DECEMBER 8, 2016 // 19
Neal Maine to talk 50th
anniversary of Beach Bill
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
This photo of the ferry sign at Megler was taken in May 1931.
The TJ Potter is docked at Megler Wharf in this historic photo.
Museum reopens ‘Memories of Megler’
ILWACO, Wash. — Fourteen
miles from the mouth of the
Columbia River, the 4.1-
mile Astoria-Megler Bridge
links Astoria, Oregon, to
Point Ellice at Megler in
Pacific County, Washington.
The area now known as
Megler stretches around a
historically important point
of land with a rich transpor-
tation history for the Lower
Columbia River.
Water crossings by ferry
began in 1908 at the site
that is now the Dismal Nitch
Rest Area and continued
until the opening of the As-
toria-Megler Bridge 50 years
ago on July 29, 1966.
Thanks to the sponsor-
ship of Lighthouse Real-
ty, the Columbia Pacific
Heritage Museum in Ilwaco
will reopen “Memories of
Megler,” its popular exhibit
exploring Megler from its
acquisition by the Ilwaco
Railroad and Navigation
Company through the
steam-ship era and into the
auto-ferry years.
Utilizing historic pho-
tographs and first person
memories, “Memories of
Megler” captures the end of
the ferry era and the begin-
ning of contemporary auto
travel on U.S. Highway 101.
“The ferry years are
still remembered fondly by
locals and visitors to the
Long Beach Peninsula,” said
Betsy Millard, executive
director of the Columbia Pa-
cific Heritage Museum. “We
are excited to re-hang this
exhibition with additional
photographs and memories
of crossing the Columbia by
ferry.”
“Memories of Megler”
will be on view from Dec.
10 to March 11.
The museum’s Com-
munity Historian Project
participants were involved
in much of this exhibit:
conducting research into
Megler’s history, arrang-
ing interviews, identifying
images and contributing
photographs.
The Community Histo-
rian Project will be starting
its fifth session in January.
Applications for participa-
tion are due Dec. 16.
For more information
about the Community
Historian Program, call the
museum at 360-642-3446
or visit www.columbiapaci-
ficheritagemuseum.org. The
museum is located at 115
S..E Lake St.
Olympic gold medalist to share memoir in Seaside
CANNON BEACH —For the
next World of Haystack
Rock lecture series talk,
Neal Maine will present
“The Oregon Beach Bill: 50
Years” in honor of the Beach
Bill’s 50th anniversary. The
talk will take place 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the
Cannon Beach Library, 131
N. Hemlock St.
When Gov. Oswald
West first protected Oregon
beaches with his “public
highway” approach over 100
years ago, little did he know
that it would set the stage for
Gov. Tom McCall to take the
next step 50 years ago with
the Oregon Beach Bill.
The next step in the
process could be for public
citizens to lead the way in
recasting the Oregon beach-
es as a dynamic ecosystem
between the ocean and the
upland. What better way to
celebrate this incredible pub-
lic resource than to honor its
ecology.
At his talk, Maine will
celebrate the 50 years of
the Oregon Beach Bill and
discuss the long overdue
discussion of its vital ecolo-
gy and the need for a “next
step” plan for this dynamic
public resource.
Maine was a biology
teacher for 30 years with
the Seaside School District.
After retiring from teaching
he served on the founding
board for the North Coast
Land Conservancy and
served as its director for
12 years. Maine currently
spends most of his time
prowling the coastal edge as
a wildlife photographer and
helping others appreciate
“living in paradise” on the
North Coast through presen-
tations and exhibits.
The World of Haystack
Rock lecture series is held
the second Wednesday of
each month, November to
April. It is put on by the
Friends of Haystack Rock
and the Cannon Beach
Library. Friends of Haystack
Rock supports the Haystack
Rock Awareness Program in
cooperation with the city of
Cannon Beach, promoting
the preservation and protec-
tion of the intertidal life and
birds that inhabit the Marine
Garden and the Oregon
Islands National Wildlife
Refuge at Haystack Rock.
Crossword Answer
SEASIDE — On Thursday,
Dec. 15, the Friends of the
Seaside Library will host
Carolyn Wood, author of
“Tough Girl: An Olympi-
ans Journey.” The event
will take place at 7 p.m. in
the library, located at 1311
Broadway, and there will be
book sales and signings by
Beach Books.
Wood was born in
Portland and swam for the
Multnomah Athletic Club
and Beaverton High School,
where she won seven indi-
vidual state championships
in butterfly, freestyle and the
individual medley. At the
1960 U.S. Olympic Trials,
at the age of 14, she fin-
ished first in the 100-meter
butterfly and was favored to
win the gold medal in Rome.
At the Olympics, during the
women’s 100-meter butterfly
final, Wood swallowed water
during the turn and did not
finish the race.
She did win a gold medal
as a member of the women’s
4X100-meter freestyle relay
team, together with Joan
Spillane, Shirley Stobs and
Chris von Saltza. The U.S.
relay team set a new world
record in the event final —
nine seconds faster than the
previous record. Wood was
the youngest member of the
1960 U.S. Olympic team to
win a medal.
Wood’s story in “Tough
Girl” details the training
and commitment it took
to become an Olympian
at just 14 years old. She
also tells of growing up in
mid-century Portland, of
being a closeted athlete,
and of coming out and
fighting for gay rights. It
is the account of youthful
dreams and exuberance,
of struggle and the will
to overcome obstacles in
sport as well as in life.
Following the Olym-
pics, Wood returned to her
hometown and completed
her studies at Beaverton
High School. She attended
the University of Oregon,
became an English teacher,
and taught at both Beaverton
and Wilson High Schools.
She was inducted into the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
in 1992.
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Tough Girl: An Olympian’s
Journey” by Carolyn Wood.
She started writing her
memoir “Tough Girl” in
2010, and it is her first book.
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