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NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Navy
[ne•vi]
Ilix aquifolium
Holly
By LYNETTE RAE MCADAMS
Although nearly 600 spe-
cies of holly exist worldwide,
Ilix aquifolium, commonly
known as “English holly,”
or “Christmas holly,” is the
species that grows most
prolifi cally in the Pacifi c
Northwest. A native to
southern Europe, northern
Africa, and southwest Asia,
this holiday favorite may not
have originated here, but it
certainly has gone wild.
Introduced in Oregon in
1874, the plant was popular
with European settlers
lonely for home, and sold
well at nurseries in Portland
and Seattle. Recognizing its
holiday allure, farmers also
began to grow and harvest
holly commercially, and
today, more than 90 per-
cent of the holly sold in the
United States comes from
the Pacifi c Northwest.
A hearty shrub, with
beautiful, glossy evergreen
leaves and bright red
berries, this ancient plant
continues to be revered
by many, while scorned by
some. An easy propagator,
aided handily by birds who
love to eat the fruit (which
is poisonous to humans),
the plant has proven to
be a ready escapee from
urban gardens and ru-
ral farms, turning up in
second-growth forests
throughout the region.
Study and debate over
the plant’s possibility as an
invasive species is ongo-
ing, but no matter where
one falls in that argument,
there’s no denying that I.
aquifolium — which has
fl ourished on Earth for at
Holly grows prolifi cally in the Pacifi c Northwest.
least 66 million years—is
likely here to stay, along
with the great many human
traditions that have mor-
phed around it.
Pagan rites made use
of holly during all rituals
that dealt with death and
rebirth — its evergreen
leaves a simple and fi tting
metaphor. Ancient Ro-
mans gave holly as gifts
during Saturnalia — the
late December festival that
celebrated the deity Saturn
and the passing of the win-
ter solstice. Druids brought
holly into the home during
Yule, or Midwinter, with
the belief that faerie folk
could live in its protec-
tive branches during the
coldest, darkest days of the
year (note: the holly had to
be burned by the festival
of Imbolc, or Feb. 2, now
Groundhog Day, in order
to get the faeries to leave
and not cause mischief). By
Medieval times, Christian
traditions used the plant’s
characteristics to symbolize
everlasting life, with the
berries representing the
blood spilled by Christ.
More practically, holly has
been cultivated for use as
winter fodder for sheep and
cattle, as a traditional materi-
al for the making of Scottish
bagpipes, and, perhaps most
importantly, as the wood
used to fabricate the magical
wand of Harry Potter.
noun
1. a group of ships; a
fl eet, or a nation’s assem-
bled ships of war and asso-
ciated yards and facilities
2. a very dark blue
3. Navy Heights: an unin-
corporated community on
the east end of Astoria that
shares the same zip code.
Navy Heights began as a
World War II-era housing
development back when
Tongue Point was a U.S.
Naval Air Station
Origin:
Navy comes from the
Latin navis, meaning “ship.”
It enters late Middle English
by way of the Old French
navie; navy is the plural
form of the word and liter-
ally means “ships.”
It is not hard to imagine
how the housing devel-
opment got its name due
its relationship with the
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ASTORIA, OR 97103
nearby Naval Air Station at
Tongue Point.
“War-related housing projects
at Guild’s Lake and Ardenwald in the
Portland area survived for some years,
as did Navy Heights in Astoria.”
— Richard H. Engeman, “World War
II Opens New Doors,” The Oregon History
Project, https://oregonhistoryproject.org,
2005
“Fifty years ago this week: Four-
year-old Billy Gregory, whose father
is stationed at Tongue Point, caught
a ride on the school bus from Navy
Heights and made like he was going
to go to class at John Jacob Astor
School today.
Principal Bob Parnell said young
Billy apparently thought the bus
was picking up picnic passengers, so
unbeknownst to his parents, climbed
aboard.
G. T. Arrington, of the city police
force, was called to the school to
arrange to return the youngster to
his home.”
—“Water Under the Bridge” The Daily
Astorian, Sept. 14, 2015