THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2016
COMMUNITY
1B
THE WAVER
AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL
WHAT A GAS
NEWSPAPERMAP
F
rom June 1, 2012: As you might already know from
Monday’s 'aily Astorian, Chris “Captain Crunch”
Cameron, pictured, summited Mount Everest on May
25. But the (ar bets you didn’t know this little back story.
Chris’ aunt, Georgia Marincovich, called the (ar to say
he was featured on the Peak Freaks blog, (verest News,
which praised him as a teammate who “really stands out
this year.”
But Chris almost didn’t make it to the top. The day be-
fore the team was heading up to the summit Tim Rippel,
the team leader, sent Chris to (verest (mergency Room
to get a pain checked out. Chris fell in the U.S. before
leaving on the trip, and the doctors wanted to make sure
he didn’t have a broken rib.
Chris had to go all the way back down back down the
trail to Khunde to get an X-ray. Fortunately, the results
were negative.
Apparently he had a developed a type of ulcer that
is common with the Sherpas during expeditions. He said
they gave him a pill, he let out a big belch and was per-
fectly ¿ne afterwards. “It’s the stuff legends are made of.
Crunchy’s story will be one of those that will be told for
many a year,” the blog noted.
To everyone’s ama]ement, all Chris needed after trot-
ting back to base camp was a quick nap. Then he caught
up with the rest of his team at Camp 2 no small climb),
and he was off to the top of the world.
BUOYED UP
F
rom Nov. 30, 2012: North Coasters who love newspapers
from all over the world will get a kick out of this website:
http://newspapermap.com. Just click on one of the bubbles, and
it will take you to the newspaper’s website. Or, you can ¿lter
the papers shown by language.
For a real treat, click on “hist.” in the blue box at the top of
the page, and the map changes to historical newspaper editions
such as The Daily Morning Astorian From May , 187:
“Last evening at sunset 51 ¿shing boats were counted without
a glass on the bay in front of Astoria from one standpoint ...”).
Shaky translation is available at Newspapermap, too. A rath-
er bafÀing headline on the Ukrainian Fakty i Kommentarii the
other day read, “The newly elected MPs have knock yourself
free apartments.” Really?
(ven so, like the website says, “All news is local news.”
F
YIKES!
F
rom Nov. 16, 2012: Pretty eye -catching photo, isn’t it?
Amy Mallory of Warrenton brought it to the (ar’s atten-
tion. It was taken Friday, Nov. 9, from Capt. Mark Charlton’s
www.charltondeepsea.com) charter ¿shing vessel the Ruby
Sea by deck hand Clarence Damase.
The captain told the (ar the boat was on the river near the
Skipanon entrance by Nygaard Logging. The funnel cloud was
over the ocean on the other side of the South Jetty where it
possibly created a waterspout) and dissipated after about ¿ve
minutes.
Several locals who reported seeing the funnel cloud from the
Costco parking lot in Warrenton thought it was over land, and
that a tornado was imminent. Not this time, 'orothy.
rom July 22, 2011: Aha! The mystery of who the waving ÀDJ-
ger is, who spreads cheer on the north end of the Astoria Bridge,
has been solved. Troy Palmrose, an Oregon 'epartment of Trans-
portation inspector for bridge project, called the (ar Monday morn-
ing and said the bridge waver is Lewis Johnson, a subcontractor.
He even went out of his way to take the photo, shown, of Lewis on
the job.
Lewis called the (ar Wednesday morning from the bridge,
where he works Monday through Saturday. He is no stranger to the
area, though. He lives in Ocean Park, Washington, where he’s had
property since 1989. People just don’t recogni]e him when he’s out
and about and not wearing his Àagger regalia.
The (ar thinks Lewis has become a bit of a cult ¿gure. A man
who has fruit stand in Chinook, Washington, brought Lewis a bas-
ket of berries, one gentleman dropped off an onion, a delivery truck
driver brings cookies or crackers, women bring cookies, and peo-
ple regularly drop off coffee. And let’s not forget the “potato chip
lady,” who stops by with chips. Lewis laughed and said he thinks
he’s put on 10 pounds.
He’s been on the bridge job since January 2010, and the waving
he’s become famous for came about as a chain reaction. One driver
would wave, he’d wave back, and then the next car would wave,
etc. Some of the ladies have little babies in the car, he said, chuck-
ling, and they roll down the window and tell the baby to wave. The
babies happily wave in all directions, not knowing what they’re
waving at.
The babies may not know who he is, but now you do.
F
F
rom April 6, 2012: Recently funeral director Tom Preston
of Hughes-Ransom Mortuary in Astoria, pictured left, got
caught up in a mystery: Warrenton High School student Alex Reed
brought him an old and dented metal crematory urn, also pictured.
Alex found it on the rocks almost under observation tower at the
South -etty. He said he didn¶t know what it was at ¿rst, and didn¶t
know what to do. A friend’s father came up with the idea of taking it
to the funeral home.
The urn, which still has its original seal, only says: William
George Kennedy, 1870 — 1925. He is pictured, right. Not much
to go on, so Tom got the TV media involved, including ABC News,
Fox News and KATU. That produced genealogists’ reports about
Mr. Kennedy’s life and identity.
BrieÀy, he was born in Canterbury, (ngland, 'ec. , 1871 the
urn is wrong. He moved to Nelson and then Calgary, B.C., to (u-
gene, and ¿nally to Bellingham, Washington, where he died April 9,
1925. He had three sons, all B.C. residents.
Tom tried calling some Kennedys in Nelson, but had no luck.
Then he contacted reporter Greg Nesteroff of the Nelson Star, who
said he’d make a few calls. Bingo. Greg soon found Iris Close, Mr.
Kennedy’s granddaughter. She lives in Oliver, B.C. Her father was
William G. Kennedy Jr., who drowned. For full details on the Ken-
nedy family, read Greg’s story at http://tinyurl.com/nelson-wgk
The granddaughter told Greg the last time she saw the urn, her
step-grandmother had it on her bedroom bureau in Bellingham. She
has no idea how it ended up on the Oregon Coast. One explanation
might be what Larry Sherratt of Hillsboro told KATU: that Kennedy
Sr. was his ex-mother-in-law’s uncle, and he buried the urn at sea about
50 miles off Astoria 0 to 5 years ago http://tinyurl.com/urnguy.
While Tom is happy the urn has a safe resting spot for the mo-
ment — and he thinks everyone needs to come to Astoria, one way
or another — but he will be relieved when Mr. Kennedy and his
granddaughter are reunited.
rom Dec. 2, 2011: “Nineteen- year-old Donald T.
Nelson, deckhand on the Pilot Boat Columbia,
stands upon Buoy No. 2 at the mouth of the Colum-
bia River in this 198 photo,” his son, Jeffrey Nelson
wrote to the (ar about the photo he sent in, shown,
with a close up shot on the right.
“My dad, who went on to work for the Columbia
River Bar Pilots for 39 years and operated the Pilot
Boat Peacock now an on land exhibit at the Columbia
River Maritime Museum) for 21 years – wanted his
photo taken back in the day,” Jeffrey explained.
“Fellow deckhand Mike O’Brien dropped him off
from the ‘pulling boat’ from the Columbia and snapped
the shot. Then, as a joke, he and Capt. Leebeck left
him on the buoy for a full hour. Leebeck and O’Brien
found this immensely funny. When my dad was picked
up, he told me O’Brien hid in the fo’c’sle aboard the
Columbia to avoid bodily harm.” The (ar can certainly
understand why. “The framed photo now graces my
dad’s living room wall,” he added.
“'on Nelson holds the record 50,000 plus) for
most crossings of the Columbia River bar,” Jeffrey
proudly declared. “He is 83 years old, and has been
retired for 20 years. His scrapbook of photos is being
used as source material by author Michael Haglund
for an upcoming book, ‘World’s Most 'angerous: A
History of the Columbia River Bar, Its Pilots and Their
(quipment.’”
‘I KNOW THERE’S SPIRITS’
rom Aug. 5, 2011: The (ar gets a chuckle out of the comments
visitors write in the guest book at the Flavel House pictured
in about 1890), which were posted on George Flavel’s Facebook
page. While many are a hoot, some are wistful, and some, just
downright strange. Here’s a sampling:
“This place is haunted, look in the mirror.”
“This is my dream house, except I’d want regular toilets.”
“This place feels almost eerie, in the sense that I feel as if I
could turn around and see ... a servant scaling the stairs up to the
third Àoor. The history is ama]ing and I feel as if the past still walks
with us.”
“I shall patiently await the day when the parrot speaks again.”
“I have a huge down payment!”
“I loved the clocks — if only they worked!”
“The air was tepid so we used our fans. My friends came un-
done. My visit is bothersome.”
“I’m sure this house has spirits — I know there’s spirits! I al-
most passed out.”
“Beautiful house. Bathtub looks cold.”
“Wish I had a big, poofy dress and sipped tea with guests ...
with scones.”
And the (ar’s favorite so far): “It’s really nice, just not what
we’re looking for right now.”
F
WHAT?
F
rom Aug. 5, 2011: Several anonymous little birds told the
(ar about a parking sign gaffe at Columbia Memorial
Hospital, and one of those little birds actually took a photo of it
with her cell phone, shown above. One cannot help but wonder
what that doctor’s specialty is.
The (ar, always in pursuit of oddities to amuse you, gen-
tle readers, hustled on over there to get a look, but alas, the
sign had already been repainted. With something much easier
to spell: Staff Parking.
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Lower Columbia R/C Society
— 8:30 a.m., back room at Uptown
Cafe, 1639 S.E. Ensign Lane, War-
renton. Local Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA) chartered radio
control model aircraft club meets for
breakfast and business. All model
aircraft enthusiasts are welcome.
For information, call 503-458-5196
or 503-325-0608.
AAUW Monthly Meeting — 10
a.m., at the home of Donna Sunell,
Gearhart. Seaside Branch of Ameri-
can Association of University Wom-
en. Discussion presented by Pat
Lehman on membership outreach
tactics being used, based on 2016
strategic planning. The public is
welcome. For information, contact
Cindy Gould at 503-830-1979.
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
National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI) Support Group
— 2 to 3:30 p.m., Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway. Family to
Family Support Group, for anyone
with friend or loved one suffering
from a serious brain (mental) illness.
For information, contact Myra Kero
at 503-738-6165, or k7erowood@q.
com, or go to www.nami.org
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.
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.
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.
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
gram — noon, Warrenton Commu-
nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug-
gested donation of $5 for seniors
and $7 for those younger than 60.
For information, or to volunteer, call
503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday.
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.
Astoria Rotary Club — noon,
second Àoor of the Astoria Elks
Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always
welcome. For information, go to
www.AstoriaRotary.org
Parkinson’s Support Group
— 1 p.m., Peace Lutheran Church
library, 565 12th St. For informa-
tion, call 503-338-8469 or 503-440-
1970.
Seaside Lions Club — 5 p.m.,
West Lake Restaurant & Lounge,
1480 S. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside.
For information, call 503-738-7693.
Peninsula Quilt Guild — 1 p.m.,
Peninsula Church Center, 5000 N
Place, Seaview, Wash. Newcomers
welcome. Bring nonperishable food
donation. For information, call Janet
King at 360-665-3005.
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.
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.
3DFLÀF &RXQW\ :DVK 'HP-
ocrats — 7 p.m., South County
Building, 7013 Sandridge Road in
Long Beach, Wash. For informa-
tion, email Diane Knutson at dlknut-
son69@yahoo.com
See NOTES, Page 2B