THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
1B
CHARLIE SAVES THE DAY
BESSIE’S CHRISTMAS WISH
L
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
F
irst ran Jan. 10, 2014: “A heavenly gift for Christmas ” is
what Jim Culp Sr. of Warrenton says his dog, Charlie, gave
him this holiday season.
“Around 4:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve,” Jim recalled, “I was
awakened by the lack of being able to breathe. Even though I had
my oxygen machine on, I still could not breathe. I thought I was
going to suffocate.
“Suddenly my miniature long-haired Dachshund, who is a lit-
tle over 1 year old and very rare cream color, jumped up on my
chest and put his nose right on mine. After a second or two he
started to cough, and jumped down on the floor and coughed up a
small wad of phlegm. Instantly I could breathe again.”
“That was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen in my
whole life,” Jim’s wife, Elsie, declared. “If I hadn’t seen it with
my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“I truly believe he was a gift from God to look after me,” Jim
observed, and with good reason. After the incident, Charlie, who
sleeps at the foot of the bed, now comes up to Jim’s face every
morning to be sure he’s awake and OK.
“I also thank the Lord for another day,” Jim added. “I had a
wonderful Christmas with my hero. I believe he saved my life.
What a miracle.”
1905 SEASON’S MUSINGS
W
here’s Santa? The North American Air Defense Com-
mand ( NORAD ) knows, and you can track him
tomorrow night, too, on their website, www.noradsanta.org
(which also has Christmas music performed by the U.S. Air
Force Academy Band, videos and other goodies).
Ever wonder how NORAD got involved with Santa
tracking? From the website: “The tradition began in
1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck
& Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number
for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa,
the phone number put kids through to the CONAD
Commander-in-Chief’s operations ‘hotline.’ The
director of operations at the time, Col. Harry Shoup,
had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa
making his way south from the North Pole. Children
who called were given updates on his location, and a
tradition was born.”
So, how does NORAD track Santa (and yes, there’s an
app for that)? Rudolph’s bright red nose gives off an infra-
red signature, which allows NORAD satellites to detect the
location of Santa’s sleigh. Now you know.
ast year, a little too late for
Christmas, Tony Johnson
of the Chinook Tribal Nation
sent the Ear a story about
6-year-old Bessie George’s
first Christmas at the Cush-
man Indian Boarding School
in Tacoma, Washington, in
1906. The story first appeared
in a 2003 edition of the Til-
ixam, the tribal newsletter.
Bessie, who had recently lost her mother, also dearly missed
her father, relatives and friends in the Chinook village of Bay
Center, Washington. She’d had a tough year, and adjusting to
the new school had been difficult — especially since when she
arrived the only English words she knew were “neh” and “yeh”
— so she was excited that Christmas was coming.
“Bessie listened, entranced, as older children talked about the
large decorated tree they would have, its branches weighed down
with the presents now arriving for everyone,” the story goes.
“Well, almost everyone. There were ugly whispers that some
children received only one gift, a gift from the school: a ribbon
for the girls, a handkerchief for the boys. But Bessie’s haunting
doubt was changed to happy anticipation at the sight of the glori-
ous tree with gifts enough, surely, for every child.
“There were so many dolls and bright, interesting toys. Her
eyes took in the dolls of all sizes. Each was so pretty; which one
would be hers? Did she dare dream it would be the one in red
velvet? That dream turned to dust for lonely Bessie when she
was presented the dreaded gift of a hair ribbon. Sensing Bes-
sie’s agony, another girl placed one of her own dolls in Bes-
sie’s empty arms. She then invited little Bessie to help carry her
other gifts to their room.
“Disappointment and loss leave lesser people bitter, and full
of self-pity. Fine people become more aware of the feelings of
others, and so it was with Bessie George Pickernell. Her plea-
sure, for the rest of her days, was to provide dolls and toys for
small children.”
HE KNOWS WHO’S NAUGHTY
DO YOU REMEMBER SVERRE?
ittle morsels from The Morning Astorian, Sunday, Dec.
24, 1905:
• Celebrated stoves and ranges — The Zenith and The Star.
Every one guaranteed. Will let you stand or sit on the oven door
if you wish. — W. J. Scully, 470-472 Commercial St.
• The only way the stricken Clatsop turkey can work his repri-
sals at this season of the year is to set up a good, hard case of
indigestion.
• To be sued, held up, divorced, maimed, arrested, swindled,
whipped, defeated, outclassed and rejected on Christmas Day
comes easier than any time. It lends a sanctity to adversity and
makes it more “com’fy” like.
• Never mind that green neck-wear with the amber spots on it
your wife will give you tomorrow. You can pass it up to the hired
man the first time she goes away on a trip. And as for those cigars,
just quietly slip them down to the quarantine station, where they
will take high rank among the disinfectants.
• Keep perfectly quiet. The sun may shine tomorrow.
L
DOUBT NO MORE
es, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And now, for the doubt-
ing Thomas and Thomasina in your household, there is a
video, “The Science of Santa: Scientific Proof That Santa Exists”
(http://tinyurl.com/yupsanta) that might make them believers.
For example: Santa is computer/Internet savvy, creates
rips in time and space to go that 175 million miles Christmas
Eve, and carries a nano-toymaking sack that creates toys out
of chimney carbon to avoid lugging over 600 million pounds
of toys. The Ear is uncertain how all these wonders coordinate
with NORAD tracking, but will leave that mystery for greater
minds to ponder.
In the meantime, the Ear is really quite relieved just to know
Santa exists. Aren’t you?
Y
he Ear is very glad that as a child nobody mentioned Kram-
pus, as he would have scared the twizzlers out of her. In
case you don’t know, half-man half-beast Krampus is rather
like Santa’s (St. Nicholas) demonic alter ego. The two travel
together from house to house, and while kindly Santa rewards
children who are nice, devil Krampus attends to the naughty
ones — we aren’t talking about coal in the Christmas stocking,
here — and it ain’t pretty. Pictured, Krampus frolicking with
some children. This may not end well.
Mr. Wikipedia says Krampus is from the folklore of the Alpine
countries, and is sometimes thought to be the son of Hel in Norse
mythology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Krampus). Whoever he
is, now that we know about him, it behooves us to behave. Or
else.
T
T
he Ear is going to be on Santa’s naughty list for this
gaffe: More than year ago, Norwegian Sverre Holth
sent in a letter, which somehow got buried in a pile on the
Ear’s desk. Heavy sigh.
“In the year of 1952, I was one of the crew who was set
to sail the warship Ellida to Norway,” Sverre wrote. He
was a petty officer in the Kongelig Norske Marine (Royal
Norwegian Navy) at the time. “We took over the ship in
Bremerton about November 1952, and departed for San
Diego in December, due in the time before Christmas.” But
they ran into trouble off Astoria in high seas and a storm,
and were taking on water, so they headed to Astoria for
help.
“We had a very good time in your town, and we made
a lot of friends,” he continued. “Sverre J. Halsan was one
of the friends, and we were invited by his wife to come to
their home for Christmas Eve. It was great!” The Halsans
lived on 15th Street at the time.
Sverre (who is pictured, as he looked then) wonders
if anyone in Astoria remembers their visit, so many years
ago. If so, please contact the Ear at 503-325-3211, ext. 257,
or ewilson@dailyastorian.com
For you naval history fans, according to NavSource.org
(http://tinyurl.com/KNMellida), the KNM Ellida started
out as the USS LST-50, which earned three battle stars
during World War II (one of her assignments being the
Invasion of Normandy). After the war and occupation ser-
vice, the ship was decommissioned, used for shipping, and
renamed; then redesignated again as ARB-13 in Novem-
ber 1952, and transferred to Norway — at which point she
became the KNM Ellida.
In 1960, the Ellida was returned to the U.S., then trans-
ferred to Greece the same year and renamed HNS Sakipis.
As a sad final note, the source states: “Final disposition,
fate unknown.”
On a happier note, hopefully someone remembers
Sverre Holth.
FLASHY VISITORS
T
he ocean has been offer-
ing up a unique holiday
gift in the form of rare critters
(for this neck of the woods)
that have been washing up on
local beaches since Novem-
ber: Pyrosomes. Janelle
Hux’s photo of one she found
on Benson Beach this week is
shown. The “finger” is actu-
ally a colony of hundreds, or thousands, of tiny individuals
called zooids.
According to the Marine Education Society of Australasia
(http://tinyurl.com/pyrocritter), the colonies range in size from
less than a half inch to several yards in length. “Each zooid draws
in water from the outside to its internal filtering mesh, extract-
ing the microscopic plankton, and then expels the filtered water
to the inside of the cylinder of the colony.” Their movement is
largely controlled by tides, waves and currents.
Tiffany Boothe, of the Seaside Aquarium, noted that pyro-
somes are usually found in temperate waters below 800 feet, and
are “known for bright displays of bioluminescences,” flashing a
highly visible pale blue-green light — hence their name, pyro
(fire) and soma (body).
The little guys we are finding here are in the same family as
the Giant Pyrosome (pictured courtesy of www.eaglehawk-
dive.com.au), which is downright creepy looking and can reach
lengths of 60 feet or more — and will hopefully stay where it
belongs, near Australia.
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
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 — CHRISTMAS DAY
MONDAY
Scandinavian Workshop —
10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725
33rd St. Needlework, hardanger,
knitting, crocheting, embroidery
and quilting. All are welcome. For
information, call 503-325-1364 or
503-325-7960.
Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St.
All are welcome. Donations
of material always appreciat-
ed. For information, call Janet
Kemp at 503-325-4268.
Senior Lunch — No lunch is
being served today.
Columbia Senior Diners — No
lunch is being served today.
Do Nothing Club — 10 a.m.
to noon, 24002 U St., Ocean Park,
Wash. Men’s group. For informa-
tion, call Jack McBride at 360-665-
2721.
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.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation of $3 for those older than 60;
$6.75 for those younger than 60.
For information, call Michelle Lew-
is at 503-861-4200.
TUESDAY
Columbia Senior Diners —
11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St.
The cost is $6. For information, or
Stewardship Quilting Group
— 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., First
to have a meal delivered, call 503-
325-9693.
Astoria Lions Club — noon,
Astoria Elks Lodge, 453 11th St.
Prospective members welcome.
For information, contact Charlene
Larsen at 503-325-0590.
Astoria-Warrenton Duplicate
Bridge Club — 12:30 to 4 p.m., As-
toria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange
St. Anyone may play if they have a
partner; to request a bridge partner,
call 503-325-0029.
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 suffering
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
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
North Coast Chorale Practice
— 6:45 to 9 p.m., Performing Arts
Center, 588 16th St. New members
welcome. For information, call 503-
791-5681 or 503-338-8403.
Help Ending Abusive Re-
lationship Tendencies — 10
to 11:30 a.m., The Harbor, 1361
Duane St. HEART covers subjects
related to the effects of domestic
violence on children, parents and
other family members, dynamics of
power and control, and how to rec-
ognize red flags. For anyone in an
abusive relationship, or who knows
someone who is. Call Juli Hol to re-
serve a spot at 503-325-3426, ext.
103.
Authentic Spiritual Conversa-
tions — 7 to 8:30 p.m., 2021 Marine
Drive. Exploring spiritual questions,
doubts, practices, longings. Group
supports participants in sharing their
own understanding and putting their
spiritual values into practice. All faiths,
including “spiritual but not religious”
welcome. For information, email info@
cgifellowship.org or call 916-307-9790.
Open Sewing Gathering —
10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Homespun
Quilts, 108 10th St. For information,
WEDNESDAY
Chair Exercises for Seniors
See NOTES, Page 2B