Redmen Hall to reopen March 4

NOT NICE--The weekend began with lots of rain and temps in the 40s, so when I went to bed on Saturday night to pouring rain and 45 degree temps, I didn't think much of it, other than I knew I'd wake up to a "lake" Sunday morning. Well, I did wake up to a "lake" in our field, but it was also surrounded by a whole lot of snow; yikes! The late night forecast said that snow would not be arriving until later Sunday, so that was off just a wee bit. With some folks getting three inches and others up to six, or even close to a foot, we were certainly having a "snow event"! I am guessing multiple outages, one up to seven hours, 8-10 inches of snow, no plows on our road, slides, road closures and even the phone going out, would certainly qualify as a winter storm. I am hoping we have had enough of this fun!

SUPER BOWL ROUND UP--The end of the first half of the Super Bowl seemed to almost assure the Atlantic Falcons of a win, as they were just running roughshod all over the New England Patriots, so we headed for the half time snacks with a "this is a boring runaway game" kind of feeling. But part way through the half-time festivities, which I was really looking forward to seeing, the power went out, at least down this way! That was horrible timing! Crews got to work on it, as more calls came in and more and more people started reporting downed trees blocking multiple areas, from Beaver Creek to Fossil Creek, so the weight of that wet snow seemed to reach its limits for all our trees about the same time. By the time the power came on, we were shocked to see or hear, that the Patriots had come from their huge deficit and had actually tied the game, and were headed into overtime. The rest, as we say, is history, as the New England Patriots wound up making a touchdown and ended up the winners for the fifth time as well as making history for a first time win in overtime at the Super Bowl; amazing!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 9-15 are Reese Gullickson, Connie Shrum, John Thompson, JoAnne Nortrup, Chandler Nortrup, Diane Garrett, Ethan Havens, Lucas Havens, Wendy Havens, Austin Havens, Paul Schroder, Daniel Rose, Brandon Souvenir, Derek Phipps, Mykall Stensland, Ronnie "Chink" Cothren, Kim Jones, Blake Hess, Hailey Blain, and 67'er Pam Lazor.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Ray and Christie Davis, David and Julie Black, Mr. and Mrs. Troy Gorley, and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry DeBriae. Here's to wonderful birthday and anniversary celebrations for all of you!

COMING RIGHT UP--This Saturday evening, Feb. 11 from 7 to 10 p.m., it'll be time to head to the Roadkill Saloon to enjoy their early Valentine doings, with music and dancing and good deals on food and some snacks as well. Ric and April would love to have you stop in and join in the festivities at their place! Just in case you hadn't heard, this is the former Oasis Tavern at 8 Fairgrounds Road. If you don't have Facebook to check out their weekly menu, you can call 1-360-606-0179. FYI: I found that if you don't dial the 1, you will get a busy signal.

BINGO TIME--All you folks who love bingo should head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island this Saturday night, Feb. 11, as cash prizes are always a big hit! The doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the games begin at 6 p.m. All games are held in the lower level of the building, with access from the south side of the building; or left, as you face the building. The lower entrance makes it easily accessible for all people. If you have somebody with you that has a mobility issue, you can just pull up alongside that lower door and let them out for a quick entry into the building before you go and park your car.

CRAB FEED--The Norse Hall is staying pretty busy, as the following Saturday, Feb. 18, the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual crab and oyster feed there. You can still get your tickets at the Bank of the Pacific and with seating limited, there are three different dining times, 3 p.m., 5:15 and 7:30 p.m., so hopefully one of those times will work for you. There are over 100 prizes to be given away, so buy those tickets and good luck on the drawings. There will be 100 winners so that's pretty good odds!

SYMPATHIES--We were so sorry to hear of the sudden passing of Joyce Cothren recently, as she died on Jan. 29 at home. I understand she'd had some surgery and was just fine, so it was with great shock and sadness to hear of her death. Joyce went to school with my sister-in-law, Peggy Pedersen, and Joyce was always so good to keep in touch with her, and she was great about acknowledging my birthday and anniversary as well. She was a real sweetheart. Her services will be held this Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m., at the Skamokawa United Methodist Church. Our condolences to her entire family.

Condolences are also being sent to Betty Huber who lost her oldest brother this past weekend. It's tough to lose our family members for sure, and we want to send our sympathies to the entire family which includes our daughter-in-law, Debbie Chamberlain.

GRANGE DOINGS--Women's Activity leader for the Skamokawa Grange #425 is Pearl Blackburn, and she said that their last meeting went really well. There were 10 ladies there and a couple of kids and plenty of music and card making. They made some Valentines for Vets, so kudos to them for doing that. She said they will meet again this coming Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 10:30 a.m., at the grange hall, and everyone is invited to join them. She says they may even have other activity dates added, which would include meeting at the Cathlamet Community Center. If you are interested in this, email her at pearl.blackburn@gmail.com.

Also at the grange this month, the annual Lincoln Dinner will be held on Feb. 25. Contact for this event is David Blalock.

The Grand Master of the Skamokawa Grange is now Levi Helms, so if you have any questions, or would like to rent the grange, please contact him at 360-431-9506 and let him fill you in on what you're wanting to know.

REDMEN HALL OPENS SOON--On March 4, the Friends of Skamokawa will open the hall once again after their winter break, and we hope you'll check out all the local goodies they have, as well as great books, several by local authors. The first big event of the year will be their Antique and Vintage Sale on March 11 and 12, but it will be held across the road from the hall at the Skamokawa Resort's Conference Room. This gives everyone an easy access to this event, rather than having many people miss it due to a lot of stair climbing. So, this will be a great spot to hold this event, and as always, they would love for you to not only attend it, but bring your items to this and be part of the sale! They'd like to hear from you as soon as possible so more advertising can be put out about what's going to be there, and to get all their spaces and tables filled, so contact Pam Emery at 795-0884 for all the lowdown on that!

VALENTINE'S DAY--OK, it's "Happy Heart Day" this coming Tuesday, so here's hoping you've got some wonderful plans all set up for that special someone in your life. The Duck Inn will be our local spot for a very nice dinner that day and of course, the ladies always go home with flowers. It is my understanding that there will be music by the King Brothers that evening too, so that would be awesome. You can contact Jeri or Logan at the Duck Inn at 795-6055 for all the latest on this big evening, or to make a reservation. Whatever you do, I hope all of you have a very Happy Valentine's Day!

OUT OF THE PAST--In 1947, the week began really nice and for three days it was great, but then the warm rains came in and the next four were wet. There was some cause for alarm when Mr. Halloway suffered a very serious eye injury and could possibly lose an eye. Matilda Hansen turned 80 years old on Feb. 10 and Grandma Elsie Everest reported she was still "spry as a kitten!" It was this same day that Marian Everest Healy started work at the Johnson's Variety Store (now Tsuga Gallery.) Sadly, Mrs. John Snyder passed away at 8:30 p.m., on Feb. 12. That same evening, the Wilbur Jacobsons got quite a start when an "insane man" wandered into their home; he was subsequently put in jail. The movie showing this week in Cathlamet, which the Everests went to was, "Of Human Bondage." Grandma Elsie was busy sending Valentine cards out and receiving some as well. On Valentine's Day, the Dale Roses took Grandma E. to Longview to hear a lecture. That same day, Mel Irving married Helen O'Brien. On Feb. 15, Betty Lindquist was married and Mrs. Snyder was buried. Lots of family came by for coffee and cake and later on they all went to Jim's for hamburgers. Grandma's last comment for that week, "The jail is full!"

Ten years later in 1957, the weather started out wet but ended with several "warm and lovely" days. Grandma started out the week with a walk to the store, a bite to eat at Millie's and visited with friends, as well as daughter, Carol. Matilda Hansen celebrated her 90th birthday that week! Grandma headed out to Mayme Johnson's house and had a nice chat with her. (I met up with Mayme's daughter down at the crab feed at the Rosburg Hall recently.) Almost 10 years to the day, Marian Healy got a new job, but this time it was at the Cowlitz General Hospital. Grandma's sister, Jean, had been ill and was dealing with a blood clot. She finally came home from the hospital after over three weeks on Valentine's Day, so that was a very nice Valentine gift for her, her husband and her sister! All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.