OPINION
6A
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago this week — 2005
Despite overcast skies, Stuart Hyde had a big grin on his face as he
walked down the gangplank from the Norwegian Spirit.
“Who wouldn’t be smiling to be back here after 61 years?” Or, as he
calculated later, 61 years and 42 days.
In September 1944, Hyde spend two weeks in Astoria as an ensign in
the U.S. Navy, assigned to the new attack transport ship USS Lowndes, in
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The Californian hadn’t been back to the North Coast since then, but
when he saw the Spirit’s ports of call, he and his wife, Allie, signed right
up.
“I saw it was going to Astoria, I said ‘Whoa, we gotta be on this
cruise,’” Hyde said. He remembered the friendliness and warmth that As-
toria showed the visiting sailors in the 1940s, even though the city could
have been resentful of the onslaught of young men.
If any Lewis and Clark artifacts still lie buried under the
ground where the Fort Clatsop replica stood for so many years,
archaeologists hope to unearth them over the next few weeks.
The opportunity is the upside of the loss of the replica, which
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just 40 days before the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial commem-
oration’s signature event.
The crack of a soda pop can signals the start of Astoria High School’s
lunch hour. Students rustle open bags of greasy chips and choose from
pizza, pastry pockets, corn dogs and other items on the lunch line.
But many of these quick, convenient and often student-preferred
items will disappear from selections at all of Astoria’s schools next year
— thanks to government efforts to improve students health and overall
wellness.
50 years ago — 1965
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day cut the ribbon at grand opening of the Knappa shopping
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lower Columbia region which he said has “a tremendous po-
tential ahead.”
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015
It’s ‘Our Town’ at
Clatsop Plains Cemetery
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communities. That was es-
pecially so around here in the
19th century. The ties within
and outside extended fami-
lies and their links to the big
names of the Oregon Territory
were on display at Talking
Tombstones last Sunday at the
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Like many, I’ve driven by that
cemetery — next to Camp Rilea
— hundreds of times and never
explored it. Situated between two
dunes, this graveyard is a trove of
fascinating stories.
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is a big name in the history of
the Columbia River. Except for
bringing his steamships downriv-
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his connection with this region. At
Sunday afternoon’s Talking Tomb-
stones, I was enlightened.
Krista Bingham of Warren-
ton played a very convincing role
as Caroline Kamm, Jacob’s wife
and one of the wealthiest women
in Oregon. Caroline is not buried
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William H. Gray, is. It seems that
in about 1926 Caroline gave the
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Church $10,000 to erase the mem-
ory of a legal dispute between
Gray and the church. The present
value of Mrs. Kamm’s gift would
be about $134,000. That is where
the church’s Gray Memorial Chap-
el came from.
The stories one hears at Talking
Tombstones are like that — the ri-
valries between men, their pecca-
dilloes and the vicissitudes of life.
‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
‘To talk of many things;
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax —
Of cabbages —and kings —’
Through the Looking-glass
of Cabbages and Kings
Caroline
Kamm was
one of
Oregon’s
wealthiest
women
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Krista Bingham, played the role
of Caroline Kamm, one of Ore-
gon’s wealthiest women.
ularized Thomas’ poetry. I must
look for it.
Russ Warr, owner of Oregon
Granite Works, has sponsored
Talking Tombstones from the be-
ginning. Bravo, Russ.
and edited in the news columns
than the WSJ. It might be a bit of
an apples versus oranges compari-
son in that the Journal is much less
of a general readership paper than
the Times.
³%XW,¿QGWKHWSJ news cov-
erage, writing and editing in many
instances seems skimpier and less
thorough than the Times.”
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political spectrum focus on the
right-wing drumbeat of the WSJ’s
editorial page. But the larger phe-
nomenon is the extent to which
Rupert Murdoch debased the qual-
ity of the Journal’s news product.
Having said that, I do enjoy
reading the WSJ.
— S.A.F.
źźź
READING THE NEW YORK
Times alongside The Wall Street
źźź
Journal LV LOOXPLQDWLQJ 3DUWLVDQV
on either side of the political
,) <28 +$9( 6((1 divide would tell you that the
Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, Times is hopelessly liberal and the
Talking Tombstones is a bit like Journal predictably skews to the
that.
right. But a larger distinction is
On Sunday, Terry Arnall took more important.
the role of Diana Owens Hobson.
While I’ve been reading both
The nugget she offered was that for about a year, I had not given
her sister was Dr. Bethenia Owens much thought to their divergent
$GDLURQHRI2UHJRQ¶V¿UVWIHPDOH styles until a Seattle friend offered
physicians.
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Dressed in a Navy pea coat, UHWLUHG 6HDWWOH DQG 3RUWODQG WHOH-
with a bandana around his neck, vision news anchor and Washing-
Matt Hensley played John Thom- ton correspondent. Don said: “My
as, whose moniker was “the Bard impression is that the Times is, in
of Clatsop.” This newspaper pop- general, consistently better written
A sensible version of Donald Trump
Gap closing in
cross-channel
span for the
Astoria bridge.
The two wings of the 1,232-foot steel span of the Astoria bridge across
the main ship channel crept steadily closer together this week.
American Bridge Division had closed the gap by Thursday to four 44-
foot “panels” or a total 176 feet.
Highway Department engineers said Thursday that counterweights
will have to be hung outside the two supporting piers of the span, Nos. 169
and 170, before the last gap can be closed. Counterweights will probably
be blocks of concrete. They will prevent the bridge dropping inward like
two teeter-totters.
Beatles fans stormed the gates of Buckingham Palace today
in a hysterical effort to see Queen Elizabeth honor their idols. It
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the home of the royal family.
75 years ago — 1940
Northwest wooden boat builders, marine supply men and engine deal-
ers, including T.B. Cook of Astoria and Joe Dyer of the Astoria Marine
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district Monday in Seattle to discuss the small wooden yards’ activity in
supplying the Navy with the looming need for many small wooden craft
in the war preparedness.
Most talked-about boat was a proposed 86-foot purse seine type which
could be used for mine sweeping operations in the event of war. Anoth-
er was a proposed 80-foot, 20-knot patrol boat, strong enough to carry a
small gun for defense purposes.
The Navy is known to be considering construction of a number of 90-
to 100- and 80- to 90-foot wooden craft – patrol boats, minesweepers and
subchasers. The northwest builders, between 50 and 75 of them, formed
a permanent organization to work with the Navy in speeding the program
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in the Columbia River Wednesday, causing worry for gillnet
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lumbia River Packers Association’s Uppertown cold storage
plant, where the entire crew saw them moving up-stream. Cap-
tain Charles Soderberg of the CRPA launch reportedly got a
close view of the whales from his vessel.
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3LOOVEXU\)ORXU0LOOVFRPSDQ\VDLGLQDOHWWHUWKLVZHHNWKDWWKHFRPSDQ\
is afraid that withdrawal of the government’s expert subsidy to China “will
materially affect our (Astoria) operation.”
Early this month the federal government abandoned its subsidy to pro-
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der Japan’s control — the move following the scrap iron ban in economic
pressure on Japan.
ways that may appeal to
I know the profession-
both Democrats and Re-
al politicians are going
to want to continue their
publicans.
wars, but I see an oppor-
The studies I’m talking
he voters, especially on the
tunity: We launch a series
Republican side, seem to be about were done at Har-
of initiatives to create en-
vard by Raj Chetty, Na-
despising experience this year thaniel Hendren and Law-
vironments of opportunity
and are looking for outsiders.
in middle-, working- and
rence Katz. They looked at
lower-class
neighbor-
Hence we have the rise of Donald the results of a Clinton-era
hoods.
program
called
Moving
to
Trump and Ben Carson.
This will mean doing
Opportunity, which took
David
3HRSOH OLNH PH NHHS SUHGLFWLQJ poor families and moved
some things Republicans
Brooks
like. We’ve got to devolve
that these implausibles will collapse, them to middle-class
but so far, as someone tweeted, they QHLJKERUKRRGV $W ¿UVW WKH UHVXOWV a lot of power from Washington back
keep collapsing upward.
were disappointing. The families to local communities. These neigh-
But imagine if we had a sensible who moved didn’t see their earnings borhoods can’t thrive if they are not
Trump in the race. Suppose there rise. Their kids didn’t do much better responsible for themselves. Then
we’ve got to expand charter schools.
was some former general or business in school.
leader with impeccable outsider sta-
But as years went by and new- The best charter schools radiate di-
tus but also a steady temperament, er data accumulated, different and verse but strong cultures of achieve-
deep knowledge and
more promising results ment. Locally administered social
good sense.
came in. Children who entrepreneurship funds could help
We
What would that per-
were raised in better en- churches and other groups expand
son sound like? Maybe have to
vironments had remark- WKHLULQÀXHQFH
This will mean doing some things
something like this:
able earnings gains. The
Ladies and gentlemen, put the
girls raised in the bet- Democrats like. We’ve got to reform
I’m no politician. I’m just
neighborhoods were and expand early childhood educa-
quality ter
a boring guy who knows
more likely to marry and tion programs, complete with wrap-
how to run things. But
raise their own children around programs for parents. They
of the
would turn into community hubs. In-
I’ve been paying close
in two-parent homes.
frastructure programs could increase
attention and it seems to
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LPSOLFDWLRQ
social
me that of all the prob-
of this research is that employment.
fabric
Basically we’ve got to get social-
lems that face the nation,
neighborhood matters a
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lot. When we think about ist. No, I don’t mean the way Bernie
at the
that we have a polarized,
ways to improve the lot Sanders is a socialist. He’s a statist,
dysfunctional, semi-cor-
of the working class, it’s not a socialist. I mean we have to put
center
rupt political culture that
LQVXI¿FLHQW WR MXVW KHOS the quality of the social fabric at the
prevents us from getting
individuals and families. center of our politics. And we’ve got
of our
anything done. To reverse
We have to improve en- to get personalist: to treat people as
full human beings, not just economic
that gridlock we’ve got politics.
tire neighborhoods.
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Second, the research XQLWV\RX¿[E\ZULWLQJFKHFNV
Then we’ve got to get integra-
where there’s a basis for bipartisan reminds us that to improve condi-
action.
tions for the working class it’s neces- tionist, to integrate different races
The second big problem is that sary to both create jobs and improve and classes through national service
things are going badly for those in culture. Every time conservatives and school and relocation vouch-
the lower half of the income distri- say culture plays a large role in lim- HUV $QG ¿QDOO\ ZH KDYH WR JHW D
EXWLRQ 3HRSOH ZLWK OHVV HGXFDWLRQ iting mobility, progressives accuse little moralistic. There are certain
patterns of behavior, like marrying
are seeing their wages fall, their men them of blaming the victim.
drop out of the labor force, their mar-
But this research shows the before you have kids and sticking
riage rates plummet and their social importance of environment. The around to parent the kids you con-
networks dissolve.
younger the children were when they ceive, that contribute to better com-
7KH ¿UVW SLHFH RI JRRG QHZV LV moved to these middle-class envi- munities.
Look, I don’t know if I’m red
that conservative and progressive ronments, the more their outcomes
writers see this reality similarly, LPSURYHG ,W¶V OLNHO\ WKH\ EHQH¿WHG or blue. If you want a true outsider,
which is a rare thing these days. The from being in environments with dif- don’t just pick someone outside the
second piece of good news is that ferent norms, with more information SROLWLFDOV\VWHP3LFNVRPHRQHRXW-
we have new research that suggests about how to thrive, with few trau- side the rigid partisan mentalities
that are the real problem here.
fresh ways to address this problem, matic events down the block.
By DAVID BROOKS
New York Times News Service
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