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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2015)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015 COMMUNITY WHAT ARE YOU? I BURY ME DEEP T ired of going as yourself for Halloween? Want to get dressed up for a change, but put minimal effort and expense into the proMect? The Ear has Must the answer for you with “97 cheap and easy Halloween costumes,” including instructions from Livin- gonthecheap.com (http://tinyurl.com/hallowup). Among the easiest are the ghost and a skeleton face. More intri- cate costumes include being a bag of trash or Mellybeans, a Freudian slip, or a cereal killer. Dressing as a toilet-paper covered mummy comes with the caveat: “Avoid using the bathroom or getting wet.” Still not convinced to go the costume route? The website also offers the perfect un-costume: Go as a werewolf in your regular clothes, and tell everyone Halloween did not fall on a full moon. GHOST SHIP W hat could be more apropos for an Astoria Halloween than a real Paci¿c Northwest ghost ship story? According to an article in the Unesco Courier in 1991 by David Gunston (http:// tinyurl.com/baychimo1), the SS Baychimo (pictured), abandoned in 1931, is possibly still Àoating around in the arctic with a hold full of fur pelts. During her last voyage north to deliver supplies and pick up pelts in 1931, the ice suddenly closed in on the return trip, and the %aychimo was trapped. Two days later, the ice pack loosened, and the ship continued her Mourney, only to get stuck yet again. %aychimo’s owners, the Hudson %ay Company, sent aircraft from Nome, Alaska, and rescued 22 from the ship. The captain and 1 remaining crew members built a shelter to wait it out, but a blizzard trapped them inside. When they emerged, the %aychimo had broken loose and completely vanished. An Eskimo hunter told them he’d spotted the ship about 3 miles southwest. The 1 men followed him, and sure enough, it was right where he said it was. %ut it couldn’t be salvaged, so the crew grabbed what few furs they could from the hold, and aban- doned the ship. The %aychimo was boarded occasionally over the years as she kept drifting around. In 1933, a group of Eskimos managed to get aboard, but a horri¿c storm came up, and they were stranded on the ship without food for 10 days. The last recorded boarding was in 1939. No one was ever able to salvage the valuable cargo. After 1939, the %aychimo was spotted “scores of times,” Àoat- ing, but impossible to pursue. In March 1962, a small party of Eski- mos saw her drifting in the %eaufort Sea — rusting, but still intact. The last recorded sighting, by Eskimos, was in 1969, when she was stuck in the ice yet again. Mr. Wikipedia says that in 2006, the Alaskan government start- ed a proMect to ¿nd the %aychimo, aÀoat or not (http://tinyurl.com/ bachimo2) — but not a trace of the ghost ship has ever been found. T 1B H alloween would not be complete without mention of Astoria’s very own glamour ghoul, Vampira, aka Astoria High School grad Maila Nurmi. Using her real name, she wrote “The Ghost Of James Dean” in 16 for %orderline 0agazine, “which dares the unknown” (http://tinyurl.com/mailadean). %oth 0aila and the actor are pictured. “I have always been interested in psychic phenome- na,” she revealed. “I have displayed ‘powers’ along those lines.” So she wasn’t surprised when a cut-up glossy print (“one eye, one nostril and one ear”) of actor James Dean, a close friend, “acted up” at the time of his death — the partial photo, pinned to the wall with a small dagger, started swinging “pendulum fashion” minutes before she received the phone call with the bad news. After that, there were several other unnerving episodes with the photo. In one incident, mediums told Maila that Dean was in great pain because he was earthbound. So, she asked the photo on her wall if it was true. “The top part of the ear wiggled,” she reported, “... and at the same time from my radio came the song, ‘Dig Me A Hole and %ury Me Deep and I Will Lie in Peace.’” And it gets stranger from there, with her continued conversations with Dean’s photo “ear” (still pinned to the wall) and the ear’s wiggling responses, a consultation with famed astrologer Sydney Omarr, and Àaming ash- trays. “The word spread — fast — word of the ‘haunted’ house on Larrabee Street in Hollywood,” she wrote. The topper was a chilling séance to contact Dean. Just as it got started, a spooky incident with Maila’s telephone caused one woman to faint, and the rest of the group scampered off in fright. End of séance. Eventually, Dean’s ongoing “unearthly manifesta- tions” unnerved her to the point that she had to move. So what happened to Dean’s partial photo? A friend removed it from the wall and kept it. %ut where is it now? Like a spooky yarn? Maila/Vampira spins a good one. CLOSE ENCOUNTER f ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night don’t give you a fright, maybe you should look up to the skies for a good scare. Sci- encealert.com reports that hefty Asteroid 2015 TB145 (pic- tured in a NASA illustration), which is roaring along through space at over 78,000 mph, is going to pass close to earth (relatively speaking — 310,000 miles) on Halloween (http:// tinyurl.com/hallowrock). In fact, it’s the closest Àyby of this size since July 2006, NASA says. Why didn’t we know about this earlier? This particular chunk of Àying rock was Must recently discovered. “Detected on Oct. 10 by the Pan-STARRS I survey in Hawaii, which employs several astronomical cameras and telescopes from around the world to identify potentially threatening near- Earth obMects, asteroid 201 T%1 is estimated to be between 18 to 2,03 feet in diameter,” the article says. “We’ve had closer encounters recently, but not by something on this scale.” “All known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids have less than a 0.01 percent chance of impacting Earth in the next 100 years,” NASA reported back in August. They didn’t know about T%1 then, or what else might be lurking out there, but hey, aren’t you feeling reassured? GUNNING FOR MR. GHOSTY A ghostly encounter, dated 0arch 2, 18, from the George Flavel Facebook page (courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society): “The latest excitement in an uppertown neighborhood is a haunted house. In the lonely hours of night clumsy ghosts monkey around in the cat-loft, fall over chairs and mash dishes, when there are not any chairs and dishes there. “Last night the occupants of the house called in a neighbor to help keep a watch for Mr. Ghosty, who made his presence felt by his usual antics at the hour of 12. The gentlemen on watch were armed to the teeth with guns, hatchets, and clubs and as soon as the racket started in the garret they commenced to run a bluff on ghosty by pounding on the Àoor with their hatchets and hollering out that they would shoot. “After this break the noise up stairs ceased and the next mys- terious round was at the back door as if trying to enter. That set- tled it, the occupants proceeded without any ceremony to take their departure out of the front door. The affair is to be kept a EIGHT ANGRY ARMS RACK ’EM UP RATS IN THE WALLS he Ear was out shopping for Halloween goodies to add to the front window display, and came upon some lovely plastic rats. Rather authentic looking, to boot. Anyway, the little critters reminded the Ear of a truly scary story, and readers who want their timbers shivered should delve into H.P. Lovecraft’s “Rats In The Walls.” You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/ratswalls. Pic- tured, Gustave Doré’s “The League of the Rats.” It was Halloween every night in the Ear’s childhood home — a four-story old hotel on Long Island Sound, empty of human inhab- itants except for the Ear’s family of three, but the walls were full of water rats tunneling and scampering all day and all night, and oc- casionally making random appearances in hallways and bedrooms. Shall we say Lovecraft’s story “resonated” with the young Earlet? However, even if you don’t have rats in your walls, it’s an excel- lently creepy tale for any season, but especially this one. When you read it, have a blankie handy for comfort. Or to pull over your head. W hat would Halloween be without horror movies? Some of the strangest, most quixotic ones made were ¿lmed in the 10s, and “It Came from Beneath the Sea” is no exception. It’s about a really, really an- gry octopus, made enormous, and quite irritable — not to mention radioactive — by being exposed to H-bomb testing. A poster from the movie is shown. Aside from wrestling with nuclear submarines and overturning freighters in a ¿t of pique, he unleashes his aggressions on the peaceful coastal town of Harper’s Cove, near Astoria, Oregon, killing several locals in the onslaught. Apparently he is practicing for his attack on the Golden Gate %ridge and several annoying buildings in San Francisco. Movie history fans will note that Ray Harryhausen, king of the stop-action critters, did the creepy cephalopod special effects. Several photos and the plot line can be found at http:// tinyurl.com/octup-1. You can watch it online at http://ti- nyurl.com/octup-2 %ut the Ear is still wondering — where is Harper’s Cove? J ust about everyone knows there are lots of ghosts in resi- dence in Astoria. %ut if you perhaps want to go a bit further a¿eld for your creative ghost hunting, you might want to check out Rod’s Lamplighter Restaurant (pictured) in Seaview, Washington, which is listed as one of the “13 Scariest Haunted Places in Washington” (http://tinyurl.com/scarylamp). The article mentions a bar-loving ghost named Louie Sloan, the former owner, whose ashes are there, appropriately, at his favorite haunt. “To most people, (the ashes are) the obvious ex- planation for many of the strange oddities that happen in the bar,” the article says. “There have been rumors of the ashes being removed, but we have since been reassured by the current owner that they most certainly are still there. “Even in death, Louie appreciates the occasional game of pool, although he can no longer play in the conventional man- ner. Patrons have reported seeing the pool balls roll unprovoked in every direction. He also enMoys Àickering the lights, and rat- tling the occasional glass.” Don’t forget your pool cue. COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Annual Holiday Bazaar — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., lunch served at 11:30 a.m., Rosburg Hall, 28 Ros- burg Community Hall Road, Ros- burg, Washington. Hosted by the Rosburg Community Club. 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 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. MONDAY Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m., 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 Lew- is at 503-861-4200. and $7 for those younger than 60. For information, or to volunteer, call 503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday. Astoria Rotary Club — noon, second Àoor of the Astoria (lks Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always welcome. For information, go to www.AstoriaRotary.org ters.org or call 503-894-0187. 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. 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. Knochlers Pinochle Group — 1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community 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 play- ers 55 and older, but all ages are welcome. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance — 7 to 9 p.m., Room A, Columbia Memorial Hos- pital, 2111 ([change St. Open to all those diagnosed with a mood dis- order, or have a family member or friend diagnosed, or who think they might have depression or bipolar disorder. For information, contact Patricia Fessler at 503-325-8930. Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro- gram — noon, Warrenton Commu- nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug- gested donation of $5 for seniors Astoria Toastmasters — 6:30 p.m., Hotel (lliot conference room, 357 12th St. Visitors welcome. For information, go to www.toastmas- World War II Warbirds — 8 a.m., Labor Temple Diner, 934 Duane St. TUESDAY Stewardship Quilting Group — 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., First Lu- theran Church, 725 33rd St. All are welcome. Donations of material al- ways appreciated. For information, call Janet Kemp at 503-325-4268. 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 do- nation of $3 for those older than 60; $6.75 for those younger than 60. For information, call Michelle Lew- is at 503-861-4200. 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. 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. 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 information, call 503-325-3231. See NOTES, Page 2B
