Writer celebrates holidays with family

WELCOME 2014—It is hard to believe that this is the first column of the new year. I trust you all had a great Christmas and hopefully your new year is starting out on the right foot as well. We have certainly been beginning our days with a lot of fog lately so I hope everyone is turning on their headlights when they're out and about in order to be as visible as possible.

IN MID-WEST/EAST-- While we may have cool temperatures and some fog here, many parts of the country are being hammered by severe ice and snow storms. While this fog and chilliness is not the greatest, it sure beats dealing with massive power outages that have lasted for days and temperatures that have been below zero in many areas.

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays this coming week are: Brooke Luthi, Josh Moonen, Trynity Mendez, Erin Wilson, Olaf Thomason, Nicole Turgeon, Scott McClain, Don P. Wages, Marlena Silva, Becky Elliott, James M. Blain and Mike Moore. Happy Birthday to all of you as you begin this new year! Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Milli and Jon Elven this week.

VISIT WITH CLASSMATE-- I heard from my classmate Sharon Stout Servis over the holidays. She said that she and her husband BJ had a great holiday which included a visit from a new grandbaby. Sharon is very busy as she does a massive amount of volunteering and singing and has a business called "Servis with a Smile." She just officiated at her first wedding and has officiated at several memorial services. She and her husband celebrated their forty-sixth anniversary recently. Congratulations to them!

GO MULES-- I wish I could have been there to see the Mules play basketball in Dayton this past weekend but it was great to read of their wins in the paper. This Saturday, the boys play in Naselle at 7 p.m.

The Lady Mules started a tournament in Napavine over the holiday vacation with a loss but came back strong and won, so congratulations to them. The team’s next game is away on January 8 in South Bend. I send hearty congratulations to our Mule wrestlers as well, as they have done well as a team and in their individual weight classes.

GREAT IDEA-- It was great to see my cousin Art Pedersen on the front of the Eagle last week. I loved his idea of decorating boats for a holiday parade on the Columbia River next year. I think if we get enough participants we could even make it a contest with a nice prize going to the winner. I'll let Art talk it up amongst the local boat owners and I’ll see if we can come up with a neat prize if they'd like to turn the parade into a contest.

FILL 'EM UP-- Our local food banks seem to be hit pretty hard during the holiday season so I hope you can spare some extra canned goods and toiletries to help them get stocked up. Many of those in need will continue to need our help throughout the year, so if you are able, please continue to donate items to the food bank of your choice. You can find more information about all the local food banks in a story found elsewhere in this issue. Giving and sharing to others in need is a great New Year’s resolution!

BINGO TIME-- Next Saturday, January 11, members of the Sons of Norway will be holding their usual monthly Bingo game at the Norse Hall with doors open at 5:30 and games beginning at 6 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded. NEXT MEETING-- If the weather cooperates, the Skamokawa Grangers will hold their first meeting of the new year on January 13. This will be a potluck meeting at 6:30 p.m. with the regular meeting at 7 p.m. The meeting will be cancelled in case of inclement weather.

NICE CHRISTMAS—My brother Ralph Pedersen and his wife Peggy enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner thanks to their sons, Tim and Mark, who showed up with dinner in hand and had their mom sit down and take it easy, while they took care of things.

It was a nice Christmas Eve here at the Chamberlain house, with my husband Bill's oldest son Brandon and wife, Debbie and my youngest son, Brian and his two boys, Austin and Bryce. After a ham dinner, it was time to open some gifts and say our thank-yous to everyone before having dessert and then heading out the door. Christmas Day was very quiet here and we enjoyed putting together our traditional puzzle while relaxing all day and enjoying leftovers for dinner. Brandon and Debbie headed over to her sister’s house the following day where the Huber/Norris/Chamberlain group enjoyed a prime rib dinner.

I heard from a lot of friends and relatives over the holidays, and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good holiday, so from Norway to Australia, it seemed that folks enjoyed their Christmas cards they received, the gatherings they went to and the joy that getting together brings.

NOT SO GREAT-- I heard from Ronald Rust Sr. shortly after Christmas Day and he said he spent the big day alone due to the fact that he was quite sick and was just getting back on his feet. I hope he's back to 100 percent by now. He also said his son, Ron Jr. got married recently, so congratulations to the newlyweds. He also became a great grandpa via marriage when son Richard’s stepdaughter had a baby, so it's been a busy time in Alaska for Ron and his family.

VALENTINE DINNER-- Several folks have asked me if there is going to be a Valentine Diamond Dinner this year. The answer is yes. This is a fund raising event for the Wahkiakum County Fair. It will take place on Saturday, February 8. The winning raffle ticket holder will go home with a wonderful gift of diamonds.

BELATED CONDOLENCES—Recently I got a call from Ora Lorraine Bauer who said she had heard that former Skamokawa resident Dixie Stornetta had passed away and wondered if I had any knowledge of her passing. Well, I hadn't heard then but I did find out later that yes, Dixie passed away at the age of 82 back in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 21, where she had lived with her son for the past 13 years.

She married Edward R. Stornetta in 1962 after meeting him in a bowling alley in Petaluma, CA and her four children and his three children from previous marriages joined together as a family. Dixie and Ed moved to Skamokawa in 1968, where she lived on their dairy farm in East Valley until Ed passed away in the late 1980's. I send my belated sympathies to all the family members of Dixie (Vaughn) Stornetta.

RESOLUTIONS-- Most people try to make some New Year’s resolutions each year but did you know that only about eight percent ever follow through with them? If we were all to make one resolution this year that would be terrific to keep, my suggestion is to be kind. It costs nothing but can bring the greatest rewards, so here's to a kinder 2014 for all of us.

OUT OF THE PAST-- Seventy years ago, back in 1944, the New Year began with warm rain and wind but that was short-lived as it got cold and by January 4, it began to snow. The first part of New Year's Day was quiet at the Everest house but soon the quiet day turned into a nightmare when an apartment fire claimed the life of Mack McDonald who was trapped inside the apartment Then it began to storm very hard sending everyone into darkness as the power went out shortly after 10 p.m. The power was back on by the next day but the telephone board was so busy that Grandma Elsie said it was like it was alive and all were exhausted after a long, long night. The whole town seemed sad due to Mack's death, Grandma said, and a collection was taken up on his behalf. He was buried on January 5. By January 6, the Everests were dining on the smelt that son-in-law Krist Pedersen brought in as the smelt had finally come into the river in decent amounts. The movie playing in town was "Phantom of the Opera" with Nelson Eddy and Susanne Foster. Grandma thought it was very good. Ralph Everest received his leader’s certificate from the 4-H organization that week. Grandma said the war news made them realize that there is "a lot of doing to do." All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest’s diary.