This is a busy weekend in the county

LABOR DAY WEEKEND--I trust you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. For some of the campers, it didn't start out so great, as we had quite a bit of rain from time to time but with the much needed rain helping our lawns turn from brown to green and our fire danger so high, most of us didn't mind. By the time that Monday came around, it was super nice so I hope you got to enjoy a BBQ with friends and family that day.

This whole week is supposed to be warming up, so by the time the weekend appears, we'll be back in the 80's and turning that AC back on, so summer isn't over just yet it seems. I'm sort of glad to have some more dry weather though, as it looks like we'll have a little more time to work on all those outdoor chores that we still haven't finished up, as while it was dry enough to do them, it was just too doggone hot to be out there doing them!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Sept 10-16 are Conner Parker, Brittanie Helms-Lampitt, Rex Gilbertsen, Jacob Hoven, Miya Kerstetter, Valerie Wallin, Dick Snyder, Sarah Phelps, Lori Bergseng, Penny Paulsen, Jim Spitzer, Zack Bonds, Gerry Brennan, Rhonda Heiner, Roger Reed, Samantha Pedersen and Naomi Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Quin Jr. and Christeena Bassi, Mr. and Mrs. Grant Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Vik, Mr. and Mrs. John Vik, John Jr. and Jessie Hoven, Eric and Sandy Bergseng, Mike and Samantha Wright, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Prestegard, Jim and Darlene Almer, Scott and Jen Pedersen and Adam and Samantha Pedersen. May all of your special days be celebrated with those you hold near and dear to your heart.

SUPER SUNDAY--Speaking of birthdays, Arthur Vik of Puget Island, turned 100 this past Tuesday, but his family held his party on Sunday, and I think he must have had 100 guests there to help him celebrate his big day! As is typical at such things, some wonderful fillets of fish were cooked up, and I'm told Kevin Vik did a great job on that. For us non-fish eaters, there were burgers and hot dogs and everything else that you could imagine. Ivy Lou Vik made sure we had a big yummy cake for Art, and along with another half dozen goodie trays, well, there was no way anybody was going away hungry! Family and friends came from near and far to see Art and join him in celebrating this big day, so he was thrilled to see everybody. He told me that getting there hadn't been easy and he had to work at it a little bit, but we knew if anybody could do it, he could! Family members had put together some wonderful picture boards and they had also done a wonderful progression of happenings in this ole world, "by the decade," so we could see all the new inventions that occurred since Art was born; it was a lot of work and was very interesting indeed!

Just in case you're wondering what my connection to the Vik family is, well, Art had been married to my Aunt Marian (Everest-Healy) for many years prior to her passing, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer guy to join the family!

NEXT GAME--This Friday, Sept. 11, the Mules football team will host Napavine here at home, so we want to cheer them on when game time begins at 7 p.m., at the Wahkiakum High School football field. Go Mules! The Lady Mules will play volleyball at South Bend today but will entertain Ilwaco at home on the 15th. Go get 'em Lady Mules!

BUSY WEEKEND--One cannot say there is "nothing to do" around this area this weekend, as Saturday, Sept. 12 is just full of various activities and hopefully we'll see you at a couple of them. On Puget Island, you can attend Kyleen Austin's new CD release, "If You Were" at the Little Island Creamery at 444 East Little Is. Road beginning at 4 p.m. this Saturday.

Also on the Island later on that evening, is the Sons of Norway monthly Bingo, with cash prizes, so all you Bingo lovers can head there. Games begin at 6 p.m. with doors open at 5:30.

Here in Skamokawa, we've got the Friends of Skamokawa annual fund raising event, as "Cornucopia of Wines" which features wine tasting and live and silents auctions, will take place at the Skamokawa Grange Hall Saturday evening. You can actually go to Kyleen's event and still make it to the wine tasting on time. There are a lot of fantastic items to bid on, whether it's a silent auction item or a live auction item, so get those paddles ready and let the bidding wars begin; now those are fun! The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with all the action beginning at 7 p.m.

On the west end, there is a Prime Rib dinner event happening at the GRVC, the old Rosburg School, from 5 to 7 p.m. but seating is limited, so we hope you were able to secure a $20 ticket for that. Call 360-465-2960 or 360-465-2731 right away if you're interested in going.

LATER THIS MONTH--There will be a couple of other big doings in the area towards the end of the month, as once again you can go down to the GRVC in Rosburg and enjoy a dinner, only this time, it will be a Lasagna dinner to benefit the West End Food Bank. This will be held on Sept. 26 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with tickets costing just $10. This includes your beverage, salad, breadsticks and dessert, so it's a great deal. You can buy a ticket early at the food bank that Thursday from 1 to 5, or you can call Shonda Ware at 360-465-2722 or you can just purchase them at the door.

In Cathlamet, there will be a "Harvest Days Vendor Fair" at the Elochoman Slough Marina that day, so you could go to that and then head over the hill to the diner, so you'd have quite a nice day supporting one group or another. If you'd like to be a vendor at the HDVF on Sept. 26 down at the marina, contact the Chamber at 795-9996 and Shannon Gildea will give you all the information and forms for a booth. Call today!

CHANGE OF PLANS--Several members of the Class of 1967 are going to be camping out at Skamokawa Vista Park on the last full week of this month, and they plan on having a "Fireside Chat" during that time where everyone is welcome. It had been planned for Sat. the 26th, but with the other things going on that date, and the fact that some of the group is leaving quite early on Sunday morning, they opted to change it to Friday, Sept. 25. This is not just for the Class of '67, but any other WA-KI-HI alumni that would like to stop by and chat with the group. This is a casual affair that includes a potluck at 6 p.m., so feel free to stop by and visit some "oldies but goodies" that you may not have seen for awhile. We'd love to see you!

CORRECTION--The Skamokawa Grange #425 gave away a couple of gift baskets at fair time, but credit was given to the wrong business in regards to one of the gift certificates that was in one of those, so my apologies for that. The Cathlamet Market was the one who donated a gift card along with this basket, so a big thank-you goes out to them.

NICE GOOD-BYE--There was a nice turn out for Kayrene Gilbertsen's retirement party last Tuesday afternoon, and we wish her well as she leaves her Island home and starts a new life in the city. We will all miss her volunteer work around here, as she's been involved in a lot of different organizations over the years, and so her help will be deeply missed. It didn't surprise me when she told me that she was looking into a few groups near her new home, so if she does join something there, they'll really enjoy having this "worker bee" as a new volunteer. I was also happy to hear that a new family with children has purchased her Puget Island home so we'll have a couple more kids in our school system.

STILL COFFEE TIME--You only have until Wed. Sept 16 to enjoy the coffee/smoothie/shake and goodie stand at the Skamokawa Vista Park, so I hope you take advantage of that service while they're still here. The Ship Channel Coffee and Espresso trailer has been a welcome addition to the park this past summer and we're going to miss it for sure, but once the new year begins and the weather gets nice, I'm hoping to see them back again!

MAIL LETTERS/BILLS--The Skamokawa Post Office is having another mail count this Saturday so I do hope everyone in the Skamokawa area will try to get something out in the mail that day. Now's the time to say "Happy Fall" and tell the relatives your holiday plans, so this Saturday would be a good time to do it!