Emergency drill in Cathlamet on Friday

PLENTY WARM--If you are one of those who love the heat, you sure got it last week and weekend! Wow, way too toasty for me! We joke about it "always raining" at least one day of the Wahkiakum County Fair, but that certainly didn't happen this time, as those drips you felt weren't from the sky but more than likely falling from your forehead! Luckily, a cool down showed up Saturday evening and we began this week with some nice cloud cover on Sunday morning and even some wetness on Monday morning before the sun returned by early afternoon. Cooler temps are due for a couple of days this week before they go back up, so stay hydrated everybody!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 25-31 are Kelly Nettles Recupero, LouAnn Hedges, Katie Phillips, Dolly Hartley, Mike Vincent, Audrey Hedman, Bob Wegdahl, Jr., Carter Helms-Carvalho, Kathy Perkins, Linda Ougendal, Meredith Cothren, Judy Danielsen, Debbie Melton, Joe Turgeon, Vance Mosteller, Wayne Bell and with special remeberances for David W. Pedersen and Elinor Bridenhagen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Cruickshank, Lesley and Larry Horman, John and Melissa Thompson, Mike and Sara Brown, Beryl and Randi Curtis, Grant and Ashley Turner, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Doumit and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Robinson. May all of your special days bring you smiles and happiness.

Belated anniversary wishes to Ty and Kendra Finkas who celebrated their fourth anniversary last Thursday, sorry it's late!

GREAT PARTY--A couple of weeks ago, one of our former Skamokawa residents got a nice surprise, when one of her former employees set up a birthday party for her. Tyna Zink got the gang together at Parker's Steakhouse in Castle Rock, and surprised our beloved "Duck Inn" Judy Smith, with the whole batch of us for her 70th birthday! Tony and wife Josie brought out food, and fill-in help so Judy didn't have to keep working, and enjoy her big day, while we all nibbled on trays of tasty treats and enjoyed a yummy birthday cake! Judy was definitely surprised and we even got her to tear up a bit, so Tyna did a great job of getting us all there and really surprising Judy! Many of us had called Judy our boss, as we had almost all worked at the Duck Inn back in the day, and most of us called her our friend as well. Over the years, we'd all shared a lot of time with Judy when she and Skamokawa Pete Peterson ran the place, and so we'll always have some wonderful memories to share. This party was just one more great memory to add to our collection of good times with Judy. Here's to many more Jude!

NICE CELEBRATION--He had to cook the main dish, but John Gustafson didn't seem to mind cooking up some ribs for his birthday guests this past weekend. Guests David and Connie Shrum, Michael Baccellieri and Bill and Kay Chamberlain definitely got their fill of some tender BBQ ribs, along with all the tasty side dishes. Birthday cake and ice cream was served up by hostess Mary and we all broke into chorus as we helped John celebrate birthday number 76. Here's to many more John!

THIS IS IT--It's time for all those fishermen to grab their rods and reels and head out to try and catch the biggest fish this Friday and Saturday, as the big Fall Salmon Derby is taking place at the Elochoman Slough Marina those two days; the last weekend in August, wow!

EMERGENCY DRILL--Aug. 26 is also going to be the time for the Law Enforcment and Emergency Services training drill in the Cathlamet area, which will take place at Wahkiakum High School with hundreds of people involved, both emergency personnel and "victims." I'm told there's going to be a lot of noise and commotion so don't freak out if you're near that area and you hear a lot of racket!

MUSIC:GRANGE AID--Next Friday evening, Sept. 2, the doors will open at 6:30 p.m. at Skamokawa Grange Hall, where beginning at 7 p.m., the hall will be full of music as several bands will take part in "Grange Aid," a fund raiser to help the historic Skamokawa Grange Hall. I'm told there will be four bands: The Cliffs of Cathlamet, Skamokawa Swamp Opera, Giants in Trees and Butterfly Launches from Spar Pole. Admission is $10 for adults, with youth from 6 to 18 and seniors costing just $5 and kids five and under are free.

ROCKING OUT--Speaking of music, my great nephew, Kristian Pedersen, son of Scott and Jen Pedersen, made the Columbian Newspaper recently, as he and his band, called the Northwest Rock Academy, got rave revues after performing recently. Seems they had a great set at "Billy Blues Bar and Grill" in Hazel Dell and are playing other places too. Kristian is really impressing folks on that new Fender guitar of his. Way to go KP!

FIRST WEEKEND IN SEPT--I hope that everyone is making plans to head to the marina during the first weekend in September, as the annual "Wooden Boat Festival" will be held Sept. 3 & 4. This is a fund raiser to help our local Search and Rescue organization, and Michael Baccellieri has once again made a great little 7-ft skiff that you might win if you have the lucky ticket! All proceeds to benefit the WCS&R.

You'll be able to enjoy some live music next door at the River Mile 38 Brewing Company and stop in for a drink or two, and they are adding something new this year: an "Ugly Car and Rat Rod" car show! This is a first for them so bring that junky old relic out of the barn and head down to the brewery to see if you can be their first winner of their first car show! That's Sept. 3 only, from 2 to 9 with trophies being awarded at 5:30 p.m.

SONS OF NORWAY--On Sept. 7, the regular monthly meeting for the Sons of Norway will be held at the Norse Hall on Puget Island at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. They want to remind you that Bingo takes place on the second Saturday evening of each month, so all of you who love cash prizes, head there to enjoy a rousing round or two of Bingo!

ON SALE ALREADY--If you're one of those folks who just loves attending the Wahkiakum 4-H Covered Bridge Dinner fund raiser, well there's great news: tickets are on sale already, and with limited seating, you should get yours today! This event takes place Oct. 1 and seating begins at 4:30 p.m. The price of a regular ticket is $35, but if you are a "Grand American" which means you are either a veteran or over 72, the cost is just $25. Remember, besides a great "indoor/outdoor" dinner venue in an historic place, there will be a live auction and music too, so if you didn't get your tickets at the fair already, contact the Cathlamet WSU Extension office today, 795-3278 or stop by their office at 25 River Street and get yours soon!

GET WELL--When we think of all our woodland critters around here, we often think of avoiding the myriad of deer that seem to always jump out in front of us as we're cruising down the road in our cars, but I've never thought too much of the dangers of raccoons and even then, we think of them on country roads and not city roads. Well, sadly, for Fred Nollan, an encounter with one of the "bandits" while he was on his bicycle proved to be extemely hazardous to his health, as the ensuing crash and tumble to the pavement meant broken ribs and several fractures in his pelvis. Ouch! We want to send our best wishes to him and we're so sorry this happened at all but especially at this time, as his plans for a month long stay in Europe had to be canceled and all other things that dominoed from this unexpected episode had to be dealt with as well, so that was really too bad. Again we see that our plans can be changed in an instant from some of the most unexpected happenings.

REUNION NEXT YEAR--If you happen to be in the graduating Wahkiakum High School class of 1972, this is an early notification for you about your reunion planned for next year. It will be held on Aug. 12, 2017 at the Elochoman Slough Marina in Cathlamet, so the class hopes you'll be there. Check with some fellow classmates about all the particulars if you haven't already been notified about it.

DOWN THE ROAD A BIT--Susan McClain Kuhn (sjmq1@yahoo.com) is already taking peoples' ideas about the next big reunion, to be held in 2020, so she has set up a page on Facebook where you can put in your two cents about a proposed campout in Vista Park, or if you'd like something else and what momth you'd like to have it. If you're not on the computer, you can always give me a call and I can pass on your thoughts and ideas.

FAIR WRAP UP--The 108th Wahkiakum County Fair is in the books for this year and as most big things, planning for the next fair starts right after the last one ends. There are always those with more ideas and suggestions of how to make the fair better, so if you would like to see certain things changed, improved, removed, etc., why not write them down and bring them to the fairboard at their next board meeting? You might have even seen an opportunity for your group/club/organization to make some money by offering to do something that no one else did, so maybe you could join in and put up a booth. Remember, these areas all cost money, and demand a lot of time, which is why some folks who have great ideas, just don't follow them through, as they cannot make the committment to do so. Sometimes working together is the only way to make something happen.

I have heard many people say they would like to have a carnival at the fair, and I hear just as many say they don't. Here's the thing that maybe some do not understand: the carnivals do not come here for free. You must pay them to show up! Needless to say, with a small budget, that's tough, if not impossible to do. The booths they put up at a "professional carnival" then sell food items and games, which directly affect local things, and with people only having so much "extra" money to spend, well, it winds up going to the people we paid to come here, who then leave with your money, rather than to the people who actually live and work here and whose organization depends on this "extra" to make it through the winter. Then you have the cost of the rides or bracelets, which can be quite expensive and only those with plenty of cash can even take advantage of them, thus causing a lot of upset kids who want to ride but are told they can't because Mom and Dad can't afford it. Anyway, even if we could afford to have a carnival here, if they've not made a lot of money when they were here before, they won't come back, as it's all about the bottom line for them, and of course, for our fair too.

Could a group or two step up and have more games? Could they make the cost low so that all could enjoy them while still making a profit? Could they make sure they have good prizes so that people would actually come to their booth? Right now is the time to start thinking about these things, and buying items every month to fill up a booth, etc. If we want a better fair, more help and involvement is needed on all levels. I have found most people to be very generous when it comes to good causes, so ask around and you'd be surprised how many people will donate things. If everyone picked up five items every month and stuck them away for the next fair, there would be thousands of items for kids to win at a fish pond, coin toss, ring toss, spin the wheel or some other game, so here's to more pitching in and helping out next year.