JULY 21, 2016 // 23
BOOK SHELF // GLIMPSE // WILDLIFE // POP CULTURE // WORDS // Q&A // FOOD // FUN
NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Clatskanie
>NO W‡VN౾‡QDܼ@
noun
1. a small city and timber
town in Columbia County
situated on U.S. Highway
30 in the Nehalem Valley.
First incorporated in 1891,
the current population,
according to the 2010
census, is 1,737. Clatskanie
is also notable for being
the birthplace of writer and
poet Raymond Carver
2. Clatskanie River: a
25-mile-long tributary of
the Columbia River that
drains out of the Coast
Range and into a slough
approximately 5 miles
south of Westport
Origin:
Both Clatskanie and
Klaskanine (the name of
another river; this one a
tributary of the Youngs Riv-
er in Clatsop County) come
as variants from the native
word, Tlats-kani, which one
source claims means “swift
running water.” As native
peoples were not in the
habit of naming rivers, but
rather locations and points
on a river, it was early white
settlers who misapplied the
word to the river itself from
which the city later took its
name.
The name Tlatskani or
Tlatskanai was also the
name given to a once
fi erce tribe of the Athapas-
kan-speaking language
group that descended from
Southwest Washington into
the upper Nehalem Valley
and whose numbers dwin-
dled into extinction by the
early 20th century follow-
ing a smallpox epidemic.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall in Clatskanie, de-
signed by prominent architect Ernst Kroner in 1926, fell into
disrepair in the 1990s. The eff ort to renovate the building be-
gan in 2005. Last year, after a successful $3.18 million capital
campaign and 18 months of interior renovation work, the
Clatskanie Cultural Center reopened.
PHOTO BY MATT LOVE
Bill’s Tavern in Cannon Beach is a central, intimate location to
enjoy a beer.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
By MATT LOVE
Bill’s Tavern and Brew House
PHOTO BY DAMIAN MULINIX
In this December 2014 fi le photo, Brian Alfonse of Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife prepares to release an adult
chum salmon in Stewart Creek near Clatskanie as part of an
ongoing restoration project.
When it was fi rst platted
in 1852, the city was briefl y
known as Bryantville, after
early settler E.G. Bryant,
before offi cially being listed
with the U.S. Postal Service
as Clatskanie in 1871.
“Clatskanie valley lies south of
the Columbia river, about sixty miles
down stream from Portland, and
forty above Astoria, and is the most
extensive agricultural district in
Columbia county. It is drained by the
Clatskanie river, which is navigable for
steamers between the Columbia and
the city of Clatskanie, which lies on
the right bank of the river fi ve miles
above its mouth.”
— “Columbia County, Oregon,” The
West Shore, March 1, 1889, P. 152
“First and most important to the
health of a community is its water
supply. Clatskanie owns its own
water system. The water is mountain
water piped from the hills on either
side of town. It is cold and very pure.
Those who have tasted it prefer it
to the famous Bull Run water of
Portland.”
—Gertrude Collins, “Clatskanie,
Oregon,” The Columbia Register, Friday, Sept.
29, 1905, P. 8
Rain ripped through the
streets of Cannon Beach on
a June afternoon. School
was out and so were plenty
of haphazard umbrellas on
crowded sidewalks. Local
ophthalmologists were all
cheering the probable spike
in new business.
I stepped inside Bill’s
Tavern and Brew House to
drink a beer and peruse two
excellent fi nds from the Can-
non Beach Library book sale.
I always strike gold there.
Bill’s Tavern soothes me.
I like its small scale and
intimate atmosphere.
I struck up a conversation
with two bartenders/servers,
Evie and Joel. Both started
working at Bill’s when it
opened in 1997; they were
both 21. They’ve obviously
got a lot of history with the
tavern. I bet they have some
hot after-hours stories of
Cannon Beach, too. Maybe
I’ll get to hear them one day,
especially about the time
members from Kiss stayed at
a motel in town a decade or
so ago.
Rain picked up outside
and more people began
entering, but the pace
remained languid, and qui-
etude still prevailed.
I asked Joel what he
thought about the recent
opening of big new brewer-
ies on the north and south
ends of town. Would this
hurt business?
“It will be a relief,” he said.
“Take the pressure off us.”
He hesitated for a sec-
ond, then added, “We’ve still
got the location.”
That’s certainly true
about Bill’s. The tavern and
brewhouse is in the middle
of all the Cannon Beach
action.
Joel drifted away to
handle customers. I sipped
my beer, jotted a few notes
on my guest check, and
wondered: Can the area
sustain more breweries?
Growth seems endless. Is
more beer coming our way?
More crowds? Will there
soon be any tiny sanctuaries
of stillness left to drink a
beer in peace?
Matt Love is the author/editor of
14 books, including “A Nice Piece of
Astoria” and “The Great Birthright.”
His books are available at coastal
bookstores or his website,
nestuccaspitpress.com
SHANGHAIED
IN ASTORIA S 3 EA 2 S O N N D
Tickets on sale ONE HOUR before all shows!
SHOW RUNS THRU
SEPTEMBER 10, 2016
Thursdays to Saturdays 7pm (July 7th-Sept. 10th)
and Sundays 2pm (7/24, 8/14, 9/4)
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
For tickets go to
astorstreetoprycompany.com
Or by phone: 503-325-6104
ASOC
PLAYHOUSE
129 W. BOND ST
(UNIONTOWN)
ASTORIA
(Behind the Chamber
of Commerce)