Roadwork started in Skamokawa

LOOKING GOOD--As this week begins, we started out with a very sunny Sunday morning and with temps in the low 80s, it's just what the hay makers wanted to see. The forecast is looking dry with maybe a few days with a bit of cloudiness and temperatures in the low 70s, so that's sounding perfect to me.

FIRE DANGER--It's still very important to be wary of anything that could cause a spark which could start a fire. As we have seen, there are thousands of acres in our Pacific NW area that are currently burning out of control and we really don't want to have anything like that happen here in our county. If you're towing a trailer, it's best to double check those safety chains so they aren't striking/dragging along the pavement, as recently, several fires along the freeway were caused because of that very thing happening. Here's to being mindful of the dangers of fire, and may we all take extra precautions during this super dry time.

ROAD WORK--There's already work being done on SR 4 from Skamokawa and eastward as they repair and chip seal the highway. Please obey the flaggers and pilot cars, and drive slowly and carefuly and allow extra time in your travels for delays, which can last up to 20 minutes. Needless to say, this means packing your patience with you, as this will be going on for quite some time and those who have to travel it daily may find it a whole lot more annoying than those of us who have the luxury of only having to go that way occasionally.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from July 22-28 are Adam Fletcher, Stuart Bosch, Randy Montgomery, Brian O'Connor, McKenna Longtain, Chase Fritzie, Carol Cooper, Jeff Lundborg, Robert Roseberry, Linda Wright, Tanner Bergseng, Ruth Doumit, John Buennagel, Jerry DeBriae Jr., Halle Grasseth, Adrianna Ashe, Suzet Parker, Madison LaBerge, Brady LaBerge, Mandi Knowles, Darcy Tischer, Chris Sauer, Aaron Mahitka, Mackenzie Turgeon, Mike Anderson, Kyler McKinley, Ed Stevens, Frank Webb, Molly Jorgensen, Lesley Horman, Julie Pedersen, Art Pedersen and Paul Monroe Olson.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Jerry and Becky Ledtke, Andrew Emlen and Audrey Petterson, Tim and Sharon Schmitz, Rick and Janet Bryan, Joel and Jessie Havens and Mark and Patti Phillips. May you all have wonderful birthday and anniversary celebrations this coming week!

BALD EAGLE DAYS--I think I can safely say that this year's Bald Eagle Day events and parade were a big hit! Hats off to Grand Marshal Tom Irving, who was honored this year, as he is the only remaining original member of the VFW Wahkiakum Post 5297 and WWII veteran. We couldn't have been happier to see our sweet, Stephanie Olsen being honored as the Woman's Club Citizen of the Year, so we certainly had a couple of super special people being honored this year!

I thought the weather turned out perfect, as it was not too hot and not pouring down rain and Cathlamet's Main Street was full of vendors and people and there were lots of smiling faces all over the place, so after being cooped up for a year or more, it looked like folks were more than ready to get out and about and enjoy some celebrating in their home town! This has always been a time when family members gathered and high school class members got together and friends from other places came to visit, and it's just always a good time. It was great to have former resident, and WHS graduate, Laurie Miller back in town to sing our National Anthem and to have our veterans there to stand at attention with our nation's flag. As always, it was a fun parade, there was plenty of food, some great music down by the brewery and the end of the evening was marked by a wonderful fireworks show and I was pleased to see so many gorgeous photos of them on social media sites. Kudos to the Chamber and all those that helped make this happen; it was great!

CLASS GATHERING--A group of WHS classmates met this past weekend, some of which had graduated from WHS and some who had just been with the class for many years but left/moved before graduating, but yet they've tried to keep in touch over the years. Some disappeared, while others never left town, so they were easy enough to find, and sadly, many have already left this earth, so it seems more important than ever to get together while they can. It may have been 54 years since the Class of 1967 walked out the doors of Wahkiakum High School, but most can't believe it's been that long. Where did the years go?

At any rate, Dale Jacobson kindly hosted the group. Keith and Karen Lawrence took charge this year, and were great about coming early to set things up and also being the last ones to leave as they rounded up things, so that was really great. Others in attendance were David West, Ed Miller, Don Seaberg, Martin Ostervold, Mike Hicks, Elaine Munson Rolf, Marnee Ostervold Davis, Sharon McKie, Pam Below Lazor, Noni Gilbertsen Meredith, Sandra Peterson Davis and Kay Pedersen Chamberlain.

Having lost three members of the class this past year, Don Marsyla, Rich West and Mary Toste, and no actual memorial service for one of them, the group used this occasion as a special time to remember Mary, who left us so suddenly.

Kathy Bond Peek was unable to attend as she was attending the wedding of her grand-daughter, so that was definitely understandable and we want to congratulate the newlyweds and the addtion to Kathy's family. Also, Kathy was kind enough to send a couple of quilts down to auction off, and the money that was raised was going to a local group/organization that could use a little help this year. The plan is to have another auction next year, only with even more items, and help support another community program that benefits our area and might just need a little extra. We can hardly wait!

Judy Lindwall Bergman was another person who couldn't attend for another really good reason, as she was with her brand new grand-daughter, so congratulations go out to her and her family as well. There's nothing like a new baby to keep us grandmas happy and smiling!

Unfortunately, Linda Holland Toste had planned on attending but wasn't feeling quite up to snuff, so she wisely opted to stay home but we do want to send her our heartiest get well wishes, and hopefully we can meet with her another time real soon.

FINALLY MEET--Stopping by Dale's was Amanda "Punky" Tover Chambers, who was wanting to talk to Ed Miller, and Bev Danielsen England was with her, and while I have known Punky all my life, I had only talked to Bev via the phone or via text, so we finally got to put faces to our voices, so that was nice! That's the great thing about these small town events, it's a great time to see our old friends, neighbors and classmates and maybe even meet with various family members we don't see too often either. For me, one of those was a second cousin, Deanna Healy Ahrndt, who was visiting her folks, Gene and Karen Healy, and I learned of her plans to move to Florida, so with another one of the family members moving to Texas, I see some traveling plans in their folks' future!

FOS--It's hard to believe but the Friends of Skamokawa are celebrating 36 years as a group, when they banded together to help save the historic 1894 Central School building, which years later, had been renamed the Redmen Hall. With a lot of hard work and dedication, this building, which was in a sad state of disrepair, was cleaned up and fixed up and brought back to life, where it stands today as a proud symbol of what a determined group of individuals can do when they work together. Learn all about the area's history by checking out the panels on the second floor, which is where the River Life Interpretive Center resides and of course, you must catch the view from the bell tower; it's fantastic. The hall is open on weekends from noon to four, so they invite you to stop by and see it for yourself. You can call their office at 360-795-3007 with any questions you might have or if you'd like more information. Leave a message if no one is there at the time you call.

COMING EVENTS--As we all know by now, sometimes our scheduled events wind up being cancelled, but for now, I believe these events are still in the works: the "National Nite Out against Crime" scheduled for Aug. 3; the "Ugly Car Show" at River Mile 38 Brewing Co. on Aug. 7, which is also the date of the Wooden Boat Festival, but it's also going to be Aug. 7 & 8; and then the big August event is the 113th Wahkiakum County Fair in Skamokawa on August 19-21. Let's hope all goes well and all these things will take place as scheduled.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing stopping the county fair, so if you're planning on entering some things, be sure to grab a Fair Book and check out all the various rules and regulations regarding your entry. Beings this takes place in less than a month, and entries start being taken in prior to the fair, like mid-August, it's important to check all that out as soon as possible.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, it began very warm and then got very hot, so it was dry all week long. On one of those hot days, a trip to Astoria was taken on the "Imperial" by Elsie Everest, so it was a bit cooler on the river and the purchase of new shoes in town was a real treat and definitely made the trip worthwhile. It had been a busy week at the telephone office with the "peg count" going on, so she was happy to get out and about for a bit. A church bulletin was included in this diary, which came from St. Andrew's Cathedral Parish in Honolulu, HI and according to the note on it, the two Everest boys, George and Marshall, were there together. They were both in the Navy and on different ships, but they just so happened to have been in the same place at the same time for a change, so they got to spend some time together. The Rebekah Club met that week and Grandma Elsie served along with Rosemary and Alma Faubian. Later that week, Frankie Pedersen came by and spent the night with his grandparents and then went to the show with Virginia (?). The Everests opted to go as well and they thought "The Dolly Sisters" was a real good show. The quote from Owen D. Young that week was: "Leisure, like food, may contribute to our happiness and well-being, or ignorantly and gluttonously used, may destroy us." How very true! All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1946 diary.