GRAB BAG book shelf • glimpse • wildlife • pop culture • words • q&a • food • fun
Photo by Matt Love
The Old Fish Trap in Chinook, Washington, is a great place to relax.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
The Old Fish Trap
I rolled into Chinook af-
ter a drive along the north-
ern side of the river. The tide was
extremely low and exposed the
mud fl ats in the afternoon sun.
They were incredibly beautiful,
and I could barely take my eyes
off them. I wish I could explain
the appeal of mudfl ats to me.
Perhaps it’s the metaphor of re-
vealing the bottom of something
as opposed to the surface.
The Old Fish Trap beckoned,
and I stopped in for a beer to be-
gin my weekend and relax after
an intense work week. When I try
to relax, I don’t want to try any-
thing new or involved. I just want
quiet, stasis and simplicity.
I walked in, did a quick visual
inspection, noticed a piano and
guitar, and ordered a lager from
North Jetty Brewery. I sat down
in a comfortable booth and felt
contentment wash ashore in the
exquisite silence of this joint. At
the bar, some regulars discussed
how a local “fi ngerless” man
worked as a handyman. It sound-
ed like great material for a short
story. But I wouldn’t write it — I
was supposed to be relaxing.
Yes, this was my kind of som-
nolent place. Wood, maroon and
black dominated the Old Fish
Trap’s décor, but there was much
more to admire than colors and
grainy textures. I loved the his-
toric photographs of logging and
fi shing, fi sh-themed fi ne art, vin-
tage coff ee can collection, crab
pot and propeller blade. I espe-
cially loved the fake kitten asleep
near the front window.
Not a single customer
was on a phone. People were
talking.
I visit these places because
they don’t hustle or exude a
shred of irony. They are exact-
ly as they appear. I will never
understand why people visit
the coast and then patronize
the same kind of establish-
ments that they frequent at
home, like the power couple
from Seattle who go to the
Seattle bar in Astoria. What’s
the point? Can’t you drink
your fancy liquorless drinks at
home?
A quasi old timer walked
in. The female bartender said,
“Art, do you want a PBR?”
Art said, “Yes.” He said it
slowly.
The bartender brought
over the beer and told Art
about the upcoming April
weekend in Chinook. “It’s go-
ing to be super rowdy, and
everybody is going to be
turning up.”
“I hope not,” said Art.
I’m with Art. The Old Fish
Trap is the best place around
to turn it down, not up. Up is
overrated.
Matt Love is the author/editor of 14
books, including “A Nice Piece of Asto-
ria.” His books are available through all
coastal bookstores (except one) or his
website, nestuccaspitpress.com
NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Natatorium
>Q tԥtܧriԥm@
noun
plural, natatoria
1. arch. an indoor pool for
swimming, esp. a free-stand-
ing building that houses an
indoor swimming pool. The
pool buildings that littered
the Oregon Coast in the
early 20th Century, from Nye
Beach to Seaside, relied on
pumping in heated seawa-
ter from the nearby Pacifi c
Ocean, and off ered conces-
sions and entertainment,
such as nickelodeons and
live music
Origin:
First recorded in 1890 and
arising in New England from the
Late Latin verb, natāre (meaning
“to swim”) + -atorium (a loaned
suffi x from Latin denoting a
place). Natatorium literally
means, “a place to swim.”
The term was at its height
of popularity in the U.S. around
the 1920s, just as many of the
buildings along the Oregon
Coast were being construct-
ed. The term fell steeply out
Photo courtesy Cannon Beach History Center
Riders rest on horses in front of the Cannon
Beach Natatorium circa 1926-28.
of fashion in the early 1960s,
around the same time the last
one on the North Coast, the
Seaside Natatorium, closed.
“Cannon Beach’s natatorium was
built in 1924 by William Mahon and was
often referred to as ‘The Nat.’”
— Elaine Trucke, “Historic photos: Nata-
torium was more than a place to swim,” The
Daily Astorian, Friday, March 27, 2015, P. 2C
“The building that now houses the
aquarium opened as Seaside Baths, a
natatorium, in August 1924, and it of-
fered warm saltwater swimming.”
—Katherine Lacaze, “‘History and Hops’
educates with frosty pints of craft beer,” The
Daily Astorian, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, P. 3A
“SEASIDE, Or., Oct. 18.—(Spe-
cial.)—Work will be commenced about
January 1 on a $30,000 natatorium in
this city by J. E. Oates, who owns the site
opposite the Moore Hotel.”
—“Natatorium is Planned,” The Morn-
ing Oregonian, Sunday, Oct. 19, 1913, P. 11
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