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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2017)
1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON FOR SALE: TITANIC COLLECTION T he Titanic is in trouble again — well, many of its artifacts are, anyway, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://tinyurl.com/titanarti). The Georgia company that owns more than 5,500 items it scavenged from the ocean floor around the wreck, Premiere Expeditions Inc., has gone bankrupt. The collection, held in a “secured in a climate-controlled vault at an undisclosed location,” and future salvage rights, are up for auction, and expected to fetch at least $214 million. Included in the inventory are passengers’ personal possessions; pictured, a display of Titanic kitchen utensils and dinnerware, courtesy of www.premierexhibitions.com The winning bid will be selected Nov. 20. Nothing in the col- lection has been available for sale before — all previous Titanic auctions were for items owned by survivors’ families. One can’t help but wonder if any of the artifacts owned by Premiere Expeditions once belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, who went down with the ship when Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. GRABBING ATTENTION FOR PKU D aniel Kidwell of Liberty, Missouri, is going to ride his bicy- cle — starting from Pier 39 in Astoria on Sunday, and end- ing at Pier 4 in Annapolis, Maryland, on July 31 — to raise funds and awareness for a genetic disorder, Phenylketonuria (PKU). “I have been training for this for just five weeks,” Daniel said. “I haven’t ridden bikes regularly in nearly 20 years, but I’m doing this for my brother, Thomas, who has PKU.” Daniel’s wife will follow him in a truck, and make sure he takes in enough calories for his projected 215 miles a day effort. People with the disorder, which is diagnosed at birth, are miss- ing an enzyme needed to break down protein in food, specifically one amino acid, making them unable to eat the foods most of us enjoy regularly, like meat, dairy products, eggs, nuts, pasta, grain — the list is long. Instead, they must consume a very costly syn- thetic protein drink daily, which is often not covered by insurance. “I am of the opinion that the more PKU is talked about,” Dan- iel said, “the more likely we will be to: A) Get insurance com- panies covering the costs of formula, medication and expensive foods; and B) The more money will be given to finding a cure for this disability. The purpose of this ride is simply to grab atten- tion for PKU.” Want to help? You can donate at his website, www.sea2shin- ingsea.org SHORT TAKES ore from the Sunday, July 14, 1889 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian, to demonstrate the old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same” … • Astoria is getting considerable advertising at present, but not one-tenth as much as she could get. • The regular rush of over-heated mortals to the seaside has begun. Our cool beach with its invigorating air is a boom to thou- sands, and to the sick and debilitated guarantees a new lease of life. • There is a good deal of counterfeit money in circulation on the coast, and some of it has found its way into Astoria. Care is neces- sary in handling silver four-bit pieces and gold five dollar pieces. • Astoria real estate is in demand. Let those now sell who never sold before, and those who always sold now sell the more. M SEA LIONS MARK THE SPOT ‘YOU’RE LOOKING AT DEATH’ unday was the 59th anniversary of what is considered the world’s tallest tsunami, which occurred July 9, 1958, on remote Lituya Bay in Alaska, according to Geol- ogy.com (http://tinyurl.com/lituyawave). The enormous wall of water swept away vegetation from elevations as high as 1,720 feet, and millions of trees were uprooted and swept away. Fortunately, the extreme wave height was only at the beginning of the event, which was set off by millions of cubic yards of dirt and rock, loosened by an earthquake, plunging 3,000 feet into the inlet on the east end of the bay. Incredibly, there were some survivors who witnessed the event. William Swanson and his wife, on the Badger, were anchored in the bay when they felt the shaking. When the wave arrived, it carried the Badger stern first more than 80 feet above the tree tops and over a spit until the wave broke. They wound up hitting bottom, where the boat foun- dered. Swanson could see a huge amount of debris being carried towards them, so he and his wife abandoned ship in a skiff. Luckily, they were picked up by some fishermen about two hours later. By the time the wave reached Howard Ulrich and his 7-year-old son, Sonny, who were anchored in their fish- ing boat, the Edrie, it was about 150 feet high. The pair are pictured now, and then (inset), in screen shots from a BBC interview. “It looked like just a big wall of water,” How- ard said. “You’re looking at death, and this was exactly my first thought.” “He threw me a life preserver and said, ‘Son, start pray- ing,’” Sonny said. As Howard pushed the engine to climb the front of the wave to the top, they were swept up over the land above the trees (where Howard thought they would surely land). Miraculously, they crested the wave, made it to the other side, and were washed back into the bay unharmed. “God what an awful sight,” Howard recalled, “... some- thing like the end of the world.” S THE LAST WORD IN ELEGANCE F rom The Daily Morning Astorian, Sunday, July 14, 1889: “The T. J. Potter made her first trip from Port- land yesterday, arriving here at 7:45 p.m., with two hundred passengers for the coast.” According to Mr. Wikipedia (http://tinyurl.com/tjpot- ter), the Potter (pictured in a 1910 postcard) was launched in Portland in 1888 to make runs from Portland to Astoria and Ilwaco, Washington. At 230 feet long, with a 33-foot beam, the side-wheeler was considered the “last word in ... elegance.” The paddle wheels were intricately carved, and there was an interior curving staircase accompanied by an enor- mous plate glass mirror. The Potter also featured a “grand saloon,” stained glass windows, and even a grand piano. The Potter was as well known for her speed as her lux- ury, but in 1901, a rebuild increased the Potter’s gross ton- nage, slowing her down. The wheelhouse was given a dome and flagpole, believed to be unique among Columbia River steamboats at the time. After the rebuild, the Potter resumed the Portland to Ilwaco run, continuing even after being refurbished in 1910. In 1916, condemned for passenger use, the vessel was used as a barracks boat for construction crews until 1920, when her license was revoked. Abandoned on Youngs Bay, she was burned and salvaged for her metal. Professor Frederick Bracher described riding on the Potter as a child, in 1915: “The T.J. Potter was ... ponder- ously slow. ... The monumental semi-circular paddle boxes, painted like the rays of the rising sun … produced a prodi- gious wake to port and starboard, as well as astern. “On the main deck were staterooms for the elderly, the rich, or the newly married; and a continuous seat ran all the way around the stern. If the weather was good, there would be deck chairs on the open afterdeck, and the glass-enclosed lounge cabins were comfortable on cold or rainy days.” What little is left of the Potter’s former glory still rests on the shore of Youngs Bay. ack in 2014, Frank Watson sent in 2012 Google Earth pho- tos of the stones at the far western end of the South Jetty with what looked like mysterious markings, or pictographs, on them (pictured, inset). The Ear sent the photos to Michelle Helms at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are in charge of the jetty. She sent one back of that very same section of rocks, taken in July 2013, but from a different angle, and the markings aren’t visible. Where did they go? “I showed the image to our jetty experts,” she wrote, “and they tell me the ‘markings’ are sea lions.” The Ear was still a little skeptical, but Astorian Keith Warren’s recent photo of the end of the jetty, shown, dispels all doubt. B ARE YOU THERE, AMELIA? viatrix Amelia Earhart (pictured) may or may not have passed through Astoria on a road trip to Canada in the 1920s, but she, her navigator, Fred Noonan, and their Lockheed Electra plane defi- nitely did disappear in 1937 during a round-the-world flight. Recently KGW reported that a “newly discovered” photo pur- portedly shows Earhart and Noonan as Japanese captives during World War II (http://tinyurl.com/kgwblooper). Nonsense, says the group TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, https://www.tighar.org), who for decades have spent millions launching scientific expeditions to find out what happened to Earhart. They say the photo is not “redis- covered” at all, not to mention “Earhart’s” face is obscured, it isn’t Noonan in the photo, the ship is misidentified, etc. You can read the details at http://tinyurl.com/TIGHARpix However, and much more interesting, The New York Times reports that TIGHAR teamed with National Geographic recently to send a team and four dogs that specialize in sniffing out human remains to Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati in the South Pacific (http://tinyurl.com/TIGHARdogs). TIGHAR believes Earhart and Noonan crash-landed on a reef there at low tide, sent out distress signals (which were reportedly heard, but could not be tracked), then died on the island as cast- aways. Artifacts have been found in the past that could have sig- naled Earhart and Noonan’s presence on the island, but so far there hasn’t been any conclusive proof. The team and dogs are back now, but the full results aren’t in yet. Did they find out what really happened to Amelia Earhart, at last? Stay tuned. A LIVING THE DREAM storia’s wayward sailor, 60-something Russian immigrant Rimas Meleshyus, left Hilo, Hawaii, on his oft-attempted around-the-world sail about a month ago. Much more adept at coasting on the currents, Kon-Tiki raft style (http://tinyurl.com/ rimastiki), than at actual sailing, he bypassed Kiribati, making his many Facebook followers wonder where he’s headed. The plan is finally revealed: He’s aiming for Samoa. How he’ll manage to land there remains to be seen, as getting into port isn’t his strong suit, but you can’t knock his enthusiasm: “I want to continue sailing around the world until 100 years,” he posted via satellite on Facebook. “I extremely like it to be on the open ocean.” A COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m., Sixth Street parking lot. Portland 4 T Trail hike. For information, call Craig Holt at 503-325-8207. Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knitting, crochet or other nee- dlework 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 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 SUNDAY Cannon Beach American Le- gion Women’s Auxiliary Break- fast — 9 to 11:30 a.m., American 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. 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 Program — noon, Warrenton Community Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Suggested donation of $5 for seniors and $7 for those younger than 60. For information, or to vol- unteer, 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. See NOTES, Page 2B
