Last farmer's market of season will be Friday

ENDING/BEGINNING--Here we are towards the end of yet another month, and yes, it flew by! As I write this, Fall has officially arrived and it's a cloudy, gloomy day, but at least it isn't pouring down rain like it was yesterday, so I'll take the dry and gloomy over the super wet and gloomy any day! With these cooler temperatures, it's definitely time to drag out those warmer coats and maybe add another blanket to our beds, as the night air has a definite chill to it now. The forecast shows a few dry days ahead, so let's hope that comes true and our Friday night football game will be a dry one. Go Mules!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from September 26-October 2 are Matthew Keilwitz, Stevan Morgain, Stewart Moonen, Ginger Schmitz, Sara Jester, Marie West, Blake Anderson, Cheryl Backman, Mary Wingate, Caitlin Heiner, Sue Kuller, Rownen Vegvary, Linda Newton, Shannon Lewis, Arlene Sauer, Marissa Apperson, Kevin Weaver, Becky Keithley, Miles Nielson, Robert Blain and Karen Healy.

I left out Isabella Caterrina Macchione and Michael Apperson from my birthday list last week; sorry about that. Hopefully they had a terrific time on their special days!

Celebrating anniversaries this week are Matt and Marsha Helms, Tom and Tami Bosch, Quin and Connie Bassi, Chip and Kathy Perkins, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Doumit, Frank and Beth Corbin, Mr. and Mrs. Erik Grasseth, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Paulsen, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Bardsley, Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cleveland and Larry and Linda Spieth. Here's hoping all of your special occasions bring you memories to last a life time!

Belated Anniversary wishes to Jeff and Shelley Hedges on their 10th anniversary this last week.

ADDING TO THE LIST--I see where there were a couple of weddings this past week, and one of those was Kerrie McNally's son, so congratulations to Kerrie and her family on adding another member to their family! My cousin, Donna Healy Palmer and family members headed back east to attend the wedding of her grandson, Kevin Palmer, son of Larri and Sally Palmer, and he and his new bride, Jessica tied the knot last Friday, Sept. 20 in Pennsylvania. Congratulations to them as well!

LAST MARKET--This Friday, Sept. 27, marks the last Farmer's Market at the Elochoman Slough Marina, so head that way between 4 and 7 p.m., and see what kind of deals they have left for you. Besides the veggies and things, there have been homemade sewn things for sale and those selling honey have been there, as well as soap makers and those who engrave things on glass items, so here's hoping you find something you like at the last sale of the year.

FRIDAY MOVIE--The last movie for this month, which is free at the community center in Cathlamet, is a classic comedy for everybody and starts at 7 p.m. As always, the movie is free, as is the popcorn.

NEXT WEDNESDAY--Once again it is "Coffee with a Cop" time and this month, on Oct. 2, they will be at the Duck Inn from 8:30 to 10 a.m., so if you'd like to chat with your local officers, here's your chance to come in and do just that. Whether it's just to meet the officers or talk about some things that are bothering you or ask some direct questions, here's your opportunity. Let's remember to keep these chats civil and come together as a community, where we can do more together than we can by fighting amongst ourselves or our officers. So, here's hoping you will head to the Duck next week.

SOLD OUT--The next big event happening is the Covered Bridge Dinner in Grays River on Oct. 5, next Saturday, and the Wahkiakum Co. WSU Extension office is pleased to announce that they are completely sold out. Great job! You can always check with the extension office in case someone had a change of heart, but you'd better check right away by calling 360-795-3278.

SK. FLEA MARKET--The Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds will be the place to be during the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct.12, as once again, there will be the monthly Flea Market, so if you've got things to sell, here's a chance to do so. This sale takes place in the nicely heated Youth Building, so you can set up a table of things for just $10 and hopefully clear some things out to make way for all the new stuff you're bound to get for Christmas! Whether you're a seller or a buyer, be sure to check things out at the fairgrounds.

BINGO TIME--In the evening hours of that same day, Oct. 12, it will be time for all bingo lovers to head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island, as the Sons of Norway lodge members host their monthly bingo games. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and games start at 6 p.m., with cash prizes being awarded, so head that way with your friends for some fun and friendly chatter! Cards are $5 each.

NEW EXHIBIT--The Friends of Skamokawa opened their new exhibit in the River Life Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall/Central School last week, so they hope you come down and check out this latest mixed media art exhibit called, "Falling Leaves." Artists include George Borg, Ruth Doumit, Mitzi Christensen, Noreen Fitts, Desiree Craven, Beth Bailey, Adrienne Stacey and Carol Bodreau. You may recognize some of these artists as your friends, neighbors or even relatives, so come on down and see their latest creations at the hall, located at 1394 W SR 4, in Skamokawa. They are open Thursday through Sunday from noon to four. For further information, call 360-795-3007.

CLASSMATES GATHER--The Wahkiakum High School Class of 1970 recently got together to do some planning for their next year's special 50th class reunion, so that's always a good reason to meet, as it takes some doing to put that all together. According to Judy Marsyla, those attending were Steve McClain, Loretta Holland Urling, Joyce Lindwall Loomis, Marsha McNally Souvenir, Jim Rice, Wayne Conrad, Greg Gorley, Ron Quigley, Carl Linquist and Terrie Eaton. If you were in this class and you were unable to attend this meeting, and you really want in on all the planning, be sure to contact one of the above if they haven't already contacted you.

BACK HOME--The Chamberlains are back home after a trip to South Dakota, and I can tell you this: Hubby Bill is glad to be home. With a thunder and lightning storm that made campers rock and roll, and pouring rain, after some oppresive heat, well, there was little sleep for anyone for a couple of nights. Routines of home were quickly replaced with "on the spot" choices, so for seniors, that's not always a good thing! Of course, the state does have some great things to see, like Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument that's still a work in progress, but when traveling in the Fall, one must remember that a lot of touristy things have closed already and you may not be able to get in to see and tour the things you wanted to. Brandon and Debbie Chamberlain found out that the dirt in South Dakota makes for some very sticky mud when wet, so loading things back up after the Jeep runs wasn't exactly fun. There were over a 120 Jeeps signed up for these courses, with a good chunk of them being Rubicons! It's often nice to get "out of Dodge" but in this case, somebody I know was looking forward to getting back home and crashing in his own bed after this very long trip!

GETTING PREPARED--As our weather changes, and not always for the better, it's that time of year to get ourselves prepared for the rough times when rock and mud slides take out our roads, or take out our power and block our usual routes of travel, and we find ourselves needing to be on our own for several days at the very least. Anymore, experts are saying that we really need to be self-sustaining for 10 to 14 days, but we hope that we never find ourselves in that position around here. However, we should at least try to have extra food and water available, as well as extra heat sources for cooking and keeping warm and medical needs, as well as things for our pets so that we aren't completely dependent on others right away. I know there are a lot of new people in the area who are not familiar with things that happen around here, like flooded roads, etc, so I hope we can all help them out if they find themselves in need of knowing alternate routes around trouble spots, and of course, sometimes there are none, so for all the newbies it's best to have what you need on hand, as you may not be able to get to a store to buy it. So, good luck on getting prepared for winter; there's no time like the present to get started!

LOOKING FOR INFO--Back in August of 1939, there were some ads in the local paper from various businesses in Skamokawa as they joined in the celebration of the completion of the Puget Island-Cathlamet Bridge. One of those businesses was called the Vog Lumber Company which offered building supplies like Fir flooring and Red Cedar. Another was from the Tetz Oil Company. Beings I've never heard of either of these places here in Skamokawa, I was wondering if anyone has any information about either of them, as I think it would be interesting to see where they were located and who the owners were. I knew of some Vog's on Puget Island but I don't know if it was any of them who owned a business here in Skamokawa. So, if you have any information, please contact me at home, 360-795-3425 and leave a message if need be as it would be fun to find out a little more about these places from way back when!