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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
FLASHY CASH
hanks to Peter Marsh, local maritime writer, for this tip, timely
for the Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival this week-
end: Norway has released new banknotes, and they have a mari-
time theme, according to TheLocal (http://tinyurl.com/norsebucks).
The new notes feature fish and a Viking ship on the backside to
highlight the country’s maritime heritage. They replace, for the first
time, the famous Norwegians the central bank has always used in
the past on the currency.
There’s even a video to promote and introduce the new cash,
which is getting international attention. It features “DJ Codfa-
ther” rapping in Norwegian and three fishermen in bright yellow
Sou’westers, swinging codfish (when they’re not singing to them).
Some screen shots from the ad — which can be seen at http://
tinyurl.com/norsebucks2 — are shown.
Despite all the fun and games behind these eye-appealing
banknotes, there’s a more serious reason for the change: Upping the
security by adding visible filaments and invisible marks to make
the notes more difficult to counterfeit, and, the bank chief says,
“safer than ever before.”
T
SAILORS NEED NOT APPLY
olls Royce
made the first
moves
toward
the oceangoing
unmanned auton-
omous container
ship concept, but
according to The
Straits Times, it
looks like two
Norwegian com-
panies, a maritime technology firm and a fertilizer manufacturer,
have partnered to beat them to the punch, at least on a small local
level (http://tinyurl.com/autoshipNorsk).
The 229-foot-long Yara Birkeland, electric powered with
zero emissions, will be launched next year to transport fertilizer
from one port to another port nearby, replacing 40,000 truck ship-
ments a year. The ship will be manned at first, but in 2020, the
Birkeland will be fully autonomous. It is pictured, courtesy of
www.km.kongsberg.com
Autonomous ships would reshape the shipping industry. One
consultant estimated using a crew amounts to 44 percent of a
ship’s costs. And, a great deal of a ship’s space is dedicated to
crews and their needs. No crew equals significant savings, and a
lot more cargo space. A win-win all the way around for the ship-
ping companies. For sailors, not so much.
R
A THORNY DEMISE
une 15 and 16 mark the 206th anniversary of when
John Jacob Astor’s ship, the Tonquin, which brought
settlers to establish Fort Astoria in March 1811, met her
doom.
In an account on HeritageHistory.com (http://tinyurl.
com/tonquindone), here’s what happened, according to a
Chehalis Indian named Lamanse, the Tonquin’s translator,
who wandered into Astoria to tell the tale:
After leaving Astoria, the Tonquin headed north to buy
furs for trade. Eventually they anchored off a large Nootka
Indian village, known to be hostile. A previous American
ship’s captain had insulted a native chieftain, and the ship
was attacked and burned. The only two survivors were
enslaved.
After that, ships entering their harbor traded with care.
Then a second American ship’s captain took 12 Nootka
hunters, saying he’d bring them back. He abandoned them
on a barren island, instead. The Nootkas swore revenge on
the next ship to come in — the Tonquin.
It didn’t help that the Tonquin’s captain, Jonathan
Thorn, was, to put it bluntly, a nitwit. Things started off
well with the Nootkas, but then Thorn thought the chief
wanted too much money for his furs. Thorn insulted the
chief, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and booted
him off the ship.
The next day, dozens of seemingly unarmed Nootkas
boarded the Tonquin with furs to trade, wanting hunting
and butcher knives in exchange. Thorne’s greed overcame
his common sense, and soon the newly armed Nootkas —
plus several who had hidden war clubs and tomahawks in
the furs — were swarming the ship and killing everyone in
sight. Including Thorn.
Lamanse dove overboard and escaped. Five sailors, up
in the rigging during the melee, came down and drove off
the attackers with guns; four left in a boat, and were later
captured and killed. The one sailor left, mortally wounded,
stayed aboard the Tonquin and enticed the Nootkas to
return and take whatever they wanted. When they did, he
blew them, himself and the ship to smithereens. And so the
Tonquin’s story ends with a bang. Literally.
J
AROUND TOWN
SALTY TALK
rom the Sunday, June 17, 1888 edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian:
• The wreck of the Julia Foard at Karluk, Alaska, bought
by C. T. Thomes for $51 (about $1,270 now), is reported to
have been a lucky speculation on the part of the purchaser,
who has saved $16,000 worth of the cargo (almost $400,000
now).
Note: According to AlaskaShipwreck.com, the Julia
Foard, a 136-foot-long American wooden barque, ran
aground in the Karluk River on April 27 after leaving Asto-
ria April 12 with a crew of 12, 25 Chinese cannery workers
and 450 tons of general merchandise for the salmon cannery.
At the time she ran aground, 17 were aboard, but all escaped.
The vessel was worth $12,000 and the cargo $30,000. For
$51, Mr. Thomes got quite a sweet deal.
• Henry (Harry) Hendrickson, who was reported
drowned, turned up all right yesterday. He says that he would
have stayed down where he was engaged in clearing his net,
but hearing the report he was drowned, came up to town.
Note: The day before, Saturday, June 16, 1888, was a
mournful day on the coast, as one headline read “Drowned
from their boats. Sad tidings from the mouth of the river.”
Rough weather caused several accidents among the canner-
ies’ fishing fleets, with several capsizes, overturned boats
and there were several rescued, missing and drowned fisher-
men up and down the river, from Astoria to the bar.
“Experienced fisherman say it was one of the suddenest
and severest squalls they ever experienced. With the excep-
tion of Johns Johanson, who was drowned in Baker’s Bay,
it does not seem that any foresight or care could have pre-
vented the terrible series of fatal accidents near the mouth of
the river during the past two or three days.”
Happily, Harry Hendrickson was not one of them.
THE MOTHER OF FATHER’S DAY
n 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd (pictured) of Spokane, Washing-
ton, wondered why fathers didn’t have an official day honoring
them. She especially wanted to recognize her own father, William
Smart (also pictured), a Civil War veteran and widower, who raised
six children all by himself (www.fathersdaycelebration.com).
She drummed up support for the idea around the state to cel-
ebrate Father’s Day on June 5, her father’s birthday. Timing
issues ruled that date out, so the first statewide Father’s Day was
held June 19, 1910.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially recognized
Father’s Day; in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge encouraged
all of the states to observe the day; and President Lyndon John-
son signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday
of June as Father’s Day in 1966.
But it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon pro-
claimed the day honoring fathers a permanent national holiday.
Happily, Sonora lived long enough to see her dream come true,
and to become officially recognized herself, as the “Mother of
Father’s Day.”
I
HEARTBREAKER
he night of Wednesday, June 7, Coast Guard Station Tilla-
mook Bay received a distress call from a 40-foot sailboat, El
Corazon out of Portland. They were about 15 miles off Cannon
Beach, and limping on one engine to Coos Bay. The captain was
sick, and the first mate was inexperienced.
When the Corazon’s other engine died, and the vessel was
totally disabled, the Coast Guard went out early Thursday morn-
ing to tow them in. But the sailboat was taking on water and had
become unsafe, so the order was given to abandon ship. The mar-
iners were rescued, and the tow line was cut. Later Thursday
morning, El Corazon came ashore at Cannon Beach.
As you can see from Angi Wildt’s photo, as of this Wednes-
day afternoon, almost a week later, El Corazon was still lying on
the beach. It’s a heartbreaker for the owner, but a prime subject
for local photographers.
T
WANTED: TUNA FISHERMEN
F
PB’s Oregon Field Guide did an intense and informative
episode about the Columbia River Bar Pilots that aired last
year. The 16-minute film features lots of white-knuckle footage
of bar pilots doing their job, plus interviews with them about their
work. And now, the Northwest Chapter of the Academy of Tele-
vision Arts and Sciences has shown the episode some love, and
awarded it a well-deserved Emmy.
You can watch the show at http://tinyurl.com/OPBbar. When
you do, you’ll likely notice that retired bar pilot Capt. Donald
Nelson (pictured, in a screen shot), who died recently at the age
of 88, steals the show.
In case you didn’t know it, he holds the record for the most
bar crossings — 50,000 plus — in his 39 years with the Colum-
bia River Bar Pilots. He operated the Pilot Boat Peacock, now
on display outside the Columbia River Maritime Museum, for 21
of those years.
During his interview, Capt. Nelson talked about his experi-
ences out on the water, including a harrowing time he was lost at
sea, and dispensed a few wry bon mots in the process. The Ear’s
favorite? “A lot of people told me, ‘Well you must know where
every rock is on that bar,’” he recalled. “I say, ‘No, I don’t, but I
know where they ain’t.’”
O
his one’s for you, tuna fishermen: “A major TV network
is now looking for hard-working commercial crews in Ore-
gon and Washington to appear in a brand new documentary TV
series during the 2017 tuna season,” a recent press release from
Pilgrim Studios (www.pilgrimstudios.com) says.
The TV series will spotlight the men and women in the Pacific
Northwest’s albacore fishery. Please note: Pilgrim Studios pro-
duces shows for the Discovery and History channels, Syfy, Life-
time, OWN, Animal Planet, WE tv and the National Geographic
Channel.
Sound interesting? If you plan to be anywhere between New-
port and Westport, Washington, go ahead and contact them at
TunaCrewCasting@gmail.com with your name, the boat’s name,
your phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief expla-
nation of why your crew should be on the show. You can read all
the rules and apply online at http://tinyurl.com/tunacast
If you get picked to be on the program, you’ve got to be avail-
able for first-season taping in the Ilwaco, Washington area, from
about Aug. 9 to Oct. 2, and for possible future seasons.
T
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Chinook Indian Nation Annual
Council Meeting — Registration at
9:30 a.m., meeting at 11 a.m., South
Bend High School cafeteria, 500 E.
First St., South Bend, Washington.
Meeting is open to all tribal members.
Attendees are reminded to bring a
potluck item. For questions, call the
Tribal Office at 360-875-6670.
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1
p.m., Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108
10th St. Bring knitting, crochet or
other needlework projects to this
community stitching time. All skill
levels welcome.
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
Cannon Beach American Le-
gion Women’s Auxiliary Break-
fast — 9 to 11:30 a.m., American
Legion, 1216 S. Hemlock St., Can-
non Beach.
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.
MONDAY
Chair Exercises for Seniors
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Astoria Rotary Club — noon,
second floor of the Astoria Elks
Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always
welcome. For information, go to
www.AstoriaRotary.org
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
See NOTES, Page 2B