Lefse making & turkey bingo

PLENTY WET—If you have driven around much lately, you will probably have been driving in the rain, I hope with your headlights on, and you will have seen fields full of water here and there; we had some epic rainfall at the end of last week. This past week was supposed to be mostly wet with a couple of dry days while this coming week looks pretty soggy. I can only hope this forecast changes or I'll have to get out my boat to get anywhere! I hope you're all taking it easy as you travel to and fro during this wet weather, and watch for falling trees. They have soaked up roots and a tendency to fall across roadways, taking out power lines. With the holidays upon us, there will be more traveling and folks out shopping; I am hoping all the speed demons will slow down so we aren't dealing with an unnecessary tragedy during what should be some joyous holidays.

SPECIAL DAYS—Celebrating birthdays this week are Jordyn Kaattari, Tiffany Tischer, Dustin Johnson, Lynda Jensen, Jonnie Knowles, Jeff Hedges, Jasmine Brown, Mark Helms, Bowen Everman, Ty Briscoe, Adrian Kuhl, Virgil Cothren, Ashley Helms, Andrew Prestegard, Roberta Trotter, Mike Parker, Zachary Stewart, Hailey Brown, James D. Pedersen, Julianne Bell and LuAnn Davison. Celebrating anniversaries this week are Mark & Teri Slape, and Jim & Karen Blain. May all of your special days bring you memories to last a lifetime.

VETERANS DAY—Saturday is Veterans Day, the holiday that honors all service members. I hope you'll take a minute to give thanks to all of the Veterans who have served our country. We thank each and every one of you for your service, sacrifice, and dedication to defending our country, as well as our allies. We observe the day at the eleventh hour of the eleventh month on the eleventh day, when ,at the end of World War I, Germany and the Allies put into effect an armistice at that precise date and time. Again, a huge thank you to all our Veterans!

SEVERAL LOSSES—We were saddened to hear of the loss of Susie Cooper on Oct. 18, and we offer our sincere condolences to her mother, Carol, children Taylor and Danielle and her three brothers, Gary, Donald, and Pete, as well as her other family members and close friends. A Celebration of Life Service will take place on what would have been her 56th birthday, July 27, 2024, at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa; the time will be announced at a later date. We also heard of the passing of Betty Ann Goodell on Oct. 29, in Wenatchee; she was born on Oct. 11, 1965 in Skamokawa. We offer our condolences to all her family members and dear friends. We send to the Kaattari girls, Jordyn, Kaylyn and Nicole (McKinley), our sympathies as they lost their father, Jeff, at the end of last week. We are sorry to hear of their loss.

LAST BINGO ON ISLAND—Members of the Sons of Norway lodge invite you to attend their last bingo game of the year Saturday, with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and games beginning at 6. They have had a great group of folks coming to play and they hope you’ll show for this one last session of games. Cards are five dollars each and you can buy as many as you can handle in order to try and get that bingo and win cash prizes! Lots of fun has been had by all; we hope you'll be at the Norse Hall, 444 SR-409 on Puget Island.

LEFSE MAKING—There were some hearty members of the lodge at the Norse Hall for several days last week as they were making lefse rounds by the dozens, which is a lot of work. From the dough makers to the folks rolling out the dough, to the fryers who fry them up, it's a time-consuming process. Kudos to all of those who came out to do that. The lefse that was already made up went fast, as did the krumkake, so more had to be made up that night to be sold the following day. Many folks were buying the rounds and then putting the lefse together themselves, which involves running warm water over the rounds, putting them in tea towels to rest, and then slathering them with a nice layer of butter, sugar and cinnamon mixture. Yum!

I was only able to show up one day but I was happy to see a former neighbor who now lives in Chehalis there; I had a nice chat with Frank Corbin while he rolled dough and I fried it up and added it to the stack! Frank was going to hit up the bazaar at the Our Saviour's Lutheran Church before heading back home that afternoon, since he and his wife, Beth, were headed off to Texas in the morning to see their daughter, Rachel, and her husband, Levi, as they welcomed a baby boy into the world. Rachel couldn't wait to post some pictures of Wesley Elijah Strang, who showed up in the wee hours of Nov. 5, and weighed seven pounds, 13 ounces, and was twenty inches long. Congrats to all.

SHOP WITH A COP AUCTION—Well, by all accounts, the Shop with a Cop silent auction was a success. It was great to see two winners of special prizes actually forfeit their prizes; one gave the entire cash prize back to the officers to buy gifts for the kids and then another had an impromptu live auction and raised some more money. If all goes according to plan, another Shop with a Cop fund raising event, silent auction, will take place next month. Stay tuned for the date. Kudos to those who donated items and to all those bidders who came out this past Saturday. Your kindness and generosity are deeply appreciated.

TURKEY BINGO—Meanwhile, it's almost Thanksgiving, so it’s time to get geared up for that big day, and what better way to do that than to come to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds on Nov. 18 and win yourself a turkey or ham dinner? It's always a fun night in the Youth Building when bingo players gather up their cards to win one of those nice dishes prior to Thanksgiving Day. I got lucky and won one last year; I'm hoping my luck continues this year. I'll be dishing up turkey "everything" for a week...ha! Come on down and try your luck! Bingo begins at 6 p.m. Come early to get a good seat and a snack!

FOS OPEN HOUSE—As always, the Friends of Skamokawa will deck the halls for their annual holiday open house. This year that will take place from the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, thru Dec. 10. Come to the historic Central School/Redmen Hall and check out their vendors. They have an array of gifts in the gift shop and lots of books on their book shelves, so they hope to see you there!