Farmers market opens at Marina

NICE AND BREEZY--This past weekend saw us basking in some sunshine here but thankfully it was not the blistering hot kind and instead, was of the moderate variety with a very good breeze, so I have to admit, it was very much more to my liking than last week. We even got a bit of dampness on Sunday and Monday which I hadn’t expected!

The week ahead is looking to be sunny for a couple days when you’ll be reading this and then cloudy for most of the holiday weekend with rain holding off until Tuesday, so that would be nice, as there are many who will be traveling over this three day Memorial weekend.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from May 25-31 are Elle Britt, Asher Frink, Katie Vegvary, Keil Charles Parker, Devin Helms, Serene Snow, Jeanne Paulsen, Stephanie Prestegard, Albert Bergseng, Patti LaBerge, Mark Schubert, Benjamin McClain, Kobi Robinson, Brooks Olsen, Lisa Marsyla, Denley Bardsley, Steve Howarth, Wes McClain, Tyler Nortrup, Barb Bain, Sharon Hart, Tim Rushing, Brooks Olsen, Willie Johnson, Kelly Hammond, Jeff Vik, Brooklyn Blain, Tiernan Cochran, Julie Black, Lisa Sechler and 67’er Linda Holland Toste. Hope you all have wonderful birthdays!

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Bill and Linda Mahitka, Pete and Marja Ringen and Tylor and Chandler Nortrup. Enjoy your celebrations!

THIS THURSDAY--The Skamokawa Grange Hall is still the place to be on Thursday from 10 a.m. until noon, so join Season Long and her crew for their community breakfast, as well as the other activities going on there, like things for the kids and massages for the grown ups!

MARKET THIS FRIDAY--This Friday, May 26, is the opening day of the Farmers Market at the Elochoman Slough Marina in Cathlamet. These Friday markets will last until Sept. 1 and their hours are from 3 to 6 p.m. If you’d like to be a vendor, be sure to call Mackenzie Jones at 360-849-9411 to find out all the particulars.

LOOKING GOOD--If you’ve passed through Skamokawa lately, you will notice the big change in the building that was the former Methodist Church on the corner of SR 4 and Vista Park Road, as it is now the office for Skamokawa Vista Park. The building just got a brand new roof so it’s looking pretty spiffy, and watching all the work that went into removing the bell tower and laying of the plastic barrier, etc., was pretty interesting. Inside in the main auditorium, there is new carpeting and so there are a lot of improvements going on. I think that having this multi-use SVP/Port 2 office in this highly visible spot is a great addition to the park and our community.

NOW OPEN--The Wahkiakum County Historical Society (WCHS) has now opened the museum at 65 River Street, next to the PUD in Cathlamet. It is open on weekends from 1 to 4 p.m. I hope you’ll take the time to stop by and take a look at things and I’m sure you’ll find lots of things there that you had never seen or heard about. It is always hoped that more folks will show an interest in this historical treasure and maybe volunteer to host a day now and then. If you can’t host, maybe you can become a regular donor which would help keep the lights on and the doors open. You can send your donation to the above address, Cathlamet, WA 98612.

ICE CREAM SOCIAL--If you happen to be on the west end on June 3, there will be a BBQ potluck at Johnson Park from 2 to 6, meat provided.

However, in addition to that, the American Legion Post 111 will have an Ice Cream Social with a nice variety of the creamy, sweet stuff, so they hope you’ll stop by and help support them while you’re enjoying that BBQ!

AWESOME VISIT--Coming to our small community this past week from Utah was my grandson Austin Good and son, Kaiden and his Mom, Nicole, so this great grandma was over the moon to share some breakfast with them! The trio had come to WA for a wedding. They came up one day, went to the wedding the next, then came down this way for a visit, which also included his brother, Bryce and bride to be, Lauren, Austin's Mom, Felicitie and Papa Bill, and then they were headed over to Idaho and then home to Utah. Whew, glad they are young, as that’s way too much driving for this grandma! At any rate, we sure enjoyed seeing the great grandson, who is growing up so fast, and impressed us with his counting abilities and more at just three years old! We can hardly wait to see him again at their next visit scheduled for August.

NEED CORRECT DATES--Many folks announce upcoming events by using the calendar of events that was put out by the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce at the beginning of the year. Those dates were given to the chamber in the winter of the year before however, so there are times when dates need to be changed. However, if you are one of those groups or organizations that had to make a major date change, but it’s already on this calendar, you’ll really need to do a massive outreach to the public in order that your event is publicized correctly. Please contact this paper and its reporters and columnists so that we can help get the new/correct dates out there.

Please check out the Chamber's calendar today and if you notice something wrong, like the date, or maybe the time is wrong or there’s incorrect contact info, please contact the Chamber and the rest of us and let’s make sure your event is being correctly advertised!

REMINDER--If you want to order those frozen berries being offered by the Wahkiakum Lions Club, just remember, you need to have those orders in by June 12. The 15 pound cases range from 55 to 62 dollars depending on the variety you want. Order forms are around town or call 360-355-0871 for all the info. Please help support the WLC as proceeds are used to help those in need of eye exams and sight conservation needs as well as scholarships.

ONLINE AUCTION BEGINS--If you are reading this on Thursday, May 25, then you may want to check out the first day of the Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars “Mule Power” sponsorship and online auction event! All of you folks who love to have fun and outbid your neighbor, or you just really want a certain item, you can head to this website, where you can check out all the items that were donated for this event. Here’s to having some fun and raising some money for these great scholarships for our Wahkiakum High School graduates! Go to https://www.32auctions.com/Mules2023 and bid away!

If you aren’t the online type, but want to send a check to support the kids, make the check out to Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 498, Cathlamet, WA 98612.

MEMORIAL WEEKEND--We have seen some horrible accidents recently and many of them are due to excess speed and carelessness, so please don’t be one of those “in a hurry” people who wind up being a statistic and naturally, we need to drive defensively and watch out for those who don’t seem to pay any attention to red lights and stop signs. If you’re a slower driver, please try to pull over and let people pass you, as it’s the law for one, but it can also help diffuse a situation which could lead to road rage. So, here’s to all of us having a safe and happy holiday weekend; enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW?--At this same time in 1993, my phones weren’t working, and in 2023, they aren’t working either. Some things never change!