Skamokawa News

HAPPY NEW YEAR! By the time you read this, it will be several days into 2025, and I have to say, it’s been a wet and blustery ending to 2024. We have had a lot of power outages due to falling trees and blown transformers. Some folks have had their roofs peeled off or greenhouses destroyed, creating an exciting Christmas around here. I do hope those who sustained a lot of damage have been able to make repairs by now. A big thank you to the PUD workers, road crew workers, and all the other folks who had to go out and make repairs in that miserable weather during the holidays. We truly appreciate your sacrifices. I know Winter just started but it’d be nice if we could catch a break for a bit so we can recover and begin to get prepared for whatever event may come next. During these months, it’s safer to put in place the extra precautions, just in case.

SPECIAL DAYS. Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 3 through Jan. 10 are Susan Schillios, Olaf Thomason, Adele Whittle, Jaxon Hoven, Tahleah Wallin, Nicole Turgeon, Joe Montgomery, Scott McClain, Andy Lea, Mike Wmith, Lauren Hector, Emma Helton, Don P. Wages, Caroline Jennings, Margaret Glaser, Pansy Grundrum, Kari Noonan, Kyle Orth, Paul Curtis, Kristin Robinson, Josh Moonen, Richard Simoneau, Stephanie Leitz, Jamie Smith, Shelby Marie Elfers, David Smith, Michael A. Quigley, Ryan Torppa, Lisa Hoven, Laurie Noonan, Ellie Leitz, Kristian Veys, Alicia Boldt Benjamin, Becky Elliott, Matt Blain, Mike Moore and 67’er: Edward Bussone. Celebrating their anniversary this week are Shawn and Jana Jacobs. May you all have memorable days on your special days! Some names may be repeated due to the recent changes in submissions and delivery.

COMMUNITY BREAKFAST. Community Breakfast at the Skamokawa Grange Hall will continue every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. We hope you’ll join in on a good gab with a cup of coffee and a bit to eat. You’re welcome to bring a treat to share as well. While there is no cost, donations are always welcomed to keep this important meeting place open and give folks a chance to connect. The group welcomes you to come and attend on Jan. 9, 16, 23, or 30 of this month! Donations of coffee, creamer, etc. are welcome too!

GET ON THE CALENDAR. This paper has a community calendar, so if you have a free event you’d like to add or something you’d like to advertise, then give them a call and get it on the list. Folks like me rely on it. Trust me, there’s no such thing as too much advertising. The public is often not given enough notice about certain fundraisers and other events, which can mean low turnouts. So do yourself a favor, plan your event well in advance, and make sure you get the word out early and often. If you are making flyers or posters, be sure to do the “glance test”: put it on a wall, stand back, and then walk by and glance at it to see if you know what the event is instantly. If it doesn’t register immediately, rework your advertising, as big bold letters that people can see and read, will get their attention, and then if they’re interested, they can read the rest. The date, time and place are the next batch of bold letters that are needed and all other things can be smaller. Having pretty, scrolled type writing that is only one line thick and very hard to read is just a waste of ink. While posting on Facebook is a great backup plan, you must know that not everybody sees your post unless you are friends, or they look at a certain group. Again, last-minute postings may get you a few folks, but they are not ideal for folks who don’t spend a lot of time on social media sites. Here’s to many more great events coming this year and may they be bigger better and more successful than ever before as the competition for attendees is ramping up!

KARAOKE IS BACK. If you like to sing and have some fun with your friends, I’m very happy to announce that you can warm up those vocals, have a few bites to eat from the late-night menu, and have a great time at our local restaurant The Duck Inn on Fridays and Saturdays. There are lots of new folks in our area and things have been kind of quiet around here with folks saying “There’s nothing to do” but that’s changing. So come on down to Skamokawa and sing your heart out, have some fun, and meet some other new folks in the area who are looking for something to do, just like you! After the year we’ve all had, let’s bring fun and good times with our neighbors back. It has been way too quiet. If you’re in doubt about times, costs, or anything else, just give them a call at 360-795-6055 and get all the latest info you need.

HISTORIC. Our only historic saloon, “The O”, is only open on Saturdays but they have a good time watching the football games and playing pool and folks enjoy the outside beer garden spot during the nicer weather. If you haven’t been down there yet, check it out. If you’re new here, it’s located just off of East Valley at 8 Fairgrounds Road, before the Skamokawa Grange Hall and right near our county fairgrounds. They have an array of T-shirts and sweatshirts so you can say “I was here” or buy one and gift it so your family and friends can have something unique.

SPEAKING OF UNIQUE. You can purchase all the “Bigfoot” and more merchandise over at the Skamokawa Resort Store along with a wide variety of other clothing items and accessories. You can get those birthday gifts now and they’ll be able to enjoy them all summer long! You can also travel over to the Skamokawa Vista Park office just down the road and check out their wide array of items. They make for great gifts or buy now and stick them away for big holidays like the Fourth of July or even next Christmas! Nothing like shopping early and shopping locally! Once the Redmen Hall opens back up in March, you can purchase items in their gift shop as well. Don’t be a stranger to our local shops, they’d love your business. As we all know, these winter months can be a little lean, so our support is vital to keeping them here! Some of these businesses also have gift certificates, so that might be a great way to help them as they make a great gift to stick in a basket of goodies!

CRAB FEEDS AHEAD. There are three crab feeds coming up, so if you want to go to the one at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, call Diane Dyer at 360-430-2825 and if you want to go to the Chamber of Commerce one, contact them at 360-795-9996 and ticket holders for the American Legions’ annual feed at the Rosburg Hall on Jan 25, you could be out of luck already but contact Ken Elliott at 360-465-2274 just in case somebody had to cancel!

SECOND SATURDAY. I haven’t heard for sure but usually, the second Saturday of each month has the Flea Market and T-building sale going on down here at the fairgrounds and I’m pretty sure that this will still be the case unless something comes up, so keep Jan. 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in mind if you’re looking for a good bargain.

BINGO. The Sons of Norway lodge members have their monthly Bingo games on the Saturday evening of each month, so head to the Norse Hall on Jan. 11 and have some fun winning cash prizes. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., games start at 6 p.m.

MORE PERSONAL NEWS. I’d sure like to hear from you and have you share about your family gatherings over the holidays, as well as when you have those big birthdays and special occasions. It’s always better to have a column with some news about its residents, rather than just about the upcoming events, so how about giving me a call and sharing your family news with us? It makes for a great clipping to put in your little one’s baby book or big kids’ diary/memory book!