The daily Astorian., May 19, 2016, Page 23, Image 32

MAY 19, 2016 // 23
BOOK SHELF // GLIMPSE // WILDLIFE // POP CULTURE // WORDS // Q&A // FOOD // FUN
NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Necanicum
[nē•kæn• ɪ •k ə m]
noun
1. Necanicum River: a
21-mile-long river that fl ows
west off of Humbug Moun-
tain alongside U.S. 26 only to
change course as it nears the
coast and head north, bisect-
ing Seaside before depositing
into the Pacifi c Ocean. The
Necanicum River forms the
fi rst estuary south of the
mouth of the Columbia River,
providing many tributaries
and wetlands with runoff
as well as drinking water for
the City of Seaside. Coho
and other species of salmon
utilize the Necanicum River
for spawning
2. an unincorporated
community located 13 miles
east of Seaside in the foothills
of the Coast Range alongside
U.S. 26. Necanicum Junction
has a convenience store and
gas station and a bus stop
served by both the Sunset
Empire Transportation District
and Amtrak
3. Necanicum Drive: a two-
mile, north-south roadway
in Seaside that hugs the
west bank of the Necanicum
River between First and 12th
avenues.
4. Necanicum Watershed
Council: servicing a popula-
tion of less than 10, 000 over
more than 54,000 acres and
86 stream miles that cover the
Necanicum, Neawanna and
Neacoxie water systems, the
watershed council is respon-
sible for providing municipal
water to the City of Seaside
and fl oodplain protection
as well as protecting natural
wildlife refuges and salmon
breeding grounds
Origin:
Most likely derived from
the Tillamook Salish. Necani-
cum is thought to be an angli-
cization of Ne-hay-ne-hum,
which was the name of an
Indian lodge near the ocean
and utilizes the prefi x, ne-,
meaning “place.” William Clark
fi rst marked it as Kil â mox (a
variant that would eventually
become Killamook, then Tilla-
mook) to describe a “butifull
river” that emptied into the
Pacifi c, but later crossed it
off his map and renamed it
the Clatsop River on January
7, 1806, though that name
would not stick. Known for
awhile as Latty Creek, in hon-
or of early pioneer resident
William Latty, the river was re-
corded as Nekonikon in 1887.
Necanacum and Nekanikum
were other spelling variations.
The community of Neca-
nicum was fi rst known as
“Alhers” as the area post offi ce
was named after Herman
Alhers, the fi rst and only
postmaster at the location.
Alhers himself changed the
name of the post offi ce to
“Push” in 1899, though the
post offi ce and town fi nally
settled on Necanicum in
1907 due to the community’s
proximity to the river. The
post offi ce closed in 1916,
only one year after the U.S.
Geological Board adopted
the current spelling in 1915
based off a decision concern-
ing local pronunciation. While
it is accepted that the original
meaning of the name is lost
to history, Postmaster Alhers
maintained that Necanicum
meant “a gap in the moun-
tains,” though many histori-
ans fi nd this unlikely as the
location of the original Indian
lodge was close to the ocean.
“Mr. Grimes, Proprietor of the hotel which
bears his name on Clatsop Beach, is engaged
in the construction of a new bridge across
Necanacum (or Latta’s), river which will very
materially shorten the distance in that vicinity,
and give a better road to travel.”
— “New Bridge,” Tri-Weekly Astori-
an, Thursday, July 3, 1873, P. 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Necanicum River forms the fi rst estuary south of the mouth
of the Columbia River, providing many tributaries and wetlands
with runoff as well as drinking water for the City of Seaside.
“Another important improvement planned
for this year is the further improvement of the
Twelfth avenue route to the beach. A bridge has
already been constructed Necanicum river at this
point, and by the improvement of the road to the
beach and the laying out of a turnaround here
facilities for reaching the ocean by automobile
will be greatly increased and congestion relieved
from the Broadway turnaround.”
— H. W. Lyman, “Seaside Prepares for
Greatest Season,” The Sunday Oregonian,
May 21, 1922, Section 6, P. 1
PHOTO BY MATT LOVE
Members of a local book club read Matt Love’s novel “The Great
Birthright” and invited the author to the beach for a discussion,
complete with a bonfi re, snacks and cans of Rainier beer.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
by MATT LOVE
Seaside Book Club
The beach bonfi re crackled;
its maker had obvious skills. The
sun was setting on a beautiful
Monday in late April. What a
joy to know that I live near the
ocean, while elsewhere traffi c
clogs minds and souls.
Arrayed around me, sitting on
driftlogs and in camping chairs,
were 10 adults, one 3-year old,
and a dog from a Seaside book
club. They had beer, wine, chips,
nuts, chicken and chocolate mints
at their disposal, and they were
disposing of them with gusto.
Actually, not everyone at the
bonfi re was an offi cial member
of the club. Some had simply
wandered by and joined the
event. Such is the nature of beach
bonfi res on the Oregon Coast.
Start one, and you never know
who might show up. Could be a
prophet. Could be pure riff raff .
The book club had read my
novel about Oregon’s unique leg-
acy of publicly owned beaches,
“The Great Birthright,” and invited
me to discuss it with them on
the beach around a bonfi re. How
could I refuse that invitation? I live
for this kind of non literary literary
gig. Naturally, there’s not a cent
in it. That makes it all the more
worth doing.
When I arrived, the event’s
organizer asked me if wanted
a beer. I said, “Sure,” and she
opened a cooler to reveal an
unexpected treasure: frosty cans
of Rainier , a brand of beer prom-
inently featured in the novel,
almost a character. Can a cheap
Pacifi c Northwest beer formerly
brewed in the Pacifi c Northwest
become a character in a novel?
Read the book, and you’ll see
how it happened.
They brought Rainier! How
thoughtful, how apropos, how
gritty. I cracked the can open,
and a few minutes later we went
on with the show. Rainier never
tasted so good.
Matt Love is the author/editor of 14 books,
including “The Great Birthright.” His books
are available at coastal bookstores or
through his website, nestuccaspitpress.com