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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2017 Warrenton: “It’s kind of Hammond Library meets Central Perk from ‘Friends’” Continued from Page 1A Library cafe Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Hundreds of marchers gather before the start of the Women’s March. March: Demonstration was in solidarity with a national Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Continued from Page 1A Organizers stressed that the march was not a protest against Trump, but the under- current was plainly about resistance to the Republican real-estate magnate. March- ers also participated to raise awareness for a number of dif- ferent issues, from public edu- cation and immigration to gay rights. Rita Nicely, a retired caterer from Ocean Park, Washington, held a sign that said: “I will not go quietly back to the 1950s.” She said this was the first demonstration she has joined since she attended a civil rights protest in Detroit back in the 1960s. Some organizers said they were surprised by the turnout. Astoria Police estimated the crowd at more than 1,300. “We would’ve been excited if it was 100 people,” Sharon Kloepfer, a former physician’s assistant who lives in Gear- hart, said. The demonstration was in solidarity with a national Women’s March in Wash- ington, D.C., and in “sister marches” in cities and small towns across the nation and the world. Clatsop County usually favors Democrats, but Trump won 41 percent of the vote in November. The march was a reminder that a majority of voters — in Oregon and the nation — preferred other pres- idential candidates. The demonstration began shortly after noon. Along the half-mile route through down- town, organizers with neon vests guided marchers on the designated course and made sure they followed traffic laws like staying on sidewalks and obeying streets lights. Demonstrators occasion- ally broke out in chants. A few even brought whistles and bongos to energize the crowd. Anne and Garrett Thielk- ing, a married couple from the Portland area, had planned a weekend getaway to Astoria for months. But after Trump was elected, they said they had to take time out of their vacation. They said they had participated in demonstra- tions in large cities before and were surprised by Saturday’s turnout. “This is a lot more orderly,” Anne Thielking said. “I’ve been at protests where peo- ple throw stuff at you or start heckling and record you.” The march did not attract many counterdemonstra- tors, but a number of driv- ers honked in support as they drove by. Jessi Anderson, a manager at the Astoria Cof- feehouse & Bistro, was wait- ing for a friend to grab a cup of coffee as he looked out at the marchers. “I’ve just been giving peo- ple hugs,” Anderson said. “There’s not a lot of hate, which I think is fantastic.” A city building inspec- tor concluded last year that the library’s space in Ham- mond had outlived its useful life and was a hazard to vis- itors. The Warrenton Com- munity Library Board cre- ated a subcommittee to find a new location. City Manager Linda Engbretson said moving the library downtown has been on the back of people’s minds for a long time. Koon approached the city last year about the possibility of locating the library inside her business. “I had done some research, and there are prob- ably several cafes of the like in the country,” Koon said. “It’s kind of Hammond Library meets Central Perk from ‘Friends.’” But the city and Koon had difficulty deciding how to split costs and manage operations. Engbretson said one idea of Koon’s was to run book sales at the library through Serendipity, which the city could not do. “There were also ques- tions about hours of opera- tion,” Engbretson said. “We didn’t want the library to be open to the public when we didn’t have somebody there. (The concept) sounded really good, but we just couldn’t work the details out.” Koon said the city seemed unwilling to pay for move-in costs or its fair share of utilities. “When it boils down to brass tacks … they didn’t want to pay for much.” Lack of communication Thinking business would go on as usual after the library cafe idea fizzled, Koon said, she paid $600 to renew her business license with the city. Two weeks later, she received notice from the school district that her lease would not be renewed. “The point is that this is a force-out,” she said. “There was very little dia- logue. There was nothing to indicate that they wouldn’t renew my lease, except for the lack of dialogue.” She hopes to reopen the business in Bellingham, Washington, where she and her husband James, who serves in the U.S. Coast Guard, lived before moving to Astoria. Jeffery and Engbretson said the two sides have not yet met to discuss when the library will move from Ham- mond to Warrenton. Also up in the air is how the city will buy the building. Hardwick: Author guides young adults in writing poetry about their life experiences Continued from Page 1A Marchers walk throughout downtown during the Women’s March. “I had always done those stories in my head, ever since I was in my 20s,” she said. ‘Cranberry Bay’ Marchers walk across Commercial Street. LEFT: Rachael McDougall, left, and Carleen Cochran share a moment as people gath- er for the start of the Women’s March. RIGHT: A child applauds during a speech at the Women’s March held on Saturday in Astoria. Hardwick used parts of Wheeler and Nehalem, including the vintage shops, as the backdrop for her “Cran- berry Bay” romance series. “It just screamed ‘story,’” she said. The series, which focuses on three brothers in a family each falling in love, is avail- able at the Cannon Beach Bookstore. “I’ll come here and say, ‘If you sit here for two hours and get 1,800 words done, then you can go,’” Hardwick said. “It’s very strict and I set goals.” Before writing a book, Hardwick maps out scenes and chapters and cre- ates detailed character descriptions. Recently, she’s been writ- ing in an unlikely place — an Applebee’s near her pri- mary home in Lake Stevens, Washington. She started writing reg- ularly at the restaurant and befriended a waiter who has helped her throughout the writing process, such as fig- uring out what dates her char- acters will go on. “He brought in that guy perspective,” she said. “It’s funny when you have someone playing with your characters with you. This is not typical for how I write my books.” Hardwick’s experience getting involved in local gov- ernment issues served as inspiration for scenes in a “Cranberry Bay” book. In August, the third Cran- berry Bay book, “Sweetheart Wedding,” will be released. When she’s not writing at Bella Espresso, Hardwick enjoys walking the beach with her cocker spaniel, sew- ing, cooking and traveling. Memoir took ‘courage’ A memoir of Hardwick’s experience teaching at the juvenile justice center, “Kids in Orange: Voices from A Juvenile Detention,” will be released early this year. Hardwick guides young adults in writing poetry about their life experiences. “It’s very raw and hon- est,” she said. “They were the ones who inspired me to write my memoir. It took me multiple drafts to get to that level of honesty where they go instantly. They taught me a lot about having the courage to get to that place.” Many of her students have committed drug-re- lated crimes, but Hardwick said their stories allow oth- ers to see that “you may have done something, but that’s not completely who you are.” After the workshop, the children might be released or start a long-term program. “There’s so much that they’re working with and that you’re working against,” Hardwick said. — Lyra Fontaine T HE D AILY A STORIAN ’ S C UTEST B ABY C ONTEST If your baby was born January 1st & December 31st , 2016 , between you can submit your newborn’s picture either via email at: CLASSIFIEDS @ DAILYASTORIAN . COM Hundreds filled Heritage Square Saturday for a Women’s March to counter President Donald Trump. More photos available online at DailyAstorian.com ‘I’ve just been giving people hugs. There’s not a lot of hate, which I think is fantastic.’ Jessi Anderson a manager at the Astoria Coffeehouse & Bistro or drop by one of our offi ces in Astoria or Seaside and we can scan in the photo for you. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, January 25 th at 5 pm Entries will be printed in The Daily Astorian on January 31st. *Human babies only please!*