Downriver Dispatches

School Starts Today! It's an exciting day so let's sit on the porch, get you some coffee and catch up.

From Darlene Bjornsgard after Carol Penttila's celebration on Saturday: "It was a beautiful day, with so many sharing a beautiful, delicious meal catered by Travis and Jennifer Ullako Boggs, followed by a bountiful dessert buffet prepared by family and friends. We enjoyed visiting with so many we hadn't seen for a long while. Carol was dearly loved and will be missed."

Robert Pyle was invited to speak to the spelling bee kids at the fair when they were given dictionaries as gifts. He was not able to attend due to a possible covid-19 exposure. You may want to read the following to your children, so here is what he wanted to say: "A Note to the Spelling Bee Participants: Dear Children. Thank you so much for taking part in the Grange Spelling Bee at this year's Wahkiakum County Fair! I wish I could be with you to see your successes and hand out the awards in person, but I cannot. I would like to share these thoughts with you anyway. Spelling and spelling bees may seem like old-fashioned things to many. But we in the Grange like old-fashioned things because they got that way for a reason-they work! Careful spelling has enabled members of all communities everywhere to write and communicate with one another for as long as there has been a written language-and that is at least as important today as it ever has been. Plus, spelling bees are just plain fun, as you've just found out.

"The awards this year come with a very useful tool-a dictionary. Now, to some, a dictionary might also seem like an old-fashioned artifact-why bother with a book, when you can find what you want in a second on-line? The internet is a wonderful research tool, for sure. But a dictionary is more than that: it is a friend-a reliable friend. If you keep it on your desk, or by your bed, or anywhere you can readily reach for it, you will find it is always ready and eager to solve language problems for you-whether it is a Scrabble question, the answer to a spelling dispute, or just some random word you come across in your reading, and don't yet know. It doesn't need a battery, a charger, or an app-just pick it up, turn the pages, and presto! You've got your answer. I hope you will come to love your dictionary as I do mine.

"Even in this modern age, real books still make sense. They are nice to handle, they smell good, and they are very easy to bookmark. They'll take you anywhere. I've spent my life writing and making books, and I believe they are still worthwhile. May this dictionary reward your spelling efforts, with all our best congratulations!"

Photo of the Week: Amy Hunt and Renee Smith are both members of the Friends of the Library Board. They worked at the used books sale last Friday and Saturday. The sale was both popular and well attended. It takes time to sort piles of books, but they were well sorted and that helped a lot. Thanks to all the workers from the Timberland Library Board and others who helped all of us who were trying to decide which ones to buy! I got a set of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe for the Burkhalter boys, a book about elk hunting from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for a relative who loves hunting, and a signed Winton Marsalis book for Randy Vogt in Skamokawa who loves jazz as much as he loves classical music. And an almost complete set of Patrick O'Brien's series for myself. The first book in the series was the story behind the Master and Commander movie with Russell Crowe. And all were good buys, to say the least, especially the O'Brien series as it's hard to find 17 out of a set of 20 books all together. I did order the ones that were missing but will have to wait to find an affordable copy of the #17 book. They are rare. Used books are so worthwhile. Sometimes there are original copies. At the sale I found a 1940 copy of Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck that was one of the original printings. This book is a great example of the power of words. At the beginning when Steinbeck describes what it was like to live in the drought years in the dustbowl of Oklahoma, you can almost taste the dust in your mouth and feel the grit in your eyes. And you can sense the desperation of the parents and the thirst and hunger in the children.

Imagination Library: Dolly Parton has accomplished some amazing things, but nothing more important than providing 163 million books for young children through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Why read a book? I was raised on books and spent hours reading as a child with my great-grandmother who was always reading. To be able to read is essential to a good education, but it's also a trip around the world or a mystery solved. Whatever you want to know, it is most likely in a book. They teach us how to think better than a TV news show. I have spent 70 years reading. That's a lot of books to remember. The ones that impacted me the most are with me as if I had read them just last week. I need books around me because I honor them as friends. Seeing them on my shelves reminds me of all they have given me and all I have learned from them.

School Starts Soon: My little neighbor, Robbie, starts first grade today! He's so excited. School is just what he needs to keep fueling his imagination and desire to learn. May all our kids be filled with wonder and may they learn to ask their questions because all questions are good questions. May they learn the value of friendship and sharing and listening to others, too. And may they learn to trust their teachers because they have the answers and they want to help you find answers,too.

Calendar: Naselle/Grays River School Starts today (Thursday), before Labor Day weekend. Then students return on Tuesday after Labor Day.

Grays River Grange will meet on September 7 and 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Rod Run at the Beach on Peninsula September 10-12

Bingo at Johnson Park: Saturday, September 25 from 6-8 p.m. Plenty of food and prizes.

Covered Bridge Dinner: Set for October 4 at the Bridge in Grays River. A limited number of tickets will be available soon.

Pumpkin Patch will be open on October 2 at 10 a.m. at Miller Homestead at 5127 W. SR 4 located just before Deep River Camp on west end of Deep River highway bridge. More info to come.

Senior Lunches: Senior Lunch Club has its potluck lunch on September 15 at noon at Rosburg Hall. CAP box lunches will be available today and every Thursday at noon at the Rosburg Hall. Call Denise to order yours at (360) 762-3111. I will include the upcoming menus for the CAP lunches in next week's Dispatch.

Word for the Week: Teachers