Downriver Dispatches

Fall has snuck in the front door seeming to follow prior seasons earlier this year. We had an early spring, an early summer and now an early fall. If winter is early, too, the big storms may well be on Thanksgiving, usually a high tide period when storms are more likely to happen.

Recently, Vince Gill presented his new song on the Grand Old Opry, "The Whole World." I hope you will look for it on YouTube. Here are lyrics to the chorus: "Feels like the whole world has a broken heart, We surely could use a brand new start, How the hell did we wind up so far apart? Feels like the whole world has a broken heart." There are more verses with a lot of meaning. I hope this one becomes another standard like his earlier one, "Go Rest High on that Mountain," a great last song for all our aging loggers, truck drivers and operators.

Photo of the Week: How typical of a Labor Day weekend, bikers heading west and stopping to see the Covered Bridge. These nice folks lined up on the bridge for me and asked questions about its history. They came from California, Indiana, Texas and Kelso so they represented a good spectrum of our country. Since Labor Day celebrates the working man and woman, and all the history of workers everywhere, I want to honor our workers here. We have everything from farmers to truck drivers, from teachers to courthouse workers, from writers to photographers, from doctors to bus drivers, from postal workers to classified staff at our schools. Most of our families came to this country for better lives where they can own their own land, practice their religions and speak freely about their thoughts and hopes. The most important right we have is to vote for those we think will be best at representing our wishes.

Over the past two weeks I've had the privilege of interviewing two Naselle GRV school board candidates and I hope to talk with a third in the coming week. Since our school district includes two counties, it's a challenge for our candidates to fully grasp that candidates register in two different county seats. Our students come together to learn in a situation that former generations could not imagine. Over one-hundred years ago, when children attended school, they were in small, one room buildings with other children who lived nearby. Some considered Naselle almost another country (they did speak different languages) and Grays River another Swedish and Polish culture, as indeed it was. For those who attended high school, they might never have ever been to Naselle before they began going to Naselle for high school. Carlton Appelo and Glenrose Hedlund were in the same class. They often talked about the changes in their lives. It's often good to remind new folks that our school district is a representation of our wide area from Grays River to Chinook. What a wonderful way to experience the different cultures that founded this area. Today it is a privilege to choose which school is best for our children. Of course, I am personally prejudiced in favor of all the grades at the Naselle Grays River Valley School.

I wish Labor Day could also honor the opening of every school in America. All our schools hold tomorrow's leaders who will make decisions about our lives, vote in our legislatures and raise their children. Our students today are challenged by outside influences, and in some homes, as to who to trust. Let us take a moment to remember how blessed we are to live where a free education is offered to every child, who will then become a worker of the future. God bless them and their teachers. May they continue to role model for us the joy of being together playing.

Here is some good news: The Rosburg Store is being cleaned and prepared to be for sale with a commercial realtor who deals with stores and businesses. That store is at the heart of our communities.

Don't forget the opportunity we have to rid our property of old tires on Saturday, September 16 from 8-noon. You can take your tires to Fairgrounds Road, and they will dispose of them at no cost to you. Be prepared to lift and handle them yourselves.

Remember the Grays River Flood Control District meets on Sept. 13 at the Grays River Fire Hall across from Duffy's Pub at 5:30. The meeting is available on Zoom.

Calendar of Events:

Mondays/Wednesdays: Balance Class at Naselle Community Center 2-3 (very popular).

Tuesdays: Naselle Lutheran Church sponsors morning quilters and knitters in afternoons.

Second Tuesday: Johnson Park Board meeting at 10.

Third Tuesday: Naselle Grays River School Board meets at 6:30 in school library.

Wednesdays: AA meeting at the Grays River Grange 12-1.

Second Wednesday of the month (13): Grays River Flood Control District meets at the Grays River Fire Hall across from Duffy's Pub at 5:30.

First Thursday of the month: Grays River/Rosburg Gardening group meets at Johnson Park at 6.

Thursdays: CAP Senior Lunches are located at Rosburg Hall at noon on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays.

September 5: First Day of School at Naselle GRV School.

Sept. 6: Pressure canner gauge testing available 10-noon at Rosburg Hall. Bring your canner lid. This is a free service through Wahkiakum WSU Extension.

Sept. 16: Tire Amnesty for free disposal at 16 Fairgrounds Rd. in Skamokawa 8-12 pm. No commercial sources. Tires can be on rims. Thanks, Wahkiakum County.

September 19: Naselle GRV School Board meeting at 6:30 in school library.

September 19: Jackson Blalock's second meeting for Grays Bay landowners 6 at Rosburg Hall.

October 14: Bingo at Rosburg Hall at 6.

October 28: Rosburg Hall Christmas Bazaar. Get your booth early. Contact Sonja Kruse at (360) 465-2251 or Frieda Footh at (360) 465-2574.

Word for the Week: Harvest