Museum open for two more Saturdays

NOT NICE--As this week began, the smoke and fog combo that hit Sunday morning was really something to see, as that's just about all that you could see at my house! It was defintely not a good time to be outside and warnings were given to stay inside until our air quality improves. I hope the rain that was to arrive this week shows up and gives us some relief, as these very smokey conditions are truly terrible. Just think: some countries have this kind of poor air quality on a regular basis and often times live in masks. That certainly gives us pause to appreciate what we usually have and usually take for granted. Here's hoping that you're staying in and not exposing yourself unnecessarily, as the particles in the air are a nasty combination of things and could truly cause you some serious health issues. Here's to no more fires and clean air real soon!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Sept. 17-23 are Alden Fletcher, Frank Bosch, Jay Mace, Tracy Carroll, Shona Heywood, Wade Cothren, Jason Montgomery, Bob Ohrberg, Linda Roseberry, Linda Elliott, David L. Vik, Bruce Holland, Theresa Jacobson, Mandy Giesler, Michelle Smith, Monte Longtain, Sam Longtain, Ty Norris, Art Hedman, George Bates, Dan Turner, Marcia Snyder Brighton, Janelle Gilligan, Michael Apperson, Allan Cook, Susan Peterson Shook, Lori Kyle, Karla Kyle and Adam Pedersen. Happy Birthday, everybody!

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Dan and Carla Keilwitz, Phil and Ivy Lou Vik, Kevin and Jessica Palmer, Joanne and Ron Pedersen and Gwen and Arve Ronninghaug. May you all have wonderful celebrations!

If you need to make any additions or corrections to the Lions Club birthday calendar, please contact a Lions Club member as soon as possible if something is incorrect and needs to be removed or changed. For Skamokawa, contact Carol at 360-795-3337.

MARKETS--Due to inclement weather conditons, the last Friday Farmer's Market at the Elochoman Marina had to be canceled, but let's hope things aren't too bad this Friday and it winds up taking place. However, my current weather forecast calls for rain, but then, that doesn't mean much around here as it seems to change from day to day. Deb Holland is good about posting on Facebook concerning any cancellations, so you might want to check that out. For now, it is supposed to happen from 3 to 6 this Friday.

The Farmer's Market here in Skamokawa, should be on track to be open on Tuesdays from 4 to 7. They are under cover in the cow barn, so rain or shine, they should be there for the next couple of weeks. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the smoke has left us and some "normalcy" has returned.

GET WELL WISHES--Naomi Pedersen wound up having her birthday celebration a little early seeings how son, Blaze, had to go in and have his tonsils and adnoids removed, so it was early birthday cake for the family this past weekend. Any time you get to eat cake is a good time, so it was nice to have it early so the whole family could enjoy it and Blaze wouldn't feel left out. He came through his surgery just fine I hear, so that was good news. We hope the rest of his recovery goes well.

Tracy Tomlinson wound up in the hospital once again but she's back home now, so here's wishing her some get well wishes too, as it seems she's had way too many of those visits in recent years. We all know it's not our favorite place to go, so fingers crossed things get better for her!

FIRST VISIT--Kaiden Good has proven to be quite the little traveler, as at only four and half months old, he was able to zip through Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada and continue on with his routine with very little fuss at all. Considering the little guy is teething, and his folks, Austin and Nicole started the trip out with a 15 hour drive, well, that's quite an accomplishment! Needless to say, all his grandparents and family members were thrilled to see this little guy, many for the first time, and that included his great grandma Kay and great grandpa Bill. I thought my very first great grandson was just adorable! Hopefully by the time we see him again, all these restrictions and health concerns will be over and we can smother him with lots of kisses and get to visit a little longer, but at this point, we were just happy to see him before he was walking.

CONSTRUCTION--Currently the contractors who will be putting in the water line extension are in the area, but with a few issues coming to light that they had not been aware of, they are having to rethink a few things. If you are in the soon to be affected area and you have knowledge of where any unknown obstacles could be on your property, then please let them know if you see them in your area. As many of us rural folks know, not every water line or old pipe line or septic line or telephone line or anything else for that matter, is clearly marked, so if you can help them avoid digging up something accidently it might be very wise of you to share that info with them.

TWO MORE--There are just two more Saturdays for you to go to 65 River Street and check out the museum for all your local history. There are lots of things to see with several rooms to explore and lots of files and lots of pictures too, so head there this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., and check it out.

COMING SOON--Don't forget, the Friends of Skamokawa's upcoming virutal auction will be happening before too long so if you have an item to donate, please give them a call at 360-795-3007. This event takes place from Oct. 9-18 so you'll have several days to check it all out. You can go to the FOS website or check out http://www.32auctions.com/fos and that should give you all the info you need. Call the number above and if you'd like to drop it off, there will be somebody at Redmen Hall Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 to 2. If you have no way to get there, they can pick up your items so just call and set that up. This is a special year, as I'm told this will be the 30th auction and 35th year of being open, so that's pretty special!

EMERGENCY PLANS--Once again, the people's readiness for an emergency has been tested, and sadly, many people were yet to be prepared at all. Currently, many are dealing with fires, so if you are anywhere near a fire, your emergency and prep items should be packed and ready to go. You don't need to wait for someone to tell you do this, just be pro-active and do it; it sure beats leaving with nothing!

For those of you who are new to our area, winter is coming and if you rely on power for everything, including life-saving equipment, you'll be a lot happier with a back up plan for another source of power. A generator will keep your refrigerators from defrosting and losing all your freezer goods as well. If you don't have a lot of refrigeration needs, and it's just heat that you think you'll need, then get another source for that. Having what you need on hand is way better than being without and wishing you had it. Flooding and slides and power outages can occur around here during the Fall, Winter and Spring so think of what is most important to you and plan accordingly. Naturally, the more children and animals you have, the more prepared that you will need to be, so good luck in your planning and of course, we'll just hope and pray we don't need to utilize it!

SPECIAL THOUGHTS--As the fires continue to rage across part of the west coast states, please keep all those wonderful people, who are risking their lives every day fighting them, in your thoughts and prayers. To all those who are helping people evacuate or getting animals out, bless you as well. To every person who has donated time and money to help, your actions are not going unnoticed and you're appreciated more than you know. Stay strong, be safe!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, the weather had been mostly pleasant with the last evening ending in rain. Ralph Everest was in the hospital and was happy to receive a letter from his granddaughter, Donna Healy. She told him that she would have liked to have come to see him but they didn't allow kids in the hospital, so all she could do was write him a letter. She hoped the nurses were treating him real nice. She liked going to school and she really liked her new teacher, Mrs. McDonnell. She also enjoyed her stay with the Drylands and they were really nice to her. The bad thing was, she broke her glasses so she was going to the eye doctor to get them fixed.

On Sept. 19, Mrs. Ida Lynne Sawyer, 82, passed away. She left behind her husband, the Rev. R.H. Sawyer and two daughters, Jessie Lynne and Mrs. Park E. Knoblock, both of Puget Island, and a son, Harold of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a sister, Mrs. E.A. Beckwith of Oakland, CA, besides a niece, Mrs. Erie Laurent of Cathlamet. The Rev. K.J. Cooper and the Rev. Silas Torvend officiated the service at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. Mrs. Sawyer had been a member of the Eastern Star and a charter member of the Portland Research Club.

Lt. E.J. Laskowski was released from the Navy after the residents of Cathlamet banded together after Jerry Randolph of Puget Island initiated the campaign, and sent their pleas for his release due to the need of his services in the area. It seems the residents of Cathlamet had been told that the current doctor, Dr. H.D. Fritz, was going to retire and that would leave them without a doctor at all, so the Navy complied with their wishes and released the Lieutenant, who was totally unaware of what was going on. To top it off, so was Dr. Fritz, as he said he had no plans for retirement whatsoever, as he had been there for the past 23 years and he said he wasn't going anywhere, so now the town had two doctors once again and everyone seemed happy!

This week back in 1960, it took turns being nice and being rainy. There was a huge meeting with the U.N. General Assembly, which included 82 nations, that also included Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev. Frederick A. Boland of Ireland was elected the president for the 15th session. President Eisenhower would be addressing the assembly later on that week. This was seen as a historic moment as the session brought together the largest number of heads of governments in the U.N.'s history in New York.

On a very nice Friday, Sept. 23, Gaylene Witham Sanders gave birth to a baby girl; she was named Janelle. That evening, the Cathlamet Mules beat Naselle in a football game held in Naselle, 26 to 13. All this according to my grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.