The daily Astorian., September 07, 2017, Page 11, Image 21

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 // 11
IF YOU GO
But to Giampa, what makes her home
special is the friendship that formed there
before Hurst’s death in 2010. That’s what
she hopes to share with more than 500
people who signed up for this year’s tour.
“To me, this house is a person. That’s
how it’s always been. Every time I’ve
walked in here the past 15 years, it feels
like I’m getting a hug,” she said. “It feels
like Lannie.”
Preserving history
Each year, the Cannon Beach Muse-
um and History Center selects a region
of town to highlight historical and aes-
thetically beautiful houses for people to
tour. This is the first year the north end of
Cannon Beach has been featured, museum
Executive Director Elaine Trucke said,
including homes on Chapman Point and
the Elk Creek Lodge, Cannon Beach’s
oldest hotel.
“For years, we had issues having a
tour in the north part of town because it is
highly populated, and mostly full of year-
round residences,” Trucke said. “When it
is their permanent residence, it’s harder
for them to open their home up.”
Trucke and Liz Johnson, the muse-
um’s outreach coordinator, start sur-
veying homes 11 months in advance.
Johnson noticed Giampa’s home for its
cute cottage-like exterior and, with the
permission of the Cottage Tours commit-
tee, decided to invite Giampa to be on the
tour.
Johnson started doing research on
the home, which is when she found that
Hurst — locally famous for starting a
rally to save Portland’s oldest church from
demolition in 1967 — bought the home in
the 1990s.
The interior reflects years Hurst spent
meticulously designing every corner of the
house, including a bathroom lined with
personalized tiles that recognize her trav-
els and shows in which she performed.
“She was really about preserving histo-
ry, and it was clear she was trying to save
that house,” Johnson said.
The interior itself is intriguing on its
own, Johnson said, but learning of the
connection between Giampa and Hurst
added another layer of interest.
“I think people will relate to the con-
nection,” Johnson said. “There is some-
thing very emotional about it.”
Memories
Since purchasing the house, Giampa
and her husband spent years updating the
exterior of the house and breathing life
into an expansive garden to match what
Hurst had already started inside.
“We wanted to finish what she started,”
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
A photo from the 2006 Cottage tour
Friday, Sept. 8: “Kelsey Mousley and
The Next Right Thing” concert and
reception, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Cannon
Beach Chamber Hall (207 N. Spruce St.)
Tickets $15.
Saturday, Sept. 9: Tour, luncheon and
lecture noon to 5 p.m. at the Cannon
Beach Chamber Hall. Post-tour cele-
bration with wine, live music and hors
d’oeuvres prepared by Sweet Charity, 6
to 8 p.m. at the Cannon Beach Chamber
Hall. Home and Garden Tour tickets are
$35. (Luncheon and lecture tickets have
sold out.)
Sunday, Sept. 10: English-style garden
tea and presentation by the event’s
guest speaker, Dawn Hummel, 11 a.m.
at the Cannon Beach Chamber Hall.
Garden Tea tickets are $20.
Tickets are available through the mu-
seum’s online gift shop www.cbhistory.
org or by phone at 503-436-9301.
A photo taken at the 2012 garden tour
The interior of Lannie Hurst’s Cannon Beach home, featured on the Cottage & Garden Tour.
Hurst died in 2010.
Giampa said. “She made this home so
authentic and welcoming, we wanted to
make sure the whole house was worthy of
the person who touched our lives.”
Even after Hurst moved back to
Portland full time in 2002, she would get
calls from Hurst asking if she could pop
in. Hurst would come over to have dinner
with Giampa’s family, and in Portland the
two made a habit of going to the the-
ater together. When they were in bloom,
Giampa would make sure to bring Hurst a
bouquet of the cow lilies that grew in their
shared yard.
“I remember when Lannie came over to
dinner once, and I put on the soundtrack
to ‘My Fair Lady,’ one of my favorite
musicals,” Giampa said. “We sat side by
side on the sofa singing along. And you
know how usually when you’re with your
friends you stop after a few lines? Well we
kept singing the whole soundtrack to the
end.”
After Hurst died, Giampa and her
family decided to buy a different home
in the Presidential Streets that fit their
needs better, she said. But Giampa
couldn’t bring herself to sell their north-
end house without feeling like losing
Hurst.
As a compromise, she has turned the
home into a long-term rental. “I couldn’t
imagine people funneling in and out like a
vacation rental,” Giampa said.
Opening up
Though some furniture has been
swapped out over the years, a photo of
Hurst, sitting atop a hutch in the kitch-
en, still stands watch over the home.
The current renters, too, have embraced
Hurst’s presence, without ever meeting
her, by celebrating her birthday each year,
Giampa said.
Now Giampa’s excited to share what
this house means to her with more people
on the tour.
“When I look back on how this played
out, I wonder if we ever would have com-
mitted to this house if she wasn’t there,”
Giampa said. “It’s not often you make a
connection like this with a stranger. I hope
sharing my story will help inspire people
to take the risk and being willing to open
up to people. Like Lannie.” CW