Ten Saturdays left before Christmas

NOT SO NICE--This past Saturday night was really a wild one out here in West Valley, with thunder and lightning and windy conditions hitting us late that night and into early Sunday morning.Crazy times and loud too! Some neighboring fields turned into lakes once again, so at least the ducks seemed happy with the overnight changes.

Then along came Sunday night. That was wild as well, but this time, multiple trees came down and we had power outages everywhere it seemed! Ours was out for over seven hours, but it depended on where you were as to how long you were out, as the PUD crews had to remove trees and repair lines in one area, get the power rerouted there and then move on to the next area. So, here's "kudos" to the line crew and the road crews and all those that helped clear rocks and clear trees during this miserable windy and rainy weather event in the dark! Thanks to the Sheriff's office for fielding all those calls too!

READY?--How prepared were you for this outage? I hope you managed it without too many problems, but now that you've gotten a sampling of possible things to come, you'll know what you need to make it through one of these outages and what to stock up on, like more lighting, a different cooking or heat source, etc. Remember, this is just the beginning of our sometimes very "active" season so take steps today to make your life easier during these times. We could get lucky and have a mild winter, but as always, Emergency Management personnel suggest that you have everything you need to be on your own for at least a week and possibly two. So, were you ready?

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Oct. 15- 21 are Sami McKinley, Heidi Heywood, Michelle Collupy, Louis Stornetta, Brianna Helms, Heidi Knowles and Heather Knowles Ratcliff, Beckie Wolcott, Katie Webb, Randy Kuhn, Dixie Anderson, Curt Moore, Kevin Gilligan, Myrna Fudge Brown, Gary Backman, Mary Heagy, Kathy McClain, Alyssa Robert, Bill Boylan, Hunter Baldwin, Jennifer Kyle and Debbie Huber Chamberlain.

Those celebrating anniversaries are Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Reid, R.J. and Angel Brown, Keith and Karen Lawrence, Matt and Lori Kyle and Dave and Rhonda Heiner are celebrating 30 years together this next Monday; congrats! May all of you have wonderful birthday and anniversary celebrations.

NICE SURPRISE--Tessa Sechler got a very nice birthday surprise this past week, as she thought she was meeting with her family for just a small family dinner, but little did she know, the family had gotten together and decided to have a "best food dish contest" on her behalf! Needless to say, all the wonderful cooks in the family got together and put out some fantastic dishes, like stuffed prawns with a rose cream sauce with fresh grated peccarino, and some other fancy things, which were then rated by looks, presentation and taste. When all was said and done, it was Tessa's oldest brother, Kyle and wife, Suzy, who won the overall contest with a stuffed gnocchi with sausage with some lemon herb butter sauce, which, just like all the rest, certainly sounded good to me! Of course, the big winner was Tessa, who enjoyed all her favorite foods cooked by her awesome family on her special day. She's one lucky gal!

HURRY! FOS AUCTION ENDING--The current fundraiser for the Friends of Skamokawa is still happening, but the virtual auction, "A Cornucopia of Treasures," will end this Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m., so please hurry and get your bids in soon! You just go to: http://www.32auctions.com/FOS and check it all out, as there are over 100 items to bid on and those bidding wars can get pretty fun and intense, so don't miss out on all the "auction action!" They truly appreciate all your support.

If you missed out on the auction but would like to help support them and their continuing efforts to keep the hall up and running, you can mail in a donation to the Friends of Skamokawa, P.O. Box 67, Skamokawa, WA 98647. You can also call and ask about becoming a member, 360-795-3007.

BALLOTS ARE COMING--I understand people are freaking out about not having their ballots just yet, but from what I'm told, they will be going out on Oct. 16, so, you should have them very soon indeed. If you don't have one by the end of the following week, I would contact the courthouse and find out why.

SURGERY/RECOVERY--Debbie Olson Beebe has asked her friends and family to say a little prayer on her behalf, as she recently had to have an infected toe removed. She is hoping the antibiotics continue to work as another of her toes was in jeopardy as well, so we certainly want to keep her on our list of folks that we hope and pray will receive some good news soon. Debbie was a former Cathlamet resident and went to Wahkiakum High School, Class of 1984 and I hope she and her two daughters know that we will all be thinking of her during this difficult time.

MORE PRAYERS ASKED--Cheryl Backman has certainly had a tough time lately as both her mother and her father have been doing poorly, and she cerainly could use some support right now. So, when you're thinking of others and saying your prayers, please include Martha and Gary Backman in them as I know their families would certainly appreciate it.

10 LEFT--I know it seems impossible, but there are only 10 Saturdays before Christmas so now is the time to be thinking about those hard to buy for folks. After all, we want to get them something but some folks just don't need more things that sit around and collect dust, or we aren't sure they'd like, so here's a couple of ideas in case you're stumped. Many folks may have seen the cost of living go up, but their paychecks or social security didn't keep up at all, so how about a "cost of living" gift, like a grocery gift card from one of our local stores; or how about putting some money down on their utility bill, (either water or electric) as often those can be quite high in the winter; or maybe their garbage bill, or prepaying for a yard care service or maybe pay for monthly garbage pick up. These are just some of the items that people need, so here's hoping we can help those special people in our lives in a most special and useful way this holiday season.

REMEMBERING--For some of us, remembering our loved ones that have passed on is especially tough during the holidays, and beings my Dad passed away on Christmas Day, I can definitely relate. Maybe you'd like to remember your loved one by doing something special in their memory, as that might just help brighten your holiday by doing a good deed, and in their name. If your family member was a person who had a favorite church, why not give a "gift" to them in their memory? Maybe they were involved in things around town and held a certain group in high regard, well, why not donate to them? Did they belong to the Pioneer Community Association (Historic Pioneer Church) in Cathlamet? How about the museum operated by the Wahkiakum Co. Historical Society? Maybe they were a long standing member of the Friends of Skamokawa and would like to see that supported. Whatever the gift and whatever the cause, there are many, many groups that need support and what better time to help them out, than during the holidays? We hope you'll consider a gift of this nature during this season of giving. It will not only make you feel good, but it will be good for our community as well!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, the week began cold and clear for a couple of days, and then the rains came in for three days before turning nice the last couple of days. Ralph Everest was still in the hospital in Portland but was doing better after some therapy treatments. Joe Florek won a turkey on a punch board, so his family was happy. That week services were held for Richard R. Olmstead, who had lived in Cathlamet for many years after being born in Grant Center, IA in 1888, and his parents came and settled in the Elochoman Valley. He had lived here until recently when he was sent to a center in Medford, OR where he passed away on Oct. 18. His services were held here in Cathlamet and his pallbearers were George Ward, Harold Olson, Leland Wright, Clarence Page, Louis Page and Melvin Coates.

In 1960, the week began with a couple of very warm and just lovely days, before turning misty and more Fall-like and quite foggy, and then ended it with flat out rain with lots of fog too. On that nice Sunday, the Krist Pedersens enjoyed a nice after church dinner at Millie's before stopping by at the Everests'. They were headed out with Glen and Donna Palmer and daughter, Marian, for a ride out Middle Valley in Skamokawa and then visited at the Anderson home before coming back home. It was a sad time for the Burns family, as ICF, U.S. Navy, Lawrence William Burns, 20 years old, was to be laid to rest at the Greenwood Cemetery in Cathlamet after passing away at a naval hospital in Portsmouth, VA, after a three year stint in the service. He had served aboard the submarine, the USS Grandpus. Surviving him were his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie A. Burns of Cathlamet and a brother, Leroy at Ft. Lewis. Elsie Everest had a nice talk with DeeDee Goodell as she was staying at Bethenia Foster's while Larry was hunting deer. Mr. Ott and Ralph Everest used the nice weather to help repair the parish house steps by the Congregational church. On the last day of that week, the Everests and others came to Longview to say their good-byes to George, Ruby and Patty Everest who were just finishing their packing from their house there and would be spending the night at a motel before leaving the following day. The move came with much anticipation and yet much sadness. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.