Kite festival at Vista Park on Saturday

COOLED OFF--This past Saturday morning we woke up to wet roads and wet grass and lots of clouds, so this was definitely a cool down from what many thought was going to be a "sunny and hot" weekend. However, it seems the forecast changed and the temperatures dropped enough in the evening hours so that some were even kicking on the heat, or putting that extra blanket back on the bed!

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays from June 27-July 3 are Don Speranza, Cliff Garrison, Austin Luthi, Matt Helms III, Mary Nettles, Sandie York, Rick Watkins, Kris Bergseng, Andrew Nortrup, Tanya Cleveland, Danny Poe, Elias Cochran, Hope Neilsen, Philomena Thomas, Kathi West, Dale Jacobson, Clara Olson, Finley Schillios, Justin Norris and Tim Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Bob Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Brons, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Hap Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hendrickson, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Seaberg, Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Palmer and Mr. and Mrs. Pete Sechler. May all of your special days be truly memorable!

PIGYS--The much anticipated Puget Island Garage and Yard Sale (PIGYS) is almost here, as it starts tomorrow, June 28 and goes through Sunday, with the action beginning at 9 a.m. Don't forget to stop by the Norse Hall for some lunch, as I hear there's lot of folks taking part in this event and you'll surely need to take a break, so this would be an ideal time to do so. Have fun shopping and please remember to be courteous and not show up early and don't block mailboxes.

GO FLY A KITE--If you can't fly your own kite, why not come down to Skamokawa Vista Park and watch all the experts fly theirs? There are always some amazing kites flying in the breeze when the Kite Festival comes to town, and this Saturday will be no exception I'm sure! While the actual time of "launch" is never pinpointed, due to the fact that it's dependent on the wind, there is hope that the morning breezes that usually show up, will be there so they can get those huge kites in the air. There will be vendors again this year, and the Patty Cakes & Roasting trailer, so you can always cruise by and grab a bite to eat or drink while you're either waiting or watching this fun event! For more info, call the park at 360-795-8605.

STOP BY--While the Friends of Skamokawa have shortened their hours at the Redmen Hall/Central School during the current painting process, they are still open on the weekends, so while you're checking things out at Vista Park, be sure to stop by. They are open noon to four on Saturday and Sunday. There are lots of books and gifts to check out as well as a nice exhibit in the River Life Interpretive Center on the second floor. On nice days, this is a great place to snap some river photos, as one can climb up to the bell tower if you're so inclined!

It may seem early, but there's only two and a half months until the FOS holds their yearly fund raiser, which is the Wine Tasting and Auction event. It will be held Sept. 14 this year. Here's your advance notice and they are hoping you'll be able to donate something for it and of course, attend it and take part in all the fun bidding wars! Call 360-795-3007 for more info.

FAMILY GATHERING--There's nothing Moms like better than having their kids getting all together and that was certainly the case for Kerrie McNally this past weekend. During the recent McNally BBQ feast she was happily posting pictures of all five of her kids, along with her Mom. Then came her Grandma, nieces and most of her nephews; what a crew! For Kerrie, it was a real blessing and she was certainly looking happy to have almost all of her family around her during those couple of days. Kerrie has made no secret of the fact that she is battling cancer and is undergoing treatment, so we know how precious she values this time with the ones she loves the most. We are all thinking of her and rooting her on during this challenging time.

QUILT MAKERS--The "River City Strippers," a wonderful group of quilters in our area, have come up with a fantastic new quilt, which they have donated to the Pioneer Center Association, so they can raffle it off and make some much needed money for the center. This latest creation is called "Lewis and Clark Trail" and was sewn together by Doreen Dale. Patricia Battaglia will be at the Friday market at the marina with tickets for a chance to win it for just $5 each. On Bald Eagle Day it will be displayed at the Cathlamet Community Center, along with a bunch of other quilts made by this wonderful group, so you'll have a handy place to stop in and be able to purchase tickets to win it. The plan is to have the quilt at various events and then in September, they will draw the lucky winner. Pat tells me that they will also sell tickets at the Bank of the Pacific, so hopefully one of these locations will work out for your chance to buy some tickets, support a worthy cause and maybe be the one to win!

In case you weren't aware, the RCS gals make and donate quilts to those in need with serious illnesses or in times of great need; they never sell them. How terrific is that? The group also makes baby quilts and gives them to the WIC group to distribute to those that might need one and they also make and give patriotic themed quilts to the VFW.

For those who might want to help in making these creations or find out more about the group, they meet at St. Catherine Catholic Church, 400 Columbia Street, every Friday. They have been doing this since the year 2000! Here's a big thank you to all those that are involved in this wonderful group, as their finished creations take a lot of work and are much appreciated by all that receive them. You're more than welcome to stop by and meet these wonderful "strippers!"

GRADUATES--I was pleased that the weather co-operated on the first day of summer, as it was graduation day for my grandson, Bryce Good, at Camp Rilea, just outside of Warrenton, Ore. This is where the training program is located for those who want to become linemen, and is called VOLTA, for Vocational Outside Line Training Academy. Not everyone manages to get through this course, but we were pleased that Bryce made it through the physical and educational part of this rigorous class. After the graduation certificates and special awards were handed out, we were all treated to a wonderful lunch, and for dessert, the many cakes from Costco were a big hit! The next part of this day's events had us moving outside, and we were all very pleased to have the weather co-operate. The graduating class took part in several demonstrations and we were pretty pleased to learn that Bryce had the fastest time in the pole rescue part of this demonstration, as well as in the egg climb event. Needless to say, besides us proud grandparents, his Mother, Felicitie Knight and his Dad, Brian Good, were more than thrilled to witness his accomplishments.

Bryce was truly grateful for the financial help he received through the Sons of Norway Scholarship Award that he received last year, which made this all possible, and I was very pleased to have been able to present it to him during that special awards ceremony. Now that Bryce has passed this entry level training program, he plans to continue his journey in this field and we wish him the best of luck!

SYMPATHIES--We want to offer our condolences to the family of Carl Cothren, who recently passed away and whose services were held this past week. We also learned of the passing of Wanda Evenson, who was the mother of our friend, Joan Evenson, who passed away suddenly last year, so we want to send our sympathies to her surviving daughters, Sue and Chris and their families.

GET WELL--My cousin, Ron Pedersen, wound up in the hospital recently and is now recovering after some surgery, so I want to wish him all the best. He was featured in a newspaper article awhile back, as his Coin and Book Shop in Hazel Dell has been there "forever," and which I spoke about as well, but now with these health issues, he has been forced to close the doors after all these years. I'm sure the community will truly miss his presence. Our sincerest get well wishes to all who are under the weather these days.

SCA MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL--The fairgrounds park area was full of tents and people, so the medieval festival that was listed on the chamber calendar was a go this past weekend. Beings there was only signage for their group, and no posters or publicity about it, the thought was that this was a gathering for "their" people. I would have gone over to explore and ask questions but I was a bit under the weather and kept myself confined at home. If anyone has any more information on it, I'd love to hear about it.

CLOSED--In case you haven't heard, the Roadkill Saloon, located in Skamokawa, is now closed. Owners Ric and April Murdock were forced to close it due to health issues, so we were sorry to see that come about. If anybody is looking to open a business, this one is for sale and comes with living quarters upstairs, so it's a home and business all in one.

For the new folks around here, the Saloon was formerly known as the "Oasis" and for years and years, had always been a fun, quirky, down home, small tavern, where pool tournaments and dart tournaments were held and frozen pizzas and a few snacks made up the menu, so that sort of venue is truly missed. Back in the day, everybody knew about The "O" and that was a good thing. In this day and age, promotion is key and there's never too much of it, so if you're in the market to venture out on your own, be sure to have a massive publicity plan in place and work hard, and good luck!

SOME CONFUSION--I wanted to contact the library in Cathlamet the other day, but surpringly enough, I didn't see it listed under any title what-so-ever in the latest 2019 telephone book that I had received. I did see two listings for Cathlamet City Clerk however, with one giving an address on Main Street and the other one was on East SR 4, which I didn't think possible. I opted to try the one on Main St in hopes of them having the correct number, and lo and behold, I actually got the library (360-705-3254). After talking with Librarian Carol Blix for a bit to inquire as to why it was not listed, it seems that the phone company wanted some money in order to change the listing. This just really seemed ridiculous to me, so I did a little more looking. I'm somewhat of a hoarder of old phone books, and just happened to have a 2011 phone book and guess what I found? In the white pages, under "Cathlamet City of," right at the very top, was the "Bradley Memorial Library" with the correct number! There were several other listings under this heading as well, which made perfect sense in comparison to the current way things are listed. However, I would think the phone company owes our librarian an apology and nobody should have to pay to have our library relisted, as it had already been listed the correct way, and it was the phone company who changed their format and deleted it. We hope the next year's phone book will find a revision, free of charge of course!