Wooden boat festival is next weekend

PERFECT--The weather for Bald Eagle Day just couldn't have been more perfect. As this week begins, we've got some heat arriving but at least Sunday morning began with some heavy, moist cloud cover to help dampen things a bit before it got sunny and warm. With a dry, very hot week ahead, here's to keeping hydrated and limiting our time in the sun so nobody is having to be carted away due to heat stroke.

BURN BAN--Don't forget, our county is now under a burn ban, which actually started July 15, so nobody should be lighting any fires anywhere, for any reason. With more heat and more dry weather on its way, this is a really critical time to take extra care from any heat source, hot mufflers, lawn mowers, etc. Here's to keeping our area safe and fire-free!

WATER SHORTAGE?--The long term effects of these extended periods of dry weather which have caused some creeks and rivers to record the lowest levels in decades, can have a huge impact on those that depend on them. Some areas have already urged citizens to conserve water without any mandatory restrictions just yet, so before there are, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared to cut back or find ways to double use your water, like taking your bath water and using it to flush your toilet, etc.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 26-Aug. 1 are Adam Fletcher, Kyler McKinley, Aaron Mahitka, Mike Anderson, Natasha Twiet, Levi Helms, Ebby Blouin, Jacob Nelson, Carol Cooper, Jeff Lundborg, Robert Fritzie, Ron Free, David Black, Tyler Burdick, Heather Kehrli, Darcy Tischer, Jennifer Blain Cochran, Paula Monroe Olson, Hannah Davison, and yours truly, Kay Chamberlain - (turning 39, again!) Belated birthday wishes to Brian O'Connor who celebrated his birthday this past Tuesday; hope it was great, and sorry this is late.

Celebrating their anniversaries this week are Tim and Sharon Schmitz, Mike and Erla Crouse, Joel and Jessie Havens and Bill and Kay Chamberlain. Here's wishing all of us very memorable birthday and anniversary celebrations!

FRIDAY MOVIE--The Community Center in Cathlamet will offer free movie and popcorn night this Friday, July 27, at 7 p.m., and it is an adult drama. If you're new to the area, the center is located at 101 Main Street in Cathlamet.

FINN FEST--This weekend is another big one for activities, but this time, they are "over the hill" from us on the west side of KM and located in Naselle. This Finnish American Folk Festival is a three day event, July 27-29 and takes place in the various areas in and around the Naselle High School. One of our area's claim to fame, the musical group, "Giants in the Trees", will perform a free concert on Saturday evening, July 28, at 7 p.m. The four main members are Krist Novoselic, Jillian Raye, Ray Prestegard and Erik Friend. From time to time, their additional local singers are Kyli Prestegard and Jennifer Johnson. Nothing but talent there! There are exhibits, lectures, music, dancing and food, (breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m., and salmon dinner from noon to three on Saturday) along with children's activities, so check out their full line of events on either their website, Facebook or grab a program that are located throughout the area. Better yet, just show up and take it all in first hand!

NEXT WEEKEND--Everyone wil be back to the Cathlamet area and the Elochoman Marina next weekend when we begin August with yet more events. The Cathlamet Art Festival starts off Friday evening Aug. 3, with their big day on Main Street on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 9 a.m., to 9 p.m., with craft vendors, kid's activities, entertainment and more. For more information, call 360-795-0725.

You can enjoy lots of things when you head to the Marina on Aug. 4 and 5, for the Cathlamet Wooden Boat Festival, where they start off with breakfast by the Kiwanis Club from 7 to 10, and then enjoy the rest of the day with various activities.

SKAMOKAWA SCHOOL KIDS--Gary Emery is one of those people who used to go to school in Skamokawa and he's been great about organizing a gathering of former school kids at Skamokawa Vista Park on a regular basis. It is hoped that you'll be able to join in with your former classmates at the upper level covered area in the park on Friday, Aug. 17 at 2 p.m. There will not be a full potluck luncheon, as in some years, but bring some snacks/hors d'oeuvres to share, and you might want to bring your favorite beverage as well. For more information, contact Gary at 360-200-2931.

FOS--The Friends of Skamokawa are currently rounding up donations for their upcoming annual Wine Tasting and Silent/Live Auction fund raising event, which will take place Sept. 8. It's a great time to think of what we'd like to donate to this super fun event. The more things get donated, the more things we can bid on during the silent and live auctions, which can prove to be super competitive and exhilarating! There's nothing like two or three people all vying for the same item and having those spirited bidding wars! So, please think about what you'd be willing to donate that would cause such a reaction, and contact the hall today with your proposed donation. The Redmen Hall is open Thursday through Sunday, noon to four, and there are many great books and gift items for you to check out. For more information or to make a donation, contact them at 360-795-3007.

FAIR TIME--The above gathering is during the Wahkiakum County Fair, so it's hoped that many will come to the fair and go to the school gathering as well. With time ticking away, it is hoped that you have your items all lined up to enter into the fair and for kids who like to make a little extra money, it's a perfect opportunity to do so. There are many categories to choose from, so grab a fair book and make sure you get that ready to enter on the proper day, as there are only certain times and certain days where entries can be made. Don't forget, there is always a lot to do in order to get things ready at the fairgrounds, so if you've got some time to spare and can help clean flower beds, paint, set up, etc., feel free to contact the manager at the fair, Patty Dursteler, at 360-795-3480, as "many hands make for light work," so volunteers are always needed. Please leave a message if need be, or if you're in the area, stop by and see if there's a crew already working there and join in the preparations for this year's fair Aug. 16-18!

GREAT GATHERING--Several members of the Wahkiakum High School class of 1967 gathered for lunch after the Bald Eagle Day parade, and we certainly had a good time visiting. Our gathering took place at a different spot this year, as we all headed to the marina after the parade, and climbed aboard the 49 foot vessel, "Next Endeavor" owned by Paul and Colleen Anderson. Our hosts were very gracious and manned the kitchen as well as the helm! The cruise out and around the south side of Puget Island was awesome, as the weather was just perfect and many of us hadn't taken that river cruise in years, if ever.

As usual we had a good time getting together, but it was especially nice to see Sherrolin Mace Powell, as the last time most of us had seen her was at our 20 year reunion. However, other than having more kids and grandkids, she was still the same sweet person we knew her to be way back when and it was great seeing her again! Joining in the gab and fantastic food-fest were Linda Holland Toste, Pam Below Lazor, David and Kathi West, Kay and Bill Chamberlain, Keith and Karen Lawrence, Shari Gorman Parker and Roger, Noni Gilbertsen Meredith, Dale Jacobson and Kathy Bond Peek. If all goes well, we'll meet after the Bald Eagle Parade next year, so if you have ever been a member of the Class of 1967, and want to be included in our gatherings throughout the year, as well as BED, please contact me and we'll get you clued in!

COUSIN VISITS--Sometimes you get a message out of the blue and it's from a family member on the other side of the the United States that you have never met. I mean, this doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's pretty exciting and thanks to Facebook, it was a perfect opportunity to share family info with a whole group of relatives and make arrangements to meet them when they opted to head west for their very first time. Needless to say, meeting a "first cousin, once removed" or "second cousin" that you'd never met was a fun thing, and so Gene and Karen Healy, Frank and Carolyn Pedersen and yours truly and hubby Bill, spent a good chunk of this past Monday hearing about the life and travels of cousin, Samantha Everest. She is the great grand-daughter of former Cathlamet telephone operators/manager Ralph and Elsie Everest, and grand-daughter to their youngest son, R. Marshall Everest Jr. After almost five hours of chatting and showing Samantha around, she was headed to Vancouver, where she was meeting with another cousin of hers, Mark Pedersen and others. As of this writing, I haven't heard how things went, but my guess is that Samantha was going to need some throat lozenges after meeting up with some more of the Pedersen/Everest clan!