THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2016
COMMUNITY
1B
THREE IS NOT A CROWD
FRAZILED
JAIL TALE
he Koski family got a pre-Halloween treat several decades
ago. “My sisters made Astoria history in 1946, because they
were the first triplets born in Astoria, “older sister and mother hen”
Diane (Koski) Schell, now living in Eugene, proclaimed to the
Ear. The triplets, pictured in a 2011 photo, from left, are Carla Lyn
Hansen, Cathy Lee Shoel and Carol Lou Hurd.
The family originally came from Finland, and the sisters
are third-generation Astorians. When the X-ray taken of Doris
(Osmus) Koski’s baby bump at the local doctor’s office showed
three heads, not one, she was afraid to tell her husband, Toivo
“Ed” Koski, a teller at Wells Fargo Bank. Hopefully, he had time
to recover from the shock before the girls arrived Oct. 29, 1946.
The girls were a novelty in town, and everywhere else, for that
matter. Triplets, conceived naturally and without fertility treat-
ments, are a true rarity. A story in The Daily Mail proclaims that the
chances are one in 8,000 to have triplets at all, but the chances that
all three are identical are anywhere from one in 60,000 to one in
200 million (http://tinyurl.com/koskitrip). Nobody seems to know
the actual figure, apparently.
On their second birthday, the Koski triplets joined triplet heif-
ers, Anna Mae, Anna Lou and Annabelle, who were born at a farm-
house “that sits way back on Youngs Bay” for a group photo, Diane
recalled. Photographers came all the way from Finland to get the
shot.
The four sisters are close to this day, and Diane, still the mother
hen, called recently to remind the Ear that Astoria’s very own trip-
lets just had their 70th birthday. So here you go, Diane: Happy
Birthday, ladies!
T
NO COMPARISON
his is the dad of my good friend and neighbor, Eddie Rob-
inson,” Astorian Dave Kinney wrote, describing his TV
screen shot (shown) of the older Eddie Robinson, 95, and his
wife, Bette, in the stands watching the sixth game of the World
Series — Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians — on Tuesday
night.
The camera panned to Robinson because the former first base-
man is the last surviving member of the Cleveland Indians 1948
World Series championship team. (Slight digression: It was the
first World Series televised on a nationwide network, according
to Mr. Wikipedia.) He is also the oldest living New York Yan-
kee, and was there at Yankee Stadium for Babe Ruth’s farewell
appearance(http://tinyurl.com/edrobny).
When asked is there is any comparison between this year’s
Indians team and his, he said there was none. “Baseball was
played differently in ’48,” he told CBS News (http://tinyurl.com/
edrob48), “and it’s really hard to try to draw a parallel between
baseball as it’s played today and baseball as it was played back
then.”
rom The Daily Morning Astorian, Sunday, Nov. 6,
1898, about the Clatsop County Jail. Pictured, cour-
tesy of the Oregon Judicial Department (http://tinyurl.com/
courthist), the original wooden courthouse in Astoria, (pic-
tured circa 1893). The current one was built at the same
location in 1904. The old jail, torn down in 1913, is at left.
Here’s the story:
… There is an air of repose discernable among all of
Jailer Binder’s boarders, and the interior of the building
is scrupulously clean. The most interesting spot, perhaps,
inside the old building is the room on the left as one enters
the outer hall. Hanging on the wall is a manila rope which
swung Hansen into eternity.
Hansen was hanged in the courthouse yard about five
years ago for the murder of his wife, near Bear Creek. The
leaden weights used on Hansen’s feet and the electric but-
ton which gave the signal that launched him into the great
unknown hang beside it. In this room are stowed away the
effects of several unfortunates that are now confined or have
died in the state insane asylum.
Among the four prisoners is … Wm. Henry, who is
serving a sentence of six months for petty larceny (and)
employs his time in making fancy baskets. This is the prin-
cipal occupation of the prisoners confined in the jail for any
length of time. Zulovich, who was taken to the penitentiary
to serve a year’s sentence for manslaughter, taught Henry
the art, Zulovich himself being taught by a prisoner whose
sentence expired some time before.
… (Prisoner) Jones served a sentence previously for
(petty larceny), and on the day he was liberated, stole an
overcoat and a pair of shoes from two different parties …
He is a desperate crook and no chances are taken with him
by Jailer Binder.
F
RIDING THE KATY TRAIL
‘T
DOTTED LINES
storia writer Jim Dott (www.james-
dott.com), author of “A Glossary of
Memory,” proclaims that his first love is
poetry, so it’s not surprising that he went all
out and participated in the October 30/30
Project.
That meant he had to write 30 poems
in 30 days and raise funds to support the
efforts of the non-profit Tupelo Press,
which primarily publishes poetry. Yes, he finished all 30 poems,
and is grateful to his local supporters. You can read the results of
his efforts at http://tinyurl.com/dott3030
So how did he do it? “I thought it might be a challenge to
come up with a topic each day, but the change of seasons, the
weather, and current and past events kept the ideas coming,” Jim
explained. “Being retired allowed me the time to create without
too much stress. When I was running short of ideas near the end
of the month, I got some help from friends who gave me some
excellent suggestions.”
A
he Internet has been afire with reports of a Loch Ness-type sea
monster in Fairbanks, Alaska, all because of a video taken
on the Chena River by Craig McCaa of an icy object that was
moving back and forth in the current.
With over 900,000 views of the video on the Bureau of Land
Management - Alaska Facebook page (a screen shot is shown),
speculation ran wild. Monster? Greenland shark? What?
A rather prosaic answer was provided to the Alaska Dispatch
News by Alaska Department of Fish and Game Tanana River Man-
agement Biologist Klaus Wuttig (http://tinyurl.com/icebeast). He
said it was probably just a rope, stuck to the pier, that had become
covered with frazil ice (slush that forms in water), causing it to
come to the surface and float. Whatever it was, a thaw made it dis-
appear. No more monster.
T
‘PACKED POWDER’
lind Pilot’s new video, “Packed Powder” (from the new
album “And Then Like Lions”) popped up in a strange place
on Halloween Day — in the Wall Street Journal’s In Speakeasy/
New Music blog section (http://tinyurl.com/BP-wsjblog), which is
now behind a paywall. But never fear, you can also see it on Blind
Pilot’s Facebook page, or at http://tinyurl.com/BP-powder
In the video, lead singer Israel Nebeker has a romp around
Astoria, with scenes shot inside Deja Vu and the Astoria Market.
Even the Glam Tram gets a nod, as does the Oysterville (Wash-
ington) Church, and let’s not forget the fireworks. The band even
plays and sings on a small boat on the Columbia River, surrounded
by synchronized swimmers. (A screen shot from the video is
shown to prove it.)
“The song idea came from my teenage years,” Israel told WSJ,
“when my friends and I would take apart fireworks and repack
them to make them more exciting.”
B
ON THE BALL
e like to think of Clatsop County as the center of the
Lewis and Clark journey on the Columbia River,
but there is another part of their river trail that is surpris-
ingly easy to access,” Astoria cyclist Peter Marsh (pictured,
inset) told the Ear after the completion of his recent 1,100
mile ride from Virginia to Kansas City.
“On the last leg across Missouri, I followed the Katy
Trail State Park — a rail to trail conversion on a line that
runs 237 miles west from St. Louis along the bank of the
Missouri River,” he explained, noting that “the Lewis and
Clark Museum and Boathouse in St. Charles, a suburb of
St. Louis, is a treasure trove of information and activities,
and the base of the official re-enactors and their replica boats.
“For over 100 miles west to Boonville, the line has
been designated as an official segment of the Lewis and
Clark National Historic Trail. The story of their epic jour-
ney is well told with informational signs marking every sin-
gle night they camped on the arduous outward journey, and
large maps at the new station/rest areas.” His photo of a rail-
road bridge on the trail is shown.
“Looking down on the swiftly-running river,” he recalled,
“it’s hard to imagine how anyone could navigate a heavi-
ly-loaded 55-foot keelboat upstream among the sandbars
using only oars, poles and towropes that led to the muddy
bank.”
Well, riding a bicycle 1,100 miles is no small feat, either.
‘W
hat could be more appropriate for World Tsuami Aware-
ness Day on Saturday than an update on Julian Sharpe’s
life-saving device, the Survival Capsule, aka the tsunami ball?
After six years the Mukilteo, Washington-based engineer’s inven-
tion is ready for production, according to a recent KIRO7 report
(http://tinyurl.com/capready).
The Survival Capsule can be tethered to the ground so it can rise
and fall on the wave’s surface, or it can be put on top of a building
to float off if the water comes up that high. Designed to deal with
heavy impacts and fire, the capsule comes in several models that
can accommodate 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 occupants.
“We hope to start selling officially in Japan in the first half of
next year,” Sharpe told KIRO7. “As far as the domestic market is
concerned, we have decided to launch the two-person capsule next
month officially.” And where will the very first U.S. Survival Cap-
sule be installed? Long Beach, Washington.
Thinking of buying one? You can pre-order at http://surviv-
al-capsule.com, but they aren’t cheap. A two-person model (pic-
tured, from Sharpe’s website) is between $13,000 and $15,000,
depending on how many extra features and amenities you want.
“It’s not anywhere near as expensive as building vertical evac-
uation tower facilities on the ocean, which are fixed solutions,”
Sharpe explained. “And let’s face it, fixed solutions can be over-
run (with water).”
W