Skamokawa News

FROM SNOWSCAPE TO SOGFEST. Well, we had a nasty bit of snow last week and it sure did disrupt a whole lot of events and our daily routines. Slipping and sliding seemed to be all too common and it was advised for those who didn’t have to be out and about to stay home; it was treacherous out there. Snow was falling rapidly out here in West Valley for a while, and I was afraid we would repeat the 1990 snowstorm when we went from six inches of the white stuff to about two feet overnight. Thankfully, we didn’t have a repeat of that, and people got out and about to enjoy their Valentine’s dinners and the Crab and Oyster feed over on Puget Island. We had a real soaking Saturday night, and all that snow made for a very mushy yard on Sunday morning. From the looks of it, the upcoming week looks very wet with only one cloudy day, but I will keep my fingers crossed that the rain is light!

PREPARED? Once again, we had a weather event that tested our preparedness, so while it was fairly brief, it did give us a little insight as to what we may have needed to do to make it easier on ourselves or what we should have done differently in order to get through it without a whole lot of hassle. With all the modes of finding out about the incoming weather, it’s always amazing to me to hear all the “we didn’t know” comments... come on folks, you can do better. You don’t have to live on the weather channel, but it sure helps to check it out regularly so you aren’t one of those folks buried in snow with nothing in your car to help you survive and then saying that you didn’t know it was going to snow. As always, if you prepare for the worst, then you’ll breeze through these weather events with as little fuss and muss possible, and you’ll be very happy you did!

SPECIAL DAYS. Those celebrating birthdays this coming week from Feb. 20 through 28 are: Mac Johnson, Nyomie Kuljis, Sara Buennagel, Allie Helms-Lampitt, Alyssa Stratton, Ashellie Elfers, Amanda Zacher, Mary McLauglin, Tina Robinson, Rose Struntz, Devin Struntz, Melissa Anshutz, Emery Tomlinson, Amy Bosckis, Bruce Hanson, Michael Watkins Jr., Sarah Lundgren, Vicki Allenback, Dagmar Adams, Ava Johnson, Elliot Johnson, Jessica Thomas, Goldie Valentine, Lauren Good, Morgan Spieth, David Pedersen Jr., Ursula Jorgensen and Susan Shook’s grandson, Conner and 67’ers: Shari Gorman Parker, Kathy Bond Peek and Truchet Madden Miller. Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Wirkkala, JD and Michelle Sailing, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Hanson, and Brandon and Kyka Meacham. Happy celebrations, everybody, Enjoy!

MAIL DELAYS. This recent snow event hit part of Portland hard, and because we get our mail delivered from Portland to Cathlamet and then to us, it has delayed our mail as well. I know it’s sort of a headache, but our postal delivery folks do the best they can. Sometimes things are just out of their control. This week we also had a holiday on Monday, which was President’s Day, so that meant there was another day of no mail going in or out. At any rate, the postal department does the best they can considering the nasty weather conditions, along with all the other happenings that are out of their control, so kudos to those who have to deal with the various obstacles. Here’s hoping that we have some smooth sailing in the coming days, but it’s still winter, and it’s anybody’s guess. No more snow would be great, but too much rain can keep us flooded in and it’s the time that rock slides and mudslides occur along SR 4 as well, so it’s always crucial to take it easy if you’re out and about.

VALENTINE’S DAY. So, who had the best Valentine’s Day? Did you get a beautiful Card? Flowers? Candy? Dinner? All of those? I do hope you had a special day with your special someone and if you had an extraordinary day, why not share it with me and others? We’d love to hear about what you did. Unfortunately, a “bug” changed our plans so we stayed home!

COMMUNITY BREAKFAST. If you’re reading this on Thursday morning, please remember that the Skamokawa Grange is open for their community breakfast on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon and would love to see you there. This is a great place and time to meet up with friends and neighbors and chat over a cup of coffee and a bite to eat as well. It is free but donations are always appreciated. You can also donate food items like biscuits and gravy or maybe a can of coffee, creamers, sugar, etc. Just know that all of you are welcome to attend. The Skamokawa Grange Hall is located next to the fairgrounds down here in Skamokawa: 18 Fairgrounds Road. If you can’t make it this week, Feb. 20, then Season Long and her group of folks are hoping to see you the following Thursday, Feb. 27. The last Thursday of yet another month... time is just flying by it seems.

DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS. Just a reminder to put June 28 down on your calendar as the WDFS crew will be meeting up that day at the River Mile 38 Brewery to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars which have raised thousands of dollars for our graduating seniors at WA-KI-HI. In honor of those years of service, they will be fundraising that day with a live auction, a silent auction and also a car show. Just like the good old days. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to donate something to this event. I mean, who doesn’t like food, cars and bidding wars on awesome items? Not to mention the great view from the brewery. Spread the word and get ready for a good time on June 28!

OPENING SOON. The Redmen Hall/River Life Interpretive Center will be opening back up and you are invited to stop by and check out their gift and book shop, which is scheduled to open on Mar. 8. Hopefully you’ll take the time to head up to the second floor and take on that magnificent view while looking at the Interpretive panels up there. If you would like to help the Friends of Skamokawa keep this historic building in shape, please send donations to FOS -P.O. Box 67 - Skamokawa, WA 98647. You can also check them out on their website or visit their Facebook page.

OVER THE HILL. The Dark Divide, a film about local celebrity and poet Robert Pyle, will be showing this week at the Grays River Grange, located at 11 S Hill Creek Road in Grays River, just west of Dufffy’s, on Mar. 15 at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend, and you can enjoy some popcorn and a beverage while you’re there too. Now, this is a free event, but it is also a fundraiser for the Grange, so your donations are deeply appreciated. For more information, you can call 360-465-2268 or check out their website: http://graysrivergrange.org They hope to see you there!

BLAST FROM THE PAST. This was another week of nasty weather in 1990 and while a couple of days were decent, the last half of the week was super cold and down in the teens! Big news this week came from the Longview Daily News and the story of the KM slide: WSDOT said it could be two to four years before it would be prepared, a huge shock to most! The bypass road down West Valley Road and over Quigley Road, a steep logging road, was put in place and was a huge headache for many once the weather turned cold and snowy. The idea of having to use that road for years was not welcome news, that’s for sure. My former Welcome Slough neighbor and my dad’s favorite boat builder, Sankey Blix passed away on Monday, Feb. 19 and his services were held that Saturday, Feb. 24. A couple of firsts happened the following two days: my first daffodils bloomed and I changed my first big Jeep tire on my rig all by myself. UPS Bob had stopped by and was quite impressed I had done this all by myself! Skamokawa’s’ own, Marcy Tarabochia, made the paper that week as she was named to the Seattle-Post Intelligencer “Third Five” state all-star team. So that was very awesome! The month ended with bitter cold and everyone miserable with a multitude of weather-related problems and hoping they would soon end.

DON’T FORGET. The Eagle could also use a new writer or two, so if you belong to a group or organization and you’d like to make people aware or give a bit of history, why not submit a little something about it in the paper? Are you interested in a certain activity or group activity, and you want more people to join in? Again, why not submit a little something about that activity and spread the word around about what you’re doing and invite others to join in? Did you move here after finding out you had relatives that lived here many years ago and now you’d like more information about them? Why not ask for information while providing what you know about them? Also, don’t forget, we do have a museum with lots of history about the past inhabitants, so you might want to watch for the opening of that in May! Here’s to more folks spreading news!