THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015
COMMUNITY
1B
HE GAVE 150 PERCENT
DEATH BY SALSA
ROUNDABOUT FIX
F
irst ran Jan. 15, 2010: The Ear wanted to know more about Ar-
vid Wuonola, who had a sign-painting business in Astoria for
56 years. He is pictured top left, in 1985; bottom left, during World
War II; and bottom right, painting a window in Astoria.
“It was unusual growing up in a small town with the added fea-
ture of one’s father being recognized by all, and known and beloved
by many,” Arvid’s son, Mark Wuonola, wrote. He is pictured, up-
per right.
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worked with. He was one of those people with the blessing that he
loved his work. He had struggled when he started his business in
the depth of the Great Depression.” He had already practiced and
learned brush lettering at Knappa-Svensen High School.
Jon Westerholm recalled that his mother graduated with the
painter, who “could draw like mad, and enjoyed doing it.”
“He never took shortcuts,” Mark said. “If the piece of wood for
a sign would have looked good enough for most sign painters to
letter the sign onto, ‘good enough’ wasn’t good enough for him. An
extra coat of paint it was. I worked for him Saturdays and summers
... and remember how he scrutinized my work. And, I should add,
his own.
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town ... he liked meeting the people. He was a people guy, and gen-
erally ended up being introduced to the stars because he was larger
than life himself — his warmth, his smile, his genuineness.”
“His business was very successful,” Mark added. “He loved to
work (and) greatly admired the ‘Abraham Lincoln of legend.’ Even
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tion than fact, Arvid Wuonola believed them as if they were gospel.
And what is important is that he lived them. He gave his customers
150 percent.”
EXCITING TIMES
F
F
rom Nov. 26, 2010: Cleve Rolfe of Seaside asked what was
going to be done about the hole, pictured left, in the 26-foot tall
Indian head statue near the Astoria roundabout. Huh? Research
time.
The cedar statue, made from a giant log, was created by Pe-
ter Wolf Toth (www.dcschumaker.com) as part of the Trail of the
Whispering Giants, which were created in all 50 states, and some
Canadian provinces, to honor Native Americans. The Astoria stat-
ue, “Ikala Nawan,” or “Man Who Fishes,” honors the tribes of the
North Coast. It is number 57 in the series, and was dedicated in 1987.
After carving his way across the country, the artist retreated to
his studio in Edgewater, Fla., although he’s been known to visit his
statues and do repairs. Was that an option here? Regina Willkie at
the Astoria–Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce directed me to
the city of Astoria, which sent me to JP Moss of the Astoria Parks &
Recreation Department.
He was most helpful, and so was Dick Magathan, who did re-
pairs to the statue six years ago — in that same spot, by the way
— by making a cedar plug. They were not aware the statue needed
a new patch.
Iliana Arroyo of the Parks Department called the artist to see if
he was available. Nope, not for at least a year, but no matter, the hole
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He went out with a bucket truck, carved a 2-inch by 8-inch cedar
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hours, Mark said, and was “sort of fun.”
If Ikala Nawan could crack a smile, the Ear is sure he would.
irst ran April 8, 2011: If you ever decide to go “Borgia” and
start poisoning people, you could take a lesson from creative
chef/murderer Dorothea Puente, pictured, right.
She recently died in prison after being convicted of murdering
her Sacramento, Calif., boarders by poisoning their food with the
sleeping drug Dalmane and burying them in her backyard so she
could cash their Social Security checks. She maintained her inno-
cence to the end, claiming they died of “natural causes.”
Shane Bugbee, pictured left, contacted “Thea” because he was in-
terested in doing an article about female serial murderers, and wound
up co-authoring a cookbook with her instead, “Cooking With A
Serial Killer, Recipes from Dorothea Puente” (2004). One reviewer
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And, the results are quite tasty. One of her (lucky to still be alive)
boarders told an investigator that mealtime at her house was “like
having Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and Labor Day
every single day of the month.”
“I recall she was very interested in talking,” Shane told the Ear, “…
(and she) jumped at the idea of a cookbook because it wasn’t a book
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“Try her favorite salsa,” Shane advised wryly. “It’s killer!”
‘TO GO’ GONE WRONG
F
irst ran March 22, 2013: “I bought this old postcard (pic-
tured) on eBay,” Kevin Violette told the Ear. “It shows
Shively Park shortly after the 1911 centennial.”
“The card is great,” Kevin added, “but even better is the
message. It reads: ‘Well, Agnes, if you want excitement, come
to Astoria and see the Finns and Swedes — why the town is
alive with them. Shall I say I’m having an immense time? Car-
mel.’”
irst ran Feb. 10, 2012: Bruce McBride, pictured in a photo by
Bob Sharp, is the owner of Rollin’ Thunder BBQ at 77 11th
St. A woman named Caroline called Bruce with a nice, big order of
two racks of ribs and a dozen pieces of cornbread for her Super Bowl
party. She would pick the goodies up at 4 p.m. Sunday.
On Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, Caroline called him at 1:15
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He explained that he was at the foot of 11th Street, near the river.
And wondered why she was calling so early. She was on Ditmars
Boulevard, she told him. “In Astoria?” he asked. “Yes, Astoria,
Queens,” she answered. As in New York. She was near a body of
water, all right, but the wrong one.
Fortunately, Bruce wound up having a very heavy demand for
ribs on Sunday, so he sold all of the extras he’d made for his al-
most-customer.
And a good time was had by all — except perhaps, the hungry
woman lost in Queens.
ASCENT, YES; CONSENT, NO
THERE’S THE BEEF
SHIP SHAPE
F
F
irst ran April 23, 2010: Last week the Ear was wonder-
ing about the origin of the Bowpicker topiary hedge (pic-
tured) in Astoria, and several people wrote in or called with the
story. Thank you all!
“Denny Thompson owned and operated Thompson’s As-
toria Granite Works,” Denny’s niece, Cindy Thompson Daly
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and loved to visit the Columbia Boat Yards in Astoria, and spe-
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Denny’s wife, Frankye, a nurse at Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital, “was relaxing in the sun one day and looked at the hedge
and asked Denny if it was about the length of a gillnet boat,”
Cindy wrote. “Denny thought that was a crazy thing to ask.
irst ran April 22, 2011: The cover story in last week’s Daily As- Guess it wasn’t, as soon thereafter he was busy trimming it into
torian about Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach reminded Mert that shape.” The couple are pictured, inset, in 2009.
Norman about her father’s adventure with the famous 235-foot-tall
“The laurel hedge was planted approximately 40 years ago,
landmark. She dug around until she found the story from the Astoria and within 10 years was tall enough to be trimmed to look like
Budget, dated July 16, 1927:
a bowpicker gillnet boat,” Cindy explained. “Denny then began
“Arriving from Europe a few days before, Arthur Petersen trimming the hedge himself to match Matt Tolonen’s design.”
(pictured left), visited Cannon Beach and ... undertook the ascent
Diane Beeston wrote that Denny “used to trim the hedge
of Haystack Rock. Without alpine equipment, he found a favorable with the use of his hoist used for lifting large blocks of gran-
ledge leading to the summit, which he attained in 20 minutes, to the ite. His wife stood and manipulated the direction controls at
surprise and terror of those watching on the beach.” Yikes. She told his command. I had the privilege of seeing this one time. It was
WKH(DUWKDWDFFRUGLQJWRDQRWKHUDUWLFOHKHZDVWKH¿UVWRQHWRPDNH very entertaining.”
the climb.
“Denny’s grandson carried on duties of trimming the hedge,
So why did he do it? Being fresh from Germany, he only spoke and when he moved away, Denny hired local landscaper Tal
a few words of English, and didn’t know it wasn’t allowed. “He just Gohl to continue to keep the hedge looking pristine,” Cindy
took his shoes off and climbed right up,” Mert chuckled.
added. “Now you have the rest of the story.”
F
F
irst ran Feb. 25, 2011: Break out the Pepto -Bismol. Alli Calder
of Gearhart (pictured inset) had a Sweet 16 Birthday Party,
and celebrated with a 50-pound homemade bacon cheeseburger
she shared with friends and family.
Mark Kenny of Seaside made the monster burger “very care-
fully” on his Weber barbecue grill, then added 3 pounds of bacon,
5 pounds of cheese, 3 pounds of onions, 12 tomatoes and Thousand
Islands dressing.
Yes, he made the bun, too, which weighed in at around 12
pounds. He said the biggest homemade burger in the Guinness Book
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broke the record.
“She really loved it: It was a big hit at the party,” Mark added. “It
was a birthday she’ll never forget.” No doubt.
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Cannon Beach American Le-
gion Women’s Auxiliary Breakfast
— 9 to 11:30 a.m., American Le-
gion, 1216 S. Hemlock St., Cannon
Beach.
Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m.,
Sixth Street parking lot. Cape Falcon
hike, starts at Oswald West parking
lot next to rest rooms at 9:45 a.m.
For information, call June Baumler at
503-368-4323.
Columbia Northwestern Mod-
el Railroading Club — 1 p.m., in
Hammond. Group runs trains on
HO-scale layout. For information,
call Don Carter at 503-325-0757.
SUNDAY
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation $3 for those older than 60;
$6.75 for those younger than 60. For
information, call Michelle Lewis at
503-861-4200.
Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside.
Cost is $1 per regular session per
person. Players with highest and
second highest scores split the prize.
Game is designed for players 55 and
older, but all ages are welcome.
Columbia Senior Diners —
11:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church
(lower level), 565 12th St. Cost is $5.
For information, or to have a meal
delivered, call 503-325-9693.
Astoria Alzheimer’s & Other
Dementia Family Support Group
— 2 to 3:30 p.m., ¿rst-Àoor con-
ference room, Clatsop Care Cen-
ter, 646 16th St. Open to all family
members of people with dementias.
For information, call Rosetta Hurley
at 503-325-0313, ext. 222, or email
support@clatsopcare.org
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
gram — noon, Warrenton Commu-
nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug-
gested donation of $5 for seniors
and $7 for those younger than 60.
For information, or to volunteer, call
503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday.
Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m.,
Seaside American Legion, 1315
Broadway. For information, call 503-
738-5111. No cost; suggested $5 tip
to the instructor.
Astoria Rotary Club — noon,
second Àoor of the Astoria (lks
Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always
welcome. For information, go to
www.AstoriaRotary.org
MONDAY
Knochlers Pinochle Group —
1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
TUESDAY
Do Nothing Club — 10 a.m.
to noon, 24002 U St., Ocean Park,
Wash. Men’s group. For informa-
tion, call Jack McBride at 360-665-
2721.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested
donation of $3 for those older than
60; $6.75 for those younger than
60. For information, call Michelle
Lewis at 503-861-4200.
Astoria Toastmasters — 6:30
p.m., Hotel (lliot conference room,
357 12th St. Visitors welcome. For
information, go to www.toastmas-
ters.org or call 503-894-0187.
Columbia Senior Diners
— 11:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran
Church (lower level), 565 12th St.
The cost is $5. For information, or
to have a meal delivered, call 503-
325-9693.
Line Dancing for Seniors — 6
to 7:30 p.m., Astoria Senior Center,
temporarily located at 1555 W. Ma-
rine Drive in the old Astoria Yacht
Club. For information, call 503-325-
3231.
Astoria Kiwanis Club —
noon, (l Tapatio, 229 W. Marine
Drive. For information, call Robert
McClelland at 503-894-0187 or
Susan Brooks at 503-741-0186 or
503-338-4994.
Astoria Lions Club — noon,
Astoria (lks Lodge, 453 11th St.
Prospective members welcome.
For information, contact Charlene
Larsen at 503-325-0590.
Warrenton Kiwanis Club —
noon, Doogers Seafood and Grill,
103 U.S. Highway 101, Warrenton.
For information, call Darlene War-
ren at 503-861-2672.
Warrenton Caregiver Sup-
port Group — 1:30 to 3 p.m., 2002
S.(. Chokeberry Ave., Warrenton.
Support, information and resourc-
es for caregivers. For information,
call Grace Bruseth at 503-738-
6412.
Duane St. Bring a spinning wheel.
For information, call 503-325-5598
or go to http:astoria¿berarts.com
Lower Columbia Hospice
Bereavement Support Group —
4:30 to 6 p.m., Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital Community Center,
Chinook Conference Room, 2021
Marine Drive. Open to age 18 or
older. For information, call 503-
338-6230.
North Coast Chapter, ABATE
of Oregon — 5:30 p.m., Astoria
Moose Lodge, 420 17th Street. All
are welcome. For information, call
503-791-7253.
Line Dancing for Seniors —
1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Astoria Senior
Center, temporarily located at
1555 W. Marine Drive in the old
Astoria Yacht Club. For informa-
tion, call 503-325-3231.
Peninsula Arts Association
— 6 p.m., PAA Of¿ce, Long Beach
Depot Building, Third Street N.
and Paci¿c Highway, Long Beach,
Wash. All are welcome. For infor-
mation, call 360-665-6041 or go to
http://beachartist.org
Spinning Circle — 3 to 5 p.m.,
Astoria Fiber Arts Academy, 1296
See NOTES, Page 2B