Mules and Comets play Friday night

SURPRISE--We started off last Saturday pretty wet here in West Valley, which was a bit of a surprise to me, as I had heard Astoria might get some drizzle but didn't think it would come inland quite so much, but hey, we'll take all the moisture we can get, and I didn't have to water the outside plants! For those not expecting any rain at all and who left windows down or other things outside, well, it was not a welcome sight. Considering we had some super hot days last week, this cooler batch of weather suits me just fine; might even be feeling a little like "Fall Y'all"!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Sept 1-7 are Nanea Caroll, Carol Thacker, Quin Bassi, Kathy McNally, Tristan Collupy, Fred Bennett, Orville Lindsey, Jamie Jacobsen, Shirley Rose, R.J. Brown, Troy Davis, Nathan Rose, Brent Linquist, Jade Havens, Don Ostling, Paul Toney, Nathan Takko, Jasmine Lindsey, Linda Cook, Scott Baldwin, Donna Peterson Bernard and hubby, Bill Chamberlain. Happy Birthday to all!

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Brad McNally, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Tischer, Bruce and Nikkie Linquist, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Backman, Todd and Kristen Souvenir, Mr. and Mrs. Josh Cochran, Mr. and Mrs. Buzz Moore and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Johnson. Enjoy those wonderful anniversary celebrations!

Belated Happy 17th Anniversary to Kelly and Tyna Zink and belated best wishes also to John and Nicole McKinley; sorry about that!

SHORT VISIT--Speaking of birthdays, one special lady, Dolly Hartley, got a very special surprise for her 87th birthday, as daughter, Sharon Buennagel flew in from Hawaii just so she could spend her Mom's birthday with her. That was truly a treat for Dolly! It was also a nice treat for some of us who got to see her at her old pizza shop in Cathlamet for a little bit, and got to visit with Dolly and tell her Happy Birthday as well. The family had a nice get-together for her the next day, which was also a big surprise, so Dolly had quite a grand birthday topped off with a gorgeous birthday cake. It was great to see Sharon again, if only for a little while, so I'm guessing it will be our turn to go and surprise her next time, and gee, Hawaii would be such a tough place to visit!

NEW MONTH/SCHOOL--We are starting a brand new month, so ready or not, here comes September everybody, wow! This past Monday was a big day as our local kids headed back to school, and this means the start of many exciting school activities and sports programs, so they hope to see a lot of fans show up to support them! This also means kids out and about, and along the roadways waiting for buses and all are reminded to be very mindful of the school bus, its stops and the children around them. Here's to a great new school year, where children are being respectful of each other, their teachers and their surroundings, which will make for a much more pleasant school experience.

I had asked on Facebook if any local teacher needed some more help with school supplies but I didn't get any response, so I thought I'd mention it here. If you are a local teacher, and need some more supplies, give me a call and I'll get the word out as I'm sure that if we all knew what you needed, we could find some nice, generous folks to provide it for you. It never hurts to ask!

FIRST GAMES--The Mules Football team will play their first game at home this Friday night, Sept. 2 against Naselle with the game beginning at 7 p.m. The following Friday the game will be away in Ocosta. The Lady Mules Volleyball team will play their first game at home against R. A. Long on Sept. 6, with an away game on Sept. 8 in Napavine. Go Mules!

You can check out all the sports schedules at the high school's website. There will also be a sports schedule in this paper if you don't have computer accessibility.

BANDS AT GRANGE--This Friday is also the big evening to come and listen to some great music and help support the Skamokawa Grange Hall, as it's one of the historic landmarks around this area and it is in need of some work, so your help would truly be appreciated. For just $10 you can hear four bands, and if you're a senior citizen (65) or a youth (6-18), it's just $5 and a child under five is free. All the fun starts at 7 p.m., so they hope to see you there! If you can't be there but would like to help with a donation, send a check or money order made out to the Skamokawa Grange #425, at P.O. Box 123, Skamokawa, WA 98647.

BIG WEEKEND--It's Labor Day weekend and that always means lots of people on the road and lots of activities, and one of those is the Wooden Boat Festival at the Elochoman Slough Marina, Sept. 3 and 4 in Cathlamet. This year, the River Mile 38 Brewing Co. is having its first Ugly Car and Rat Rod show, along with some music, so you can check out both of these events as they are within walking distance of one another.

If you're into golf, I heard there was going to be a Labor Day Scramble Tournament at the Skyline Golf course on Sept. 5, so be sure to check that out. If you're interested call Randy Rodahl at 360-431-6398 for more info.

EXHIBIT EXTENDED--The Friends of Skamokawa are happy to report that their "Rolling on the River" exhibit was so popular that they are extending it through Sept. and it will come to an end Sunday, Oct. 2. The day prior to that, Saturday, Oct. 1, there are to be several River Pilots coming to the River Life Interpretive Center to give a round table forum, so you're invited to attend. For more information call the hall, 795-3007. They are open Thursday through Sunday, noon to four.

COMING RIGHT UP--Speaking of the Friends of Skamokawa, their big fund raiser is just around the corner, which is the Wine Tasting and Auction event, and it is next Saturday on Sept. 10, so it will be here before you know it. This also means that if you're planning to donate something for the auction part of this event, you'll need to get it up to the hall as soon as you can, as there's always a lot of paperwork involved with getting the silent auction and live auction items set up. This is always a fun, fun event and we hope to see the Skamokawa Grange packed once again with lively bidders and good natured bidding wars! Get your tickets early and save a few bucks!

SONS OF NORWAY--If you're not into wine and auctions, you might like to enjoy Bingo at the Norse Hall on Sept. 10, doors open at 6 p.m. If you're interested in joining the group, they meet on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., and no, you don't have to be Norwegian!

The Sons of Norway want to thank everybody who stopped by their booth at the fair and pitched in to the "Split the Pot" bucket, as the group continues to improve the conditions at the hall and appreciates all the donations. Especially nice was the man from Portland who won half the money, as he said to just donate to a local charitable group, and it was decided to give it to the food bank, so that was super nice of him and a great deal for our local folks as well.

LUNCH REMINDER--For those members of the Class of 1967 who happen to be in the area, we will meet for lunch at Izzy's in Kelso on Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. We hope some of you can make it!

GET WELL--Jonnie Knowles has had a bit of a set back after her latest foot surgery, so that was certainly not what we wanted to hear. It seems that not only did she wind up with an infection in her foot after her surgery, but one of the pins broke off inside her foot as they were trying to remove them, and now they have to do another surgery to get that out of there! So we certainly feel for her and we hope and pray that this next surgery winds up fixing her problem for good. Take care Jonnie and good luck!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1960, the week began with heavy winds, rain, and hail, along with some thunder and lightning! The hail was so big and heavy that it flattened corn fields on Puget Island. With the past months being so dry, nobody minded the rain but the hail was a different matter. Meanwhile in California, the historic Mother Lode country and Amador County's old mining towns were declared a disaster after fire broke out. This caused thousands of people to flee their homes and with a hundred fires blazing in that area kept emergency personnel wore out. This was of particular interest to our family as the George Everests lived in Sutter Creek, which was in the midst of one of the harder hit areas, and George was one of those out on the fire line. The Wahkiakum Schools started that week on Sept. 6, with the Ralph Everests' grandsons, Marshall Pedersen and Timmy Pedersen starting first grade and kindergarten respectfully. The grange meeting that week was all about the Civil Defense programs in our area. It was a week of meetings as the Harmony Club met at Bertha Shuster's, and the Pocohontas group met the following day after the grange, and Grandma Everest enjoyed them all. This according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1960 diary.