November may set a rainfall record

GRAY & WET--As we ended November, I think we broke a record for being one of the wettest Thanksgivings here at our house ever, as we had 3.89 inches of rain that day! Although there were many areas who were seeing a soggy day, I don't think there were many who were seeing that kind of rainfall, lucky us! I am truly grateful that the power didn't go out and that we just dealt with the usual high water and field flooding but nothing that was extrodinarily bad.

Curious as to our rainfall amount here for the year? Well, in our valley, we're up to 122 inches and counting, so it's been a wet one!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 1-7 are Mike Linn, Tom Webb, Menoka Martin, Maria Snow Carpenter, Mackenzie Allen, Hank Bassi, Dennis Reid, Kitty Speranza, Louis Recupero, Hollie Longtain, J.R. DeBriae, Joyce Ower, Chuck Barton Jr., Natalie Barton, Mark Slape, Jamie Jacobson, Gary Bergseng, Chase Wallin, Steve Finkas, Mark Pedersen and Gabriel Pedersen. Happy Birthday everyone!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Vik, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Clark and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Holland. Here's wishing you all a truly marvelous anniversary celebration!

HERE WE GO--The time has flown by and we are now entering the last month of this year. With that being said, I hope you'll be checking out all of the upcoming activities in our area and help support our local fund raisers, activities and shops.

It's also a time to contact the Wahkiakum Chamber and get those various events you've got planned for next year, secured on their calendar as it's never too early to advertise those big fund raisers!

It is also time to mail those packages to places far away, as there will be millions of packages being sent out in coming weeks and it's better to get them sent now to ensure their timely arrival! Time is ticking, so here's to smooth sailing through all the holiday happenings that are going on in our area.

FRIDAY MOVIE--If you want to see a movie that was partially filmed right in our own back yard, well, this Friday at the Cathlamet Community Center, is the chance to do just that! The movie this Friday, Dec. 2, which begins at 7 p.m., could be called "White Stuff Falling on Wood." Although this is listed as a "drama for all ages," I don't think it's really suited for the young ones. There is free popcorn to enjoy while watching the movie, or you can bring your own snacks, or you can even order a pizza from Sharon's Pizza Mill by calling 795-3311 ahead of time and they'll deliver it to the center at 6:45 p.m.

REDMEN HALL--If you missed the beginning of the Holiday Open House at Redmen Hall this past weekend, it's okay as there's still time to get up there and check out all the wonderful handmade items by our local artisans. Who doesn't love homemade jams and jellies, teas or honey, or canned salmon or sturgeon? What about soaps and lotions or hand-woven scarves and knitted caps? To dress up that new holiday wardrobe, there's some gorgeous jewelry items as well! And that's not all. There is truly a huge array of items that would make anybody happy to receive this Christmas, so head on up to the River Life Interpretive Center on the second floor of the hall, and check everything out. Of course, the gift and book shop, which has a new collection of books, including childrens books, is still located on the lower level, and is easily accessible from the upper parking lot. All of those items down there are special as well, so check it all out soon, as it won't be long and they'll be closing for the winter. The last day to enjoy shopping for all these treasures will be Dec. 11. Hours at the hall are Thursday through Sunday from noon to four, or you can call 795-3007 for more information.

THIS SATURDAY--If you've been up to the hall on Saturday, why not zip on over to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds that's just around the corner and you can take in their Holiday Bazaar that will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You don't have much time to sign up for a table but call 795-3480 if you're interested in selling your items there.

The following Saturday, Dec. 10, there will be the monthly Flea Market at the Youth Building, so check that out next week, as you never know what goodies you'll find! It's the last one of 2016, so be sure to check it out!

AT THE NORSE HALL--This Sunday, Dec. 4, marks the annual Childrens Christmas party at the Norse Hall for children up to 10 years old. It's time to color, decorate cookies and see Santa and get a treat, which you can do between 2 and 4 p.m. Grown ups will be able to purchase some Norwegian goodies as well, so bring the kids so they can have some fun and do a little holiday "baking" the Norwegian way! Any questions? Call Jan Silvestri at 795-8759.

GRANGE NEWS/CANCELLATIONS/PARTY--If you are checking events on the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce calendar, there are a couple of things listed regarding events that were to be take place at the Skamokawa Grange Hall that are not going to happen after all, so make sure that you make note that the Christmas Party that had been scheduled for Dec. 10 and the Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 17 have been canceled.

However, the Grays River Grange will be holding its traditional Christmas party on Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m., so all grangers and even non-grangers, are invited to come and enjoy an old fashioned Christmas evening with them. If you have a child, please bring a gift for them with their name on it, so Santa can pass it out to them. If you are an adult and would like to take part in their gift exchange, bring a gift (not to exceed $5.) and write male or female on it, whichever you are, that way it all works out okay when gifts get passed out. This is a potluck, so bring a tasty dish to share and maybe a few extra bucks as well, as there's going to be a raffle held and tickets will be on sale there. There will also be a donation box for non-perishable items, so bring a canned good to help fill up the local food bank shelves! If you have any questions, call 360-465-2268.

STRUMMING AWAY--My nephew, Scott Pedersen, has a very talented, electric guitar playing teenage son and he is really strutting his stuff lately. Kristian plays with the all youth Northwest Rock Academy, and it seems they were jamming away at the Billy Blues Bar and Grill in Hazel Dell this past week and they were received extremely well. Not only did the group learn multiple new songs in just a few short weeks, but some of them even learned how to play a new instrument and considering that some of the new music they played was in mixed meter, instead of the usual four count beat, it was a mixture of six, seven and 8 counts, I'm guessing that it's much more challenging to learn and play. Good job kids!

ROADKILL SALOON--I've had several calls about how to get a hold of the RS folks, formerly known as the Oasis, as their number is not listed anywhere, so here goes: to call the Murdocks, you can contact April at: 1-360-606-0179 or Ric at 1-503-329-1717. By the way, I tried calling those numbers without putting the 1 in front of the number, but then it just always rang busy.

HUGE LOSS--By now many of you may have heard that my brother, Ralph Pedersen, set off on his final journey, as his fishing season came to a close and he crossed the bar just prior to Thanksgiving, on November 22. Ralph was many things during his 80 years, but he started out as the son to Krist and Carol (Everest) Pedersen on April 8, 1936 and was the grandson of Ralph and Elsie (Walker) Everest and Jonas and Helga Pedersen. In the years following, he wound up being the big brother to three brothers: Frank, David and Marshall and to his little sister, Kay. While at Wahkiakum High School, he was known as a pretty doggone good football player. Even later in life, he became known as the guy from Puget Island who raced an Olympic athlete in Valdez, Alaska in his street clothes and won! His life took off when he met the love of his life, Margaret Ann Austin and made her his bride, which he called her until the day he died and was the utmost caring husband to her throughout their 62 years together. Ralph had joined the Navy and it was in California, some 16 months after becoming a husband, that he became a Dad, to his first son, Ralph Timothy. Within two years, a second son, Mark, made the family complete. There were several moves for the family throughout the years, from Washington, to California, to Alaska and then back to Puget Island and finally to Cathlamet where they spent their later years. During his years after he left the Navy, he was not only a fisherman but he became a pilot and loved flying over the fishing grounds in Alaska. While he was also a logger from time to time, and worked at Wauna as a security guard, it was fishing that was his mainstay. When the chance came to run a big tender, he and wife, Peggy took on the challenge, as he took in the fish and she cooked and did the books. As anyone who knew him could attest, he could tell you more stories about his experiences than you'd have hours in the day to listen! Throughout the years of raising kids and moving here and there, his boys grew up, married, made him a grandfather several times, with Jeremy, Sean, Gabe, Adam and Jonas coming along to add to the Pedersen crew. In the last few years, he was made a great grandfather as well, as Adam (Samantha) had two little girls, Bailey & MacKenzie and Gabe (Annie) were due to have the first great grandson in just a few weeks. Ralph was an uncle to many, a great uncle to even more and a cousin to hundreds, as the Pedersen/Everest family tree seems to be humongous! Then there was his fishing family, which was quite vast and he had good friends both near and far. He could be a tough cookie sometimes but he had a soft center and if you knew him, really knew him, you'd know he'd do anything for you if it was within his power to do so. His sudden passing has left a great big hole in our hearts. He was one of the good guys and he will truly be missed.

The immediate family held a private burial service for him on Nov. 30. However, the family will hold a celebration of life, potluck gathering on January 21 at the Norse Hall from 1 to 4 p.m.

THANKSGIVING RECAP--I hope all of you had a very nice Thanksgiving Day, as it was certainly a miserable day and what could you possibly do but gather together, visit a lot, watch football and eat? Unfortunately, I had not been feeling well, so I had to cancel my original plans to have family here. We did manage a nice dinner though, as Bill went to the Duck Inn and got their complete, delicious turkey/ham dinner to go, complete with pie, so we didn't go hungry. I may not have been up to cooking dinner but I could still eat it! Mainly, I have stayed home and have not gone anywhere for 10 days, as I didn't want to spread "the bug" around!

Beings I didn't make the usual turkey dinner, siblings, Lisa and Brian, opted to give it a whirl and spend Thanksgiving together, and it seems they cooked up a great dinner; I think their words were "we killed it!" I'm thinking they just got nominated to fix next year's dinner too! I'm sure it didn't hurt that their brother, Pete and his wife, Katie, dropped off some apple pie and rolls that Katie made, to top it all off. With a bunch of other goodies loaded up in their car, Pete, Katie, Tessa and Luke Sechler met with Katie's sister, Susan Schillios in Cathlamet, and enjoyed a great dinner at her place.

From all the comments on Facebook, I think there were a lot of happy people sharing their table with family and friends and enjoying this time of gathering together without the pressure that seems to come with other holiday gatherings. Being thankful for what we have and who we have with us now is so important, as we never know when there will be that empty chair around the table. Here's to a great new month and plenty of Christmas merriment being spread around!