THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016
COMMUNITY
1B
TRAVELIN’ MAN
BAD NEWS FOR THE GARBAGE PATCH
SPIRIT QUEST
oy wonder and driving force behind The Ocean Cleanup
(www.theoceancleanup.com), Boyan Slat, recently
announced the preliminary results of the Aerial Expedition, the
irst aerial survey of the Great Paciic Garbage Patch, according
to EcoWatch.com (http://tinyurl.com/pacpatch). He is pictured in
an Ocean Cleanup photo.
The team’s low-speed, low-altitude lights are inspecting an
estimated 2,300 square miles of ocean. And so far, the news isn’t
good. “During a period of just two and a half hours, our crew
observed more than 1,000 large objects of plastic loating under-
neath this aircraft,” he said at a press conference.
“Although we still need to get a detailed analysis of the results,
it’s really quite safe to say that it’s worse than we thought,” he
concluded. “Again, this underlines the urgency of why we need
to clean it up …” — which he eventually hopes to do with his
V-shaped boom array. Will he succeed? Stay tuned.
B
FUNKY CHICKEN
o you have a shop chicken?” Mindy Stokes inquired.
“Paciic Window Restoration does. Pictured is Adam
Dean, employee of PWR, with Ruby Jr. When Adam isn’t glaz-
ing, stripping, or painting, he’s busy serenading the chicken.
Adam plays a variety of songs for Ruby, including ‘Do the Funky
Chicken’ and ‘Chicken Strut.’”
So, where is business owner Katie Rathmell during the festiv-
ities? “Fabricating windows, of course,” Mindy assured the Ear.
“She won’t get caught dancing with the chicken. At least not on
camera.”
‘D
BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY
he Ear has received word from intrepid writer/photographer,
cyclist and Astorian Peter Marsh, who is off on yet another
adventure. “I have spent two weeks biking from central Virginia
to west Kentucky along the Trans America route,” he wrote.
“Surprisingly, this has felt like the toughest leg of the whole 4,400
miles, though my goal is just to cross the Mighty Mississippi this
year — about 1,000 miles.
“The greatest pleasure has come from staying overnight in a
couple of church halls — though considering how many churches
there are in Kentucky, that’s not a huge Christian welcome by any
means. The last two nights I have been given the use of volunteer
ire stations, which are a fascinating place to sleep.
“I certainly admire the people who do it all in one huge trip to
Astoria, but breaking it up doesn’t make the hills any easier. Doing
this for 60-90 days could certainly get a bit tedious.”
T
o, what does a retired maritime museum director do?”
Jerry Ostermiller was asked. Take a grand solo river
trip on the Ninya — his 22-foot sailboat (minus mast) outit-
ted with a 9.9 hp trolling motor — that’s what.
“The journey from Lewiston, Idaho, to the Paciic took
27 days, and encompassed 630 river miles (on the Snake
and the Columbia) through the Idaho, Washington and Ore-
gon major navigation waterways of the Inland Empire,” he
wrote. The trip also included going through eight locks and
exploring tributary rivers and coves.
“The impetus … came from a conversation with my
father as he was dying in 1978 from complications as a
POW — he spent 3.5 years in a prison camp after sur-
viving the Bataan Death March in World War II,” he
explained. “We talked about life, loves and regrets and he
mentioned he always wanted to take his little open ish-
ing boat, with its small motor, from Lewiston to Astoria
— but never did.
“He thought going slow was a unique experience and
privilege because he learned, while trolling when ishing,
one of his main pleasures in his life is the plentiful time that
moving along slowly gave him for relection and seeing
everything along the way intimately.
“My 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Ninya (pictured inset),
who died of leukemia in 1974, was his favorite of favorites,
and since I always named my boats after her, I thought it it-
ting that I mount a photo of them, together, where I could see
it as I traveled all the way down the Great River at about 5
mph.” The picture is especially meaningful for him, as their
faces, with their huge identical grins, made heartwarming
companions.
“Together, the three of us shared in the adventure as kin-
dred spirits,” he added, “so I found this particular journey
incredibly rewarding in many ways and many dimensions,
and certainly it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me
personally.”
‘S
AROUND TOWN
uggets from The Daily
Morning Astorian, Tues-
day, Oct. 7, 1884:
• There is too much politics
in The Astorian … Sometime —
maybe in a couple of hundred
years — the newspapers will
have more backbone and refuse
to print columns of bosh; just at present, the excuse is: “They all do
it,” and the tide rolls on. (Yup, 1884 was also a presidential cam-
paign year: Grover Cleveland vs. James G. Blaine.)
• In Vermont lithographic prescriptions for cocktails are used …
they are put up by druggists, who charge from 20 to 50 cents (about
$12 now) a prescription. Much sickness is said to prevail.
• Alf. Bowe, the handsomest man in Paciic County and the
next territorial councilman from across the river, was making eyes
at the girls on Chenamus Street yesterday afternoon.
• Dr. Koch says the way to avoid the cholera is to drink no
water. It must be fearful stuff, that water. It will rot the soles of one’s
boots, and there is no telling what it would do to one’s stomach.
N
‘THE OLDER THE FIDDLER,
THE SWEETER THE TUNE’
SAFE AND SOUND
e thought he was going for Chinese food with his daughter,
but instead Jim Hansen (former band director at Warrenton
High School) found himself at a surprise 92nd birthday party at
3 Cups Coffee last Sunday,” Janet Bowler wrote. “About 50 peo-
ple gathered to sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ graze at a tasty buffet, eat
birthday cake, and tell Jim stories — and listen to Jim tell stories of
his adventures and life lessons.”
And there are many tales to tell. “He is a World War II vet,”
Michael “Sasha” Miller pointed out. “He was a trumpet player
during the Big Band era. (And) Jim has known some amazing peo-
ple, like Janet Marshall Stevenson, who was a scriptwriter and
playwright and was blacklisted from Hollywood, and mayor of lit-
tle Hammond. He (also) knew James Beard.
“In his childhood in Montana, they were the only white peo-
ple on their side of the town. He was friends with Blackfoot and
Dakota Sue, and built rafts and loated down the river with them.
The very oldest Indians he saw as a child were the ones who fought
Custer in their youth.
“In college he had small parts in which he shared the stage with
Carroll O’Connor. My God, the man shook Dizzy Gillespie’s
hand, perhaps his favorite moment … During his time at Warren-
ton, that little town had one of the best high school bands in the
state, and several of the best players.”
Jim is pictured with Carly Lackner (right) and Sasha in the
background. Carly and her husband, TJ, own 3 Cups Coffee. She
made Jim a carrot cake with B# (B sharp) written on it, and four
candles — a nod to his childhood near a reservation, and because
four is a sacred number to many Native Americans.
“Jim is a regular at 3 Cups Coffee,” Janet added, “and those who
missed the party can probably ind him there from time to time to
catch up on old times, or pass on their own birthday wishes.”
‘H
n Sept. 29, Angela Reed could easily have died in a devastat-
ing house ire in Warrenton that did kill several of her beloved
pets. “I thank my lucky stars for my goat, Scotty (pictured). My
brave little one got me awake, and took me outside,” Angela told
the Ear.
“That day he was playing on the beach. That night we watched
the football game together, and he went to bed with me,” she
explained. “He kept jumping off the bed onto the shelf, trying to
make noises — but I was so used to the noises.
“When he realized he could not wake me up, he started pulling
on me and nudging me with his head until I woke up. I went to the
upper loor, realized it was smoke, and I grabbed his collar … He
dragged me — I couldn’t catch up with him.”
Scotty, who was raised with dogs and is “so full of personality”
was Angela’s constant companion, even before he saved her life.
“Oddly enough, he goes everywhere with me,” she said. “He goes
on car rides and shopping with me … he’s on the couch, and he
took over my computer chair, when I had one.”
There’s a GoFundMe page, created by Angela’s friend, Nick
Tucker, set up to help her get a fresh start, since she lost prac-
tically everything in the ire. You can donate at www.gofundme.
com/2saqudms
“Scotty is a wonderful goat, he is my hero,” she declared. “I
would also like to thank all my friends, family, and their friends for
their help and donations.”
O
R
ich Ewing, owner of the Inferno Lounge, told the Ear
there is a fascinating vintage safe at Abeco Ofice Sys-
tems on Commercial Street. His photos (from left) of its the
outer doors, inner doors, and interior are shown. Of course,
the Ear wanted to know more, and Teri Latham of Abeco
had the answers.
“The safe is a Herring-Hall Marvin Company safe,” Teri
wrote. “Patents were Feb. 25, 1873, Oct. 15, 1878, and July
23 and Oct 29, 1867. It was in the building at Abeco when
we purchased it from the Stramiello family. Tony Strami-
ello started the business in 1949, and when he purchased the
building the safe was already there.
“The inside safe has never been opened and no one
knows the combination. I have had two locksmiths look at
it, but apparently it is not an easy one to open. I have had
so much interest in the safe locally, but because if is on the
second loor of the building, it would be very expensive to
move.”
“I would love to see it go to someone who loves vintage,”
Teri added, but there’s a hitch. “The estimate to move it from
a professional mover was $25,000.” Any takers?