Book reading and signing this weekend

CLOUDY START--It’s a cloudy Sunday morning here in West Valley, which is certainly a big change from the day before when we woke up to bright sunshine and it wound up being a pretty day with temps in the mid-80’s. It’s a little more comfortable to do yardwork when one isn’t in the direct sunshine, so before the rains come, I hope you were able to take advantage of the dry and cooler temps so you didn’t get burned to a crisp! Forecasters are saying we’ll have a pretty mild week, so I guess I’ll have no excuses not to do some outdoor things prior to the weekend, which appears to be warming up into those mid-80’s again on Friday and upper 70’s for the weekend. I hope you get to enjoy some of this wonderful pre-Fall weather while it’s here.

COMMUNITY BREAKFAST--A reminder that the free Community breakfast still takes place each Thursday from 10 till noon at the Skamokawa Grange Hall. Stop by and have a cup of coffee, a bite to eat, chat with your friends and neighbors. Donations are always appreciated to keep this weekly event happening. We would like to thank Season Long and her crew for being there every week and taking on this event to help bring people together.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays this coming week are Conner Parker, Aiden Fletcher, Frank Bosch, Jay Mace, George Bates, Renee Robert, Lori Snyder, Gerry Brennan, Emmaline Vik, Emi Marsyla, Paige Nielson, Penny Paulsen, Jim Spitzer, Zack Bonds, Korina Hoven, Jason Montgomery, Mandy Giesler, Terry Mathers, Rudy Lopez, Gracy Brown, Jim Watkins, Michelle Smith, Colleen Shannon, David Leo Vik, Robin Herren, Wade Cothren, Shawn Smith, Marcia Snyder Brighton, Bruce Holland, Cindy Riley Baldwin, Roger Reed, Susan Peterson Shook, Suzy Ekstrom and Adam Pedersen. Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Quin and Christeena Bassi, Josh and Cristina Moonen, Dan and Carla Keilwitz, Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Sittauer, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Bergseng, Scott and Lori Kensinger, Mr. and Mrs. John Vik, John and Teri Hoven, Mr. and Mrs. David Noonan, Gwen and Arve Ronninghaug, Kevin and Jessica Palmer and Adam and Samantha Pedersen. May all of you have wonderful celebrations on your special day. Remember, if you are new to the area, you can have your birthday and anniversary listed on the Lion’s Club Calendar too if you’d like; just call a member and get on their list and don’t forget, these calendars make awesome Christmas presents. Please contact them if you need a name changed or removed. Call Renee at (360) 849-4003

PACKED--This last weekend was jam-packed with things happening and places to go and see. I hope you were able to catch a couple of them. There was a huge sale going on over at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, as well as the monthly flea market at the fairground. There was a kite festival at Vista Park, while the Duck Inn was the place to be if you wanted to celebrate Sheryl Irving McMahon’s birthday. Wahkiakum High School’s Class of 1973 celebrated fifty years at the Skamokawa Resort that same evening, while others went to The O to enjoy their band Johnny Wheels and the Swamp Donkeys. Others still headed to the Norse Hall for a few games of Bingo. To top it all off, car enthusiasts headed to the beach, where the Beach Barons Car Club “End of the World Rod Run” has been going on for thirty-nine years. The traffic thick with gorgeous cars, and the Long Beach/Ocean Park area was packed with people! It’s too bad all these events fell on the same weekend, as we just couldn’t get to them all. Closer to home, we were celebrating hubby’s 80th birthday with friends who had so kindly opted to host a nice steak dinner for the occasion so we were enjoying that along with cake, pie and ice cream!

FREE TIRE DISPOSAL EVENT--The one thing that is happening at the fairgrounds this Saturday is the free tire amnesty event, which means that if you live in Wahkiakum County and have some old passenger tires or light truck tires that you need to get rid of, now is the time to bring them down to the fairgrounds so they can be disposed of properly. They will even take some tires that are on rims but you’ll need to be prepared to unload on your own. This is for homeowners, not from commercial sources. So, if you have the tires listed above, come down to the fairgrounds here at 16 Fairgrounds Road in Skamokawa from 8 AM until Noon this Saturday, Sept. 16.

COMING UP AT THE HALL--The Friends of Skamokawa invite you to a presentation of Erich R. Ebel and his book, “Exploring Maritime Washington” on Sept 30, at Redmen Hall from 2 to 3 PM. The author will be there for you to meet, and he will be able to sign a copy of the book as well. If you enjoy nautical history and photography, this would be a good book to have in your library.

FOS FUNDRAISER--Don’t forget, the annual fundraiser for the Friends of Skamokawa is coming up; if you’re willing to donate, just call (360) 795-3007! I’ve almost got my gift basket put together and will be taking it up to the hall soon; here’s hoping you’ll do the same! It’s important to keep our historic buildings maintained; so we hope you can help them out!

WHS CLASS OF 1973--This past Saturday, the conference room at Skamokawa Resort was the site of the 50th class reunion of Wahkiakum High School students. The deck outside made for a good place to take photos with a pretty view of the water and mountains in the background. Members of the Class of 1973 that were able to attend this special occasion were: Barry Brown, Stoney Anketell, Kristie Irving, David Evans, Craig Bjorge, Chuck Patching, Rick Wirkkala, Doreen Jacobson, Jim McFarland, Paula Brewington, Bev Tischer, Debbie Moore, Marsha Howard, Becky Thacker, Cindy Davis, Jim Florek, Brad Mylett, John Miller, Jackie Ohrberg, Cheryl Anderson, Carol Brock, Kathy Harmon, Mary Heagy, Arlita Brons and Rick Wika. It was a good group of classmates that got to meet up!

LOCAL GAL HELPS OTHERS--Once again, proud mom Jonnie Knowles called me up and told me of her daughter Kristi Langston’s continued work in Florida. You may remember that she is the only woman on the Newberry Fire and Rescue crew. Recently, she and three other team members headed to the Florida Coast, where they are performing a search and recovery mission after Hurricane Idalia. With homes flooded and no water or power these places are a real mess, and this job of looking thru these homes for victims is not only gut wrenching, but also dangerous as snakes and other critters can be hiding underneath anything they turn over during their search. We want to give a shout out to Kristi and her team for doing this tough job and we hope they all come back safe and sound. Mama Jonnie, you have a right to be very proud of that daughter of yours!

SAD TIMES--Lately we have lost a lot of folks we have known for years. I see we lost another one recently: Marshall Meyers. As a young man, Marshall worked in Cathlamet for the telephone company where my Grandma Elsie Everest worked years ago. I have a picture she took of him standing near the Cathlamet Market. We send our sincerest condolences to all of Marshalls’ family and close friends. He was one of the good guys!

And, sadly, we learned of the passing of a former neighbor of ours, Sig Hjaltalin, according to his mother, Sharyl Iblings.

MULES HOME GAME--Here’s hoping the home game for the Mules this Friday night will be well attended and they are invigorated by a roaring crowd. Go Mules! The Lady Mules will be playing on Tuesday the September 19 before playing at home against Napavine, next Thursday, September 21. Go get ’em ladies! May both teams stay safe as they travel to and from games as well as injury free on the field and on the court!