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nerd
By RYAN HUME
Vesper
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The Flavel House Museum
Contributor Matt Love takes a self with some of his Astoria High School
students while on a fi eld trip at the Flavel House Museum in Astoria.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
Th e Flavel House Museum
The bus rolled north into town. Destination: the Fla-
vel House Museum. It was a sunny morning in May, and
I was riding herd over my English Credit Recovery class
from Astoria High School. From time to time, they can be a
challenging bunch to engage, but I love their rock and roll
hearts in an age when rock is dead.
I polled the students and discovered that 14 of 16 stu-
dents had never set foot inside the Flavel House — and
most have lived in Astoria their entire lives. That’s why I
take fi eld trips.
As I tallied the sad numbers and commented, the bus
driver turned to me and said, “I’ve lived in Astoria for 50
years and have never been either.” I invited her to join us,
but she had another pick up.
It was a mob scene at the house; a cruise ship had
landed earlier. We ventured inside Capt. Flavel’s former do-
micile, and I let the students fi nd their own way through
deep-paneled history. “Just be cool,” I said. They were.
At one point, I bumped into Luis, and he told me, look-
ing at the high ceilings, “Mr. Love, I think I’d be smarter if I
lived in this house.” Another student, Shayla, said, “You’ll be
sure to get some ghost shots in here; they’re attracted to
me.” Two other students, Leoba and Becky, shared the sto-
ry of the other Flavel House in town with several tourists
and delighted them with the tale.
Several of us rallied in one of the parlors and found
ourselves standing in front of a huge oval mirror. Naturally,
one of the students wanted to take a selfi e. To liven things
up, I threw us all in the frame together for posterity … or at
least 15 seconds of fl eeting fame. A few minutes later, we
Matt Love is author/editor of 12 books about Oregon.
They are available at all coastal bookstores or through
www.nestuccaspitpress.com. He lives in Astoria.
noun
1. East of Seaside, a current-
ly unincorporated and once
isolated agricultural communi-
ty that could only be reached
by ferry up the Nehalem
River, which separates the
locale from Jewell. Vanguard
attempts to carve automo-
bile-passable roads in 1900
would result in some of Clatsop
County’s most expensive infra-
structure repairs circa the early
20th century
2. Old 77 Vesper Lane: a
historic gravel road that slips
alongside the Nehalem River
3. Oregon Vesper Sparrow
(Pooecetes gramineus affi nins):
An Oregon Conservation
Strategy-status subspecies of
P. gramineus that breeds west
of the Cascades, winters in the
Southwest U.S. or Northern
Mexico and rings in the spring
in the Willamette Valley; pred-
ators include fi re, agricultural
practices, domestic cats and
other invasive species
Origin:
1400s. Related to the Greek ਦı
ʌȑȡĮor Hespera, one of the three
sunset nymphs in Greek mythol-
ogy, whose name means, “Light
of Evening,” and is commonly
associated with the planet Venus,
this particular off shoot comes into
English through a Latinate of the
same spelling by way of the Mid-
dle French, vesper, both meaning,
“evening star.” In some branches of
Catholicism, Vespers is the name
of the evening prayer service,
and is colloquially known as the
vesper hour. The date on which
Irish immigrant William Johnston
named the area in Clatsop County
for the evening star is unknown,
though Johnston established the
fi rst U.S. Post Offi ce there in 1879
and would go on to build the
town’s fi rst church out of good,
local Douglas fi r.
“Vesper is not now a post offi ce, although it
had been in the past.
—Lewis A. McArthur, “Oregon Geographic
Names,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2, June,
1927, p. 195
“The late storm has caused the Clats-
kanie-Mist-Vesper mail carrier a considerable
amount of trouble, as travelling was very diffi cult
between Mist and Vesper, owing to the rapidly
rising river, bridges out, etc. But Tom is not a
fellow to give up and he managed to get Uncle
Sam’s mail through to Mist from Vesper, when he
pressed L. O. Vadnais into service by having him
bring the mail over the mountain by auto.”
—Chief, “Clatskanie.,” St. Helens Mist, Friday, De-
cember 31, 1915, p. 3
Maritime Museum off ers Friday and Sunday events
ASTORIA — Join the Co-
lumbia River Maritime Muse-
um for our First Friday Nights
series from 7 to 9 p.m. June 5
at the Barbey Maritime Center.
Plunder some fun at the First
Friday Pirate Bash. Assist a
landlubber in walking the plank
at One-Eyed Willy’s dunk tank.
Test your range of skill at the
Buccaneer bag toss. Sway to the
melodies and rhythms of Port-
land-based musicians Robin Ba-
cior and Chris Miller. Relax with
a tankard of grog and some grub
at the “Hogshead Tavern” cash
bar, courtesy of Fulio’s. Come
dressed as your favorite pirate
persona and win the title of best
dressed Swashbuckler.
First Friday Nights are enter-
taining, casual and social. This
series is held from 7 to 9 p.m. on
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and includes a mix of live music,
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demonstrations and hands-on ac-
tivities. A cash bar and inspired
snacks will be available. CRMM
First Fridays are free of charge.
Courtesy Columbia River Maritime Museum
Kids enjoy hands-on activities at the Co-
lumbia River Maritime Museum.
um’s 3-D movies: “Galapagos”
and “Turtle Vision.”
Investigate our Crittercam
footage of Galapagos residents
like the giant tortoise, Galapa-
gos sea lions, albatross and the
Galapagos Reef octopus. Create
your very own ocean in a bottle
complete with a unique species
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gos story time led by a Colum-
bia River Maritime Museum
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our Animal Adaptation Magnet
Board. Get into character with
N
C H I L L I
Prem ier Purveyors of
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M r. D oobees only stocks
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L E
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P U R E H A P P I N ESS
First Sunday
Family Program
The Columbia River Mari-
time Museum celebrates the next
First Sunday Family Program
June 7. The programs are a time
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and are inspired by the muse-
our Blue Footed Booby dance
lessons. Test your Ring of Fire
knowledge in our mapping ac-
tivity.
First Sunday activities run
from 10:30 to 3:30 Sunday, June
7. Included with paid admission,
members are free.
This w eeks featu red grow er/processor
B LE W E T T P A S S F A R M S
O PEN D AILY
sum m er ho urs: 10 AM - 8 PM
O n H w y 101 betw een Raym o n d & So u th Ben d
Find us on
2870 O cean Ave Raym o n d W A 98577
(across from the sm all cem ent plant)
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the influe nc e o f this d rug . The re m a y be he a lth risk s a sso c ia te d w ith c o nsum ptio n o f this pro d uc t. F o r use o nly by a d ults tw e nty-o ne a nd o ld e r. K e e p o ut o f re a c h o f c hild re n.
May 28, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 23
