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