P er so n a l E n v ir o n m e n ta lis m
By Kim Bossé
Conversations regarding conserv ation generally
seem to be centered on a political apex,
environmental issues or financial concerns. By
being so inv olved in issues it is easy to become
remov ed from our personal commitments Isn't it sad
that we do not often take the tune or the risk to
ponder our intrinsic needs for fresh air. clean water
and sustainable natural surroundings What better
way to ev aluate our concerns towards the
preserv ation of the env ironment than to look inward
at that w hich grounds each of us to the earth
A few years ago a friend challenged me to co-
w rite a mission statement describing our personal
attitude rather than a professional one that would
outline our own philosophy and lifestyle toward the
environment Because we both made our living
writing philosophical statements, goals and
objectives for corporations and non-profits, he felt
this would be an easy task. Over a bottle of wine and
an animated discussion we discovered that
identifying our ow n purpose in life was much more
difficult than devising ones for corporations The
following was the best compromise we could agree
upon; To live a life that is respectful, mindful and
thankful of the place we live in. therefore enabling
each of us the capability of giving back more than
we take from the env ironment and the people we
interact with
Once stated the actual act of living up to this self
imposed credo has not been easy Many times I have
felt hypocritical in the choices 1 have made. Last
month was one of those periods in which I did not
feel 1 made decisions that allowed me to live up to
my expectations Due to many overwhelming and
uncontrollable factors, 1 had been feeling off center
with the world. The balance between what 1 believ ed
in and what I was doing had been skewed I felt
invaded by too much noise, violence and fear, too
much talk without fruition, too many compromises,
too little respect, and not enough laughter, smiles or
hugs. This resulting in feeling alone and unattached.
In order to turn around these frustrations. I decided
"There was a time....”
"Once upon a time...."
The Professor likes the ring of those beginnings. He
is, after all, a groveller at the trough of recollection and
sentiment, a trencherman feasting on what has passed.
Experience, like a wild duck hung up to cure, becomes
more tender and savory with the passage of time.
There was a time when combing our coast's beaches
occupied countless hours of local residents' lives.
Storms and currents carried the bounty, often from
other shores far-flung and exotic. A traveller passing
through a coastal village could easily locate the shacks
and sheds of ardent beachcombers. Crusted with the
spoils of constant beach gleanings, they stood like
cluttered ginger cookie houses — colorful, varied, and
slightly disturbing. Driftwood, crab pots, Japanese wood
crates, hemp rope, fish net floats, life rings, sea shells
and bottles hung from weathered walls, spilled from
shanties, and lined walkways. Turbulent seas and
westerly onshore winds sent grizzled coasties in search
o f sou' westers and oilskins for a walk through the drift
lines at high tide.
The earliest combers in our area, the indigenous
Clatsop Chinooks and Killamooks, located bee's wax from
the Spanish galleon the St. Francis Xavier on local
beaches and iron scraps from ship-wrecked vessels. The
City of Cannon Beach derives its name from a small
cannon (a carronade) retrieved by an early
beachcomber, Mr. John Gerritse, from the beach at Arch
Cape. Wreckage from the U.S.S. Shark (1846) washed
ashore south of the current township of Cannon Beach
and was dragged home by Gerritse's horse team.
An honor roll of noted local combers would include
the likes of Leon Settem, Silver Point homesteader, who
filled a small streambed with prized green glass balls,
fishing floats brought on currents from Japan.
Harley Sroufe harvested Japanese glass fish floats and
drift debris regularly during the 50's and 60's aboard
cranky vans and pick-ups, acquiring one of his favorite
vehicles in trade for a bottle of whiskey. Those
characters and times are gone now.
For many decades following the century's turn, local
houses and cabins built from beach timbers and
driftwood logs were commonplace. Rare Port Orford
incense cedar, tight-grained old-growth Douglas Fir and
Asian hardwoods floated ashore in vast quantity. That
has ended too. Gentrified coastal communities no longer
tolerate messiness. A beachcomber's yard filled with
"treasures" would incur the wrath of trendy
condominium and second-home owners.
Cannon Beach can still claim one beachcomber,
though, impassioned and relentless: Steve McLeod.
Steve and his long-time companion, George the dog,
know when the hunt is on. Spring's sustained west
winds, all squall and bluster, drive floating objects
ashore. The wind during "float season" has a smell, a
taste to it, like a whiff of the sea's bowels. Flotsam drifts
offshore for years eddying, flowing and ebbing, under
the influences of the Japanese (Kuroshio) Current and
the Davison and California Currents. Strong westerlies
push debris to land.
Steve and George haunt the beaches during spring
season and salvage virtually everything they find. Kelp
sculptures, walking sticks ornamented with found
objects, shell collages, beach assemblages, crab rings,
fishing floats of every shape and nation of origin (glass,
plastic, iron, cork, and wood), swim fins, driftwood, bird
bones, salmon plugs, shells, bottles and light bulbs
shrink the walls of his small apartment.
"I've seen velella on the beach," Steve will tell me.
"Could be something coming in." Velella velella are a
good sign. Small blue jellyfish (relatives of the
Portuguese Man O' War) these hydrozoans boast small
sails that blow them across the ocean's surface. When
they appear, drift treasures appear.
Steve gained national and international attention
during the winter and spring of 1991. On May 27,1990,
the container ship Hansa Carrier lost 5 containers
overboard containing 80,000 Nike shoes, 500 miles off
the Aleutians. Steve began finding scores of these shoes
on local beaches. Devoting the next three years to
puzzling out their drift patterns, Steve travelled south to
the California border, and north to Vancouver Island
and the Queen Charlottes, contacting other beach
combers who located Nike shoes and shared data. CNN
interviewed Steve. Articles appeared in the Wall Street
Journal and syndicated publications. The scientific
community (including the National Marine Fisheries
Service and N.O.O.A.) solicited Steve's aid in plotting
shoe density and site locations. Computer plotting of
shoe drift will serve as a tool for future oceanographic
research. This month Steve McLeod's beachcombed
Nikes appear in a Smithsonian exhibit entitled "Ocean
Planet." The show opens April 20th in Washington D C.
Steve still wears his salt-cured Nikes and confesses to
dreams of beaches strewn with green glass fish floats.
P S
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SA M
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
Mark Saturday June 17th on vour calendars The
City of Cannon Beach in conjunction with the
Oregon Department of Env ironmental Quality
(DEQ) and Clatsop County will be hosting another
Hazardous Waste Pickup between 10 AM & 4 PM in
the city hal, parking lot between Hemlock and
Glower Streets. For detailed information on what
will be accepted call City Hall at 436-1581
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QUALITY TOOLS, INC.
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| Seaside, OR 97138
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Jay Raskin
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Cannon B>cach, OR
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5 0 3 -4 3 6 -2 1 6 2
What follows are some responses to the Professor's
raccoon/garbage can problem discussed last month.
Dear Professor,
Your problem is entertaining, but surprisingly
enough is not of garbage cans and raccoons! The
enterprising critters need to eat, and food is in the can.
S o ... why not a 4-pallet compost bin, wired together at
the top, for vegetable, fruit and plant leavings? Then,
inside the house, a 5-gallon plastic tub for meat and fish
scraps? These can be put in a plastic sack just before
garbage pickup day and put in the can in the morning
before pickup. ¡Voila!
But w a it.. . Who will you invite over to eat 5 gallons of
ice cream to celebrate your success?
- An Amused Reader
to take some ume to step aside and re-ev aluate what
was important and figure out how to interweave that
back into the fabric of every day life Essentially to
revisit my purpose and to remember the differences
between wisdom and knowledge, integrity and
control Basically your lapsed-Catholics herbal
granola version of an Act of Contrition
Usually when I feel this way I try to spend some
time in or around water During my life I have
always grav itated toward water Whether it be a
place for joyous play , a healing balm, a source of
inspiration, or a quiet respite; water has been an
instinctive home to me I remember as a child going
dow n the banks of the Mississippi in the dead of
winter, walking out onto the ice . peering down into
the holes and just watching the water, looking for
fish and having a sense of belonging Of course I
was never allowed to play down by the river when it
was frozen, let alone walk out on it and looking back
it's amazing that I never got hurt I didn't go down
out of defiance or youthful adv enture but rather was
simply drawn there. (Hopefully my mother will not
read this because I'm sure that even though I'm in
my 30's I'll still get grounded or worse yet have my
bicycle privileges taken away) Water has always
held that magnetic appeal for me I have always felt
an instinctive trust, that it would protect and harbor
me Even when I haven't had the courage to seek out
help from fnends. I knew that I could find solace in
the power and tranquillity of water I can not
imagine living in a landlocked area
So in my little self-imposed funk, I wandered
toward the water and did something I rarely do
NOTHING!! Spending time observing and listening
to my surroundings and my bodies reaction to them
is generally something I do when I am engaged in a
physical activity like hiking or playing in the water
But to just sit and allow my mind to wander in no
direction for a long period of time well, it is not a
luxury I often take My eye was caught by fragile
prisms in a damp tree, the smell of the wet soil as the
sunlight hit it and the reflection of the clouds flying
through the water Sometimes you need to listen to
the trees, feel the harshness of the wind, and hear the
song of the waves to rekindle your soul So on that
sunny afternoon being beside the water reminded me
that we need to spend less time trying to control
things and more time allowing what's meant to
happen, to happen For me the bottom line is that
having an intimacy with nature helps me to retain a
balance and simplicity that can be lost in our
every day hectic schedules It illuminates the souls
quest for belonging within the natural and manmade
environment and brings me back full circle to my
own purpose in life.
This is why I feel it is important to think about
our innate relationships within the natural world and
equate them to our conservation projects and
lifestyles While the biological and social issues are
important, these personal inter-relationships are also
essential to the political and financial decisions we
make regarding the environment So find your hole
in the surf or crack in the sky and enjoy
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Call: Greg Kafoury
320 SW Stark St. »202. Portland, OR, 97204 . 224-2647]
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