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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 Gustafson: He was part of the ¿rst graduating First Presbyterian class from the college’s preservation program Church dresses up Continued from Page 1A the church. The hall has more than 50 windows, which Gus- tafson is restoring through next summer. He visits, takes out three or four windows at a time, and heads back to his Albany workshop in a former evaporated milk warehouse. “You don’t want it to look shiny and brand new,” he said. “That’s not the point of histor- ic restoration.” Gustafson, who said he has never replaced a window in his career, mainly focuses on repairing wood rot and other weather damage around the windows, most visible on the south and west sides of the building continually pounded by wind and rain. His process to repair the win- dows is a mix of high-tech, organic and antique tech- nology. He takes off paint and glazing putty using an infrared heater, paints using organic linseed oil from Swe- den and fabricates new parts for the window using pre- World War II woodworking tools. Making it When he started college in 2009, Gustafson, his wife Marcia and their 1-year-old son, Donevan, lived large- ly through the charity of the community. They stayed at his family’s farm outside As- toria, trading handiwork for room and board, before mov- ing into Astoria to be closer to his schooling. They ate off food stamps and distressed vegetables from the Astoria Co-op Gro- cery, Gustafson said, while he rode his bike everywhere because they couldn’t afford gas. His wife was the main breadwinner of the family, he said, while he played Mr. Mom and went to school, ar- riving two weeks late to start the year. “He was a terrible student, a pain in the ass,” joked Luc- By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Chris Gustafson’s company, Vintage Window Restoration, is restoring the windows around Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church of Astoria. Pictured, from left, are daughter Jennarose, wife and company co-owner Marcia, son Donevan and Gustafson. ien Swerdloff, director of the college’s 6-year-old histor- ic preservation program, in which Gustafson was one of the ¿rst students. Gustafson, Swerdloff said, was the kind of student who became really engaged, took every possible work- shop and had internships with local craftspeople. Most students decide where they want to focus by their second year, said Swerdloff, but Gustafson didn’t reach that point until shortly be- fore graduation. In his second year, Gus- tafson said he siphoned off gas from vehicles around the family farm to ¿ll his tank and drive to a window restoration project at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Wash. The project ended up cementing his inter- est in windows. Gustafson was part of the ¿rst graduating class from the college’s historic preservation program, which has about 30 graduates. About three-quar- ters of those graduates are working in historic restoration Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Linda Oldenkamp shows one of the restored windows in- side the First Presbyterian Church of Astoria Tuesday. or related ¿elds. Gustafson said he might be the only one doing windows professional- ly. He and his family moved to Corvallis, where he stud- ied recreation and resource management for a year, while ¿xing windows to help pay for his education. While his interest in earning the bach- elor’s degree quickly waned, his side job quickly turned into his life’s passion. “I told people I could ¿x a window, and I was in business.” Paying it forward “That program has given me such a freaking awesome quality of life,” Gustafson said of the college’s histor- ic restoration program, add- ing he tries to pay it forward whenever he can. Running the company with his wife and a bookkeeper, Gus- tafson teaches workshops for Last year, the First Pres- byterian Church of Astoria embarked on a three-year campaign called “Let’s Get Dressed Up” to restore its now 112-year-old sanctuary and nearly 80-year-old Fel- lowship Hall. The church has reached the midpoint of the three- phase project, hiring Astoria native Chris Gustafson this summer to restore more than 50 windows on Fellowship Hall “The ¿rst priority was the painting of the sanctu- ary, which happened last summer,” said Linda Olden- kamp, a clerk for the church’s elected body of elders. “The second priority was Fellow- ship Hall’s windows.” Oldenkamp said the painting of the yellow, cream and brown of the sanctuary last summer cost more than 50,000. Once ¿nished, the church went out for bids on the Fellowship Hall windows and received three or four of- fers. In May, the “Let’s Get Dressed Up” committee se- lected Gustafson, a graduate of Clatsop Community Col- lege’s historic preservation and restoration program. “We didn’t take his bid because he was local or be- cause he had gone through the college as an adjunct faculty member and takes on paid in- terns who help with his projects. “I choose these students because they understand the Secretary of Interior Stan- dards,” Chris said, adding most of his projects are fund- ed through government orga- nizations like the State Histor- ic Preservation 2f¿ce. Gustafson travels the state, restoring the windows of community landmarks, such the college’s program,” Oldenkamp said, adding Gustafson’s bid was far and away the most professional. Fellowship Hall has more than 50 windows needing restoration, she said. This summer, Gustafson is work- ing on the south and west fa- cades, long battered by wind and rain, moving on to the east and west next year. Oldenkamp estimated it will take more than $60,000 to restore the windows. The church has been raising money from its congrega- tion of about 60, families with a connection to the church and the community at large. The church, which esti- mated about $1,200 for re- storing each of the windows, recently started an adopt-a- window program, complete with funky, hymn- and win- dow-themed donation levels like “Hallelujah Cornice” $1,200, “Amazing Glaze” $600, “Just a Closer Caulk with Thee” $300, “Be Sill My Soul” $100 and “Just As I Jamb,” open for any do- nation level. The ¿nal phase of the restoration, Oldenkamp said, will be repairing a porch on the northeast side of the church. To follow the “Let’s Get Dressed Up” restoration project, visit www.¿rstpres- byterianastoria.org as a U.S. Coast Guard Station in Bandon, a masonic lodge in Burns and, most recently, an armory in Cottage Grove. “When it all ¿rst started, it was terrifying and ¿lled with uncertainty of where life would be next week,” he said of creating his own career. “Now … the bills are covered. We have a retirement plan. We get to go on vacation. “Is it success? I guess you could call it success.” Cape D: Ports of Chinook and Ilwaco say they’re busier than ever Continued from Page 1A The ports of Chinook and Ilwaco say they are busier than ever. Trucks and boat trailers line the streets of Chinook. Port Manager Ashley Davis said they enlisted the help of state patrol to help manage traf¿c so that the people lined up in their vehicles, waiting to launch their boats, didn’t completely shut down the road through town. In Cape Disappointment, near the public boat launch, on a recent after- noon, the main and overÀow parking lots were ¿lled with vehicles and boat trailers; some were even parked in a grassy area at the center of a round- about at the far end of the main parking lot. The ¿sh cleaning stations have been getting con- stant use all summer long, park rangers say. With the facilities are no longer available, there have been complaints. The nearest public ¿sh-cleaning station now is the one installed only this year at the Port of Chinook. The Port of Ilwaco passed a “zero tol- erance” ordinance forbidding ¿sh cleaning in the marina this year and has no plans to install a public ¿sh-cleaning station. A work of art State Parks is considering what to do with Lin’s 10-year- old installation, a large block of basalt that was recently re-en- graved with words from the Chinook Indian creation story. Painter said it may be relocat- ed to some other site inside the park where it can be appreciat- ed as an object. “Artwork is something we really value,” Painter said. Signs and wooden gates now block access to the facilities. Painter said concerns about the park’s cleaning stations “came from so many different places.” The closure was not the result of a speci¿c threat of litigation or intervention from the Washington State Depart- ment of Ecology or others, she said. Leaders at the Port of Ilwa- co were worried that ¿sh parts dumped into the water could attract sea lions to the area — record numbers of the pinni- peds hit marinas in Astoria this spring. Ilwaco Port Manager Guy Glenn Jr., said the port voiced its concerns to the De- partment of Ecology in March. Currently, there is no ex- isting mechanism at the site to contain and treat solid ¿sh waste and no permit has ever been issued to allow this waste to be disposed of in Baker Bay. “I certainly understand the concern,” said Colin Fogarty executive director of the Con- Àuence Project, a multi-lo- cation interpretive art project which includes the ¿sh-clean- ing station at Cape Disappoint- ment. But, he added, there has not been any evidence of sea lion problems or pollution issues since the artwork was installed 10 years ago. There have been ¿sh-cleaning facilities in the same general area since the mid-20th century in associa- tion with the nearby public boat launch. He believed the tidal Àow in and out of the bay is adequate to Àush any ¿sh waste away. “The frustrating thing for us “Th is w as th e best dental experience I h ave every h ad” This was the best dental experience I have ever had. From the moment you walk in the door you are treated wonderfully. Dr. Jeff listens intently; you are truly valued and treated as an individual. I have never had a doctor take the the time to understand and meet my needs. I wish all of my other doctors had the same patient care and consideration. I have already recommended him to all of my friends. MELINDA Z. JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR, DMD, FAGD 503/325-0310 1414 MARINE DRIVE, ASTORIA www.smileastoria.com Fishing surprise Natalie St. John/EO Media Group On a busy Saturday afternoon, plenty of people were fish- ing, but no one was using the Confluence cleaning station but seagulls. is that it does not seem to be a problem … we’re not talking about toxic waste; we’re talking about ¿sh.” “Certainly ¿sh waste is not the most foreign thing to go back into the water, but it does create some water quality con- cerns,” agreed Chase Gallagh- er, southwest regions commu- nications manager for the DOE, who said the level of use there has never been high enough to require a permit. But, in recent years, the facilities have seen heavier use than State Parks ever expected when it agreed to the installation of Lin’s clean- ing table, Painter said. “So as the usage increased, it probably still isn’t at the per- mit requirement level, but it is an area of concern,” Gallagher said. The news of the closure caught Fogarty by surprise. “We’re on the side of the ¿shermen,” he said, while ques- tioning the advisability of clos- ing it “at the height of the ¿shing season, using that work of art as it was intended to be used.” He said the organization is working with State Parks, the Department of Ecology and the Port of Ilwaco to come up with a solution. He said the ConÀu- ence Project has no issue with State Parks, which has been a “very good partner” in making the project a success. Ultimately, it may be desir- able to construct a recreational ¿sh-cleaning facility with ap- propriate wastewater treatment in the park, but that would “probably be an expensive and complicated thing,” Painter said. On a recent afternoon, days after the facilities at Cape Dis- appointment were closed, sport ¿shermen drifted by, cleaning ¿sh and dumping the waste over the side. A small Àock of gulls followed close behind.