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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015 Festival: It raised more than $143,000 last year Continued from Page 1A Each tree is decorated with a theme to match its accompa- nying giveaway item. The en- tries this year include a Hawai- ian-themed tree that includes an eight-night trip to Maui, including a stay at a two-bed- room condominium near the beach and $1,000 in airfare; a “Classic Romance In the Wine Country”-themed tree includes a stay at The Inn At Abeja in Walla Walla, Wash., a wine WRXU DQG D JLIW FHUWL¿FDWH IRU a local restaurant; and a tree themed “Scandinavia Christ- mas from Astoria,” sponsored by FinnWare, featuring gift FHUWL¿FDWHVIRUDUHDDWWUDFWLRQV including Baked Alaska and the Cannery Pier Hotel. The live auction also in- cludes original artwork by Bill Steidel of Cannon Beach, the event’s signature artist. The artwork is titled “Winter Ice,” and depicts a wintry village scene reminiscent of Steidel’s New York childhood. Steidel works in numerous ¿HOGV LQFOXGLQJ PXVLF ZULW- ing, painting, sculpting and book illustrations. He uses a variety of media and themes. Steidel, his wife Sally and their son, Sam, have operated Steidel’s Art gallery, on South Hemlock Street in Cannon Beach, for more than 50 years. Justin Grafton Studios/Submitted Photo Each tree at Providence Seaside Foundation’s annual Festival of Trees fundraiser is decorated with a theme that matches the item being auctioned off during the evening gala. All proceeds support the Providence Seaside Hospi- tal and local programs and services. dental services to uninsured adults and children. This year, proceeds from 6LQFH LWV ¿UVW )HVWLYDO RI the gala event will be used to Trees in 1997, the Provi- purchase new surgical equip- dence Seaside Foundation has ment, including an enhanced raised more than $1.4 million. video camera with internal In 2014, the festival raised scopes and an intense light $143,000 to support the new source and digital printers, North Coast Providence El- to provide “the very latest derPlace program in Seaside. in surgical technology” at Proceeds also went to partner the hospital, Ward said. The with Medical Teams Interna- new equipment, which costs tional to provide free mobile approximately $210,000, will Growing the surgery department increase the scope of proce- dures available at the hospi- tal. “The idea is really to keep people closer to home instead of having to go to Portland for surgeries,” Ward said. The foundation’s board of directors will cover the remaining cost of the equip- ment if not raised during the Festival of Trees. Ward said the fundraising goal for the event this year is $150,000. Justin Grafton Studios/Submitted Photo The Seaside Civic and Convention Center was transformed into a magical holiday won- derland for the 2014 Festival of Trees, an annual fundraiser put on by the Providence Seaside Foundation. Mitchum: He was ‘the ultimate Change in cornerstone volunteer in the community’ Thanksgiving weekend spending stumps retailers Continued from Page 1A Rotary member, doing roadside cleanups, serving crab dinners at the Crab, Seafood and Wine Festi- val and delivering Christmas gifts. “He is an unsung hero in this town,” said Cyndi Mudge, who worked with Mitchum on the Sunday Market. “He is one of those people who was quietly behind the scenes volunteering with so many things. I just think of Mitch being the ul- timate cornerstone volunteer in the community.” In 2013, Mitchum won the George Award, along with Tiffany and Brett Estes, for all his en- deavors. One of Mitchum’s lasting impacts was as a property developer and landlord. Along with his own holdings, he owned several properties downtown with RoseMarie Paavola in Luottamus Partners LLC, including the Astoria Events Cen- ter, Abeco Building and Oddfellows Hall, which houses the Astoria Arts and Movement Center. Mitchum and Paavola won a Dr. Edward. J. Harvey Award in 2010 for their restoration of the Sanborn Building at 951-957 Commercial St., ZKLFKKDGEHHQJXWWHGE\D¿UH “The Seabee (member of the U.S. Naval Con- VWUXFWLRQ)RUFHVPRWWRLVWKH\FDQ¿[DQ\WKLQJ with anything,” Toni Mitchum said of her hus- band’s drive, adding his goal was always to help Daily Astorian/File Photo Astoria reach its potential. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in Astoria Astoria Public Works director Mitch Mitchum and Chip Andrus look at a dam that is part of the city’s reservoir in 2002. Mitchum died Saturday at 73. is in charge of funeral arrangements. more,” Tracy said. “There’s always some kind of deal in- store or online.” Like Tracy, many U.S. U.S. shoppers no longer shoppers like to make pur- blow the bulk of their hol- chases on their desktops iday budgets on the day af- and smartphones nowadays, ter Thanksgiving known as they insist on getting big dis- Black Friday. counts whenever they shop, It’s a major shift that has and they don’t feel pressured PDGH LW GLI¿FXOW IRU VWRUHV to shop on particular days. That shift has caused the to track and learn from shoppers’ spending habits National Retail Federation, during the traditional start to the nation’s largest retail the busy holiday shopping trade group, to overhaul the way it tracks shopper season. Take Pia Tracy, who spending and visits during bought some items at Pier 1 the four-day Thanksgiving home furnishings store over weekend — something it’s the weekend. But Tracy, who been doing for more than a lives in Queens, N.Y., plans decade. The group said the to spread out the majority of changes are aimed at get- her $4,000 holiday budget ting a fuller picture of shop- pers’ habits, including their throughout the season. “Black Friday weekend JURZLQJ DI¿QLW\ IRU RQOLQH doesn’t matter to me any- buying. By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer Harriman: ‘I was just lucky to have fallen into this’ she said. “I became very bitter over this because they chose “And they hired me — and me, and I just couldn’t believe I don’t think that they realized that they would. It was one of how old I was,” she said. “At the worst things that ever hap- least my boss didn’t.” pened to me.” But, she said, it was worth- Treasures while, because without her life Many years earlier, Har- taking that turn, she wouldn’t riman had lost her job at the have found Deals Only. bank, where she worked in “I love it there. I really WKHFRQWUROOHU¶VRI¿FHGXULQJ do,” she said. “I was 43 years the early wave of corporate doing something that I wasn’t layoffs. meant to do, and I think sell- “We knew this was hap- ing things appeals to me.” pening, but I thought, ‘Oh, Selling and shopping, she I’m safe. I’m here so long,’” said — though many people Continued from Page 1A forget that “shopping” doesn’t necessarily mean “buying.” “I like knowing what’s out there. And I want to buy, but the things I want to buy are usually more expensive than I can afford. I like art; I used to go to every art museum that ever was (in the area),” she said. “There’s treasures. There’s just all kinds of trea- sures out there that most of the world doesn’t see.” Purpose Born in North Portland, Harriman now splits her time between Astoria and Beaver- ton. During her retirement years, she kept busy: quilting, knitting, traveling to Europe with a friend, pitching and selling birdhouses that her son and his girlfriend made. And, of course, shopping. But retuning to work has rejuvenated her and has be- come a source of pride. “I have to be working. I have to somehow have a pur- pose. And I’m not a bored person. I always was very busy in the 18 years that I was retired,” she said. “But there’s something about getting a paycheck that makes you seem more worthwhile. “And it’s just fun. It gets you out of the house,” she said. Harriman said she believes more older folks should work because it can help to keep them young. But she knows that people her age are often passed over for employment opportunities. “I was just lucky to have fallen into this,” she said. “They just treat me so special, and they’re just ... just nice. They have been just so nice to me, you can’t believe it.” Jeff Bjornsgard, owner of Deals Only, couldn’t say enough about Harriman. “You know, as far as a worker, she’s like back in the day: She’s always early, al- ways on time, always wants to stay busy, always trying to help,” he said. “She’s a great, great, great, great person. She’s a fabulous worker, and just the nicest person you’d ever meet.” — Erick Bengel Housing: Two projects at the site have failed to reach fruition Continued from Page 1A Central School site are still planning to meet at 7 p.m. to- day in the Blue Scorcher Bak- ery Cafe to discuss what sort of development they would ¿QGDFFHSWDEOHDWWKHVLWH New Riverview Partners LLC owns 14 of the 16 lots bounded by Irving and Je- rome avenues and Eighth and 10th streets. The site is the lo- cation of the former Lewis & Clark School (later known as Central School), built in the 1910s and torn down in the 1980s. New Riverview Part- ners is headed by local de- veloper Mitch Mitchum, who died Saturday. Hanson said neighbors seem to want lower-density housing. He said previously, while some of the lots could be single-family homes, Krueger leans toward townhouses and apartments for the 1.7-acre site, one of the largest remain- ing buildable lots in Astoria. At least two projects have failed to reach fruition over the years at the site. In 1996, the city approved plans for a 28-unit multifamily housing cluster for the property. But the developer died before the project could be started. Mitchum had tried to build an upscale neighborhood at the site in the mid-2000s, including a combination of homes designed to look his- toric and others designed for older residents to age in place. The project passed various hurdles at the Astoria Planning Commission, City Hall and Historic Landmarks Commission, but ultimately fell victim to the housing mar- ket crash during the Great Re- cession and opposition from neighbors.
