New informational signs erected at Vista Park

WARM ENOUGH?--If you're a heat lover, you've certainly enjoyed the last couple of weeks, as it's been pretty toasty! I'm sure the folks selling AC units and fans have been happy for the extra sales and there's sure to have been an abundance of outdoor style furniture, BBQ's and coolers sold, so that's a good thing. I'm not so sure that the folks selling fireworks were quite as busy. Many errored on the side of caution and didn't buy any this year, but better safe than sorry. At any rate, I hope you had a great Fourth of July. I was happy to see our temperatures drop in the evening hours, where one night we were about 20 degrees cooler than Portland and that was just fine with me!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 9-15 are David Shrum, Samantha McClain, Jalynn Rainey, Sharrel Mooers, Marietta Montgomery, Don Wright, Jamie Hjaltalin, Janelle Seaberg, Mary Schroder, Steve Hart, Justin Perkins, Martha Backman, Sunny Manary, Dean Takko, Kurtis Bergseng, Brad Towery, Megan Miller, Lonney Kubacki, Dan Cochran, David West, David West Jr., Doug Wright, and grandsons Kyle Sechler, Blake Sechler and Bryce Good. Belated birthday wishes go out to Lisa Mooers and her grandson, and Steve Macchione. Sorry for the belated wishes!

Happy Anniversary wishes this week go out to John and Mary Gustafson, Phil and Donna Moody, Carol Carver and George Exum, Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Prestegard, Ken and Bev Peterson and Mr. and Mrs. Dana McClain. Here's wishing you wonderful anniversary celebrations.

FLEA MARKET--Come to Skamokawa this Saturday, July 11, for the monthly flea market at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, which is usually held on the first Saturday of the month but due to the July 4th holiday, was postponed until this weekend. So, come on down and see if you find any treasures and check out the other vendors that come to sell their wares there as well.

THIS SATURDAY--If you're into bicycling, you'll know that this Saturday is the big Seattle to Portland bicycle race, or the STP as they call it, so any plans you have for traveling on those back roads up and down the I-5 corridor may get a little hairy with all those cyclists out there. Once again, son Pete Sechler will take part in this ride but this time it's going to be with his youngest son, Luke who is just 15, so we're wishing him a lot of luck at this huge challenge. Pete's other two boys have gone with him before but they were both 21, so a big age difference. No matter the turn out, the experience will be a good one for him, and as a grandma, I'm just hoping there are no accidents or anything like that, so we're just hoping and praying for a safe ride.

SECOND SUNDAY CONCERT--Once again the Friends of Skamokawa will host another local talent at Redmen Hall, this Sunday at 2 p.m. They are happy to have Layton and Pam Elliott perform for you. Half of the proceeds from this performance goes towards the continuing maintenance and restoration of Redmen Hall. The Elliotts hope to see you there!

NEXT WEEKEND--As far as I know, this coming weekend is a quiet one, so I think we should all kick back and take a breather before the following weekend shows up, which as we all know, is Bald Eagle Days! There will be a run for runners, breakfast for those early birds, beer gardens for the beer lovers, a wonderful parade with vendors along Main Street in Cathlamet, and of course, the big fireworks show in the evening from the marina, so what's not to like? We hope you'll be there and support this one of a kind event.

END OF JULY--If you're a horse lover, you'll want to head to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds on July 25, as the second round of the Silver Buckle Series will be held that day. Here's hoping it will be a little cooler for the animals that weekend. The third and last one of the Silver Buckle competition will be held on the last day of the fair, Aug. 22, so come on down and cheer on your favorite rider and horse!

CLASS OF 1968--Dennis Emery asked if I'd please remind everyone of the members of the Class of '68, that there will be the yearly reunion at Skamokawa Vista Park on Aug. 8 at 1 p.m., at the upper covered area, by the yurts. (This is not to be confused with the all class Skamokawa school reunion to be held in that same spot on Aug. 22 and headed by Gary Emery (795-0884.) If you want more info about this gathering for the class of 68, please give Dennis a call at 360-957-5063.

SIX WEEKS--The Wahkiakum County Fair will be here before you know it; just six weeks away now! Things are already ramping up as the fair court will hold fund raisers and sell tickets for the big prize this year which is a two night stay at Chinook Winds Casino & Resort and two tickets for you to go see one of their shows while you're there, so that's an awesome prize. Keep watch for the girls and support them and our fair! Fair dates are Aug. 20-22 this year so here's hoping you'll come down on one of those three days, if not all three, as there are special days where you can get in free if you're a senior, a child or a military person. Of course, it's hoped that if you get in free, that you'll support the fair in some other way, as without monies coming in, there can be no fair. I think that if all of our former county residents could make it work over the past 100 plus years, we should certainly be able to pull this off in this day and age. Don't want to attend the fair but you want to support it? You can always send a check to the Wahkiakum County Fair, P. O. Box 1, Skamokawa, WA 98647. Please help keep this tradition going!

HOLIDAY WRAP-UP--David and Connie Shrum entertained guests, Lloyd and Joyce from Hermiston, OR and locals, Kay and Bill C. over the holiday weekend, where they not only were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with a nice BBQ and all the fixings, but they also had an early 60th birthday celebration for David. Birthday tiaras, flashing colored rubber balls and rings and flying rubber chickens made for a bit of fun in celebrating the birthday boy's big day! A trip to the coast on Saturday had three of the group happy to come back to Skamokawa in the early evening and away from the crowds on the beach, as masses of people fled there to get away from the hotter temperatures inland and it was a zoo!

John and Mary Gustafson celebrated the big holiday with about 20 friends and relatives at a lake up on the sound, so with tons of food and lively conversations, and fireworks, they had a wonderful time.

Robert and Karla Kyle had a quiet holiday at their house in spite of some neighboring parties, but with some of the other neighbors on the block being police officers, they didn't have to worry about any late night activities keeping them awake or any rowdiness of any kind, so they were thankful for that. With temperatures hovering near 100 recently, fireworks didn't seem like a good idea anyway!

Mark and Rhonda Pedersen enjoyed some down time at Ocean Shores last week and with sea fog rolling in along the coastal areas, temperatures were much cooler and even required a light jacket if you happened to be sitting out in the early morning or late evening hours. Considering the two of them work in one of our "cement cities" the coolness of the coast was most welcome.

GOOD AND BAD-- Becky Ledtke was feeling pretty happy prior to the holiday weekend, as there was a lot of work being done around the house. Son Bryan had come home for a bit from college and she and Jerry purchased a "new to them" camper so that traveling around and going to jewelry shows or to music events would be much more convenient. So things were going swell, and then she got into a batch of critters (wasps) that stung her multiple times; ouch! She wasn't feeling so great at first but the last I heard, she was feeling better, and was able to attend the Sunday Market in Astoria with her jewelry. Not something one wants to experience, that's for sure!