Holiday open house at Redmen Hall Friday

SNOW MAYBE?--We had some wild weather last Monday with thunder and lightning and buckets of rain, but then it thankfully dried out. That part was nice but those freezing temperatures and heavy fog made for some chilly mornings and some hazardous driving conditions as well. Speaking of which, there is a chance that by the time you read this on Wednesday, that we may get some snow flurries. What? Please, no! I have dealt with some miserable weather conditions just prior to and even on, Thanksgiving Day, which made this holiday a total nightmare, so I hope this chance of snow goes away!

In case you've forgotten, or are new here and missed all the "fun," we have had ice and wind storms which cut power to much of the area during this holiday before and we wound up finishing Thanksgiving dinner on the propane stove in the camper or on the grill. We've also had severe flooding that caused closures to our county roads in flood prone areas; and we've had many inches of snow that day, so let's just hope we have a much less exciting Thanksgiving Day this year!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 27-Dec. 4 are Danny Silverman, Matt Helms II, Mike Linn, Tom Webb, Maria Snow, Mackenzie Allen, Menoka Martin, Sarah Clark, J.R. DeBriae, Linda Ostervold, Terri Slape, Samantha Wright, Mike Paulsen, Dylan Cothren, Jace Gibson, Shane Souvenir, Trace Tarabochia, Don Ross, Kathy Ross, Mark Slape, Darcy Bardsley, Jamie Jacobson, Joyce Ower, Nancy Good Garcia, Domanic Diaz, Drake Cook, Robert Kyle, Kevin Palmer, Kendra Finkas, Steve Finkas and Mark Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Rick and Jenny Benfit, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Holland and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Clark. Enjoy your special days, everybody!

GET WELL--I heard that Brian Elliott had to make a trip to the hospital recently, so here's hoping he's doing better and will be feeling good as new real soon. Also Cheryl Dutcher isn't feeling so hot either, so we hope she gets to the root of her problems and recovers soon too. Our former county resident and good friend, Sharon Buennagel, was feeling a little puny over there in Hawaii, so we hope she's going to be feeling a hundred percent by the time turkey day comes around. We send our heartiest "Get Well" wishes to them and anybody else that's feeling poorly right now!

NO MOVIE--Just a reminder that there will not be a movie this Friday evening at the Community Center in Cathlamet.

BIG FRIDAY OPENING--It's finally here: The big Holiday Open House at Redmen Hall/Central School which begins at 10 a.m., on Nov. 29 and the last day will be Dec. 15 from 12 to 4 p.m., so don't miss out on this wonderful "Deck the Hall" event, with lots of vendors and great gifts in the Gift and Book Shop. If you're new to the area, the hall is located in Skamokawa across from the Skamokawa Store/Resort at Milepost 29 on SR 4; you can't miss it!

DON'T FORGET--Here's to the "Shop Small" aka "Shop Local" movement and considering how many of our local businesses and organizations are always helping us, won't you please help them and do some of your shopping right here in our own community? Gift certificates make great gifts, as do those special "only made here" items, whether it's arts and crafts or food items. There're lots of choices in our area, so treat others with a special gift, and by shopping local, you'll give "our own" a gift as well. Happy shopping!

SUNDAY PARTY AT NORSE HALL--The annual children's Christmas party, held by the Sons of Norway lodge members at the Norse Hall, will take place this Sunday, Nov. 1st from 2 to 4 p.m. This party is for children 10 years old and younger, and they will be able to decorate cookies, play games and even chat with Santa who will hand out a little goody bag to take home. Needless to say, this is the perfect time for the folks to take that special holiday picture of their child with Santa to include with their Christmas cards this year. There will also be refreshments for everyone, so bring the little ones to Puget Island this Sunday (no drop offs; they must be accompanied by an adult) and let the Christmas partying begin!

SPECIAL TIME--I can hardly believe it, but at the beginning of this month, way back in 1994, I wrote my first "official" column for The Eagle! I had filled in for former writer, Mary Ann Madden at times prior to November 3, but after she passed away the week before on Oct. 30, I wound up getting this job full time. I certainly have enjoyed my 25 years at The Eagle, and appreciate Bob and Rick Nelson for giving me this opportunity to do what I like to do: Gab a lot!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1949, Wahkiakum County was getting blasted by a terrible storm. Power outages were widespread and one of the areas from the outages that impacted the most people, wound up being the downing of the "Camp line" near the Ozment farm, which affected over 100 families. Other areas had outages that lasted longer but did not impact as many people. With trees coming down everywhere, the Ocean Beach Highway was closed down as along with the trees, came the hillside they were on. Twenty-two trees came down in Cathlamet's city park. The athletic field at the school felt the force of the wind, when one of the floodlights on the field blew off the pole and ripped the housing away from the bracket that held it on the pole! Along with the storm came the rising of the river, where the Cowlitz River went from a height of 5.1 feet, to a whopping 16 feet in a matter of days. It was a good time to stay put!

The good news that year was the development of a better pension and benefit plan for telephone workers. The new plan minimum for workers having 20 years in the company who were over 65, went up to a whopping $100, and for those under 65, it was $75, including social security. Previously, Pacific Telphone and Telepgraph Company paid $50 plus matching half of one's SS benefits.

This week back in 1959, my Grandma Elsie wound up in the hospital and was there for 18 days and then recuperated at her son, George's home for another 10 days, so she'd been gone from home for four whole weeks. She was definitely happy to get back home. She certainly appreciated all the cards and gifts she'd gotten while she was away, as it brought some cheery moments to get her through some miserable time in the hospital. Upon coming home, she had some nice visits with folks who stopped by and others that called. A nice call from Mrs. Ole Nelsen seemed to really perk her up. On a beautiful day, Dec. 4, Gene Healy headed to San Francisco to get his discharge papers from the Navy, so that was a pretty day for him! All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.

OK, IT'S TIME!--As I wrap this up, it's almost Thanksgiving Day, so if you're getting this on Wednesday, like most of us, then you are probably knee deep in dinner plans, from making the pies to checking off that last minute grocery list for things like cranberry sauce and all the goodies for a veggie/fruit platter and colorful salads, etc. So here's hoping you all have a very wonderful Thanksgiving, and don't forget to count your blessings!

If you're a person who gets The Eagle a little later than us folks nearby, well then, we hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!