River City Strippers Quilt Show on now

Tom and Cora Irving of Cathlamet, are just two of the members of the quilting group, who are showing their work at Redmen Hall, now until October 10th.


photo: Bill Wagner, the Longview Daily News

Celebrate 25 years with the Friends of Skamokawa with "Wines From Down Under"...

At the annual Wine Tasting and Silent and Live Auction, to be held at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, Saturday, September 11th.

Once again, your auctioneer will be Rob Stockhouse. A variety of wines from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile and Argentina will be offered for tasting, accompanied by appetizers and a dessert table.

Tickets are available at Redmen Hall, Bank of the Pacific (Cathlamet) and Golden Ladder $15.00

Calling All Docents

Renew and refresh your docent skills, or join in as a new docent. Training will be offered this weekend, Saturday, June 26, from 9:30AM till noon, at Redmen Hall.

Historian Irene Martin will present some of the history of Skamokawa and the hall. This is a rare chance to get to hear one of her talks.

To volunteer: set aside just one weekend afternoon a month to greet visitors and sell giftshop items: books on local history and local arts and handicrafts.

Redmen Hall is located at 1394 West State Route 4. Phone: 360-795-3007.

Men on Top!

Weatherguard Roofing of Longview, has finished work on the Redmen Hall bell tower. The new cedar shingle roof and flashing should protect the bell tower from the wind driven rain that can come roaring off the Columbia River during the winter months. The project was made possible by a grant from the Kinsman Foundation.

Irene Martin on the salmon fishery of the Lower Columbia

Irene Martin in the archivist and historian for the Friends of Skamokawa. She is also a Episcopalian priest for St. James Episcopal Church in Cathlamet. She shared some insight into the relationship between the fishery and the community of the region in this video, uploaded by the Save Our Wild Salmon coalition, to YouTube.

Awards for local author

Skamokawa author Jolan Durrah has received 6 book awards. Aventure in Borneo: The True Story of One Man's Quest to Find the Bornean Peacock Pheasant, was recently awarded Finalist in the categories of Multicultural Non-fiction, Travel/Travel Guide, and Best Cover Design, Non-fiction, by the 2009 Next Generation INDIE International Book Awards. The book also received an Honoreable mention in the Non-fiction category of the 2009 Beach Book Festival as well as a 2008 Premier Book Award, and 2008 DIY Book Award, and was nominated for a 2009 Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Association Award.

The book tell the story of a young man who is determined to find the tiny Bornean Peacock Pheasant, though no documented sighting of the bird in the wild has been noted since 1962.

His adventures are many and varied, as, traveling solo, he encounters obstacles complicated by not knowing the local language or customs.

Jolan Durrah and her husband Rick, raise exotic birds on their hillside farm near Skamokawa.

The book is available at Redmen Hall, 1394 West State Route 4 in Skamokawa. For more information, call 360-795-8007

Some Skamokawa History........

Irene Martin, Governor's Heritage Award winner, talked about some Skamokawa History last Saturday at Redmen Hall. She was the featured speaker at a Docents Training Day.

You can listen to a podcast of her talk here.

If you can spare 4 hours a month, join the docents of Redmen Hall. These volunteer docents staff the hall each weekend from noon to 4pm.

Redmen Hall is home to the RiverLife Interpretive Center and its displays of Skamokawa and Wahkiakum history. the hall is also the home of Wahkiakum County's only bookstore, with an impressive selection of informative works on the life and culture of the Lower Columbia region.