School starts soon, hope you're ready

LITTLE DAMP--As this work week begins, we are just a little damp in West Valley, which makes for a gloomy start to the day, but on the other hand, moisture for our parched lawn is deeply appreciated, and it settles the dust as well. However, it wasn't too long before we had sunshine again, so we didn't get a lot of moisture, just enough to make it muggy when the sun came out! From what I hear, the real rain was to hit on Wednesday and may even be a bit damp on Thursday but then it's supposed to dry up and warm up, so let's hope those with weekend plans get a couple of decent, dry days.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 22-28 are Becky Ledtke, Riley Emlen-Petterson, Clarity Schmitz, Kay Walters, Mike Vincent, Cindy Faubion, Larry Havens, Bryce Heiner, Kathy Durrah, Greg Parker, Kelly Nettles Recupero, LouAnn Hedges, Bobbie Wegdahl, Larry Horman, Keith Kehrli, Kathy Perkins, Addy Helms, Carter Helms-Carvalho, Linda Ougendal, Meredith Cothren, Nicholas Keithley, Darrell Trotter, Anita Blix Kangas, Bobbie Leingang, Cathy Stuart, Lori Martin Carroll, Declan Haddix, Bowe Dean Hamman, Sean Pedersen, Wayne Bell and Dolly Hartley celebrates her 90th birthday this week!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are John and Nicole McKinley, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Cruickshank, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Doumit, Mike and Sara Brown, Pete and Patti LaBerge and Larry and Lesley Horman. May all of your birthday and anniversary celebrations be extra special this coming week!

FRIDAY MOVIE--The free movie being held at the Community Center in Cathlamet this Friday, will be an adult comedy. It begins at its usual time of 7 p.m., and comes with free popcorn. In case you're new to the area, the center is located in Cathlamet at 101 Main Street.

UPSETTING--We were upset to learn that our Skamokawa Store was broken into last week and it seemed to be a group effort, which was even more unsettling. The culprits got away with a lot of Skamokawa/Bigfoot sweatshirts, t-shirts, cigarettes and more after busting through the front door, so we truly feel for owners, Lance and Shannon Britt. I have heard rumblings that the case may possibly be close to being solved. As of this writing, this has not been confirmed but we certainly hope so! If you have any information about this case, please contact the Sheriff's office.

A BREAK?/PARTY TIME--It's hard to believe, but there was actually a break in the community calendar of events for this weekend, so it was a perfect time for Cindy Faubion to have her retirement party! Aug. 24, it's time to head to the River Mile 38 Brewing Co., located near the Elochoman Marina, and join Cindy in celebrating her retiring after spending the last 46 years as a registered nurse. The festivities will take place between 1 and 4 p.m., and you're all invited to share in this momentous celebration for a well-deserved break after so many years of helping others.

MISSED THEM--I was out of town and unable to attend, but I hope you were able to get to the ribbon cuttings that were held for the newly remodeled Pharmacy and the new wine bar at the Hotel Cathlamet last week. I have to admit that when I heard "The Tavern" was going to open, it certainly conjured up a different venue in my mind. It is not going to be the beer drinking, noisy taverns of old, but is being presented as a place with a more quiet atmosphere to enjoy a glass of wine, so that's certainly something different from what I had first imagined. Good luck to Tim and Laurel Waller in their new venture!

WINE TASTING/AUCTION--In less than a month, the Friends of Skamokawa will host their annual fundraiser, the always fun and wonderful, Wine Tasting and Auction, which features both live and silent auctions. It goes without saying that there will be some nice food items to snack on, as you can't have wine without some meats and cheeses and other goodies! There is always a nice array of prizes to bid on and of course, it is hoped that you will graciously donate some items to put up for bid, whether it's a smaller item for the silent auction, or possibly a more expensive item/basket/grouping that would be a wonderful item to go into the live auctions. Remember, the more we have to bid on, the more fun it is. Those bidding wars can get pretty intense, yet very fun! If you've got some things to donate, now is the time to do so in order that the FOS folks in charge can get all their paperwork filled out and can figure out just where everything goes. Contact the hall at 360-795-3007, Thursday through Sunday to let them know you're interested.

FAIR WRAP-UP--I only managed to get down to this year's Wahkiakum County Fair for a few hours, as like I said, I had to be out of town, so I didn't get to do my usual "no cooking - three day food fest" like I usually do at fair time. I did manage a quick walk through and one meal and one dessert, so I enjoyed the short time I was there. Exhibits were looking good and I was glad to see more critters in the cow barn as well. Kudos to the Skamokawa Grange #425 for taking the first place blue ribbon on their large exhibit this year! Also, congratulations to Genevieve Fleming for being crowned the Queen of the Fair this year.

SAID GOOD-BYE--A very large group of family and friends came together this past Sunday at the Norse Hall, to remember long time resident, LeRoy Wika. The place was packed, with standing room only as people came together to celebrate the life of a wonderful man, and share their stories of the times they had with LeRoy, whether they were family, close friends, neighbors or fellow fishermen. Mark Doumit had been asked to take the lead in this service and made sure everybody got to take a turn at speaking if they so desired. Many a chuckle was heard throughout the room when some stories were shared and everyone agreed that LeRoy was a handsome, well groomed, neat as a pin gentleman who was loved and adored by his family and admired by his friends.

Growing up on Puget Island, LeRoy and his family were fellow Welcome Slough neigbors and he was also one of my Dad's (Krist Pedersen) best friends. Actully, my little brother, Marshall, was even given his middle name in his honor and he and his son, Rick, wound up being good friends as well. I hadn't seen "little Ricky" since the 60's, so he had changed quite a bit; hadn't we all? Back in the day, we kids thought all of our parents and their friends were old, but have now realized all these years later, that those old folks were really only in their late 30s or 40s and now we kids are way past what we considered old back then!

GET WELL--Another Wika that I have known my whole life and also lived on Welcome Slough, is Lori Wika. She was and still is, one of those pretty and sweet girls that we all enjoyed knowing and growing up with. However, just recently she had to have some shoulder surgery so beings she was in a lot of pain and discomfort, could not attend the gathering at the Norse Hall for LeRoy, but she sent a note, and parts of it were pretty funny! Prior to his passing, she went to see LeRoy in the hospital and had to fudge a little bit to get into see him and we all cracked up about that, but hey, a Wika is a Wika right? We were glad she was able to do that as I'm sure her presence was appreciated. Now we hope Lori mends quickly and completely and she is able to be out and about and be her perky self again real soon!

SCHOOL IS STARTING SOON!--If you'd like to help our local kids out with some of the things they need for school, don't forget that you can purchase a few things and put them in the box at the Cathlamet Pharmacy. Those with several children often get over-whelmed with a long list of things kids need today, so anything you can do to help out would be greatly appreciated.

THIS SATURDAY--Come to the Skamokawa Grange Hall this Saturday, Aug. 24, for some wonderful Irish music. You can take dance lessons beginning at 7:30 and then the Ceili Dancing will happen from 8 to 11 p.m., so that sounds like fun! This is a family friendly, fun event, so come to 18 Fairgrounds Road and check it all out. It's time for the Irish to do a little jig!

DRESS A GIRL--According to Pearl Blackburn, beginning on Sept. 6, at 1 p.m., the "Dress a Girl" meetings will take place at the Community Center in Cathlamet. The object of this gathering is to make a certain dress that will be sent out to missions in Africa so that every girl has at least one dress to wear. At this meeting, you will get the pattern and you'll get the fabric, so if you are one of those wonderful people who know how to sew, and you'd like to do a kind deed, then your help in making these dresses would be truly appreciated. You can also contact Pearl for more info at 770-298-7164.

FAIRYTALE WEDDING--This past Friday, Aug. 16, our oldest grandson, Kyle Sechler, married his long time significant other, Suzy Ekstrom, in a truly magical place called Thornewood Castle in Lakewood, WA. Suzy wore a gorgeous wedding gown, and with its embroidered bodice and sleeves and a long flowing veil, the bride looked every bit like a princess as she walked down the outdoor aisle of the castle's secret garden on the grounds towards her husband to be as the three piece orchestra played music from "Beauty and the Beast."

The garden, which was full of gorgeous hydrangeas, roses and other flowers, was surrounded by four brick turrets in each corner of the garden with a pond and fountain in the middle of it. The five bridemaids and Maid of Honor wore floor length champagne colored dresses, while the five groomsmen and Best Man were sporting bright blue suits to match the groom and along with three little flower girls all dressed in white with blue sashes, made for a wonderful looking wedding party!

Having the ceremony performed by Fred Nollan, who happens to be Kyle's uncle, made the couple's nuptials even more special. While the weather was a tadbit on the cloudy side to begin with, as soon as the service was completed, the sun appeared and shown down on the happy couple, like it was giving its shining approval of what had just taken place.

After the ceremony, it was time to enjoy a catered dinner and wander around a bit before heading indoors to witness the Maid of Honor, Bekah Ekstrom, a sister of the bride, and Best Man, Blake Sechler, brother of the groom, give their speeches and to toast the happy couple. With chairs that looked like thrones, the newlyweds truly looked like a King and Queen in this majestic setting in one of the 54 rooms that makes up Thornewood Castle. After that, it was time to head to the ballroom, where among the polished walls and hidden doors and chandeliers and brilliantly lit sconces, the couple shared their first dance before the bride danced with her Father and the groom danced with his Mother; all were truly special moments.

With an overnight stay in the main suite of the castle, with its huge balcony looking over the grounds and over the nearby lake, it was all the couple could have asked for, so they will truly have wonderful memories to share forever. Their wedding theme, "Best Day Ever" was truly that!

On a side note, much of this castle had been a 400 year old Elizabethan manor in England, and was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Chester Thorne in 1907. The wealthy couple then had it dismantled and shipped piece by piece to be included in the main house of their new home in Lakewood. The famous architect, Kirtland Cutter, was in charge of this undertaking at the time, and it took from 1908 to 1911 to complete the look of the place that one sees today. Considering the red brick used on the outside came from Wales, and it and all the other things had to be shipped around Cape Horn to the Pacific NW, well, you can see why it took three ships and three years to get the place done!