Merry Christmas to one and all

WHITE OR NOT?--As this week began, we were enjoying a break from the miserable weather we'd been having, so we were all happy to see all the standing water begin to recede by Sunday evening. However, along came Monday and that enjoyment we had felt quickly subsided as a strong wind and rain event pounded many parts of our county and others. Trees were falling all over the place, from one county to the other, and that meant there were power outages and telephone outages as well. On Puget Island, one huge loss was the P.I. fire station which lost its roof, so those were some mighty strong winds whipping through the area to do that!

To top it all off, according to a couple of forecasters, there is a chance that some folks in our area may be seeing some snow fall by the time you read this. For some, that is exciting, as a white Christmas doesn't happen too often and is always so pretty. However, for those who have family and friends traveling on the roadways to get to various holiday dinners, it's also a huge worry, as accidents are more frequent and road closures can occur, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that if we do get some snow, that this will be a "light dusting" that will brighten up the gloomy scenery but not mess up our roadways.

If it does turn nasty out, and you do have to be on the roadways, I wish you safe travels to your holiday gatherings. Also, it might be helpful if you give yourself a little extra time to reach your destination, turn on those headlights, proceed with a little extra caution and be prepared for anything, as we just never know around here!

BIG BUMMER--While there were some serious flooding issues a couple of weeks ago, which were accompanied by slides and road closures, many (not all) of these issues are pretty common around here. If you're new to the area, you might be quite irate to find yourself stranded while the flood waters keep you at home, but these things happen and we just have to deal with them. However, the one thing that was a complete annoyance to folks was this latest ferry closure, which truly seems to have been a design flaw and which has caused an alarming amount of down time for something that was "new" and quite expensive. Here's hoping the ferry won't be down as long as predicted, two or three more weeks, and when it returns, it's hoped to have some smooth sailing for awhile.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 24-30 are Garrett McClain, Kyla Gribskov, Steve Smith, Grant Turner, Dan Bardsley, Lee Tischer, John Hoven Jr., Coral Linquist, Michele Smith, Shelby Mace, Tony Danker, Ron Wika, Kohl Bergseng, Nancy McCoy, Skylor Grasseth, Ed Rose, Toby Bell and Frank Pedersen.

Celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hoven, Mr. and Mrs. Pat Thacker, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Helms, Mr. and Mrs. Orville Lindsey, Mr. and Mrs. Danny Eaton and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Jungers. Enjoy your special days everybody!

COMING UP--The Skamokawa United Methodist Church wants to remind you that they will hold a special Christmas Eve service at 5 p.m., so you are welcome to attend this celebration of the season with your friends and neighbors tonight.

UPCOMING MEETING--The Skamokawa Diking District #5 will hold their annual budgeting meeting for 2016 on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., at the Duck Inn. If you are interested in this area's diking district, then this public meeting is open to you to find out.

ENJOYABLE TIME--Last Saturday evening was "Customer Appreciation Day" at the Duck Inn and we truly enjoyed the big spread put on by the cooks at the Duck, and a big thanks to Logan Britt for putting this on for his loyal customers. It's been several years now since the new Duck opened, and it's so nice to have this "old, but new" place here so that we meet up with old friends and make new ones as well. I heard that one of the winners of one of the big prizes, a TV, was Rosalie Webb, so congrats to her!

SYMPATHIES--It was with a heavy heart that I learned that Arthur Vik passed away last week after turning 100 years old just a few months ago on Sept. 8. Art was a long time Islander with a huge family and wound up with even more relatives when he married into my family when he and my Aunt Marian (Everest-Healy) were wed. He was known for his gentle ways and kind spirit and it was a pleasure to have known him. While his family and dear friends got to enjoy this wonderful man for such an extended time, it's still a blow to everyone when one of the "good guys" passes on. Our sincere sympathies to all those who felt a closeness to Art and I do hope you were able to see him at his big party, as I know he had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone who came to share his special day. Family members told me that Art's services will be held at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church on Puget Island at noon this Saturday, Dec. 26.

FORMER RESIDENT--Just in case you missed it in last week's paper, former Skamokawa resident, Paul Stewart passed away in Arizona on Dec. 9 at the age of 72. His services were held last Saturday at the Skamokawa Methodist Church. Our sympthathies are extended to his wife, Jae and the rest of his family.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1945, found Christmas Eve being a very pleasant day but foggy evening, but Christmas Day found it pouring down rain that continued for most of the week. With high winds and storminess, the rivers were rising and flooding began in some areas. That Christmas Eve, Krist, Carol, Ralph, Frank and David Pedersen of Puget Island, were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Pedersen and four of their kids: Nancy, Peder, Wally and Peggy from across Welcome Slough and also Ralph and Elsie Everest, so the house on North Welcome Slough had a real houseful! The next morning, the Everests took the bus up the hill to daughter Marian's (Leon Healy) house where they enjoyed a big Christmas breakfast. Later that day, the Everests, Healys and the Pedersens all joined forces and had a wonderful Christmas dinner together. Sadly, the next day the Everests learned that a dear friend, Art Zipple had passed, as did Mr. Hollar. The following day, the Everests took the bus to Longview where they did some shopping and met up with other relatives for a nice unexpected chat. Muriel Foster Howell was on the bus as well, but she was headed clear back to New York City to join her husband there; quite a trip! That evening, it was time for Elsie Everest to join up with the ladies of the Rebekah's where a group of 27 enjoyed a good meeting. The movie playing in Cathlamet at that time was "Objective Burma." The whole town got pretty excited when the fire sirens began to wail and got stuck. Luckily nothing was really wrong, except for the noise! The week ended with a nice day during the day but more rain and wind by late afternoon. In spite of weather conditions, festivities were happening all around town and families gathered to share the Christmas holiday with friends and loved ones. All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.

ENJOY!--I do hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas with family and friends, with memories to last a lifetime! Be sure to check out the New Year's festivities at our local establishments as I'm sure they'll all be ringing in the new year next Thursday evening with special dinner menus and music!