Catch the Fair Bug Thursday-Saturday

TOASTY TIMES--Last Friday was a super hot day around here with temperatures still plenty warm after dark, which doesn't happen too often, so I was very happy to be inside enjoying some air conditioning. Temperatures cooled down a bit as this week began but according to the weather folks, it's supposed to get good and hot again by fair time. If this does indeed happen, please take extra care to keep yourself and your pets cool and hydrated.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 18-24 are Jessica Schiek, Becky Ledtke, Riley Emlen-Petterson, Kay Walters, Nance Collupy, Chip Perkins, Gena Riley, Cindy Faubion, Linda DeBriae, Larry Havens, Bryce Heiner, Kathy Durrah, Greg Parker, Ashley Silva, Kody Vik, Deanna Dachtler, Vivian Olsen, Vicki Gregory, Stoney Anketell, John Gustafson, Bobbie Leingang, Toni Sue Ostling, Clarity Gabbard, Shannon Ellison, Sean Pedersen and with special rememberances for our past family members, Lori Ann Pedersen Finkas and Marshall Pedersen. Belated birthday wishes to Margie Wagner Pedersen whose birthday was this past Monday. Hope you had a great day Margie!

Happy anniversary wishes this week go out to Russ and Kathy Durrah, Mr. and Mrs. Sean Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Heiner, Mr. and Mrs. Brian Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Donald Quintero.

BIG NEWS--It looks like I'll be able to add to the above list soon, as the Pedersen family will have a couple of new family members before, as Mark Pedersen's youngest son, Jonas, has gotten engaged to his long-time gal-friend, Bo Fu so "congratulations" to them. Also, Mark's oldest son, Gabriel and wife Annie, will be introducing a new baby, which I believe I mentioned earlier, but at that time we didn't know that they would be having a baby boy, so we're all super excited about that. Congrats to them!

IT'S FAIR TIME EVERYBODY!--Today, Aug. 18, is the first of the three day Wahkiakum County Fair, held in Skamokawa at the Wah. Co. Fairgrounds. Thursday is Senior Citizen Day (& Red Hat Ladies Day), so take advantage of this "free time" until 4 p.m. The following day is Kids' Day, and the same thing applies there. Kids 12 and under are free until 4 p.m. Saturday is Armed Forces Day and it's also the day for the Salmon BBQ, which begins at noon. And of course, attending all three days is easy with your fair pass! There's a lot of good music planned at various times and Model T rides, tractor pulls, horse riding, exhibits, food and more, so head to Skamokawa and support your local, country-styled fair!

CHANGING HOURS--According to owner Rachael Katyryniuk, the "Ship Channel Coffee" cart located in Skamokawa Vista Park, will be changing its hours. Beginning Aug. 22, the SCC will only be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 to 2 p.m. I know many people have enjoyed the seven day a week schedule but with summer winding down and school opening up soon, it's time for those Fall hours to take place.

THINKING OF THEM--I learned that Lisa Mooers has been laid up recently and I was told she'd be having some surgery soon, so we hope that is successful and we want to wish her a speedy recovery once that's over. Take care Lisa! We also learned that Jonnie Knowles had some foot surgery recently, so while she may be hobbling around still, I was happy to see her at the big class reunion, so it appears she's on the mend and we hope she's back to 100 percent soon.

COMING UP--Time is flying by, so it won't be long and the kids will be back in school and everyone will be going to the kids' sports events, and we hope they all have a good, safe season. We wish the various Warriors and Mules all the best! If you want to be a sponsor to these kids and their activities, be sure to call the school and I'm sure they'll give you all the information that you need to help them out. Being in sports is a good experience for them but it can be costly too, so being able to help out in some way is always appreciated by the athletes and coaches.

Also, the Friends of Skamokawa want to invite you to Redmen Hall before their "Rolling on the River" exhibit leaves, and of course, they want to invite you to their Wine Tasting & Auction event coming up on Sept. 10 at the Skamokawa Grange Hall. It's always a very fun event! The cost for tickets have been changed from my previous article: $15 for singles and $25 for couples if you get them in advance and $20 for singles and $30 for couples at the door. A great bargain any way you look at it and it all goes to a good cause, as keeping the historic building up and running for our community to enjoy is truly imperative. If you would like to donate something to be auctioned off, but haven't been asked to donate something yet, please give them a call at 795-3007. Both silent and live auction items are needed.

The Skamokawa Grange Hall is hosting "Grange Aid" night by having a concert on Sept. 2 by several musical groups by many talented local folks, so check them out in a couple of weeks at 18 Fairgrounds Road.

The Sons of Norway will hold their next meeting on Sept. 7 at the Norse Hall on Puget Island and you're welcome to join them at 7 p.m. If you like Bingo, they hold that on the second Saturday evening of each month, with just a couple of exceptions throughout the year.

Next week is "Get Hooked" Fall Run Salmon derby; a fishing contest taking place at the Elcohoman Slough Marina Aug. 26 & 27, so check that out if you're wanting to win a great prize for the biggest fish. Vendors are wanted at this event, as well as for the upcoming Wooden Boat Festival, and the Oktober Fest that takes place in mid-Septmeber, so call the Wahkiakum Chamber right away at 795-9996, if you're interested.

If you're having guests from out of town, be sure to stop by the Wahkiakum County Historical Society Museum, as the history of this county is very interesting and there are a whole lot of wonderful exhibits and great photographs to enjoy. It's open on the weekends beginning at 1 p.m.

As you can see, there's plenty to do in the weeks ahead, so jump on in there and enjoy some of the action that's coming up! There is no reason to be bored around here, that's for sure!

CRK--The Columbia River Kayaking company was formed in 2007 and is housed at the Skamokawa Landing building. CRK offers an array of opportunities to learn how to handle yourself in a kayak or to be guided around the area in varous groups. Their last Immersion class of the season will be held Aug. 28. Call right away to get a spot, or for more information: 360-747-1044.

REUNION WRAP-UP--It wasn't the hottest of days, compared to the day before, but after a couple hundred people showed up for the 100 year Commerative All School Reunion at Wahkiakum High School this past Saturday, it wound up getting plenty warm; must have been all that "hot air" flowing around! It was great to see everyone that took the time out of their busy lives and schedules to gather together and share stories and visit with former classmates. I'm not positive of who had the biggest representation of classmates there, but the "Golden Class," the Class of 1966, certainly appreared to have had one of the bigger groups. Once Susan gets all the "stats" compiled, it will be fun to see how many from each year were actually there.

For some, it was the first time that they'd ever been in the "new" school. We chuckled about that, seeings how it's over 50 years old already! It was great to see Bernice Tover Ellison from Seattle, pictured with my former Puget Island neighbor, Vern Olson and Dolores Danielsen Hanes from the Class of 1945 on the front page of the Area News in the Daily News last Sunday. (Bernice, who is linked to me via the Ellison family, lives fairly close to my kids in Seattle and I try to stop by and see her when I'm up there.) That article had a couple of "oopsies" in it, like saying, "Mr. Thompson" when actually, we 67'ers were talking about Mr. Thomas, oh well.

When it came time for the food, well, there was a great array of everything! There were roll ups, multiple kinds of sandwiches, buckets of chicken, veggie trays galore, fruit bowls and platters, multiple kinds of salads, chips and dips, homemade dessert bars, blackberry cobblers and pies, and cake; lots of cake! There was no reason for anyone to go away hungry, as there were about 10 tables packed with food! It's almost kind of funny, as with such a wide variety of food items, you'd have thought it was planned that way. Good job everybody!

There were multiple drawings for a wide variety of Mule things, many made by WA-KI-HI alumni, Ruthie Durrah Doumit, so those were extra special. There were also blankets and cups and goodies too, so the winners of these items had an extra treat to take home with them that day.

The picture boards were started by the late, Susan Anderson Cotter Sullivan, and updated by Susan McClain Kuhn, who was the chief organizer for this event and I'm not sure everyone realizes just how massive a job this is, so a big" thank-you" goes out to Susan! Her right hand gal, who traveled with her and hauled a lot of groceries and did a lot of work, was Sherry Stewart, so a big thanks goes to her as well. A small group of us, which included several of the Doumit family, helped cover and tape down the rolls of white paper over the newly finished gym floor and a bit bigger group helped finish cleaning up afterwards, so that was a huge help. Kudos to everyone who pitched in during the event to get things set up and clean up afterwards; it's always a huge task and many hands make it easier on everybody. For all those who helped but were not mentioned by name, please know your helping hands were truly appreciated.

Susan is already trying to set the stage for the 2020 reunion, which may happen at Skamokawa Vista Park. She's got a poll started on Facebook, so if a "picnic/campout" appeals to you, then let her know, as plans have to be made well in advance of these events. If you don't have FB, you can email her at: sjmcq1@yahoo.com or you can call me and let me know what you think if you don't have access to a computer/email and I'll pass your ideas/comments to Susan.

TRAGEDY--On Sunday afternoon, we came home to find no power at our house, and it was off for several hours. Sadly, we learned that there had been a terrible, fatal crash right down the road from us, near Bjornsgard Road at the east end of KM mountain along SR 4. The 52 year old man had left the roadway, clipped a pole and multiple trees and wound up down the embankment there. While we did not know this man, Sergey Saranchuk, we certainly want to extend our sympathies to his family as they deal with the sudden loss of their loved one.

This is just one more example of the fact that we are not promised tomorrow. With that in mind, act accordingly.