Wine tasting and auction on Saturday

CHANGED--We had some good weather and some wet weather Labor Day weekend and it sure depended on where you were as to just what you got. While we had some downpours here in West Valley and put on our rain jackets and sweatshirts to head to Cathlamet, when we got there, it was sunny and warm and people were walking around in t-shirts, short pants and tank tops, so a big difference in just a few miles! Some who traveled to the coast saw some brief cloudiness and then nothing but sunshine later on, while other areas were cold and socked in all day, so if you didn't like the weather you were experiencing, all you had to do is hop in your car and drive one way or the other, and you'd find something more to your liking!

As I finish wrapping this column up, we're having quite a bit of rain, which began Monday evening, but beings we need it so badly, I won't complain. It's supposed to be nice again by the time you read this, so those end of Summer early Fall chores can resume I'm told!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Sept. 8-14 are Carla Keilwitz, R. J. Brown, Ed Johnson, Amanda Poler, Brittanie-Helms Lampitt, Rex Gilbertsen, Richard Bigler, Jacob Hoven, Conner Parker, Valerie Wallin, Tina Schubert, Jo Reed, Naomi Pedersen, Samantha Pedersen and 67'er Rich West. Belated birthday wishes to Dan Lloyd, a former "slough rat" from Puget Island!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Jim and Betty Koziel, Sean and Kellie Masters, John Jr. and Jessie Hoven, Quin and Cristeena Bassi, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Bergseng, Mr. and Mrs. Karl Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Vik and Scott and Jenny Pedersen. Enjoy your special days everyone!

SWEETHEARTS--Don't let anybody tell you that those "sweetheart romances" don't last, as I saw a picture posted on Facebook recently which showed friends/family members of several of our WA-KI-HI alumni "kids" who together, combined for over 200 years of marriage! Wayne and Kay (Hollar) Cochran and Steve and Ruthie (Durrah) Doumit, celebrated 50 years together last year, and Russ and Kathy (Watkins) Durrah celebrated their 50 years of marriage just recently, and Gary and Vickie (Neely) Bergseng will celebrate their 50th next year, so all those high school sweethearts are proof that some high school romances are meant to be! A hearty "congratulations" to all of them!

FRIDAY NIGHT--Once again, the Mules will head to the football field this Friday night, Sept. 9, but this time they'll be headed to Ocosta to play. The Lady Mules will play volleyball at Napavine this evening, Sept. 8, with the JV team starting things off at 5:45 and then the Varsity team plays when they're done. They will play again next Tuesday evening at home against South Bend. The Mule Cross Country team heads to Toutle Lake on Sept. 8 and then off to Fort Vancouver on Tuesday, so those are a couple of busy days for athletes and their parents. Go Mules!

THIS IS IT!--Saturday night, Sept. 10, is another big night at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, when the Friends of Skamokawa hold their annual fund raiser, a Cornucopia of Wines, which includes a live and silent auction, both of which are a lot of fun! This event runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m., and is considered an adult evening. If you get your tickets early, you'll save a few bucks, as they are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and couples pay $25 in advance or $30 at the door. This is the FOS major fund raiser of the year, so we hope you'll help support them as they continue to maintain one of the more prominent and historic landmarks in Skamokawa, the Redmen Hall, which was built in 1894 as the Central School, and now houses the wonderful Rive Life Interpretive Center, and a book and gift shop. Call the hall at 795-3007 for more information, Thursday through Sunday, noon to four.

BINGO--If you're a Bingo lover, then you'll want to head to the Norse Hall this Saturday evening, where the Sons of Norway will hand out cash prizes to all the winners, so here's to a great evening and some good luck as well! The games begin at 6 p.m., with doors open at 5:30 p.m.

NEXT WEEKEND--At the Elochoman Marina this past weekend, the Chamber of Commerce and 38 River Mile Brewery held a Wooden Boat Festival and Rat Rod car show and on Sept. 17, you can head back down to that area in Cathlamet for their Oktoberfest Vendor Fair. This event is yet another collaboration between the Chamber and the Brewing Company, which will brew a special batch of beer for the occasion and serve up some German sausages as well. There will be other vendors selling a variety of things, so let's hope for some good weather and if all goes well, we'll see you where all the fun begins at 9 a.m. You can call 795-9996 for more information or if you're interested in being one of the vendors. The more the merrier!

WASHINGTON ST FAIR--A big "congratulaions" to former resident and WA-KI-HI alumni, Laurie Miller, as she sang the National Anthem prior to country-singer, Tim McGraw's performance at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup this past weekend. I got to hear her via a video and she had the crowd roaring with applause at the end of her performance, good for her!

You can still hear Laurie sing at the fair, as she will be performing some of the old swing classics with the Will Power Big Band on Sept. 18 at the Blue Stage, by the blue gate entrance, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., so if you happen to be up that way, stop by and take a listen to our talented local gal.

SAD NEWS--Part of our weekend news wasn't so good, as one of the truck drivers that frequented our area passed away and we were very sorry to learn about the death of Robin Robbins, better known as "PeeWee." Robin learned he had cancer just a few months after I met him and enjoyed his company at our family Christmas gathering last year. He and daughter, Lisa, shared their love of cats and enjoyed each other's company, so it was great to see them as a happy couple. Sadly, it was only a few months later that he found out he had cancer, which quickly spread and so in less than a year, he succumbed to the ravages of this miserable disease. Robin's best friend, Mike Phelps, was always there for his "wingman" and was with him in the end as well. We offer our sincere condolences to his friends and family members for their loss. Robin was one of the good guys and he will be truly missed by those that knew and loved him.

HAUNTED HOUSE--I know September has just begun but with the time flying by so fast, Halloween will be here before you know it, and those that put on the Haunted House at the Wah. Fairgrounds are looking for decorations to help change things up a bit this year. One big change is that there will not be a fee to get in, but you can get in free, or if you'd like, make a donation, which would surely be appreciated. At any rate, Jason Rainey has really done an excellent job the last couple of years putting this together with just a few helpers, so if you can donate something, that would be great and if you can help, let Jason know.

GETTING READY--Depending on who you are listening to, it sounds like we could be in for quite a winter after the first of the year. We have been quite fortunate to have a couple of relatively "easy" winters, so we may have become a little complacent in our preparations for a bad one. However, just in case we wind up with some nasty stuff like is currently happening back east or even south, we may want to take stock of all our emergency gear and check out those "grab and go bags" which we are each supposed to have. So, with that in mind, check out the websites that deal with emergency preparedness, think of all you need to get by for at least three days on your own, and just add a big dose of common sense and you should be alright in case something does indeed happen around here.

If you don't want to put together a kit on your own, you might want to check out some stores that have emergency kits in back packs already; after all, winter and Christmas are coming; they would make a great gift!

WEEKEND RECAP--It was a jam-packed weekend, which started off splendidly, as the Mules football team beat Naselle 48 to 6, ending a long drought for the team who hadn't seen a win in quite some time, so these boys were pretty happy to finally get that win and bring home the KM Trophy to our school to boot! Way to go Mules!

The Skamokawa Grange was packed full of music fans as their fund raiser was the same night, so beings I couldn't be at the football game cheering on our team and my grandson at the same time as this event, I had to miss it. However, by all accounts, it was a huge success and the people clapped and danced and stomped their feet and had a great time with high praises for all the various band members in the four band event. I heard they may do this again, so we hope that winds up happening so those of us who missed it this time, can enjoy it the next time.

The sun was shining during the Wooden Boat Festival and Rat Rod Car Show at the 38 River Mile Brewing Company this past weekend when I was there, so they got very fortunate, as it was pouring here in Skamokawa! Music was playing at the brewery and many were enjoying the new covered area they have there. Others were wandering around the marina area looking at the various boats, in and out of the water, and buying chances to win the small, wheel-barrow styled, wooden boat built by Puget Islander, Michael Baccellieri.

Pete, Katie and Luke Sechler stopped by here at the "ole homestead" after a few days stay on the Oregon coast and we had a nice visit. Grandson Luke is the one grandson who was born in the city but has a love for the country and he says he'd be more than willing to live out here in the "sticks" with lots of land all around and a shop to tinker in. He has a very curious nature and would love to have the room to build things, like go-carts and such, so we might see more of Luke around here in the future!

John and Mary Gustafson held their last barbecue of the summer over this Labor Day weekend, and the beneficiaries of John's good ribs and all the fixings by Mary, were Jodie and Michael Baccellieri and Bill and Kay Chamberlain. With a fresh baked blueberry and peach pie, made by Jodie, and topped with ice cream, well, it was a perfect end to a great day and weekend.