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A man of three trades
A hoist operator, custom framer and musician, Michael Bruhn isn’t afraid of a little risk
By DWIGHT CASWELL
Aircraft mechanic, art
framer and musician. These
three pursuits meet in one
person, Michael Bruhn — and
did I mention that he’s the one
who operates the hoist that
lowers Columbia River bar
pilots from the helicopter to
a ship pitching its way across
the bar?
Bruhn is a man who seeks
new challenges.
It all began over three
decades ago. Bruhn was
fresh out of high school and
enrolling in Lane Community
College in Eugene. He looked
at the lines leading to tables
for various programs and,
having no idea what he want-
ed to do in life, he chose the
shortest line. That’s how he
became an aircraft mechanic,
and he’s pursued that career in
Louisiana, the San Francis-
co Bay area, Puget Sound
and Portland. It was while
working for Alaska Airlines
in Portland than Bruhn and
his wife, Mary Ann, moved
to Astoria. Then in 2004 the
part-time position for the bar
pilots became available, and
Bruhn began maintaining
the helicopter and — the
exciting part of the job —
operating the hoist.
Bruhn had spent almost
all of his adult life maintain-
ing aircraft, but he had never
been part of a flight crew; he
became a hoist operator in
Astoria. “Being in a helicop-
ter at 2 a.m. in a storm can
be dicey,” he says. “When
the ship is rolling and the
cranes are coming your way,
it used to scare the heck out
of me. Now, after 10,000
ships, it doesn’t intimidate
me like it did at first.”
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Mike Bruhn operates Astoria’s Best Frame Shop, located inside Dots ‘N Doodles Art Supplies.
He worried most about
the possibility of hurting
someone, but over the years
he learned, “what to avoid,
and the best plan of attack to
mitigate danger. You can’t
be too cautious, and you get
to know your strengths and
weaknesses.” Bruhn also
says, “If it’s too rough, if
you can’t do it safely, you
can call it off. It’s not like
the Coast Guard search and
rescue.”
Bruhn has always had a
wide range of interests, and
when the opportunity came
to take over the framing
shop located in the back of
Dots ‘N Doodles Art Sup-
plies in Astoria, he jumped
at it, and audaciously named
his new store Astoria’s Best
Frame Shop.
Wait a minute, you’re
saying to yourself, never
been a framer and now he
calls himself the best?
As it turns out, Bruhn has
a background that prepared
him for framing. His sister
and brother-in-law were suc-
cessful framers, and he was
an artist himself, a wood-
worker who specialized in
custom boxes, primarily
jewelry boxes. “Framing is
a natural extension of my
woodworking,” he says.
You may ask how, doing
these two jobs, he manag-
es to sleep. He’s arranged
things pretty well: He flies
with the bar pilots one week
out of every month, and for
that week the frame shop is
opened fewer hours.
Of course, he still has to
make time to make mu-
sic, mostly with the banjo,
although he’s been known
to play the mandolin and
guitar as well. With a father
as a music teacher, Bruhn’s
background in music goes
back to childhood. His work
schedule makes playing in
a band impossible, but you
may have caught him at a
contra dance or providing
ambiance with Rob Stevens
at T. Paul’s Supper Club.
When you listen to KMUN’s
“Talk of the Town,” you
hear Bruhn’s music; he com-
posed and plays the theme.
“I play primarily for my
own enjoyment,” he says,
but he’s good enough to sit
in with professional musi-
cians and, “fake my way
through and make it sound
okay.”
Mike Bruhn’s life has
taught him not to be averse
to risk. “I’ve lost my fear of
the unknown,” he says, “I’m
not intimidated any more.”
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Mike Bruhn sits at the hoist controls inside the Columbia River
Bar Pilot helicopter.
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Mike Bruhn, who operates the hoist that lowers Columbia Riv-
er bar pilots from the helicopter onto ships so they can navi-
gate them across the river bar, works on his preflight checklist.