Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 Cabin: Origin of the dwelling is still a mystery Continued from Page 1A VWDFNHGKLJKRULJLQDOO\¿W together so tightly there was QRQHHGWRDGGFKLQNLQJWR¿OO in gaps. Fine woodworking, sim- ilar to making a cabinet rather than a settlers’ cabin, joined the floor, walls and roof so well that no nails were needed until a centu- ry later. In 1892, the whole building was taken apart, moved on a wagon from its original site and reconstruct- ed by craftsmen perhaps with lesser skills than the original builders. In 2008, the deteriorat- ing structure, which had been a house, animal shelter, machine shed and the Fox Granary, was disassembled and moved again to a stor- age facility. Here, it’s been analyzed, preserved and re- stored. Gregg Olson of Historic Building Repair, who has saved several of Oregon’s oldest log buildings, has been using antique hand tools to recreate pieces too fragile to be part of the re- built structure. Each origi- nal piece has been carefully saved and documented. Moving this hefty rem- nant of Oregon’s pioneer history is daunting. Fragile wood eroded by the elements requires that each log be lift- ed from its position and hand carried to a flat-bed truck. But the original build- ers made it easier: The logs were hand hewn to act like giant Lincoln Log that could be assembled, then disas- sembled. Pencil marks re- veal an ingenious numbering system. “It’s interesting, whatev- er it is and whoever built it,” says Olson, who has been working painstakingly for seven years with architec- tural historian Pam Hayden to unearth the origins of the dwelling. Renegade Russian fur AP Photo/The Oregonian, Michael Lloyd This photo shows the restoration of the Molalla Log House in Molalla. If experts’ theories pan out, the 18-foot-wide structure predates the start of Lewis and Clark’s 1804 expedition by a decade. trappers? Optimistic colo- nists? Adventurous Europe- ans allowed to briefly stake a small claim in the west- ern foothills of the Cascade Mountains where Native Americans had lived for cen- turies? Olson and Hayden don’t know. But they do have theories, stacks of research and dating methods that lead them to believe the structure may have been built in 1799, or at least between 1795 and 1810. Their almost 200-page treatise, titled “Molalla Log House-Fox Granary, Theory of the Origins of a Potential Surviving Relic of a 1790s Russian Occupation of the Oregon Country,” tracks their exhaustive study of ar- chitectural history, archaeol- ogy, dendrochronology and historic preservation. AP Photo/The Oregonian, Michael Lloyd Gregg Olson, of Historic Building Repair, speaks about the restoration of the Molalla Log House in Molalla. Olson, who has saved several of Oregon’s oldest log buildings, has been using antique hand tools to recreate pieces too fragile to be part of the rebuilt structure. Each original piece has been carefully saved and documented. If it’s true, the settlers in the wilderness — Olson thinks from 10 to 50 people — may have agreed to grow food in the fertile Willamette Valley to trade with the Rus- sian ships plying the Colum- bia River and supply the fur company headquartered on Alaska’s Kodiak Island. Sea lions: Port of Astoria turned over surveillance video to investigators Continued from Page 1A Sea lions and other pinni- peds are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA authorizes wild- life managers in Oregon and Washington to trap and kill fewer than 100 sea lions a year seen eating salmon at the Bonneville dam. But there have been recent reports, from the one in Asto- ria to others along the North Coast, of them washing up on beaches with what could be bullet wounds. Anyone with information about any violations of the marine mammal act are asked to call NOAA’s hotline at 800- 853-1964. Port of Astoria Execu- tive Director Jim Knight said NOAA went to the basin and found 19 .380-caliber bul- let casings, and the Port has turned over surveillance vid- eo to investigators. Knight said he’s been told of a few dead sea lions, including one on Clatsop Spit, another at the basin and another in between the U.S. Coast Guard cutters on the 17th Street Dock. Fort Stevens State Park ranger Dustin Bessette said he’s noticed six sea lions be- tween Gearhart and the South Jetty washing up dead. “It’s kind of early,” he said, adding that sea lions washing up are a yearly occurrence. “I expect them to show up on the beach to molt, but I’ve only seen one of those.” On one occasion, Bessette said, he went to the beach with an assistant from the Seaside Aquarium and found a dead VHDOLRQZLWKZKDW¿UVWORRNHG to him like a wound from a FDOLEHUULÀHRUELUGVKRW “It looks to be bullet holes from someone shooting them,” he said. “My guess is D¿VKHUPDQULJKWRIIWKHEDW´ Bessette cautioned that only a necropsy can tell for certain whether they were bullet holes. “If it’s one that shows up on the beach, we tell the Seaside Aquarium,” Bessette Clues still sought about seal death a year ago By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group OCEAN PARK, Wash. — Not even the promise of a $5,000 cash reward has tempt- ed tipsters into providing useful information about the unsolved April 2014 killing of a mother seal and disappearance of her new- born pup. “We have closed (the investigation) in our system with no actionable leads,” said NOAA Special Agent Sean Stanley in a March 31 phone interview. Stanley, who is based in Port- land, oversees the Astoria-based federal en- IRUFHPHQWRI¿FHUVZKRLQYHVWLJDWHGWKHFDVH On April 20, 2014, an Ocean Park retiree and volunteer animal rescuer discovered that someone had driven over the mother seal, who was resting in a protected area after giving birth to her pup. The pup had vanished. The moth- er, who was mortally injured, had to be euth- anized. The two seals were in an area near the dunes that had been marked off with signs, leading investigators to believe someone had hurt the VHDOVLQWHQWLRQDOO\12$$RI¿FHUVODXQFKHGDQ investigation, but aside from a fresh tire track, they had few clues to work with. In May 2014, the animal rights group Peo- ple for the Ethical Treatment of Animals of- fered a $5,000 reward for anyone who could offer information that resulted in the killer’s ar- rest and conviction. A PETA spokesperson said the group has successfully used this strategy to get informants to speak up in other unsolved animal cruelty cases. In this case however, no-one who had via- ble tips came forward. Stanley said that investigators still think someone might know who ran over the seal. If so, they hope that person will get in touch. “We’re not maintaining it as an open case, said. “If we don’t get to it within three or four days, my response last year was to bury them.” Tiffany Boothe, an ad- ministrative assistant at the Seaside Aquarium, said her organization helps with the necropsies and does get re- ports of a number of shot ani- mals each year. “In the recent week, we’ve been getting a lot of calls,” Boothe said. “Usually, they’re from the Sea Lion Defense Brigade. They’re reporting all sorts of things.” Photo courtesy of Suzy Whittey A mother harbor seal, who had recent- ly given birth, was found dead on the beach north of the Ocean Park beach approach nearly a year ago, and is thought to have been a victim of an in- tentional vehicular killing. but it’s easily openable if leads were to come in,” Stanley said. Pinnipeds — seals and sea lions — are be- loved by some locals, despised by others. They can create a smelly, noisy nuisance at waterfront IDFLOLWLHVDQGWKH\FRPSHWHZLWK¿VKHUPHQIRU the catch. Stanley said locals do sometimes ha- rass, haze, or even hurt pinnipeds, but he hasn’t heard of any other cases in recent history where a person made such an apparently cruel, deliber- ate attempt to harm a marine mammal. Kristin Simon, a cruelty casework manager for PETA, said that the organization will still offer the reward if someone can provide infor- mation that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. “We want that person brought to justice. We are willing to put our money where our mouth is,” Simon said. Anyone with information about the incident should contact the NOAA tip hotline at 800- 853-1964 Stanley reported earlier this month to the Chinook Observer that NOAA’s case into the killing of a mother harbor seal on the Long Beach (Wash.) Peninsula last year was closed, with no action- able leads. The seal had been run over. (See related story) The Sea Lion Defense Brigade monitors actions regarding sea lions on their Facebook page, decrying their treatment. It has more than 4,000 likes and has been around for several years. Another Facebook page, “You Know You Hate Sea Li- ons When …” started March 25 as a sort of online rebuttal, a place for people to voice their displeasure with sea li- ons. Some of its more than 200 members went so far as to post photos of buckshot shells and other ammunition, talking about the bygone GD\V ZKHQ ¿VKHUPHQ FRXOG simply shoot sea lions eating WKHLU¿VK “Met a few (sea lions) on the shrimp grounds, They are no longer active,” Ted John- son wrote on the page. Restore Oregon, the Na- tional Trust for Historic Preservation, Clackamas County Cultural Coalition and Molalla Area Historical Society have supported the restoration and preservation efforts. The Kinsman Foun- dation’s grants funded much of the work. “The unique construction and extraordinary crafts- manship of the Molalla Log House offer fascinating clues to a mystery that we didn’t even know existed about the earliest white ex- ploration and settlement of the Pacific Northwest,” says Peggy Moretti, executive di- rector of Restore Oregon, a nonprofit organization with preservation efforts that span from the pioneer-era to mid- century modern buildings. “It may well add a new chapter to our history,” she adds, “and we hope more evidence will be uncovered to further substantiate Pam and Gregg’s very compelling theory.” In 1991, with Hayden’s guidance, Clackamas Coun- ty declared the log building a historic landmark. In 2007, after she retired as an his- toric preservation specialist, she rode by the building. The roof had caved in and the structure was in danger of collapsing. She worked with the property owner to donate both the building and money to save it. Volunteers helped move the pieces inside a warehouse. Volunteers are needed again. The structure will be dis- assembled and moved May 1-3 to another storage facili- ty. People willing to help can contact Hayden at pamela- hayden@gmail.com. Olson and Hayden hope this is the last time the Mo- lalla Log House will be up- rooted until it finally finds a permanent home. Hayden says they are searching for a site and funding so the log structure can be interpreted for its architectural and cul- tural history. The project team also needs help to find out the complete story of what could be Oregon’s oldest struc- ture: Who built it and why? Anyone with knowledge of 18th-century European con- struction and Oregon history who has information should contact Hayden. Restore Oregon’s Moret- ti is also eager to open a new chapter in the state’s history. “As with later settle- ment-era buildings, we stand in awe of the skills, fortitude and hand-hewn pioneer spir- it the Molalla Log House embodies,” says Moretti. “It deserves a permanent, protected place where those important lessons can be passed forward.” Vandals: There’s no way to really secure the lighthouse Continued from Page 1A Tillamook County District Court judge who heard Park rangers say there is their case. no way to really secure the They could have faced lighthouse. The park has felony charges for their installed gates at various drunken shooting spree, park attractions for secu- but a plea deal pieced to- rity reasons before. A gate, gether by the judge, the for example, blocks vehi- district attorney and de- cle access to Beards Hol- fense attorneys and ap- low after hours. But such a proved by federal agen- gate would be problematic cies, state agencies and at North Head because of D ORFDO QRQSUR¿W JURXS the vacation rentals locat- sentenced them to serving ed at the site. Access must three 16-day stints in the remain open there because county jail over the next of guests coming and go- three years and paying ing, Schwalb said. $100,000 in restitution. Still, he added, addi- (One of the men, 24 WLRQDOVHFXULW\LV³GH¿QLWH- years old at the time, was ly something we’re look- later arrested for violating ing in to.” the terms of his probation. He and other rangers According to news reports could not remember a case from 2011, he showed up of vandalism happening at the Tillamook County at the lighthouse before. 6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH WR FODLP When the news broke on- property investigators had line, many readers were seized during the light- outraged, asking who house case smelling of would want to damage alcohol and high on meth- such an important, histor- adone.) ical structure. “Makes me The destroyed Fresnel sick,” one reader com- lens at Cape Meares was mented. “Some have no virtually irreplaceable; respect or appreciation for the damage done to North anything — seems that Head is not nearly so bad. beauty brings out the ugly ,WVRULJLQDODQWLTXH¿UVWRU- in some people. Very sad.” der Fresnel lens, lit on May 16, 1898, is safely housed Could have in the nearby Lewis and been worse Clark Interpretive Center. In 2010, however, two A fourth-order lens that men wreaked far more ex- replaced it in 1935 is now pensive havoc on Oregon’s displayed at the Columbia Cape Meares Lighthouse River Maritime Museum ZKHQ WKH\ ¿UHG VKRWV DW in Astoria. An electric ap- the lighthouse, shattering pliance how provides the 15 windows and the his- lighthouse’s light. toric, hand-ground Fres- North Head’s exterior nel lens made in France needs to be re-coated any- more than 120 years ago. way, rangers said, though The men pleaded guilty that work is not currently to two counts of criminal scheduled to occur any- mischief in the second time soon. It is possible degree, admitting they it could be re-coated next had been drinking at the year, Schwalb said. Right time but still taking re- now, contractors are more sponsibility for “one stu- concerned with the interior pid night” where they had where years of accumu- done “some really stupid lated moisture has eaten things,” in the words of the away at the structure.