Cold weather keeps columnist close to home

BRR--As this week begins, it is mighty cold outside and everything is sparkling with a thick white layer of frost. The forecasters assure us that this is going to be short-lived and we'll be back to rain by the time you read this and that will be fine with me. There were a few folks who woke up to frozen pipes again and no water so I'm sure they'll be more than happy to see it warm up. Considering the arctic blast that is still hanging around the Midwest and East coast, I'm grateful we're in the 20s and not in the minus 20s with a foot or more of snow! We hope the folks back there, which includes some of my relatives, former classmates and other friends, get some relief from this brutally cold weather real soon.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from January 9-15 are Jim Koziel, Jason Rainey, Bill Mahitka, Criss Luthi, Holly Lindsey, Joey Moore, Jan Silvestri, Russ Durrah, Frank Strueby, Roy LaBerge, Gary Havens, Philip Vik, Kyler Sause, Tom Irving, Cindy Lloyd, Ed Bussone, Suan Schillios, Ty Finkas, and Holly Pedersen Norton. Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Gary and Vicki Bergseng. Enjoy your special days everybody!

COMMISSIONERS--If you'd like to support our Wahkiakum County Commissioners in regard to their opposition of Fish & Wildlife's proposal to remove deer from Puget Island so they could be moved to the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge, please contact them immediately as the comment period ends this Sunday, Jan. 12. Beings that is on a weekend, you might want to be sure to contact them by tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 10. You can email Blair Brady at bradyb@co.wahkiakum.wa.us, Dan Cothren at cothrend@co.wahkiakum.wa.us, or Mike Backman at backmanm@co.wahkiakum.wa.us. Kudos to them for taking a stand against this outrageous WDFW proposal. If you recall, many of the deer that were just recently removed from the JBH refuge for their safety, because they were in "imminent danger" of drowning, were killed in the process.

DOING GREAT--The Mules boys basketball team had a great win over Naselle last Saturday with a resounding 75 to 41 score, so congratulations to them, and may their next game, which is here at home on Thursday (tonight), go just as well against Mossyrock. They play away on Saturday night in Toutle Lake and then back at home on Tuesday night against Adna. Go Mules!

LADY MULES--The girls basketball team has several games this week, with one being played on January 8 in South Bend, and then they have two more away games on January 10 and 11 in Mossyrock and Toutle Lake respectively. They will then be at home against Adna next Wednesday, January 15 and Thursday against Winlock. These basketball teams are really on the go a lot and we applaud them for putting themselves through such rigorous schedules.

CALIFORNIA TOURNAMENT--When granddaughter Tessa Sechler traveled to San Diego recently to take part in a basketball tournament there with the Seattle Ballard team, they began with a great win over an LA team. Unfortunately, the next game was a loss, by just three points, but they overcame that loss with some wins to finish third overall in the tournament. The girls learned a lot and enjoyed the camaraderie as a team, as well as seeing all sights in the San Diego area.

FROM THE EAST--Ralph and Peggy Pedersen had a wonderful visit with their grandson, Jonas, from back East last weekend and were thrilled to hear about his plans to become a doctor specializing in orthopedics. While we've had nurses in the family, I believe Jonas is the first doctor, so we congratulate him as he goes forth in this ambitious career. Jonas is the youngest son of Mark Pedersen, who is Ralph and Peggy's youngest son. Also there that day was Mark's stepson, Max, so it was a real gab fest at their house as the guys talked about their busy lives and various businesses. It also seems that Mark's oldest son, Gabe, has announced that he's getting married this spring, so it looks like Mark will be busy as he attends a graduation, a wedding and more visits from his granddaughter this year!

THIS COMING MONDAY--Just a reminder to all of you Skamokawa Grangers that there will be a meeting held at the Skamokawa Grange Hall January 13 at 7 p.m. Keep in mind that we will hold a potluck prior to the meeting at 6:30 so we hope to see you there. We've got several items to attend to with one of them being a change for our Vendor's Market that we've held on the last Saturday of July the last few years. After last year's battle with the wind at Vista Park, we talked about moving it into the grange hall. If we opt to change the location, there'd be no more tents or tables to bring or set up and no more worries about rain or wind and blowing sand, so while we'd miss the park, we'd also enjoy the perks of being able to set up out of the elements and enjoying the nearby bathroom and kitchen facilities as well. We'll keep you posted on what we decide but please note the date, July 26, and I hope to hear from those that would like to join in this endeavor that allows small businesses to show and sell their crafts or just make people aware of their group or organization. It’s also a great time for fair princesses to make money or for a class at school to raise money, so we hope you’ll take advantage of this low cost set up fee opportunity; just $10! Contact me at 795-3425.

NEW B & B--Congratulations to Linda and Brian Elliott of Rosburg on the opening of their new B & B, Dahlia House. Linda has been one of the vendors at the Skamokawa Grange’s Vendors Market a few times. She’s also been a great help in promoting our event, so we are happy to spread the news that they have gotten all their restoration projects done and are now going to be taking reservations for their new Dahlia House Bed and Breakfast. The beautiful spot overlooking the Columbia River will be open April 15--October 30, but you can reserve your room now. If you’ve never been out Pillar Rock Road in Rosburg, you are in for quite a treat when you finally reach your destination and see all the work that they have done to this magnificent house on the hill that was built in the mid-1800’s; it’s just stunning. You can check the place out at http://www.dahliahouse.com and contact your hosts at 360-465-2519 or via email at linda@dahliahouse.com.

REMINDER--Our area has a ton of community events throughout the year and now would be the time to contact the Wahkiakum Chamber and get on their Community Events Calendar. Even if you don’t know the particulars of an event but know the month you’re having it, you can have the Chamber list it as a “TBD” (to be determined)with a contact number and then you can at least make people aware that you’ll be holding it sometime that month. Call Ashley at 795-9996 to get on the events listing.

COMING SOON--There are a few big events coming up, as next month is the Valentine Diamond Dinner in Skamokawa, and in mid-March there will be a crab feed put on by the Chamber of Commerce on March 15, with three different seating times and lots of prizes to win. Prior to that crab feed, there will be one in Rosburg at their community hall, and they always have some nice prizes as well. All three events could use your help with either prize donations or help with serving or some other way, so contact them if you’d like to help.

OUT OF THE PAST--In 1944 this week, the week began cold and clear but on the third day it rained real hard and blew too. It cleared up just for a short time before it got cold and wet again and Elsie Everest worked like mad in the telephone office, as she worked an afternoon shift, then a four hour evening shift and up all night when lines started going down. Stopping by to visit was Dorothy Marcovich Hale, Theda with her new baby and then Barney Hersog stopped by; he was stationed in California. The Krist Pedersens stopped by on the way to the show; they had the Prestegard boys with them. June McConnell’s house was the meeting place of the BPW one evening. One afternoon, four P-38’s were flying over the town; several alerts had been issued. “Hello San Francisco” with Alice Faye was one of the movies playing that week. The other was “Hitler’s Children.”

In 1954, it was nice for the first four days and it was nice enough for Grandma Elsie to walk up to Rodahl’s, stop by Elva’s (Mast) and have a cup of cocoa and then stop by the Braatten house on the way to clean the telephone office. By the end of the week, it was a different story as the rain came down heavily, and with so much wind, Grandma said it looked like it was “foaming at the mouth.” A few days later, it turned cold with lots of snow falling that last day beginning at midnight, which delighted the children of the town but the adults were much less pleased. All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest’s diaries.