New exhibit to begin at Redmen Hall July 2

WARM BEGINNING--As this week begins, it's a toasty Sunday; upper 80s in West Valley and I've heard other areas are a little hotter than that, but that's plenty for me. I'm sure those that got soaked last Thursday and Friday are glad to see the sun arrive once again, as it's tough to start a big garage and yard sale when it's super soggy out there. However, it's supposed to be dry all week, and possibly all through the holiday weekend so be sure to take all the heat precautions. However, with the cloudiness here on Monday and Tuesday mornings, it's been much cooler than first expected, so the heat wave may be in Portland but I'm kind of liking the morning clouds and cooler temps, with the sun coming out later in the day; mid-70s suits me just fine!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from June 30-July 6 are Matt Helms III, Sandie York, Kelly Melton, Tanya Cleveland, Hope Nielsen, Danny Poe, Chris Wika, Phyllis Wika, Debbie Kuller, George Exum, Jim Wilson, Lisa Mooers and grandson, Dale Jacobson, Nathan Chamberlain and little Miss Finley S. turns one year old today. Enjoy!

Belated birthday wishes to Lance Britt who celebrated his big day last Sunday. How did I miss that?! Sorry!

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Maurice and Sharrel Mooers, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Al McClain, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Hap Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Florek Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Gary Emery, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Seaberg, Mr. and Mrs. Skip Irving, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ehrensberger, Glenn and Donna Palmer and Pete and Katie Sechler. Happy days to all of you!

NEW BIRTHDAY--Gene and Karen Healy became great grandparents again, as their granddaughter, Ashley and her hubby, Kevin, became the proud parents of a baby girl, Ava Jo on June 15. The little miss joins a big brother, Mason, who just turned two. Ashley is the daughter of the Healys' oldest daughter, Annette and her husband, Ron Miller who live on the east side of the state. Congratulations to the whole family!

FOS NEW EXHIBIT--The Friends of Skamokawa will have a new exhibit opening at River Life Interpretive Center located in Redmen Hall this Saturday, July 2, with a community reception held from 1 to 3, although the hall is open noon to four. The setting for the new exhibit is the Lower Columbia River from the years 1850-1927 and focuses on the steam powered sternwheelers that serviced this area, as well as tugboats. Needless to say, "Rolling on the River" is the perfect name for this exhibit which will run from this weekend thru the summer and will end Sept. 4. The FOS are pleased to have gotten the loan of several model sternwheelers from the Astoria Maritime Museum and also the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center, so seeing the table top models of "The Bailey Gatzert," the "R. R. Thompson" and the "Harvest Queen" on display will be quite a treat.

Throughout the length of the exhibit, special speakers will be there to talk about the role of these unique vessels along the river during the time when roads were scarce and waterways were the main ways to travel. The first speaker will be Peter Brix who has extensive knowledge of the tug boats, from sail, to steam to modern day, which have plied the waterways over the years. He will be up in the RLIC on July 9 at 2 p.m., and will be selling and signing his book, "The Brix Maritime Story" about the history of tug boats on the Lower Columbia River. The story of the Knappton Tug Boat Company and its importance to logging, bridge building and lives along the Columbia along with the KTB Co. being interlinked with the Brusco Tug Boat & Barge Co. and Foss Maritime, who are both well known around here, will be of great interest to many people of this area, so we hope you'll come and hear Mr. Brix speak on July 9.

To top it all off, don't miss out on the big book sale they are having in the Book/Gift Shop on the first floor of the hall, for a select group of books, so a good time to check that out! If you have any questions regarding this exhibit, call the hall: 795-3007.

FLEA MARKET--Once again there will be a chance for you to get in on some good deals or set up your own sale table, as the Wahkiakum Co. Fairgrounds will host their monthly sale on July 9. Contact the fairgrounds if you're interested in taking part in it, 795-3480 and leave a message.

FAIR TIME--Speaking of the fairgrounds, you now only have a month and a half to get those items rounded up, made up or planned for entry into the fair, as it takes place August 18, 19 and 20. However, items will have to be entered prior to that and bigger entries and certain other kinds of entries need to be entered even earlier, so be sure to check the fair book and/or contact the fair manager.

NEW NUMBERS--I heard that due to a new, updated system at the fair, all exhibitors will need a new exhibitor number, so be sure to get that all set up and corrected, as it would not be good to get your tags early and have them all made out under your old number. This would also be a good time to update your mailing address if need be, as you certainly don't want your premium checks going to an old address.

SYMAPTHY--I had a call from former Wahkiakum resident, Amanda "Punky" (Tover) Chambers and she informed me of the death of Boyd Ellison, 67, who was the son of Bernice (Tover) Ellison, now of Seattle. I understand he passed away on June 19 at home, and there will just be a graveside service held. If you'd like to send Bernice a card, give me a call and I'll get her address to you. Bernice only lives a short distance from my son and his family in Seattle and I try to stop by when I'm up there. In case you missed it in my column earlier this year, Bernice celebrated her 90th birthday in January. Our sympathies to her and to the rest of the family.

To all the new folks in this area: the Tovers and the Ellisons were well known on Puget Island years ago, and my connection to them, is that my Aunt Bella Pedersen married into the Ellison family when she married Erling Ellison.

MORE SYMPATHIES--I also want to send my sympthies to fellow columnist, Trudy Fredrickson, as she lost her husband, Delvin, on June 15. We send our sincerest condolences to her and their seven children and their families. No service was held but donations in his name could be sent to Community Home Health and Hospice, at P.O. Box 2067, Longview, WA 98632.

CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE--Cathlamet native, Mike Rose passed away last month in Nevada on May 25, but there will be a Celebration of Life service this Saturday, July 2, at 1 p.m., at 1109 Elochoman Valley Road. This is where the Rose Family Reunion was always held and everyone always had a great time together every year. Mike was a great guy and will be missed by all who knew him. He leaves behind his wife of 46 years, Ronda (Brown) and three children: Nolan, Erin and Brian, lots of grandkids and a brother, Dale Rose of Rosburg. Anyone wanting to stop by is welcome, but bring a lawn chair with you.

FRESH FOOD, ETC--There's lots of things to check out at the Puget Island Farmers Market on West Birnie Slough. This is always held on Fridays in the afternoon and not only contains fresh veggies, but folks bring things to sell there and there's usually some kind of entertainment, so check them out if you're looking for home-grown or home-made things!

B.E.D--Bald Eagle Days will be held July 16. Of course, some of the action begins on July 15, with chalk art happening that day and special things going on at the P. I. Market. The big parade and all the vendors happens on Main Street on Saturday, with the big fireworks display that evening. We hope you'll come and enjoy the day!

GETTING TOGETHER--After the parade, members of the Class of 1967 will meet at Dale Jacobson's for a mini potluck class reunion and birthday gathering at 1:30. His place is on the back side of the brewery, at the lower corner of it anyway, so if you miss the one street, you can just park at the marina and walk over! Sharon McKie said she would be bringing her own birthday cake, as it is her BD that day, and she'll share it with the rest of us July birthday "kids." It's always a good idea to bring your own chair to these kinds of things, as well as your favorite food and beverage!

BIG HOLIDAY--It's going to be another one of those three day holidays as the Fourth of July falls on Monday. It will be a weekend of BBQ's and fireworks and all that fun stuff, so here's to a holiday full of good times, good friends and great memories. Please take precautions if you have animals, as all this holiday noise can really freak them out, so let's hope folks will be considerate of others, like us old folks, little ones and the critters and not cause any of them any unnecessary, prolonged racket that evening. Let's keep it safe and sane in all respects as we don't want this holiday marred by any tragedies! Happy 4th of July everybody!