Open mic Saturday at Skamokawa Grange Hall

GORGEOUS--With blue skies and sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, it meant those with outdoor chores were in seventh heaven. Even if you didn't want to start a garden or work out in the gorgeous weather, it was definitely time to take a walk and soak in a little Vitamin D, along with some warmth, which had been missing from some of those other clear days, as we got up to the mid-70s here; wow! I hope you've enjoyed the sunny days we've had, as according to forecasters, it looks like we may have a few Spring showers by the time you read this. However, with Spring arriving on Wednesday, it's supposed to still be decent, and will come complete with a "Full Worm Supermoon," which means a full moon and the Spring equinox will coincide and is doing so for the first time in 19 years. There will not be anymore supermoons for the rest of the year, so I hope we all got to see this special one last night! (Wed. the 20th)

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 21-27, are Sharyl Iblings, Sig Hjaltalin, Taya Deal, Jordyn Wirkkala, Makenzie Anderson, Jerri Webb Foster, Daniel Rust, Donna McKie, Emily Tanksley, Hap Andersen, Mary Dominique, Dave Whitney, JoAnn Prestegard, Lorraine McNally, Vance Miller Jr., Travis Babcock, Jason Wallin Jr., Juanita Rodahl, Sandy Quigley, Larry Firkus, Melvin Brown and Mathew Kyle.

Those celebrating their anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Brett Deaton, Aron and Wendy Havens, Robby and Krista Fritzie, Joel and Pam Moore and Rodney and Patty Ingersol. May all of your special days be just that; special!

FRIDAY MOVIE--The free movie at the Community Center in Cathlamet this week (March 22) will be an adult movie, and is listed as a drama/history movie. The movies always begin at 7 p.m., and include free popcorn, or you can bring in your own treat. Remember, when there are movies being shown for kids, all children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

THIS SATURDAY OPEN MIC--All music lovers, don't forget to head down to the Skamokawa Grange Hall at 18 Fairgrounds Road this Saturday, March 23, where there will be an "Open Mic" session with a sign-up time of 3:45 with the music to begin at 4 p.m. There has been a great group of musicians and singers meeting up, so you are invited to join them, or you're always welcome to just come in and listen to them play. The group always ends the line up of players with a jam session, so they can have all kinds of fun when they all join together! Remember, the coffee's always on, and there's no fee to participate but donations toward the Grange are appreciated.

FOS MTG SUNDAY--The Friends of Skamokawa are holding a Members Meeting and Pie Social this Sunday, March 24 at Redmen Hall/Central School at 2 p.m. They will dicuss what they accomplished in 2018 and what their goals are for this coming year, 2019, as well as electing members to the board. Guest speaker that day will be Irene Martin and the Honoree will be Jill Hatier, who worked for so many years at the hall and is so deeply appreciated for all her years of work and service for the Friends of Skamokawa. To contact the hall, call 360-795-3007 or to send a donation, you can mail it to P.O. Box 67, Skamokawa, WA 98647.

CONGRATS!--We were excited to see that our local gal, Evelyn Clark, wound up on the front cover of "Pacific Fishing Magazine" this month! In case you didn't know, or hadn't heard, Evelyn is Miss Washington and will take part in the Miss USA pageant coming up soon. She is the daughter of Mike and Leah Clark, owners of "C&H Smoked Fish" on Puget Island, and they couldn't be more proud of their daughter, who's not only beautiful but is a hard working fisher-woman and is one of the very few beauty contestants to still be holding down a full time job while also attending to all her pageant duties. Congratulations to her for landing this magazine cover, and kudos to her for all her hard work and determination as she's traveled this path into the beauty pageant world. Good Luck going forward as well!

NICE VISIT--It was great to have former residents, John and Sharon Buennagel back in town this past weekend, as beings they live in Hawaii now, it's not like we get to just zip over and visit for an afternoon anymore. Sharon's sister, Sherry was camping at Vista Park for the weekend, so along with her and husband, Mark, they joined multiple friends of John and Sharon's at the Duck Inn this past Saturday to visit with them, sing a bit of karaoke and get a few hugs to boot. While they were in town, they stopped by to see the new renovations going on at Sharon's Pizza Mill, as Ginger Schmitz has been busy for several days getting the new look all ready for her customers this past Monday. With daughter Abby Buennagel coming to the Longview area from Las Vegas to visit her folks and sister Sara, I'm sure there will be a whole lot of fun taking place at Abby's Grandma Dolly's place!

PLANTING SEASON--If you're new to the area, you may wonder just what kind of plants would work well in your area. I'm sure Danny Silverman can help you out down here at the Skamokawa Gardens Nursery, as he's got big greenhouses full of things right now. If you're not a lover of having deer in your yard, then it's always advisable to plant things they don't like. Beings I live out here in the sticks and there are plenty of four legged critters around, one of the plants that holds up well are rhododendrens. They are doggone near impossible to kill. Daffodills, Snow Drops and Primroses are ignored by the deer too, so they have lasted for generations out here. However, the Bluebells, Azaleas, Camelias, Pansies and Roses are some of the deers' favorites, so if you do opt to plant them, you'll need to take extra steps to protect them or you'll be wasting your time and money. Here's hoping all your lawn and garden work provides you with the gorgeous landscape you desire.

WELL WISHES--Some folks just can't catch a break and that seems to be the case for Dave Heiner. You may remember that Dave had taken a terrible fall and suffered some real damage to his back. Then he was found to have cancer in his throat and he's been fighting that for some time, but then got the all clear and they were naturally very relieved. However, they hardly had a chance to enjoy that news, when they found out that he now has lung cancer, so needless to say, Dave could certainly use your positive thoughts and many prayers right now, as he fights this next battle.

For all of you who are battling this nasty disease, please know we are thinking about all of you and know you're in our thoughts as well.

CONDOLENCES--We want to send our sympathies to the family of Robert Patterson who lived out in East Valley and who died on March 8. His services were held this past Sunday in Rosburg at the Valley Bible Church.

SAID GOODBYE--It was with heavy hearts that our community and members of Kay Hollar Cochran's family said their goodbyes to her this past Sunday after she passed away on March 12. Her services were held on Puget Island at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, where she had been a long time member. She was always a go-getter kind of person, who from her early days in high school as a cheerleader, to her cheering on her family in their various endeavors later on, she was always on the go it seemed. She had worked at the courthouse, at the golf course, the hotel and at her realty office, and so being a "people person," she was the perfect person for all of those jobs. Her presence will truly be missed in the community, and certainly by those in her family. Our sincerest sympathies are extended to the entire family.

I know that while Kay was ill, she had asked that if someone wanted to do something for her, or on her behalf, that they donate to the Pioneer Community Association for the contining upkeep and restoration of the historic Pioneer Church that she was deeply involved in and supported, so if you're so inclined to do that, the address is PCA, P.O. Box 24, Cathlamet, WA 98612.