Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Awards Grant to Friends of Skamokawa

Through the Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund, the program assists preservation projects where they really happen – at the local level.

Recipients of the 2012 Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund grant awards were announced at the Washington Trust Holiday Party. The Washington Trust was pleased to announce an award to the Friends of Skamokawa Foundation, among others.

The F.O.S. Foundation received $1,000 to rehabilitate the bell on the 1894 Redmen Hall, formerly the Central Skamokawa School. Part of the Skamokawa National Register Historic District, this building has been a community preservation effort since the Friends purchased it in 1985.

Book Signings Nov 20th and 27th

The Friends of Skamokawa will host two book signings with local authors Bryan Penttila, Karen Bertroch and Irene Martin at Redmen Hall during November.

Penttila and Bertroch will sign copies of the new Appelo Archives book, "When Logging Was Logging: 100 Years of Big Timber in SW Washington," from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov 20. This photo-filled historical volume has chapters covering log camps and logging from Deep River to Cathlamet, the Crown and Weyerhaeuser companies and many local families. Other contributing authors include Jim LeMonds, Donna Gatens-Klint and Myron Metcalf.

Irene Martin has written a definitive book about the Columbia River Packers Association, whose Bumble Bee brand of canned salmon is familiar to all of us, especially in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Full of historical photographs, this book follows the burgeoning 19th-century salmon industry to the declining years over the course of the 20th century, and now into the 21st century with its global market. Martin will sign "Flight of Bumble Bee" between 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, during the festive Holiday Open House at historic Redmen Hall.

The annual Holiday Open House at Redmen Hall will be held over several weekends at the end of November and into December. This year's theme is "Come Home For The Holiday" and will feature seasonal music by local artists, book signings and delicious homemade goodies as well as lovely handmade gifts. There will be something for everyone on your list, from artwork to glasswork, jams to goat milk lotions. Even hand-knitted socks to warm your feet will be available, as well as fragrant wreaths for your door.

Redmen Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25 and 26, and noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 27 and Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18. The hall is located at 1394 Washington State Route 4.

For information, contact Diane Stockhouse at (360) 849-4145.

You are invited to the annual Holiday Open House at Historic Redmen Hall, the Jewel of Skamokawa. This year's theme is 'Come Home For The Holiday' and will feature seasonal music by local artists, book signings and delicious homemade goodies as well as lovely handmade gifts. There will be something for everyone on your list, from artwork to glasswork, jams to goat milk lotions. Even hand knitted socks to warm your feet and fragrant wreaths for your door.

Special hours for Redmen Hall's open house: Friday November 25 and Saturday the 26th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular hours resume on Sunday November 27th: noon until 4pm. The open house continues December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18, from noon to 4 p.m. 1394 SR 4, Skamokawa, WA.

New artisans are always welcome! For information, contact Diane Stockhouse at 849-4145.

Mike Cullom, Photographer

Redmen Hall has the

pleasure of introducing an artist new to this area . Mike

Cullom has retired to Puget Island after working in Tacoma and

Longview. He is a photographer and woodcarver whose exhibit

titled "Revisions - a Second Look" has digitally enhanced views

of our world around us, showing an unusual view of our

surroundings. He exhibited at the International Photography

Exhibit at the Western Washington State Fair and in Tacoma,

Astoria, and Longview and had his photographs and woodcarvings

at the Vista Park anniversary celebration this summer. The

woodcarvings show villages and individual buildings reminiscent

of Victorian times and give the exhibit a start into the

Holiday season. There will be a reception on Saturday

afternoon, October 29th from 2-4 p.m. to meet Mike Cullom and

to enjoy an afternoon at Redmen Hall with a cookie social. Come

and see Mike's work and our newly restocked gift shop

and book store. Redmen Hall is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4pm.

Now appearing: the ‘Mitzi and David Show'

Mitzi Christensen is showing vibrant new colors in paintings now on show. David Goodroe is showing pastel landscapes.

The exhibition continues through Oct. 16. Redmen Hall hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

Patriotic flag goes on show at Redmen Hall

An exhibit showcasing a rare Improved Order of Redmen WWII service flag and other vintage flags from the Friends of Skamokawa archives is on now in the lobby of the Redmen Hall. The display will remain up until July 17.
The service flag has not been shown to the public before, owing to its delicate condition and likely will not be shown in the future. The exhibit also includes reproductions of the flag brought here in 1792 by Captain Gray and the 15 star, 15 stripe Star Spangled Banner brought here by Lewis and Clark in 1805, as well as photos showing flags in Wahkiakum County in recent years.
Redmen Hall at 1394 W. SR 4 is open noon to 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday and will also be open from noon to 4 p.m. on the Independence Day Holiday.

"Explorations" open June 11th

Ceramics, watercolors and photography are next on the menu at Redmen Hall. "Explorations" will feature the ceramic art of Marty Vavoudis, watercolors by Noreen Fitts, and for his very first gallery showing, the photography of Wahkiakum High School's Nick Deal. Nick has won state and regional awards for his work.

There will be an opening reception for the artists on Saturday July 11th, from 4 to 6pm. The show will run through Sunday, July 10th.

Loca author Robert Michael Pyle at the Redmen Hall bookshop

The Redmen Hall book shop stocks local author Robert Pyle's The Thunder Tree.

First published in 1993, The Thunder Tree shows how powerful the relationship between people--especially children--and nature can be. An engrossing memoir and elegant portrait of place, this reprint of the classic book makes one of Pyle's important early works once again available for a new generation of readers.

Redmen Hall business hours are Thursday-Sunday, Noon to 4 PM.

The Art of Patrick Carrico

"My vivid impression of adulthood as a child was a looming indoctrination into a world of irritated servitude"

Artist Patrick Carrico showed his works earlier this year at the hall. His "day job", involves working in Cathlamet schools as a therapist for children at risk. A Cathlamet, Washington based artist, his work incorporates "found art supplies. He builds his palette from found building materials, cast off house paint and traditional "fine art' media to attempt to create a sincere visualization of the world around him – as it is from what it is.”
Carrico has published several works of fiction, made films and worked with bands. He has exhibited in Philadelphia, Portland and many smaller towns where he traveled and eked out a living over the years. His film: The Coatroom (2005 - Untitled Productions) won numerous awards and showed at film festival around the country.


Artist: Patrick Carrico

Antique Show and Sale Opens in Skamokawa

Friends of Skamokawa/Redmen Hall is sponsoring a 2-week-long antique and collectibles show and sale starting Saturday, March 26. There will be a wide variety of treasures offered, including furniture, vintage books and linens, pottery, wall art, jewelry, and much more.

The show and sale will continue Sunday, Mar. 27, and the following Thursday through Sunday, Mar. 31 to April 3. Hours are Noon to 4 PM Thursday through Sunday. Proceeds will go toward maintaining Redmen Hall, the 1894 historic school house at 1394 Ocean Beach Highway in Skamokawa, WA.

For more information, please call Redmen Hall during business hours, Thurs to Sunday, Noon to 4 PM, at 360.795.3007; or Keith Hoofnagle at 360.795.0561.

Silver Jubilee Show

The 2011 season for Redmen Hall opened with a retrospective of the work of local artist Dory Hicks. Paintings and drawings done over a span of many years were shown, all on loan from many homes near and far.

Dory Hicks Retrospective Opens 25th Jubilee Season

Dory Hicks originally wrote and illustrated the Redmen Hall Coloring Book in the 1980s as a “Restore Redmen Hall Project” to raise funds for the repair of the building.

When Friends of Skamokawa board member and archivist Keith Hoofnagle was searching for a special project for the “Silver Jubilee,” he chose Hicks’ original coloring book. “Though produced on a very limited budget, Dory’s drawings bringing the Skamokawa Central School of the 1890s to 1910s to life, exuded great charm,” Hoofnagle stated. “The reprint is a way of celebrating by stepping lightly into the past, retrieving something very special, giving it new life and recycling it as interpretive publication and fundraiser.”

A limited number of editions have been reprinted. The books will be available during normal opening hours this year, Thursdays through Sundays from noon till 4 p.m.

Annual Clean Up at the Hall

Many hands helped with a myriad of jobs around the all this past week. The gift shop now sports a new shelf for more books, some original art by Dory Hicks was found, the school room display has had a complete cleaning. Display racks have been repaired, light fixtures have been cleaned and lightbulbs replaced. Fresh paint was applied and general repairs were caught up on. All is ready for the re-opening of the Hall in February!

All photos by Lisa Mooers