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Photo by Edward Stratton
Photo by Matt Love
The Big O Saloon is located on Oregon Highway 202 in Olney.
NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Olney
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noun
1. Cyrus Olney: Born in
Geneva, New York on Oct.11,
1815, Olney was raised in
Ohio where he later attended
law school in Cincinnati. He
relocated to Portland in 1851
and opened his own law
practice only to be appoint-
ed to the Supreme Court of
the Oregon Territory in 1853
by President Franklin Pierce.
He served as judge in the
third district, overseeing the
northern counties of Clatsop,
Washington, Yamhill and
Clackamas. During his time
on the bench, he presided
over the trial of the territory’s
fi rst convicted murderess,
Charity Lamb, and served as
the Clatsop delegate to the
Oregon Constitutional Con-
vention, though he skipped
the fi nal vote to ratify. He
resigned from the court in
1858, later serving in the
state Senate and House of
Representatives as a Repub-
lican. Following his death in
Astoria in December 1870,
at age 55, his family revealed
that Olney had long suff ered
an addiction to opium, chlo-
roform and other narcotics
while they contested his will
against the city of Astoria
2. An unincorporated com-
munity in Clatsop County lo-
cated eight miles southeast of
Astoria out Oregon Highway
202. Formerly a lumber-rich
company town, Olney is cur-
rently home to a general store
and the Big O Saloon.
Origin:
Olney is a location-based
surname of Anglo-Saxon origin
that arrives by way of Ollaneg,
fi rst recorded in 979, which
means “lonely glade” in Old
English. As a surname, it has
spread and mutated wildly: be-
sides the original English town
in Buckinghamshire, there are
12 cities in 12 diff erent states in
the U.S. baring the same name.
The community in Clatsop
County was named in honor
of the local judge with the
establishment of a post offi ce
in the area in 1875. The post
offi ce closed in 1950, but the
name has stuck.
“Whereas, it is asserted that Cyrus
Olney, late of Astoria deceased, left a
will under which it is claimed the city
has large pecuniary interests, and it is
asserted on the other hand that said
supposed will is invalid and that no
rights accrued to the city thereunder,
and it is desirable to have more certain
advice on the matter.”
—Advertisement, approved by J.D.H
Gray, acting mayor, “Ordinance No. 311,” The
Daily Astorian, Feb. 4, 1879, P. 2
“I’d never seen a cookhouse. I’d
never driven Oregon Highway 202. I’d
never heard of Olney. A groovy painting
of a crosscut saw on the sign sealed the
deal. I was going — right now. Fifteen
minutes later, I walked inside the Big O
Saloon and could not believe my eyes.”
—Matt Love, “The Big O Saloon,” Coast
Weekend, May 1, 2014
N EW YEAR 2016
M ON STER SALE!
The Paradoxx Bistro is located at 1820 S.E. Front St., overlooking Youngs Bay,
Youngs River and Saddle Mountain.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
The Paradoxx Bistro
It has always mystifi ed me
why Astoria doesn’t take more
commercial and aesthetic ad-
vantage of the views of Youngs
Bay. Saddle Mountain in the
background. Gillnetters fl oat-
ing the tides. An astonishing
array of avian life. A confl uence
of rivers. The vistas from every
angle of Youngs Bay are simply
breathtaking. But so many peo-
ple who visit Astoria virtually
never see them.
This thought occurred
to me the other day when I
stopped in the Paradoxx Bistro,
which overlooks Youngs Bay
out on Oregon Highway 202. It
opened in June but I hadn’t
taken the opportunity to
visit. I wanted a quiet spot to
write and this felt like it could
be the place. Sometimes,
downtown Astoria overheats
on the weekends, and it’s dif-
fi cult to fi nd serenity in the
cafes.
I walked inside and had
the bistro all to myself. I took
a booth and ordered lemon
cheesecake and black coffee.
Then I started looking at the
views, the best spectacular
southern and eastern views of
Youngs Bay from a restaurant
in town. In fact, the only ones.
This was a quiet place to
write, that’s for sure, or break
up with someone in hushed
tones. Or even read alone.
I made the acquaintance
of the co-owners, a broth-
er-and-sister duo named Jer-
emy and Bethany Emmons.
Jeremy gave me a tour and a
brief history of the Paradoxx
and said the restaurant off ers
inexpensive comfort food,
and indeed it does. He also
revealed plans to remodel
the back deck overlooking
the bay and make it publicly
accessible again. I told him
I’d hold a literary festival or
writing workshop on the deck
once it reopened because the
ambience out there would
certainly fi re any creative per-
son’s imagination and off er a
visitor a whole other appreci-
ation for the natural beauty of
Astoria.
After my chat, I dug into
the cheesecake, sipped my
coff ee, watched some herons,
and started working on a new
piece of writing. It didn’t take
long for me to realize that the
Paradoxx will soon claim the ti-
tle as my favorite place to write
in Astoria.
Matt Love is the author/editor of 14
books about Oregon. His books are
available through coastal bookstores or
his web site, nestuccaspitpress.com
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January 7, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 17