Columbus Day storm anniversary Monday

NICE START--As this week begins, it's pretty doggone nice out there, and instead of fall, it seems like summer has returned. Of course, by the time you read this, we may be back to a cooling trend, so we'll be more normal for this time of year. Whenever we are still mowing our lawns every week in October, you know it's still pretty decent out there! The only thing I didn't enjoy about this wonderful weather was the bombardment of lady bugs and other insects, which just seemed to be everywhere! However, several forecasters are talking about the arrival of some rain so keep those boots by your sandals and the umbrella by your sunglasses, because you may be switching to them real soon.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Oct. 8-14 are Matt Helms, Jeff Baldwin, Justin McClain, Jessie Havens, Aron Havens, Richard Hoven, Kristina Heiner, Ivy Lou Vik, Paul and Pete LaBerge, Erin Phillips, Lisa Sauer, Tyler Cothren, Ron Cothren, Russ Poppe, Lisa Frink, Doug Manary, Josie Parker, Cameron Collins and my only granddaughter, Tessa Sechler. Here's to some stellar birthday celebrations this week!

Celebrating their anniversaries this week: Marty and Sue Kuller, Mr. and Mrs. William Owen, Mr. and Mrs. Brent Mahitka, Joe and Sheryl Weaver and Adam and Samantha Pedersen's west coast wedding. May you celebrate many more of these special days together!

HOMECOMING--If you want to give the Mules a big "whoop-whoop" this week, then head to the Wahkiakum High School football field this Friday night, Oct. 9 for the Homecoming Game. Here's hoping our game against Onalaska ends on a positive note for the boys, who we know are playing their hearts out, so win or lose, we love our Mules. Go get 'em boys!

The next home game, and possibly the last, will be held on Oct. 29, which will also be Senior night, so these games have a lot of special meaning to these athletes. I'm sure they hope you'll come and cheer them on as some of them will be playing their last football games of their high school years, and that's always a pretty emotional time for them.

NEW--If you're looking for a great gift to keep your friends or loved ones warm, and also give them something with a truly northwest flavor, why not head down to the Skamokawa Resort/General Store and pick up an item from their new clothing line. No, it's not the usual thing with the name of the place on it, although they do have some of those too, but instead, this new batch of zippered sweat shirts and sweat pants has "Bigfoot" on them! Yep, you can get your NW feel by slipping on one of these cozy items and be glad you're warm and safe from Sasquatch! Local Author, Robert Michael Pyle even wrote a book about the mysterious creature entitled, "Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide" and at times, is available at Redmen Hall. For those savvy online shoppers, I'm sure you'd be able to find it there as well. At any rate, a Bigfoot sweatshirt and a book by one of our local authors would be a great combo gift for Christmas I think! You can call the Skamokawa Resort/Store at 795-0726 for more information.

NEW THIS WEEKENED--Speaking of Redmen Hall, don't forget that artist Charlie Funk is just opening his exhibit at the hall this Saturday, Oct. 10. His works are also displayed at the Columbia River Heritage Museum and Fort Clatsop, so he is quite well known and his works represent his Chinook heritage and life along the Columbia River and Willapa Hills. The hall is open Thursday-Sunday, noon to four. Call 795-3007 for more information about this latest exhibit.

CART STILL HERE--I heard from Rachel Katyryniuk last week and she tells me that her coffee/espresso trailer, Ship Channel Coffee, will be at Skamokawa Vista Park Oct. 10 and 11, 17 and 18 and 24 and 25 from 7:30 a.m., to 2 in the afternoon. Their last day will be Oct. 25, so don't miss out on your coffee treat (or other great treat) at the park on these next three weekends. It's been very handy having them here all these months, so stop by before they pull up stakes for the winter!

MEMORABLE DAY--This coming Monday is Columbus Day and I don't know how many of you remember that massive windstorm that we call the Columbus Day Storm, but it was the most powerful storm to hit the Pacific Northwest in the 20th century. Dubbed the "Big Blow" by others, it hit on Friday, Oct. 12, 1962 and was the remains of typhoon Freda. This storm was unique in that no other storm before it, or since, was formed by the waning extratropical storm hitting a storm foundation zone in northern California and then regenerated itself into the storm that affected so many that day. The storm caused approx. 200 million dollars of damage in Oregon alone. In Lake Oswego, over 70 percent of homes were damaged, whereas most storms might not damage that much along the entire west coast, including Canada! The amount of timber lost that day was set at 11.2 billion board feet; just astounding! The winds registered 150 mph at Cape Blanco with gusts recorded up to 179 mph. A little closer to home, the Naselle Radar station recorded a hit of 160 mph, so if you were in this area back in 1962, it would be a day that you would never forget! Personally, I can still see our pastor's car backing up our driveway when the winds hit it and blew it up on just two wheels. The white Volvo was no match for Mother Nature that day! Thankfully, the odds of another storm ever forming like that, or hitting us, are pretty slim and that's just fine by me!

TRAGEDY--Last week's college campus shooting in Roseburg, Ore., was certainly a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have experienced the loss of their loved ones, and we hope and pray that those that are still in the hospital will improve daily and recover completely.

Also, in the news is hurricane Joaquin, which is pounding away at Bermuda, while a storm associated with it is swamping states in the Southeast, like South Carolina, so we'll keep all of those affected by that in our thoughts as well. Several deaths have already been attributed to the massive storm so we certainly feel for the families back there.

HUGE TURNOUT--Last Sunday there was a full house at the Norse Hall when a Celebration of Life service was held for my neighbor, Ann Brown, who passed away on Sept. 22. Without a doubt, she was loved by her many family members and friends, and everyone who shared a story of her, shared the fact that she was a great hugger and had the habit of having and giving out, handfuls of candy; thus, there were candies on every table! She was definitely a real sweetheart and I too will miss her weekly hugs. We should all live our lives so that when we pass, we too can be known for our generosity, having a great smile, being a great hugger and being a sweet, kind person. After all, it matters not whether you are rich in monetary terms, as being rich in the knowledge that you are loved by all your family and your friends is what matters most.

SYMPATHIES--We'd also like to send our sympathies to the family of Luci Moody of Grays River, who passed away on September 24 at the age of 67 and whose services were held last Monday.