Crescent City
Lies In Ruins
PORT
ORFORD
Voi. 7 No. t
EXCLUSIVE
Eye - Witness Tells News
Of Tidal Wave Horror
CAPTURING the lu ll extent ol damage from the tid a l wave from the air i i im ponible, but the
above sltowing an area from G to E Street* back o l Front give* a partial idea. Note building* in
changed position*, w n ir o f which are wreckage, can out of place and other evidence* that thing*
are not put right.
You are awakened by something you can't id e n tify ...
maybe a feeling. . . maybe a sound.. . you don't know. You
get out o f bed and go to the front window o f your motel
room. ..y o u r h u s b a n d is s till sleeping. You draw the
drapes.. .
Many accounts have been told of the recent earthquake
and tid a l wave t r a g e d ie s in Alaska and Crescent City.
Each is a story of unbelievable magnitude.
An account of the Crescent C ity horror was related to
News staffer Dorthy Branham by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Blake
of Sacramento. Mr. Blake is the general manager of radio
station KJAY. He and his wife, returning home from Med­
ford on that Friday night, were staying over in Crescent
C ity at the new Thunderbird lodge Motel. Mrs. Blake con­
tinued her story.. .
The m idnight sky was black when she peered from the
window into a tig h t that was almost paralysing Water was
slapping at the window ledge as she screamed for her hus­
band. Together they viewed the oncoming water carrying
w ith it debris and automobiles that were being tossed a-
round lik e toys . . crashing into eachother and into b u ild ­
ings . . bobbing lik e corks Their own car was among them
Water was continually rising A* they stared in unbelief,
they saw an elderly couple, who had rented the unit next
to theirs standing outside in water a b o v e th e ir waists
crying and screaming for help.
We tried to get to them, Mrs. Biake said, but we could­
n 't get the door open against the force o f the water. The
room had a stairway to the balcony and the couple raced
to it as their room fille d to the top with water from the
a n g r y ses The elderly couple were gone. . . drowned. ..
Then lik e the great flood of Noah's tim e, the waters
receded
Rescue teams were in action im m ediately, Mrs. Blake
said, taking women and children away from a wrecked
c ity to safety.
The work of salvage and repair was started to bring life
back to the 29 block business area that had suffered the
greatest disaster in Del Norte county's history, that m ira c­
ulously claim ed the lives of only 10 people.
(The above interview w ith the Blakes was possible only
through the courtesy o f the Crescent C ity police depart­
ment, who issued a pass to Mrs. Branham after the quaran­
tine curfew deadline, and prpvidedofficer Fred Young and
a car, to take her on a special o fficia l tour of the damaged
area. The News extends its appreciation to the department
for this special consideration, and also to W ally G riffin,
editor and publisher o f the Crescent C ity American, for
his assistance. —Editor.)
Curry County, Oregon
CARS on the lo t of Vem Filer's Harbor Garage are *een (tacked one on the other.
A HOUSE almost entirely cloeea o ff U. S. Highway 101 aouth o f the city.
SECOND STREET com pletely blocked by buildings that floated in.
— Photos courtesy of Crescent C ity American
CARS WERE PILED lik e this at
th e Thunderbird Ixidge Motel
A special drive is expected
Police chief Harry (Barney)
to be conducted here by the Red Issel handed the c ity his resig­
Cross w ithin the next three weeks nation at a special meeting of
to raise funds for the re lie f of the city council last night.
person* in Alaskan cities and
In a l e t t e r directed to the
Crescent C ity, victim s o f Fri­ mayor and council, chief Issel
day's tragic earthquake and re­ said, " I t is w ith genuine regret
sultant tid a l wave.
that 1 must announce my inten­
Mrs. C e rile Paris, who w ill tion to leave Port Orford. For
be in charge, said the Seattle
th e wholehearted cooperation
o ffice of the American Red Cross of all c i t y o fficia ls and em ­
ha* requested the special drive ployees, and the sincere friend­
by all Red Cross chapters. The liness 1 have found, I am grate­
campaign w ill be conducted on ful.
a door-to-door basis by volun­
In my chosen career it is some­
teer worker*. Mrs. Paris pointed times necessary to move to la r­
out that all workers w ill carry ger communities in the devel­
identification cards from th e opment of one's potential. This
Red Cross and that no requests is the one and only reason for
o r donations to be withheld from my decision.
employee wages w ill be asked
1, therefore, hereby tender
from employers. Only the per­ my resignation as police chief
sonal contact system by id e n ti­ of the City of Port Orford and ask
fied persons w ill be used, she
stressed. Persons not contacted
in the drive may send contn bu-
tions to Mrs. Paris, post office
box 143, Port Orford.
Warren Jamieson
Service Wednesday
S e r v ic e s for Warren Hugh
Jamieson, 67, were held at Zion
Lutheran C h u r c h Wednesday,
A p ril 1, at 2:00 p. m. w ith the
Rev. Delbert W. Zier, of Faith
Lutheran Church, Coquille, o f­
ficia tin g .
Bom in M yrtle Point August
10, 1896, Mr. Jamieson live d
his entire life in this area. He
p a s s e d away at his Hubbard
Creek home on Saturday, March
28.
Mr. Jamieson was united in
marriage September 14, 1919,
in Port Orford, to A lta Jamieson,
who survives him.
Other survivors include three
s on s: Vernon and Richard, of
Port O r fo r d , and Kenneth of
Glendale, C a l i f o r n i a ; three
daughters: Thelma Cobum and
Janice MacManiman, b o th of
Coquille, and Marceli House of
for damage to o ld band hats, Port Orford: one brother, Fred
$299; guaranteed pledges of $100 Jamieson o f P o r t Orford, and
each from the Quarterback Club two sisters: Ethel Anderson, Pott
a n d Lions Club which w ill be Orford, and Eunice Akin o f Grants
paid to the student body at the Pass.
tim e that the order for uniforms
There are 18 grandchildren.
i t made. The balanceof $388.33
Mr. Jamieson was preceded
was earned by band students w ith in death by two sons: Warren,
their lig h t bulb sale and receipts who passed away in 1962, and
from a basketball game staged Gerald, who passed away in 1958.
by the band in the early fa ll.
Casket bearers included B ill
Nutt, Clarence Zumwalt, Roy
New Projects
Beginning tomorrow, Friday, Haft, Joe Combest, Ira Tucker
and Louis March.
all business firms in the school
Interment was in the Port Or­
d istrict area w ill be visited by
ford cemetery.
a representative from the school
seeking pledges for the uniform
fund. Pledge cards w ill stipulate
that a ll money would be return­
ed i f uniforms were not purchas­
ed. Seventy-two firm s w ill be
The recent outbreak of dysen­
contacted.
tery in the central Curry county
JayCettes have listed a Taco area has apparently been con­
f e e d and rummage sale. The fined to that locale. It has not
Rotary Club w ill donate talent h it Port Orford, at least, was word
show proceeds.
from c ity h e a l t h officer Dr.
The Port Orford News w ill do­ Chester Boots.
nate $1 of every new subscrip­
In reply to an inquiry from
tio n and 50 cents for every re­ the News, the health officer said
newal during the annual Anni­ that "Port Orford has yet to re­
versary Subscription Drive that veal a positive case of Shigella
w ill be conducted u n til the end Dysentery. Specimens from all
o f A pril.
suspected persons have been sent
Pacific high school principal to the State Public Health Lab­
John Wahl told the News that ar­ oratory and, to date, all cases
rangements have been made for have proved negative. "
There has been many cases of
a school marching band to ap­
pear in the annual Iu ly4 th Par­ illness from flu-type virus, how­
ade, whether they have uni forms' ever, the doctor said, whichmay
produce sim ila r symptoms.
or not.
"W e continue to urge all per­
But efforts are being directed
towards purchasing uniforms in sons w ith symptoms of the dis­
tim e for the celebration, which ease to report to their fa m ily
means they w ill have to be or­ physician for definitive care, "
dered prior to the end of school. the doctor stressed
It takes between s ix to eight
weeks f o r delivery. Uniforms
w ill include hats, coats and pants
No weather report this week.
No Local Cases
where Mr. and Mrs. Jack Blake
stayed, follow ing Friday night's
Thu n ., April 2, 1964
Heief“ Quaké P°IÍCe Cl,ie* ReS'EnS"
Tide victims Takes Better Position
Band Fund Nears $2,000
Mark For Uniforms
The JayCette-sponsored drive
to put new uniforms on the Pa­
c ific h ig h school band shows
promise this week of reaching
the goal in tim e for the Fourth
o f Ally Celebration, loint efforts
o f Vie JayCette*, band students
student body and other organi­
sations in the area have thus far
scraped together a grand total
o f $1, 712. 47.
High school sources said the
45 uniforms needed w ill c o s t
$2, 856. 50 according to a uni­
form company estimate. This
leaves only $1, 144 yet to raise
to insure uniforms for the stu­
dents. Or, a lit tle over a dollar
for each f a m i l y residing in
School D istrict 2CJ.
Total funds raised by the Jay­
Cettes to date are $675, raised
from the follow ing projects: bot­
tle drive, $65.81; spaghetti feed,
$30.SO; fruitcake sale, $265. 77;
b i c y c l e give-away, $51.40;
Redhead b a s k e t b a l l game,
$87. 28; spaghetti fe e d , $70;
hypnotists concession, $26, 30;
hootenanny concession, $37. SO;
Jaycee hypnotist show, $18; ba­
zaar concession, $6. 70; hypno­
tis t concession, $15.68.
In addition, the Sorority don­
ated $140 from the hootenanny
and the Back Acres garden club
and St. Christopher's Guild each
donated $5. Pledges to the Jay­
Cette drive include $50 from the
Am erican Legion and the pro­
ceeds from the Rotary- Club's
May talent show. This makes a
total of money raised and the
pledged $50 to $875. 24.
The total amount o f money
available from the Associated
Student Body o f Pacific h ig h
school is $887.23. This includes
an insurance cla im to tlie school
Price Ten Cenci-
tid a l wave in Crescent City.
— Crescent C ity American Photo
that it b e c o m e effective on
Monday, A pril 13, 1964."
The chief added that he and
his fa m ily are also appreciative
of the w a rm friendships they
have established in the area dur­
ing their residence here.
Issel has been police chief
here for the past two years and
two months, coming from Em­
pire. Prior to then he was four
years on The Dalles police de­
partment a n d one and a half
years w ith the Idaho State Po­
lice.
To Cottage Grove
Issel is leaving to assume the
position of chief on the Cottage
Grove police department. He
w ill be incom m andof a seven-
man and fi ve-worn an force. He
was one of 30 applicants for the
position.
New Action Expected On
Elk River Hatchery
Appropriations for completion
of the Elk River fish hatchery
are expected to be requested by
th e State Fish Commission at
the next legislative session, ac­
cording to a report from Rep.
Carl Back this week.
Back said that Herman P. M e ir-
jurgen, chairman of the Com­
mission, from Beaverton, Leo­
nard N. Hall, Charleston, and
Robert Schooning, directors; and
retired hatchery manager of the
C o o s County Hatchery, Frank
Smith, made an inspection of
the Elk hatchery site Saturday,
March 28, and appeared satis­
fied with the location and that
it would meet hatchery require­
ments.
The fish commission has re­
cently completed a four-year
research .project on the rearing
o f salmon and steelhead that has
proven hatcher-raised fish to
be on a standard w ith natural-
raised fish due to new feed form ­
ulas and methods. Commission
requirements ca ll for two hatch­
eries, Back said, one on Elk R iv­
er and one on th e Nehalem
River.
About $20, 000 has already
been invested at the Elk River
site, located just below Anvil
Creek. Completed plans c a l l
for the hatchery', ponds and two
residences.
The Elk River site, Back said,
is owned by the S ta t e Game
Commission but it is expected
that a b ill transferring the prop­
erty, along w ith an appropria­
tions request, w ill be presented
for action to the next legisla-
X
Flynn Says County Lacks
Proper Communications; May
Get Break On Timber Buys
Curry County tiip b e r operators reliable estimates place a rate
w ill very lik e ly be bidding on a of loss of at least six per cent per
Forest Service tim ber sale orig­ year, and the Forest Service is
in a lly thought to favor East side anxious to e lim in a te this dan­
buyers. This possibility comes gerous hazard as soon as possible.
as the result of several inform al
Im portant to Curry County
meetings in Portland last week operators who may wish to bid
between Fred W. Flynn of Brook­ on this sale is the construction
ings and responsible o fficia ls of progress of the Gold Beach—Pow­
t h e Forest Service and 0 C C
ers road proiect. Discussion* on
Counties concerning the Rogue this subject revealed that is con­
River road system and the Shasta tractors on th e bridges, road
Costa sales program. The sale construction and surfacing are
is advertised as the Green Knob a b le to proceed w ith a m in i­
sale and contains approximately mum o f lost tim e due to over­
22 m illio n board feet of tim ber lap of contracts, autom obile and
in an area southwest of Bob's truck tra ffic should be using the
G a r d e n Lookout in the Gold Gold Beach to Powers road by
Beach working circle. A large late summer or early fa ll o f this
volume of this sale consists of year.
tim b e r blown down by the Col­
The Creen Knob sale o rig in ­
umbus Day storm of 1962, and a lly called for the construction
w ith bugs and rot already at work, o f 7.8 miles o f road, but Flynn
reports a sig n ifica n t change iu
plans. The sale has been re-de­
s ig n e d , w i t h approxim ately
400.000 board feet being taken
o ff the s a le from the eastern
side, and roughly about 3 miles
of r o a d construction has been
deleted. This makes the road
Increase notices were m ailed construction a b o u t a toss- up
out this week to more than one from either the east or the west
hundred and fifty owners of prop­ side, and may even favor Cur­
erty along the Rogue River rep­ ry County operators, depending
resenting a gain of more than a on the terrain. West side opera­
m illio n and one half dollars in tors should now be able to bid
co m p e titive ly for this sale, pro­
valuation.
After extensive sales studies, _ vided arrangements are made
it was found that most frontage w ith the road contractor w hich
properties along the Rogue River whould allow the operator touse
has been grossly under valued. the Gold Beach-Powers road dur­
Some parcels have sold for near­ ing construction.
Flynn was given assurance that
ly one hundred times the value
the assessor's o f f i c e showed. the Forest Service co m m ittm e n t
Some o f the developed or im ­ on the big Shasta Costa sale w ill
proved properties were valued be s tric tly adhered to and no sale
at market value or above, those w ill be proposed u n til the Gold
properties w e re adjusted and Beach-Powers r o a d has been
equalized to reflect market va l­ completed. In a le tte r to several
local operators Flynn said, " As
ue.
Land that has been developed I was c h ie fly responsible for the
and improved should not be va l­ $2, 990, 000 appropriation f o r
ued higher t h a n comparable this road when I was a member
property that has exactly the o f the O C C Roads Com m ittee,
I have m aintained an active in ­
some potential.
Each property was viewed and terest in its effect on the devel­
evaluated in d ivid u a lly as to us­ opment o f Curry County's econ­
omy, both as to tim b e r and re­
a b ility and desirability.
creational possibilities. I have
Owners of frontage w ith low ­
written the O&C Counties Asso­
ered or unchanged values w ill
ciation requesting that the Exec­
not receive a notice.
utive Com m ittee keep informed
o f Forest Service comm itments
that Shasta Costa tim b e r be sold
on a com petitive basis, w ith all
NEW PHONE NUMBER
areas involved g i v e n a fair
A telephone listed un­
chance. I did t h i s because it
der the Celebration As­
w as my observation while in
sociation and chamber of
Portland that Curry County does
commerce has been in ­
n o t m aintain adequate com­
stalled at the art center.
m unication w ith the various a-
The number is ED 2-4345.
gencies so im portant to our e-
conomy—present and future.
Rogue Property
Value Increases