Redmen Hall to reopen on March 5

WASN'T BAD--While the middle of last week got a bit cloudy and a little damp, it wasn't too bad and the weekend wound up turning out quite nice, so there were lawn mowers going and people showing pictures of flowers blooming and walking on the beach, etc., and I even managed to do a little weeding, so we were still enjoying much nicer weather than a lot of the rest of the country. As this work week began, the sun was still shining but that was after we thawed out, as temps were down in the 20's out this way so it was a frosty white world for several mornings here. By the time you read this however, it's supposed to be wet again, so I hope you got all those dry chores done prior to the rainfall; at least it's not snowfall!

LADY MULES--A hearty "Congratulations" to our WA-KI-HI Mules as our young ladies put the fans through a heart pounding, wild game and came up with a two point win last weekend over Napavine and with that win, became the District 2 B basketball champions; woo-hoo! It's my understanding that they will be playing in Chehalis at the W. F. High School at 2 p.m., this Saturday against Ilwaco, so here's to another great game and hopefully a win so that they will continue their journey onto state. Great job girls and here's to another great game!

NICE SUPPORT--Last Sunday, the Duck Inn held a fund raiser for the Lady Mules basketball team, as they donated 10 percent of all meals sold from noon until eight o'clock, so that was super nice of owner/operator Logan Britt. I was quite happy to give up my cooking duties that day and take advantage of not having to cook and supporting the Mules at the same time. I noticed quite a few others did the same thing, so kudos to all who took part in this "easy" fund raiser. No cooking is a no brainer in my book. Go Mules! And thank-you, Logan!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 26--March 4 are Audrey Petterson, Whitney Kuller, Judy Garrison, Deb Holland, Jessica Hoven, Ray Danielsen, Shelley Olsen, Becky Hoven, Kathy Peek, Mary Hedman Mclaughlin, Felicitie Knight, Karalin Reynolds, Judy Pedersen, Krystal Ellison and Jonas Owens. Here's to wonderful birthdays for each one of you. Belated birthday wishes go to Gail Steiglemen, who celebrated her birthday last Wednesday. Sorry this is late, hope you had a great day!

Celebrating their anniversaries this week are Adam and Sara Fletcher and Nicolas and Becky Keithley. Enjoy your special day guys! Belated anniversary wishes go out to Ron and Gaylene Johnson. Hope you had a great day!

NEW BIRTHDAY--We added a new birthday to our family at the beginning of the month, and we've now added another one, as on Feb. 18, MacKenzie J. Pedersen joined her sister, Bailey, at the home of parents Adam and Samantha Pedersen back in Virginia. MacKenzie weighed in at 8 pounds and 7 ounces, so she may not have been as big as cousin Art's grandbaby, but she was no wimp either! Of course, great grandparents, Ralph and Peggy Pedersen of Cathlamet were just as proud as could be when their son, Grandpa Mark Pedersen, shared the news and pictures of her birth just shortly after she arrived. That's one great thing about these computers and fancy cell phones, is that you get the latest happenings accompanied by a photo instantly and in these cases, it's pretty doggone nice. Congratulations to Adam and Sam and all the rest of the family members as well, as Samantha has about as many relatives as we Pedersens do!

CELEBRATED--It seems we 67'ers don't need much of an excuse to get together lately, but we figured we'd do another gathering for those who were having Feb. birthdays, so we met up last week to lunch and gab once again. The last time we got together, there were eight 67'ers and several other friends/spouses as well, so that was quite a big group. This time we had a few less that were able to gather, but for us, it only takes three for a party, so with seven of us there, we definitely had a great time! Those classmates who had February birthdays were Pam Below Lazor, Shari Gorman Parker, Truchet Madden Miller and Kathy Bond Peek. Those birthday "kids" who couldn't make it were definitely celebrated anyway!

We heard that Scheris Knight Shephard was in town from her home in Arizona, but unfortunately she didn't have time to stop by and visit as she was helping her sister make the move out this way, and between her ailing mother and the move, and limited time, well, she just didn't get to take a break. Hopefully the next time she's in town, we'll be able to see her.

The classmates have opted to make the second Friday of each month a gathering and celebration day, so if any of you 67'ers have the time, we're meeting at Applebee's in Longview (by Ace Hardware) at 1 p.m., on March 13. Hope you can make it! The next place we meet will be determined at that time.

STOPS BY--Harry Chamberlain, currently of Salem, Ore., stopped by to see his cousin Bill out here in West Valley last week. Harry and his family were raised in Vale, Ore., and so the cousins didn't get to see each other real often. As they grow older, they are figuing out that they might just like to visit a little more and share family stories and such. Harry's father, Richard, was the youngest of the Chamberlain "kids" who recently passed away and was the last of the three "boys," so only one of the two girls in that immediate family is still living. Needless to say, it looks like "we" are getting to be the old folks of the family; scary!

MUSIC MAKING--In honor of St. Patrick's Day, local band, the "Bloody Pirates" will play some music at Duffy's Tavern on March 14, so that should be fun, as you've got an Irish Pub to celebrate the big "green" day in along with some fun pirates to boot! The hours of music will be announced prior to the date but were unknown at this time.

LOSSES--We recently learned of a couple of losses to our folks here in Skamokawa, and one was the brother of Don Speranza, so we want to send our condolences to Don and his family for their loss. Also, Carol Elliott Blythe passed away and we want to send our condolences to her family, which includes Ed Stevens of Skamokawa, as well as many other members of the Elliott and Blythe families in the area. I also heard that John Lopez, who was mentioned in last week's Eagle, has passed away too, so we send our regards to his friends and family members.

PRAYERS--There have been several folks who have been under the weather and then there's those that are planning some surgeries, so I do hope Linda T., Janelle K. and Sharyl I. all wind up with successful procedures and speedy recoveries in the weeks ahead. For all of you with the "crud," here's hoping you feel better real soon and hopefully you're able to stay home and not share whatever it is you have with others. This is one time to be selfish and keep the "bug" to yourself!

TRYOUTS--Don't forget, if you're interested in having your kids turn out for youth baseball, you needed to have your forms turned in already but tryouts will be today (Thursday) from 5-6:30 p.m., at the high school for kids ages 9-12, and also on Saturday, Feb. 28 from 9-11 a.m. There are also fees involved. For more info contact Todd Wilson at 360-957-2605. Volunteers are always needed, so if you can help with concessions, work parties, etc., then give Todd a call.

FOS NEXT WEEK--This Saturday marks the end of yet another month and with March starting out, it also means the big re-opening of Redmen Hall after their winter break. The Friends of Skamokawa will reopen with their annual Antique Sale at the Hall beginning on March 5, so we hope you'll come by and check out all the goodies that will be for sale. Doors open at 10 a.m., that Thursday, so come early and take advantage of being the first ones there!

The Friends of Skamokawa will also hold a concert/benefit series at Redmen Hall beginning April 12, which they are calling "Second Sunday Concert" as that's when each one of the upcoming performances will be held. They will all be from 2-5 p.m., cost $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and the profits split between the entertainers and the River Life Intepretive Center at Redmen Hall. At the concert in April, Fisher Poet David Densmore and Alexis Pengully will be your entertainment for the day. Hope you can make it up to the hall on the second Sunday in April!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1945, the week began with pouring down rain, then it got cold and clear and quite enjoyable before pouring once again. Luckily, the week ended up "just lovely," so it was a real mix of weather that week. On those nice days, the Everests took some nice long walks across the bridge or up to the Wests' home. Grandma Elsie also walked up to Mrs. Shamley's where she enjoyed a nice visit with Mrs. Oakes who was there as well. Another day, it was a walk out on the highway to visit daughter Marian. The week began with the BPW dinner, then onto a PTA meeting, which she said was real good with the kids voting to go to the Clark County League. On March 2, Grandma Everest received a letter from her son George telling her that he had met up with his younger brother, Marshall in Hawaii. They had a good visit and Grandma was so happy the two Navy boys were able to meet up. Archie Hill stopped by the telephone office to say that he had visited with George in Hawaii as well and that he'd no sooner left George's side than he got the orders he was coming home, so he didn't even get to say good-bye. A couple of days later, Grandma Everest received a beautiful locket from son George as he'd gotten the "Mother of Pearl" jewelry in Hawaii. She was very pleased to get the early birthday gift. Stopping by the office that week were Ted Maughan and Virgil Johns. Grandma went to the show "Nelson Eddy" that week but she didn't really think it was too good! The "Coast Convoy" broke down behind the house/office and all the grandsons and their friends thought that was real neat, as they got to see all those rigs for several hours while they waited for repairs to arrive.

In 1950, the week began with hail and rain but then turned nice and spring like before raining once again, but the last day of the week was super nice. On one of the rainy days, she went to the Pocahontas lodge meeting and then had dinner out with Mrs. Benson and Marianne, where they celebrated Grandma's birthday a little early. Then on the next rainy day, she went to the movie, "Good Old Summertime" which she said was really good and funny. On that last nice day, after working all day cleaning house and getting it ready to paint, Grandma Elsie met up with Mrs. Shamley, May Watkins and Donna Hatton at Jim's and had dinner and a gay old time laughing and talking and "confusion" but thoroughly enjoyed the evening out with friends.

In 1965, the region was enjoying great Spring-like weather while the midwest was getting hammered with snow and cold and deaths from the miserable weather had already climbed to 30 people. This area had just dried out from all the flooding in the latter part of of '64 and early part of '65, so they were really enjoying the sunshine. However, forecasters said warm showers were coming in, which they all said was good for reviving the lawns and getting those plants growing. Basketball was underway and Cathlamet beat Hartline, 46 to 40 one day, then played Davenport the next, beating them by just one point in overtime, and then the next day, they played Skyhomish and won 74 to 72 in double overtime. So exciting times for the Mules! For all the radio listeners of the past, it was a sad time as Brace Beemer, the original Lone Ranger with his "Hi, Ho Silver Away" deep voice, died that week at the age of 62 from a heart attack. He was known as the youngest sergeant in World War I, as the husky actor lied about his age, and wound up being in the Rainbow Division in France and wounded at the age of only 14! Once television came into the picture, a different actor played the Lone Ranger. However, Beemer had been raising horses for many years, and the horse, "Silver," who was featured on the program, wound up being retired to pasture at his farm. Back in those days, there were no shots fired to kill an outlaw, instead the LR always shot the guns out of their hands or knocked them out with his fists. Ah, those were the days! All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.