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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2016)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 COMMUNITY 1B A CUTE LITTLE ‘PUP’ TITANIC REDUX ‘EVERYTHING IS RUINED’ N otoriety ensued when a write-up in the Daily Mail online (http://tinyurl.com/prankpup) appeared about Seaside resident Kayla Eby’s decision to have a little fun and prank her husband, Justin Bogh. She is pictured, inset, in a photo from her Facebook page. “I found this cute little dog outside … he doesn’t have tags or anything,” she texted him. “What should I do? I’m going to bring him inside. He seems cold. Poor pup.” Next she posted a photo of her son, Oliver, on the sofa, happily sitting next to the new “pup,” a coyote, writing, “Look how cute.” Her photo of the pair is also shown. Then she made several other remarks to goad him on, saying that she and their son named the “pup” Spot, and that she tried pet- ting him, “but that seemed to kinda make him more mad. What do I do?” Needless to say, her husband was flabbergasted. And alarmed. He replied in several outraged posts, concluding: “I am going to come home to my family eaten by a wild coyote my wife brought into the house. This is the craziest thing you’ve ever done.” It took Kayla a while to convince him that she hadn’t really let a coyote into the house — and of course, that infuriated him even more, the poor fellow. Their loopy and hilarious conversation and photo are an Internet hit; the Daily Mail reported they’ve been shared over a quarter of a million times. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER J erry and Evelyn (Swerdlik) Leshgold of Portland and Gearhart recently celebrated their diamond (75th) wedding anniversary. When Jerry finished his undergraduate degree at the Univer- sity of Washington in 1939, he moved to Portland to attend optom- etry school. “Evelyn was still in high school, but they dated on weekends and, as they were both struggling financially, went dutch treat,” one of their daughters, Carol Rosenthal, wrote. “Evelyn agreed to marry Jerry after they saved $200, but finally agreed that the $50 saved (about $800 now) was enough. They were married Nov. 20, 1941.” So few couples make it to their 75th anniversary that there aren’t even any statistics. What’s their secret? “We have gotten along so well in recent years because we are both so hard of hear- ing!” Evelyn noted. “When we got married we made a deal,” Jerry said. “Evelyn would make all the minor decisions and I, the major decisions.” He added that there have not yet been any major decisions. Y esterday, Dec. 8, was the 94th anniversary of the dev- astating 1922 Astoria fire that destroyed 24 blocks of the downtown business district, causing $12 million in damage (about $171 million now) and leaving at least 2,000 homeless. According to several stories in the Morning Oregonian on Saturday, Dec. 9, 1922, the fire destroyed “every depart- ment store, hotel, bank and countless small business estab- lishments.” As one headline said, “Everything is ruined.” Remarkably only two deaths were left in its wake. Norris Staples, president of the Commercial Savings bank, died of heart failure at 4 a.m. from his exertions during the fire. Coroner Hughes concluded that laborer John G. Smith, 50, who was found hanging by the neck from a pier at the foot of Eighth Street at daybreak, com- mitted suicide from fright. The fire was discovered around 2 a.m. in a wooden building housing Thiel’s Café on Commercial Street between 11th and 12th streets, and was out of control within half an hour. The fire’s rapid spread was attributed to the flames eating their way below the paved streets, then being fed by the creosote on the pilings holding up the pavement. Dynamite was used to stop the fire’s progress, but even so, Astorians as far as 10 blocks away were mov- ing furniture and valuables uphill to safety. When flames threatened city hall, the prisoners were released; coinci- dentally, the court docket mysteriously disappeared. Firefighters, apparatus and 6,000 feet of hose arrived from Portland the next morning, and the fire was under control by noon. Portland hotel owners donated $5,000 to the relief fund, Portland wholesale grocers and baker- ies sent food to the stricken city, and the American Red Cross and Salvation Army showed up to help. The local YMCA served food, and soldiers and special policemen stood guard downtown to prevent looting. Pictured, in the aftermath, Astoria Bank and Wein- hard Hotel. Despite streets, gas and water pipes and elec- trical and phone systems being destroyed, Astoria was promptly rebuilt — this time on dredge sands, not wooden pilings — with a new layout and wider streets, much as it looks today. PRIZED POSSESSION BEST BUDDIES? rden Lindsley of Surfside in Ocean Park, Washing- ton, is heartbroken, and rightly so. Someone came up onto her deck and stole a set of elk antlers that are pre- cious to her. They belonged to her son, Kurtis Cox, who was killed in April 2014. Arden and her son are pictured. Kurtis was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. “These antlers were his prized possession because they were so perfectly balanced,” Arden said, an important feature to those who collect antlers. “He just thought they were the cat’s — or elk’s — meow.” The antlers are pictured at Kur- tis’ memorial service. The set, which is very heavy and attached to a piece of 2-by-4, was stolen sometime about a week ago. If you know of the antlers’ whereabouts, please contact the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office, or contact the Ear at 503- 325-3211, ext. 257, or ewilson@dailyastorian.com. Or, please, just return them — no questions asked. “I am just grief-stricken,” Arden said. T he keel of a full-scale accurate replica of the RMS Titanic, expected to cost 1 billion yuan (about $145 million), was laid recently near the Daying Qi River, in Southwest China, according to DailyMail online (http://tinyurl.com/chinatitan1). “After the RMS Titanic sank, nobody saw its complete set of blueprints,” investment company chairman Su Shaojun told Chi- naDaily (http://tinyurl.com/chinatitan). “Many blueprint fragments found their way into the hands of collectors or remained missing. We spent many years collecting the blueprints from many parts of the world and managed to obtain most of them.” A diagram of the replica is shown, courtesy of ChinaDaily. The menu will be the same as on the original voyage, Daily- Mail reported, and even the door handles and light switches will be accurate. A tad more unnerving is the “high-tech simulator” that will recreate the moment Titanic hit the iceberg. The theme park/hotel attraction is expected to be able to open in October, but a visit won’t come cheap. On the good side, however, the Daily Mail says the money raised will go to a charity set up to provide aid during maritime disasters. If your history is a little rusty, the great-grandson of Astoria’s namesake, John Jacob Astor IV, died in the Titanic disaster. His pregnant wife, Madeline, survived and gave birth to John Jacob “Jakey” Astor VI four months later in New York ( http://tinyurl. com/jjastorVI). ‘IT LET ME GO ACROSS’ A storian Peter Marsh (http://sea-to-summit.net) recalled when he met 46-year-old Frenchman Gerard d’Aboville, who made the news when he arrived in Ilwaco, Washington, on Nov. 21, 1991, after spending 134 days rowing across the Pacific Ocean from Choshi, Japan, in his narrow 26-foot rowboat, the Sector. However, his arrival didn’t go without a hitch: In the bad weather and high seas off the coast, Gerard disappeared. His cousin, Oliv- ier de Kersauson, flew in and took charge of the search. “He char- tered a 45-foot shrimp boat in Ilwaco,” Peter wrote, “and they finally found the Sector, upside down for the 38th time, 20 miles offshore.” Gerard was pulled aboard the shrimp boat, and the Sec- tor was towed to safety. “Gerard was lowered back into the river once they were across the bar, and he took up the oars for the final time to slowly row past Cape Disappointment and into Ilwaco,” Peter added. “… The scene was recorded by dozens of cameramen crowding the dock, and local residents on shore. He stepped onto land … on shaky legs, looking very frail, and had to be supported as he made his way up the ramp … (he) had lost 37 pounds in weight.” Of note: According to OceanRowing.com (http://tinyurl.com/ rowrecord), after this feat, Gerard d’Aboville was the first person to row solo across two oceans (he crossed the Atlantic in 1980). A few technical details: The boat’s watertight living compart- ment was 31 inches high, and contained a bunk, a one-burner stove, and a solar-powered ham radio and telex, Peter reported. Two desalination pumps provided fresh water. A pumping system used seawater as ballast, so “in a capsize, this required the rower to be in the cabin with the hatch shut tight, then he could transfer the water to one side to right the boat.” Peter took the photos shown at a press conference Gerard gave at the Columbia River Maritime Museum soon after his arrival. The Frenchman told the crowd he was constantly wet, and had to row 10 to 14 hours a day. “There are no good moments in such a trip — I thought more than once that I would die,” he said in accented English. “I did not conquer the Pacific,” he concluded, “it let me go across.” A ‘H ank, meet Henry. Henry, meet Hank!” The Seaside Aquarium’s Facebook post says, describing the aquari- um’s photo, which is shown. “These two are so funny, they have become the most unusual pair. Every morning before the aquar- ium opens, Henry goes inside and sits on the octopus’ tank. The octopus is just as interested in Henry as Henry is with him. #BFF” More pictures accompany the posting of the cat gingerly reaching out and patting one of the octopus’ tentacles. No word yet if either one has invited the other for dinner. LIGHT ’EM UP U p for a Christmas light show with music? Head on over to the Daniel Knight Warren House, 107 N.E. Skipanon Drive in Warrenton. Mike and Teale Adelmann have put on quite the display — there are six songs syn- chronized to 12,000-plus lights. To hear the music, tune your car radio to 95.7 FM. The show runs from 4:30 to 10 p.m. nightly until Jan. 1, so hustle on over and get a healthy dose of some Christmas spirit. COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Lower Columbia R/C Society — 8:30 a.m., back room at Uptown Cafe, 1639 S.E. Ensign Lane, War- renton. Local Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) chartered radio control model aircraft club meets for breakfast and business. All model aircraft enthusiasts are welcome. For information, call 503-458-5196 or 503-325-0608. Chinook Indian Nation — 11 a.m., Chinook Tribal Office, at 3 Park St., Bay Center, Washington. Meeting is open to all tribal mem- bers; attendees are reminded to bring a potluck item. Sit and Stitch Group — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Custom Threads, 1282 Commercial St. Knitting, cro- cheting and needle work. For infor- mation, call 503-325-7780. Columbia Northwestern Mod- el Railroading Club — 1 p.m., in Hammond. Group runs trains on HO-scale layout. For information, call Don Carter at 503-325-0757. Spinning Circle — 1 to 3 p.m., Astoria Fiber Arts Academy, 1296 Duane St. Bring a spinning wheel. For information, call 503-325-5598 or go to http://astoriafiberarts.com SUNDAY National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Support Group — 2 to 3:30 p.m., Seaside Public Library, 1131 Broadway. Family to Family Support Group, for anyone with friend or loved one suffer- ing from a serious brain (mental) illness. For information, contact Myra Kero at 503-738-6165, or k7erowood@q.com, or go to www. nami.org Standing Rock Fundraiser — 5 p.m., Waters Edge Spa, 3930 Abbey Lane, Unit A102. Features musical acts Barney Perrine and Sir and the Realists and works of art by local artists for a silent auc- tion. Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m., Seaside American Legion, 1315 Broadway. For information, call 503-738-5111. No cost; suggested $5 tip to the instructor. and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. Mothers of Preschoolers — 10 to 11:30 a.m., Crossroads Com- munity Church, 40618 Old Highway 30, Svensen. MOPS group is a time for moms to relax and enjoy each others’ company. For information, call 503-502-3118. Chair Exercises for Seniors — 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in- formation, call 503-325-3231. Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do- nation $3 for those older than 60; $6.75 for those younger than 60. For information, call Michelle Lew- is at 503-861-4200. Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery Columbia Senior Diners — 11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St. Cost is $6. For information, or to have a meal delivered, call 503-325-9693. MONDAY Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro- gram — noon, Warrenton Commu- nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug- gested donation of $5 for seniors and $7 for those younger than 60. For information, or to volunteer, call 503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday. Astoria Rotary Club — noon, second floor of the Astoria Elks Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always welcome. For information, go to www.AstoriaRotary.org Parkinson’s Support Group — 1 p.m., Peace Lutheran Church library, 565 12th St. For information, call 503-440-1970 or 503-440-1985. Peninsula Quilt Guild — 1 p.m., Peninsula Church Center, 5000 N Place, Seaview, Wash. Newcomers welcome. Bring non- perishable food donation. For infor- mation, call Janet King at 360-665- 3005. Knochlers Pinochle Group — 1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Cost is $1 per regular session per person. Players with highest and second highest scores split the prize. Game is designed for players 55 and older, but all ages are welcome. Mahjong for Experienced Players — 1 p.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in- formation, call 503-325-3231. Line Dancing for Seniors — 3 to 4:30 p.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. Not for begin- ners. For information, call 503-325- 3231. See NOTES, Page 2B
