Daylight savings ends on November 6

WET ONE--As this week begins, it’s pretty doggone soggy out, which means that those who went trick or treating may have needed boots and umbrellas to go with their costumes, so that’s a bummer. Actually this whole week looks wet but there’s always that slight chance that a “window of dryness” will open now and then on those 60 percent chance of rain days, so we’ll hope that happens more and it rains even less!

OFF AND ON--I’m typing this up early while I still have a phone line and I still have internet as it seems I’m among the many folks who are still having issues with one or both of those and well, it certainly makes things interesting, and not in a good way! Once we get used to using technology in our daily lives and jobs, we find that it’s much more difficult to go back to the old ways but at this rate, I will have to resort to waving flags or morse code!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 3-9 are Nicole McKinley, Jordyn Kaattari, Elaine Britt, Greg Parke, Ginger Moonen, Chelsea Paulsen, Diane Tischer, Carol Carver, Lindsey Anderson, Bobbie Clark, Mary Simpson-Moonen, Pete Cooper, Brad McNally, Aubrea Helms, Lisa Robinson, Ashlynn Grasseth, Kennan Lindsey, Marsha Souvenir, Gary Quigley, Anna Kuhn, Ryan Vincent, Skip Irving, Mike Parker, Henry Pype, Tiffany Tischer, Charlie McClain, Jesse Holm, Carson Wilson, Dustin Johnson, Brody Ashe, Bev England, Mitchell Vik, Linda Palmer Spieth, Libby Davison and Chris Bernard. Here’s to wonderful birthday celebrations for all of you this coming week.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Ed and Sue Edminster, Mr. and Mrs. Tim Dickson, Skylor and Shelby Grasseth and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Wegdahl; enjoy!

FALL BACK--It’s time to “fall back” an hour Nov. 6; which means to do that before you go to bed this Saturday, Nov. 5. According to some folks, the only good thing about it all is that we get that hour of sleep back that we lost in the spring!

FLEA MARKET--Don’t forget that the monthly Flea Market, complete with a variety of vendors, will be at the fairgrounds on Nov. 12, so head down to Skamokawa and check it all out. They will be there from 9 to 3 and if you’d like to rent a table for $10, be sure to contact Patty and let her know, 360-795-3480.

NEXT BIG HOLIDAY--Now that Halloween is over, it’s time to think about Thanksgiving as it will take place three weeks from today; if you get this paper on Thursday that is, so I hope you’ve got your plans in the works! For many, it’s going to mean heading to Grandma's house, or Mom's house or maybe your in-laws' house, but some of us will head to the Skamokawa Grange Hall for their second Community Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner! I hope you’ll think about volunteering to help out there or to donate something, or both as I’m sure they’ll be busy and many hands make for light work, so having more helpers would be awesome. On their list of needed items: food donations, desserts, appetizers and volunteers. The items provided will be turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, coffee, tea and water. Here’s hoping they can get the community to pitch in and make this another great dinner!

Be sure to come to the Skamokawa Grange Hall on Thursdays and enjoy their community breakfast and you can meet those that are in charge of this Thanksgiving dinner; they’d love to meet some new volunteers. Call 360-795-5208 for more info.

CLOTHING DRIVE--If you can, please donate your warm winter clothing to those in need by dropping them in the barrels at either the Puget Island Fire Hall or at the brewery in Cathlamet.

SHOEBOX GIFTS--Time is ticking away and the “Shoeboxes of Joy Wahkiakum” group is in full swing, as they will collect shoeboxes that are wrapped and filled with goodies to give to those in need this year. If you can’t wrap or fill a complete box, you can donate items to go in one or give the box for others to wrap, as all are needed. Remember, they want to give gift boxes for men and women, so just think of all the items that one might like to see in a gift box; lots of choices from puzzle books to a deck of cards or treats or notepads, or socks or a scarf, etc., it’s up to you. All of the goodies, or these boxes will need to be turned in by Dec. 19 so please think about getting your box of goodies turned in soon. There are four places to do so, and that’s at the Bank of Pacific or Patty Cakes on Main Street in Cathlamet, or at the Video Store up on the highway, or down here in Skamokawa at the Duck Inn. Here’s to making somebody else's holiday a little more cheerful by providing them with a gift. You’ll be happy you did, and they will too! More info: 360-795-5208.

GREAT TIME--It looked like the animals were having fun at Erickson Park last week and WAAG was able to enjoy some more food and monetary donations for their good works, so that was good. If you couldn’t make it to that event but would still like to help out our Wahkiakum Animal Advocate Group and their good works with animals in need, you can drop a check to P.O. Box 231, Cathlamet, WA 98312 or give them a call at 360-504-6336 to see where you could drop off a food donation.

NOW CLOSED--The museum in Cathlamet is now closed for the winter, as I hosted the very last day there this last Sunday. However, if you make arrangements ahead of time, it’s possible to take a private tour during the off season. There are often family members who come from far away that would like to check out some of their family history or our town's history, but can’t come when the museum is open during regular months. A docent may be able to show you around if enough notice is given. In case you happen to be one of those families, contact Kari at 360-849-4353 and hopefully something can be arranged. I know I learn something new there every time I volunteer. We hope we can find more of you to do that too, once spring rolls around as it’s informative and easy and fun meeting new folks, too!

By the way, many projects at the museum are accomplished during the winter months so if you’re finding yourself getting bored or you’re willing and ready to help out a long standing community institution, then let the group know you’d like to lend a hand and they’ll put you to work!

MEMBERSHIP MEETING--The Wahkiakum County Historical Society would like to remind all members that there will be the annual meeting of the membership this Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m., at the covered patio at the Cathlamet Marina. They hope to see you there.

The group is currently trying to raise money for converting old newspaper articles to another format which would make it easier for folks to see and view. A great Christmas gift this year would be to make a donation to the museum to help with the cost of that. If you’d like to help, send a donation to WCHS at 65 River Street, Cathlamet, WA 98612.

END OF THE MONTH--Just a little advance notice: The Friends of Skamokawa will have Redmen Hall decked out for Christmas when they hold their annual “Deck the Halls” Open house right after Thanksgiving. There will be vendors and all kinds of goodies for you to buy for that unique, possibly one of a kind, super special Christmas gift this year, so put that down in your monthly planner as a place to be from Nov. 25 through Dec. 12.

Also, the Tree Lighting in Cathlamet, which includes an early visit from Santa, will take place on November 26, so keep your eyes open for all the ads about that, as Main Street will be strutting their Christmas spirit that evening beginning at 4:30 p.m.

GET WELL--We will continue to cheer on Karen Lawrence as she recuperates from surgery and we hope Tracy Thomlinson will heal up from her latest trip to the surgeon and we’re sending Lisa Sechler some get well wishes too, so, here’s to better days ahead ladies; take care!