Flea market at fairgrounds will be Saturday, December 9

COLD!--As I begin this column, we're just at 32 here Monday morning. Forecasters say we will be fairly dry this week, which almost always winds up meaning "dry but very cold" in the evening hours. Having some dry time would be nice, as I'm sure everyone is in full shopping mode and it's more fun if we're not getting drenched, but I could sure do without the extra cold. Here's hoping you escape any frozen water lines or pipes and you got your RV's all winterized, etc., and you're all set to keep yourself warm and toasty!

ANIMALS NEEDS--Please don't forget your animals during this cold weather, as they need extra food to keep their bodies warm while they are outside. Did you know that after the grass freezes, it is no longer nutritionally fit for your animals to eat. They will forage through it, but it's not really giving them what they need.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 7-13 are Dennis Reid, Kitty Speranza, Tom Bosch, "Skamokawa Rick," Ian Anderson, Jai Snow, Carol McClain, Seth Kuljis, Collin Parker, Gary Bergseng, Diane Frank, Ron Hendrickson, Amy Prestegard, Todd Souvenir, Derek West, Sam Patching, Cristina Luthi, Chase Wallin, Justin Watkins, Meg Wright, Julie Doumit, Tyler Johnson, Louis Recupero and Patrice Everest Holtz.

Happy Anniversary wishes this week go out to Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Vik, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Backman, Danny and Emma Helms and Les and Hollie Burns. Enjoy your special days everybody!

Oops--I made the mistake of wishing 67'er Noni Meredith a Happy Birthday last week but that would have given her two birthdays this year, and I'm pretty sure that we are all at that age where one birthday a year is plenty, so my apologies to her and we'll stick to the June birthday next year!

FREE MOVIE--The free movie this week, with free popcorn, will be playing at the Community Center in Cathlamet this Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. This is an adult drama, so if you're interested, there's a cheap date night for you!

BASKETBALL--The Mules basketball teams have begun the current season, and played their first home game last Monday night against Willapa Valley, then away in Winlock the following day and then tonight, they will be away playing Toledo. That's a lot of back to back games! Their next home game will be Tuesday, Dec. 12, against Toutle Lake. Here's to some great games boys!

The Lady Mules basketball team is also underway, and they have home games on Dec. 8, 9 and 12, against Winlock, Toledo and Toutle Lake, respectively and we wish them the very best as well.

For those that aren't into basketball, the Mules Wrestling team has begun and will be in Warrenton on Dec. 9 and then at home on Dec. 16, which is a "Down River Challenge" event and it begins at 9 a.m. To all our Mules, Good luck and safe travels for those going to and from these sports events!

FAIRGROUNDS--The monthly Flea Market at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds will be held this Saturday, Dec. 9 so they hope to see you there. You may be still be able to rent a table for $10 to sell your goodies but you'll need to check on that ASAP.

Their next big event for the benefit of the fair will be their annual Valentine Dinner which will take place a little earlier this year, as it will be on February 3, so be sure to watch out for more information about that in the upcoming weeks.

FOS--If you haven't been up to the Friends of Skamokawa's historic building in downtown Skamokawa during their Holiday Open House, maybe after you check out the flea market at the fairgrounds, you can head up to the hall and take it all in. The River Life Interpretive Center is full of unique gifts, books, crafts and other specialty items that you can't find other places, so here's hoping you can take advantage of this dry weather and head up there this week: Thursday through Sunday, noon to four. Call them at 360-795-3007.

NORSE HALL PARTY/NO BINGO--This past Sunday, the Sons of Norway held their annual Children's Christmas Party at the Norse Hall, and it was really a lot of fun for those that showed up! Linda Wright was in charge, along with Karen Healy and everyone was doing their part to make this a fun event for the kids, and President Jan Silvestri was busy in the kitchen and doing this and that. Then there was a craft table set up and I saw Dawn Wika making beaded candy canes to hang on your tree, while Virginia Ostling was helping the little ones decorate cookies, and Linda was busy at a table too. Then there was Star Anderson-Hicks who helped kids write a letter to Santa and colored some pages out of a book, while Maureen Zacher-Bockius was handing out prizes for the kids who played a bean bag game, and yours truly was helping the kids make their very own Christmas cards to give to their family members. Then of course, there was Santa (aka Dennis Reid) and he made sure all the kids got a nice treat bag after they told him what they wanted and got their picture taken. After the kids made the rounds to the various tables, they were able to enjoy cookies, cupcakes and punch, so that seemed to go over pretty good as well. Beings there were a couple of other events going on in town, we had a few less kids than we did in other years, but that doesn't mean that the traditional "Children's Christmas Party" won't be happening again next year; it will, and it's going to be held at the usual time on the first Sunday in December, so we hope to see more kids there next year!

Also, there is usually bingo on the second Saturday of each month at the Norse Hall, but beings it's December and a busy holiday time for everybody, there will not be any bingo held this particular Saturday.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--Members of the Skamokawa Grange #425 are happy to have participated in the Festival of Trees, and are thankful to Ed Stornetta of Skamokawa for donating the tree that the ladies of the Women's Activities group have decorated with over a hundred handcrafted ornaments, which is now on display at the Bank of the Pacific. They have called it the "Happy Holidays from the Grange" tree, so maybe some of you will take time to check out their tree and others that are currently on display at the bank.

The Grangers would also like to remind those who enjoy yoga, that they are hosting that on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m., at the Grange hall, and you are welcome to join in the stretching and breathing exercises with a $5 donation.

They currently hold their meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5:30 p.m. If you need any information, you can contact their Grange President/Master, Levi Helms or secretary, Pearl Blackburn. They also post information on their Facebook page so just "like" them to keep up on their current events.

BIG HIT--Who says you can't keep a secret in a small town? We just learned of one of the best kept secrets around when it was discovered this week from a posting on Facebook, that showcased the closing out of a WHS Mule Christmas ornament by selling them at the Donkey Basketball game last Saturday. Seems they'd been around for years! Most of us were totally taken by surprise to hear this, as with all the big reunions we've held, and yearly class reunions, Bald Eagle Days, etc., we would have thought we'd have seen them being sold someplace. At any rate, the word spread quickly on Facebook, and it wasn't long before everyone seemed to be clamoring for one! I truly appreciated the fact that Shannon Britt took the time to go and get me one, as she was afraid I'd miss out on them, so that was super sweet of her. I'm hoping that everyone who wanted one was able to get them sent out in time to put on their tree this year. They are really pretty and are covered with a 24 karat gold flashing over brass; totally awesome!

I'm really hoping these could be ordered again and one of the groups would run a fund raiser with them during Bald Eagle Days and the Wahkiakum Fair, when lots of alumni are in town, as I think they would sell quickly! I'd be more than happy to spread the word if anybody opts to do this.

ANOTHER LOSS--These are not all happy times, as I got a call from Kerry Brown and he informed me that long time Wahkiakum resident, and former Islander, Wade Parker, 88, passed away last Saturday. Wade was a dear friend of Kerry's Dad, Earl, as well as the rest of their family, and we offer our sincerest condolences to all of Wade's family and friends.

We also want to send our symapthies to Blair Brady as he lost his mother, Audrey Brady Barbera at the end of last month. We send our condolences to the entire family as well, as they deal with their loss.

LOTS OF COLDS--It seems to not only be the holiday season, but the cold season as well, as some of our friends, neighbors and family members have been dealing with some nasty colds lately. We do hope everyone will be feeling better soon, as with the holidays fast approaching, it won't be too jolly if you wind up having to celebrate it in bed. Take care everyone!