Fire department has two new trucks

WET--I wish the forecast had been wrong and our Spring weather had shown up with more sun than rain, but it was pretty wet off and on this past Saturday. I hate to complain about it much though as many areas of our country were dealing with tornadoes and snow storms and were experiencing much worse conditions than we were. Currently our forecast calls for a couple of dry days on Friday and Saturday, so we hope that forecast holds!

NOT SO GREAT--My cousin in Australia, Pam Everest, was showing me pictures of the massive amount of flooding in her part of the country not too far from where she lives, so that was pretty devastating to see. She is currently restricted to her local area as all roads to and from there are under water. It seems a brand new "will never flood again bridge" was already underwater and so once again, the locals knew more than those fancy engineers did!

Locally, we hope we can escape any further slides and highway losses while we await warmer and drier weather.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 25-31 are Makenzie Anderson, Emily Tanksley, Jeri Webb Foster, Daniel Rust, Vance Miller Jr., Mary Dominique, Karl Johnson Jr., Juanita Rodahl, Jason Wallin Jr., John Elfers Sr., Chase Grasseth, Tootie Grasseth, Addllyn Masters, Alexis Nortrup, Aaliyah Montgomery, Trease Nielson, Gordon Souvenir, Leif Carroll, Alecia Cooper, Ron Rust, Sandi Cik, Judy Bates, John Ackerman, JoAnn Prestegard, Dawn Pedersen Maccione, Phil Rolf and 67'er Melvin Brown. May you all have wonderful birthday celebrations!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Brian McClain, Robby and Kristie Fritzie and Scott and DeAnna Ahrndt.Here's to enjoying a night out on your special anniversary evening!

FOS ON SUNDAY--The annual meeting for the Friends of Skamokawa will be held this Sunday, 2 p.m., in the River Life Interpretive Center located on the second floor of the historic Redmen Hall. Along with guests/authors Bob Pyle and Judy VanderMaten, there will be music provided by Nathan Frye. For more information, call 360-795-3007 or contact FOS president, Pam Emery.

EASTER IS EARLY--You may have noticed that Easter Sunday is the very first Sunday of the month, so April 4 will be here before you know it! With all of us being in Phase 3 now, we trust you will all enjoy your Easter celebrations, while still maintaining a bit of space and caution while you gather.

YES TO BINGO--I was happy to hear that the annual Easter Bingo event was going to happen afterall, so that was great news. This will take place next Saturday, on April 2 at 6 p.m., at the Wahkiakum Fairgrounds in the Youth Building as usual. Cards are three for $10 and are good for all the evening's games. In case you didn't know, besides playing bingo and taking part in their raffles, you can also have your dinner there, as hot dogs, nachos and beverages will be sold. You must wear a mask unless you're eating of course!

LIONS CLUB VENUE CHANGE--For every Easter that I can remember, the Lions Club held their annual Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday before Easter, at Skamokawa Vista Park. For some reason, somebody didn't seem to get the memo, so sadly, the annual hunt will take place behind the high school in Cathlamet this year. I'm told this is happening at the baseball fields behind the batting cages. It starts promptly at 11 a.m., so be there early and ready to go as those kids can scour a field of eggs clean in no time! There will be separate areas for three different age groups, so come early to find out where you will be. As always, there will be prize eggs and with a little luck, your little one will find one of them and win a nice big basket of goodies from the Easter Bunny who will also be there. So mark April 3 on your calendar and show up behind the Wahkiakum High School before 11 a.m. Dont forget, they are asking that you adhere to current social distancing and mask mandates, and come dressed for the weather as it's no fun to hunt for eggs if you're soaking wet!

EASTER AT THE FAIRGROUNDS--There is another Easter event that same day, but it is put on by the Fair Foundation at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds and it involves an Easter Egg Hunt as well as a carnival. This means you can go up to the high school and enjoy that Easter Egg Hunt, and then come down here to Skamokawa and enjoy all the festivities here as well. The fun begins here at noon and all ages are welcome, and it's a good time to bring your cameras/phones and grab a picture of the kiddos with the Easter Bunny!

NEW TWINS IN TOWN--According to Austin Smith, the spokeperson for the Skamokawa Fire Department, they have just received and want to introduce you to their new "twins" in the form of two Pierce Dash fire engines! One is a 2001 model and the other is a 2003, but considering they look pretty identical, they are definitely look alikes. The pair are replacing a broken down 1995 engine as well as an older, 1989 Ford model, so these new trucks are a very welcome addition to our local Fire Department. Thankfully the insurance on the old ones, helped get these newer ones and the crew is delighted. The crew has already jumped right in there as they had to get all the tools and other equipment loaded up on them but with all the enthusiasm of the crew, they made a big job go quite quickly and the rigs were ready for service in no time. Good job crew, we thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

If you're new to the area and would like to join this service organization, feel free to stop by at their weekly meetings which are on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at our local fire hall on East Valley Road. It's the blue metal building by the recycling bins and fairgrounds; you can't miss it!

SYMPATHIES--We want to send our sincerest condolences to Tony Danker and his family, as his Mother, Ellen, passed away on March 19 back in Georgia. She didn't quite make it to her May birthday in which she would have been 98, but she had a nice long life and enjoyed a big family and was laid to rest in the family plot back there. Of course, no matter how long we have our Moms, it's never easy to lose them and we are truly sorry for Tony's loss.

We also want to express our sympathies to Patty Ohrberg, as well as the entire family of Robert Ohrberg, who passed away on March 11 and whose services were held this past Saturday. Bob and Patty were long time Islanders, friends with my oldest brother and his wife, and even wound up as neighbors of mine when I was living on that end of the Island in the 70s. We were truly sorry to hear of his passing.

SPREAD THE WORD--I do hope that some of the newer folks in town will pick up this local paper and realize what an asset it is in order to find out what's going on in our community. Then, I hope they'll spread the word to others so that they too might opt to subscribe to the paper and get it delivered right to them and maybe even share with others. I know a lot of folks are more into the digital world, so you can subscribe electronically as well, so whatever works for you, that's great. Just know that when you come to a new town or area that has a local paper, it's really a great source of information and it's awesome to support it and learn all you can about this town that you've chosen as your new home.

RECOMMENDED--Just in case you're looking for a good read on some of these wet and gloomy days, I highly recommend "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown - Penguin Books. This book offers an insightful view of what goes on when you join a crew on a rowing team and beings this is based in the PNW, it's very relatable. Actually, this is a true story of the rowing team from the University of Washington and highlights what hard work and determination can do and what men of integrity and character can achieve. It also tells of some historical happenings that you may not be aware of but are truly eye opening. I can't imagine anyone not being inspired after reading this book, so if you haven't read it already, I would urge you to do so.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, the first four days were rainy and cold and downright nasty, while the latter three were cold but clear. On those first couple of days, snow was actually falling in Seattle and Portland and in all the Oregon hills that could be seen from Cathlamet.

Big news in the Portland area was the arrest of a Russian officer who was brought up on espionage charges!

Marian Everest Healy celebrated her birthday a bit early when eight of her friends surprised her with a nice party, which brought about the beginning of her crystal collection. She had a lovely time on what would have otherwise been a very nasty day.

On March 30 there was a special meeting of the Riverview Rebekah Lodge No. 293, as they held their Semi-Annual Meeting that day. It was a full day as the meeting went from 1:30 to 5 p.m., and then a big banquet was served at the grange hall at 6 p.m., and then there was the evening meeting at 8 p.m., and formal attire was worn. It was a long day but everyone had a nice time and there was a big crowd. The anonymous quote on their program read, "If you hope for pleasant things to turn up, keep the corners of your mouth that way." Good one!

All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1946 diary.