Valentine Bingo to be held on February 1

NICER?--After a couple of days of snowy weather and then a couple of outages last week due to strong winds and debris flying everywhere, it's back to just rain and gloomy conditions, so I guess that's some sort of improvement anyway. Of course, by the time you read this, who knows what has happened, but with a little luck, we will just stay damp and dismal and not flooded and totally miserable, as one is certainly more preferred than the other. Here's to calmness this coming week!

HOW DID YOU FARE?--Depending on where you were, you may have had to deal with a power outage or two lately. Once again, these short-term outages are a great reminder of how dependent we are on power and are a good time to prepare for even longer ones. Emergency Management folks tell us that it is up to us to take care of ourselves if we have a big emergency that would prohibit us from running out and getting all the things we need that day, so are you ready? Did you scramble during that outage to find enough light or heat or did you worry about your refrigeration? If so, now is the time to work on those issues. The old saying, "Better safe than sorry" still holds true.

Locally, Beau Renfro is in charge of the Wahkiakum County Department of Emergency Management and if you have any questions on how to better prepare yourself in an emergency, you can contact him online through that website, or on Facebook or you can call the non-emergency number at the Sheriff's office and they can direct your call to him, 360-795-3242.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 23-29 are Sharon Schmitz, Kaylyn Kaattari, Becky Thacker, Brandon McClain, Sherry Ostling, Wayne Cochran, Kyli Prestegard, Trinity Thompson, Sharon Buennagel, Jody Baccellieri, Baylee Olsen, Annelise Vik, Gary York, Sam Tarabochia, Sean Masters, Troy Gorley, Emma Lindsey, Don Claussen, Leslie Sullivan, Jolene Wright, Shirley Mae Toney, Lori Wika, Pearl Blackburn, Mike Nollan, Nicholas Kubacki, Cindi Pedersen and my youngest grandson, Luke Sechler, who is no longer a teenager, wow! Happy Birthday, everyone!

FRIDAY MOVIE--This Friday, Jan. 24, the free movie at the Community Center in Cathlamet will be a "NR" or Not Rated movie, but it says it is a documentary for everyone. All movies start at 7 p.m. The center is located at 101 Main Street.

Naselle CRAB & OYSTER FEED--In case you weren't able to find a ticket to get into the Crab and Oyster Feed in Rosburg, and you're not wanting to wait until next month when the Wah. Chamber holds their crab feed, you're in luck, as the Naselle Sports Club is putting on a crab feed at the Naselle School this Sunday, January 26 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Prices for a full crab dinner are $25, a half crab meal is $15 and if you just want to have a hot dog meal, you can feed the kids (or yourself) for just $5!

VALENTINE BINGO--With so many things going on around Valentine's Day, please note that the Valentine Bingo put on by Wahkiakum County Fair Board, will take place early on Feb. 1, so you'll be able to enjoy all the other Valentine's Day activities. If you like to play bingo and want to support the fair, here's your chance; it's lots of fun! Cards are three for $10 and as always, they will have a lot of great prizes on their raffle table, and tickets will be available for that. You can also donate something to this table if you'd like to. The door opens at the heated Youth Building at 5 p.m., and you can get yourself a hotdog while you wait for the games to begin at 6 p.m.

FUNDRAISER--There are always a lot of fundraisers in our area, and many include crafts and food, so you may be a little bit surprised by this upcoming fundraiser for the Friends of Skamokawa on Feb. 22. It's a Disc Golf tournament out at Lucky Mud on Feb. 22. This PDGA C-Tier event includes two rounds of 18 and there's some play time for amateurs and professionals. Part of the entry fees will be donated to the Friends of Skamokawa. You can learn more about this event by checking out the website or call 360-795-8770. According to the Lucky Mud Disc Golf page, registration is to go live on Jan. 24 at 6 p.m., on 4discgolf. This is an all day event from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and lunch is provided. Any event donation or tee sign sponsorship over $20 will receive a one year FOS membership which allows you to have a discount at their book/gift shop in Redmen Hall/Central School located in Skamokawa, MP 29 on SR 4.

FOS--The Friends of Skamokawa always hold a vintage and antique sale the first weekend that they reopen after their winter break in March, so I hope you will mark that down on your calendar. While this may seem like a ways off, now is actually a good time to start thinking about gathering some of your things and maybe joining in the fun of selling them at the River Life Interpretive Center on the second floor of Redmen Hall/Central School. Of course, if you don't have any to sell, this will be an excellent time to come out and shop and buy some things, as people around here really have some nice treasures and they could be yours if you shop early. At any rate, with time flying by, here's hoping they see you there!

FERRY INFO--I see that on Facebook, a lot of people are asking "Is the ferry running?" Well, one way to find out is to call 360-795-7867 and you should have your answer quickly and won't have to wait for someone to respond to your question.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--Are you looking for a spot to hold an event close by? The Skamokawa Grangers would like to remind you that the Grange, located at 18 Fairgrounds Road, is available to rent. This is a good place to hold reunions or birthday parties, or any other event that's just a little too big to hold at your house. A half day is $70, and a whole day is $100. There is a $50 refundable cleaning deposit required. To rent it, you can call Levi at 360-431-9506, or email him at patronsofhusbandry@gmail.com or check them out on Facebook.

THINKING OF THEM--I keep hearing how the "crud" has gotten ahold of several people in our area and they have been sick for days or weeks, and some months; wow! All I can say is that I hope all of you will be feeling much better real soon, as being sick is no fun at all. I did hear that drinking pineapple juice is a good cough suppressant, as it contains "bromelain" which has anti-inflammatory benefits, so if you've seen your doctor and nothing else is working for you, maybe you can give that old fashioned/natural method a try.

Also, our dear friend, Laurie Miller has undergone some surgery recently and was doing pretty good but now she's had to undergo another surgery this week for another matter, so we certainly want to send her some get well wishes and hopefully she'll hear some good news from the doctor about her prognosis.

MORE LOSSES--I was certainly sorry to hear of the passing of Ivy Lou Vik last week, (Jan. 12.) as she was certainly a well known and much loved lady who had lived on Puget Island for many, many years and was very involved in the Dairy Wives group when she and her husband, Phil, had one. She was quite well known for her baking skills as well, and even made my own daugher's graduation cake. Her services were held this past Saturday at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, as they certainly lost a real gem, and she will truly be missed.

We want to send our condolences to Jeanne Paulsen, who lost a dear cousin recently; his name was Arnold Gish. She said that they were raised in the same area and he was not only a fun cousin, but musically talented, witty and a loving and kind person who could always make her smile. It's tough to lose a loved one and we know that this wonderful man will truly be missed by all his family members.

Sympathies are also extended to my cousin, LuAnn Davison, who lost her brother Kenny this past week. LuAnn is the daughter of the late Walter Pedersen, the 12th child and youngest son of Jonas Pedersen.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, from Jan. 23 to 29, the area was still dealing with the adverse weather and locally, Jan. 23 was a miserable day with so much snow and wind that it was like a blizzard out there; very nasty. By nightfall, even more snow came down. On the Columbia River, the ice was being broke up by tug boats so ferry crossings could once again be used. It was not a nice day for Alfred McMath's funeral and made George Everest's 35th birthday quite memorable. Overall, it was a a very "weary time" for power line crews and telephone crews, as the weather really caused a huge amount of damage and downed lines and shut off power and telephone services to a lot of people, not to mention, being the cause of 21 deaths so far.

By Jan. 27, our local area was back to rain and then cleared up in the evening. This gave the ladies of the Riverview Rebekah Lodge in Cathlamet a chance to come together and elect and install, Mrs. Rosemary Faubion as their "noble grand" at their meeting held at City Hall. Others who were installed into office that evening were Vice grand: Mrs. Rosemary Woverton; Recording Secretary: Mrs. Bertha Ackermann; Financial Secretary: Mrs. Erval Watkins; Treasurer: Mrs. Elva Mast; Right and Left supporters of the Noble Grand: Mrs. Alma Faubion and Mrs. Bertha Shuster; the Right and Left supporters to the Vice Grand: Norma Waltz and Mrs. Esther Wendell; the Warden: Mrs. Pearle Burns; the Conductor: Mrs. Effie Wright; the Chaplain: Mrs. Clara Ray; the Musician: Mrs. Myra Morgan; the inside Guardian: Mrs Odessa Osborne and the outside Guardian was Mrs. Nellie Weist. The state deputy president, Mrs. Katie Lund, was the installing officer. Her staff for the evening to help with the installation included Mrs. May Watkins, Mrs. Effie Wright, Mrs. Odessa Osborner and Mrs. Florence West. There were many positions involved in this process, so there were many people assigned to various duties in the lodge proceedings. Some, but not all are Drill Team captain Mrs. Elva Olmstead; in charge of the floral decorations were Mrs. Elsie Everest, Mrs. Nevada Shamley and Mrs. Mary Mason; putting the program together was the job of Mrs. Beth Bernath, Mrs. Peggy Martin and Mrs. Effie Wright; the financial part of this event fell to Leilia Bunn, Gertrude Healy and Mrs. Esther Wendell; the decorations for events fell to Mrs. Phoebe Olsen, Mrs. Nina Witham and Mrs. Elva Mast and in charge of the educational programs were Mrs. Bertha Star, Mrs. Annie White and Mrs. May Watkins. All the ladies that attended had a very nice time and enjoyed the refreshments provided by Elva Mast, Bertha Shuster and Donna Waltz.

On January 28, the youngest son of Ralph and Elsie Everest, R. Marshall Everest Jr. was married to Dorothy Martin in the Church of Saint Andrew back in Saint Paul, Minnesota at nine o'clock in the morning. However, they held their reception in Minneapolis, Minn. later on in the day.

By the evening of January 29, the snowfall had returned with a vengence and it was still snowing at midnight! They were all bracing for the upcoming forecast that said the area would be gripped in extremely cold temperatures. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.