Beach the following day for judging. These contests are open to everyone, not just grangers. Think of it as a prelude to the county fair, as what you enter can also be entered in the Wahkiakum County Fair. You can check out all the rules and regulations at the grange website or you can call the Parkers at 795-3782 or Donna Moody at 360-465-2253 for more info.

MUSEUM OPENING SOON--May 5 is the official opening day of the Wahkiakum Historical Society's Museum opening in Cathlamet and with the hard work of a few volunteers, it's sporting some fresh paint in some of the cases, new signs and slowly but surely, things are being perked up. It's also great to see the many bricks that have been added to the outside entrance walkway and adjoining area, as they show community support and are a great way to memorialize our loved ones. For just $40 names can be put on a 4" x 8" brick and added to this growing collection as a lasting tribute. Larger bricks are also available.

A training session for those who would like to help out is being offered on April 9 at 2 p.m. at the museum. It's fun to meet the folks who come in to check out this wonderful collection of our area's history and you'll find the time passes very quickly. Kari will show us how to do some filing this year, which is not difficult but is time consuming so if we all do a little bit, it will lighten the load for everyone. Please contact Museum Curator, Kari Kandoll at 849-4353 or email her at wahkiakumhistory@gmail.com. The museum will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. and during those hours you could reach the museum by calling 360-846-1604.

SPECIAL TICKET--The Smoky Water Follies is offering a special ticket to for one night only, June 29, to see this fun musical and comedy revue for just $20. All other tickets are $10 each so this is a real deal! Show times are 7:30 p.m. on June 29 and 30 and 2 p.m. on July 1. Doors open one half hour prior to the show.

ACTS WANTED--We are still looking for some fun acts to take part in this year's Follies, so if you can bring something special to the show, we'd love to hear from you. If you can sing or dance or play a musical instrument, we'd like to hear from you too, as we will soon be in full production mode. Contact Sunrise Fletcher, 795-8770.

VENDORS NEEDED--Skamokawa Grange #425 is hosting the second Vista Park Vendors Market on July 28 this year. This year the Grange is using it as a fund raiser and we hope it's as good as last year! This is a simple event: pay a $10 set up fee to the Skamokawa Grange via the vendor's market form, available at the Skamokawa Vista Park office, or by calling me and I'll mail you one, and then we will set up at 9 a.m. that day, with the market open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a great opportunity for small home businesses, schools, churches or other groups to either pass out information about your group or try to raise some money, and with fee, it's not too hard on the pocket-book either. Please call me at 795-3425 for any more info or a form. The deadline is April 30 for registering your booth and if not enough vendors have signed up by that time, the event may have to be cancelled so please call today and get your name on our list!

RUMMAGE SALE--To help bring you this way, the Methodist church is planning a rummage sale on the day of the Vista Market as well, (July 28) so if you find some items that you'd like to part with as you do your Spring cleaning, give Randi Curtis a call at 795-0628.

GOLF--The Mules golf team has been doing well and we congratulate them on all their wins. I can say that I am even more delighted to see grandson, Austin Good's name included in those low scores for the team, so it's a double burst of pride for me. Go Mules! Go Austin!

BIG REUNION--Don't forget to turn in that paperwork to Susan McClain Kuhn for the big, All School reunion on August 4. Cost is just $20 per person. Contact her at sjmcq1@yahoo.com for more information.

The Class of 1967 has opted not to have a separate celebration but will instead just have a special time at the All School Reunion that day; this makes for an easier time for all involved and we look forward to seeing you all there!

WAHKIAKUM CENSUS--Did you know that in the census taken in February 1854, there were only 52 inhabitants in Wahkiakum County? This included 37 males and 15 females, so it was definitely not a place that gave a bachelor a great chance to find a bride!