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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2017)
1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2017 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON GO FLY A KITE A LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE HISTORY C ompanies are clamoring to come up with alternate forms of energy in the scramble to get away from using fossil fuels, and this one’s a doozy: Kite power. Kite Power Systems (www.kitepowersystems.com) plans to manufacture 10 pairs of kite systems, spread 2,000 feet apart — which will fly in 100 mph circles reaching heights of about 1,000 feet — to provide the power for more than 5,000 homes in Scot- land by 2020 (http://tinyurl.com/kites2020). Each pair of kites will be tethered to a rotating drum, which is attached to a gener- ator, which then spins and produces electricity. A photo of one of the kites is shown, courtesy of Kite Power Solutions Ltd. 2015. By flying at such great heights, the kites can access higher wind speeds than turbine wind farms can. Plus, kite farms are cheaper, since they use less steel, and kite installations are eas- ily moved and are significantly less difficult, and less dangerous, to maintain. It could also be argued that kites are more visually appealing than turbine towers. In the future, KPS plans to fly giant kites at sea, installed on the pilings of decommissioned offshore wind turbines, to gener- ate power. Stay tuned. PELICAN PANDEMONIUM S ince the celebration of the 119th anniversary of North Head Lighthouse is under way this weekend, a few tid- bits from its history are in order from LighthouseFriends. com (http://tinyurl.com/N-Head-Light): Mariners coming from the north couldn’t see the light at Cape Disappointment (then called Fort Canby) — the bluff North Head is on blocked the view — and many wound up on the rocks. The obvious solution was to put a lighthouse on the bluff, and the North Head light was lit for the first time May 16, 1898. Mabel Bretherton was the only female keeper at North Head. The widow of a lighthouse keeper, she came from Cape Blanco in 1905 with her three children. The Light- house Service often kept widows on so they could support their families. Mabel left lightkeeping in 1907. Alexander K. Pesonen, former head keeper at Tilla- mook Rock Lighthouse, was North Head’s first keeper, and the best known — mainly because of his wife, Mary. After 25 years of isolation on that bluff, often surrounded by relentlessly howling winds, and saddled with the end- less drudgery of maintaining the quarters and grounds, Mary was diagnosed with “melancholia.” One morning, six months before her husband was due to retire, Mary got up early, told him to sleep in, and went for a walk with her dog, Jerry. Only the dog came back. Searchers found her coat at the cliff’s edge, and an indenta- tion in the grass where her body passed through on her way to meet her death. Mary’s corpse was retrieved, at consid- erable risk, from the base of the cliff, before the tide could sweep it out to sea. She is buried in Ilwaco, Washington. Some say melancholy Mary still haunts the lighthouse and grounds. Maybe you’ll bump into her if you go visit this weekend. WARM WELCOME A group of about a dozen bicyclists, who are on a fundraiser ride for the Chris Carrino Foundation for FSHD (FacioScapu- loHumeral Dystrophy), a type of muscular dystrophy, arrived in Astoria on Sunday (http://chriscarrinofoundation.org). “A few weeks ago, I got a phone call … (asking) if the Knights Of Columbus could find some place for their party to spend the night on May 28,” Jerry Lencioni wrote. “After contacting several churches, I contacted Judy Hollingsworth at the First Methodist Church here in Astoria … which held the Warming Center for the homeless during the winter.” “It was really cool we could have the Warming Center available for them,” Judy said. OK, bed problem solved, and the Knights of Columbus provided the food. The guests proclaimed they were officially “spoiled” during their visit. Pictured, from left, Jerry (white shirt), Judy, and team leader Joe Carbone. Joe was very grateful for Jerry and Judy’s efforts on behalf of his team. “Let me tell you something,” he said in a video on the team’s Facebook page. “We would not be in this position we are today, bright eyed and bushy tailed, all set, ready to roll for another 95 miles to Portland without (their) help.” He even asked the pair if they wanted to tag along. “They are covering 15 states, 46 cities in 54 days, covering 4,200 miles,” Jerry noted. “That’s more exercise than I would want.” LITTER ISLAND NOTES FROM 1885 ‘T his past weekend brought us lots of calls about juvenile Brown Pelicans found all along the coast in our local beach towns …” the Wildlife Center of the North Coast posted on its Facebook page, “from a pelican wandering in downtown Sea- side and one ironically hanging out at Pelican Pub in Pacific City, to a few following tourists on the beach (and trying to eat their beach toys!).” One of the rescued birds is shown, courtesy of the WCNC. Once again the Wildlife Center is hard at work, helping out. Perhaps you might want to return the favor, and help them out, by donating at www.coastwildlife.org If you see a pelican that needs help, call 503-338-0331. In the meantime, don’t feed them. Sick pelicans need a special diet while regaining their strength. One more thing. Don’t try to help a pelican yourself, either. As the Wildlife Center warns, “that big hook on the end of their beak can pack a nasty bite!” SAD SURPRISE ‘V isitors to the Long Beach Peninsula got the rare chance to see a small Minke whale washing ashore,” Tiffany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium wrote. In case you’re wonder- ing, according to the American Cetacean Society (http://acson- line.org) Minke whales are, on average, between 26 and 33 feet long, and weigh about 10 tons. Tiffany’s photo of the whale, which came in on Sunday morning on Klipsan Beach, is shown. “The whale had died before washing in, and had been drift- ing out at sea for some time,” she explained. “Long enough, that due to decomposition, gases started to build up inside of the ani- mal. Once the animal hit the beach, the pressure from the gases combined with the immense weight of the animal pushed its dia- phragm outside of its mouth. This is what you are seeing in the photograph.” Tiffany noted that a team was expected to gather on Wednes- day morning to preform a necropsy. Y N uggets from the June 2, 1885, issue of The Daily Morning Astorian: • “T.S. Jewett and A.E. Osgood went to the headwa- ters of Lewis and Clarke in a novel craft last Saturday. It was invented and built by Alex McLean at Fort Canby (Washington) and is a wonder. It is about 20 feet long, four and a half feet beam, and has a shaft of which are two pad- dle wheels. In the center is a lever worked by the occupant of the boat and with a moderate amount of muscle four miles an hour can easily be made.” (A 1918 version can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/paddlerow) By the way, Capt. McLean moved from the Fort Canby Life Saving Station to the Point Adams U.S. Life Sav- ing Service in Hammond when it opened, and was its first assigned keeper, from April 1890 to February 1891 (http://tinyurl.com/mclean-adams). • “By last evening’s express A.J. Megler received an animal that is a total stranger in this latitude. It is a horned toad from the arid wastes of Idaho, and is as ornery a spec- imen as could be found anywhere.” Alexander Megler, a German immigrant, is the younger brother of Joseph George Megler. J.G. was a hotel owner in Astoria (with his brother), and innovative salmon can- nery owner in Washington. The town of Megler, and the Astoria-Megler Bridge, were named after J.G. (http:// tinyurl.com/jandamegler). • “W.H. Gray wishes that anyone having books belong- ing to the Pioneer and Historical Society to please return them as soon as possible to the library at the Y.M.C. rooms as they are to be classified and rearranged. The library will form a nucleus for the future public library of Astoria and now would be a good time to show public interest in it by donations of books which would be placed on the shelves for the public good.” Just so you know, the Astoria Public Library was founded in 1892, largely because Narcissa White Kinney (pictured inset), a powerful cannery owner’s wife and avid Women’s Christian Temperance Union member, thought “men should have somewhere besides saloons to spend their leisure hours. (http://tinyurl.com/AstLib1892).” ou might think the earth’s highest density of plastic waste is probably in a large city like Los Angeles, but you’d be wrong. According to an article on NewAtlas.com, it is actually on deserted Henderson Island, a coral atoll in the southern Pacific Ocean that is more than 3,000 miles from the nearest population center (http://tinyurl.com/litterisle). Why? The island is near the center of the South Pacific Gyre, aka the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A team who went there recently, led by research scientist Jennifer Lavers, was shocked to find that the plastic trash concentration is 671 pieces per 10 square feet, equivalent to an estimated 37.7 million pieces spread over the whole island, and she thinks that’s an underestimate. Worse yet, more than 3,570 new pieces of litter are washing up each day — on just one beach. A photo of a beach is shown, cour- tesy of Jennifer Lavers. “What’s happened on Henderson Island,” Lavers noted, “shows there’s no escaping plastic pollution, even in the most distant parts of our oceans.” JUST DUCKY T he Festival of Sails (http://festofsailcoosbay.com) is taking place in Coos Bay through Sunday this weekend, and who doesn’t love looking at the horizon and seeing majestic tall ships — including the Hawaiian Chieftain and the Lady Washington — coming in under full sail? Sure that’s exciting, but this year, something new has been added to the festival that is expected to bring in bigger crowds than just the usual maritime buffs: The World’s Largest Rubber Duck, aka Mama “the world is her bathtub” Duck, who is pic- tured, courtesy of www.thebigduck.us Sixty-one feet tall, and 50 feet in diameter, the 23,000 pound bright yellow inflatable duck will mingle with the tall ships, and probably steal the show. Imagine that. Upstaged by a duck. COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knitting, crochet or other needle- work projects to this community stitching time. All skill levels wel- come. Detachment 1228 Marine Corps League — noon, El Compa- dre, 119 Main Ave., Warrenton. For information, contact Lou Neubecker at 503-717-0153. 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 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. knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting. All are welcome. For infor- mation, call 503-325-1364 or 503- 325-7960. MONDAY 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 Lewis at 503-861-4200. Chair Exercises for Seniors — 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. For information, call 503-325-3231. Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, 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. Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always welcome. For information, go to www.AstoriaRotary.org 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. 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. Astoria Rotary Club — noon, second floor of the Astoria Elks See NOTES, Page 2B
