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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
GOONIE TREASURES
A
few weeks ago there was mention in this column about the
Prop Store in London auctioning off “Data’s Stunt Trench
Coat,” which Ke Huy Quan wore in the movie “The Goonies”
with a starting bid of £15,000 ($19,864). Well, the auction is over,
and even though the coat was expected to top out much higher, it
sold for £15,000 (http://tinyurl.com/propgoon).
As it turns out, other items from the movie production were
in the auction, as well. Crew Materials and Behind the Scenes
Photographs, including personal photos from the collection of
stuntman Randell Widner, which were expected to go for a min-
imum of £40 ($66), sold for a winning bid of £800 ($1,081). Wid-
ner is pictured, courtesy of the Prop Store.
A Fratelli Cutlass went for £3,250 ($4,391), three One-Eyed
Willy Treasure Coins were worth £2,750 ($3,716), and Rich-
ard Donner’s Behind-the-Scenes Pirate Flag sold for £900
($1,216). But the piece de resistance of the auction was Sloth’s
Stunt Mask, which didn’t do as well as expected. It was offered
at a minimum bid of £30,000 ($40,540), and that’s exactly what
it sold for.
Have some Goonies memorabilia from when they were shoot-
ing the movie in Astoria? You might just have a little gold mine.
SCHOOL DAZE
O
nce again, the Scandinavians are ahead of the sustainabil-
ity game, this time with the design for Denmark’s Copen-
hagen International School in Nordhavn harbor by C.F. Møller
Architects, NewAtlas.com reports (http://tinyurl.com/cfmoller).
A photo of the school by Adam Mørk is shown.
The school’s exterior is covered with 12,000 solar panels
which beam in natural light and are expected to produce more
than half the electricity the building needs. No small feat for the
almost 280,000 square foot interior, made up of four towers, each
one several stories high.
The new school also features a rainwater collection system,
LED lighting, and a “green” roof. And, for visual effect, the solar
panels are individually angled, to “resemble sequins” the archi-
tectural firm says.
It’s almost enough to make you want to go back to school.
DON’T LOOK UP
B
ecause of the bizarre weather on the North Coast Sept. 18,
this item caught the Ear’s attention: On Sept. 28, in Tampico,
Mexico, tiny fish were falling from the sky during a light rain-
storm, according to a story on LiveScience.com (http://tinyurl.
com/fishyfall). A few of the finny flyers are pictured, courtesy of
Protección Civil Tamaulipas.
So how is this possible? Scientists say the fish got sucked up
into the sky during a waterspout, then winds carried them inland,
where they dropped to the ground. Apparently, this isn’t all that
unusual, as “fishy rains” have been documented in several loca-
tions around the globe. Just not here. Yet.
‘HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE’
T
he Ear was remiss in not mentioning the anniversary of
the wreck of the pilot schooner Governor Moody three
miles north of Fort Canby, Washington on Sept. 21, 1890.
Capt. Peter Cordiner gave a harrowing account of what
happened to the Daily Alta California newspaper. He and the
crew, Louis Olsen, Gustav McCorda and the cook, George
Salvely, were returning from a trip when the fog set in. The
captain suddenly sensed they were near shore, but he couldn’t
turn the vessel in time to avoid the breakers that swept them
into the base of a cliff at North Head.
The men ran for the main rigging and climbed, and were
“hanging on for dear life, while each successive breaker was
shaking the craft to pieces,” the captain wrote. “In one of
those larches the mainmast came down with a fearful crash,
carrying us with it.”
Capt. Cordiner gashed his head in the melée, but gathered
his wits quickly, ran to the fore-rigging and climbed the mast-
head, while the vessel was being continuously shoved against
the cliff. “… In some way I got between the mast and the
cliff and got my arm and shoulder bruised. I was knocked off
my feet, but in falling managed to strike in the crotch of the
jib halyards and slid down the jib stay. I then climbed up the
mast and managed to reach the overhanging rocks, and pulled
myself up to a place of safety.”
McCorda followed. Olsen, who had an injured hip, clung
to the rocks below, so the men lowered some halyards to him
hauled him up. The cook was gone, presumed dead; the three
remaining survivors hiked to Fort Canby. The life-saving crew
there immediately went to the wreck, but clothes, books and
a sextant were most of the few items that could be recovered.
The life-saving crew made one other discovery, as well:
the cook, very much alive, stranded on a narrow rock shelf.
“An overhanging ledge prevented his climbing further up,
and the waves were boiling beneath him,” the captain wrote.
“He had been in this situation, with the surf throwing spray
over him, for nearly six hours, and was terribly exhausted
when rescued.”
There was no rescue for the Governor Moody, though. She
was a total loss.
AROUND THE TOWN
N
ewsy notes
from
the
Tuesday, Oct. 7,
1884 edition of
The Daily Morn-
ing Astorian:
• Alf. Bowen,
the
handsom-
est man in Pacific
County and the next
territorial councilman from across the river, was making eyes
at the girls on Chenamus Street
yesterday afternoon.
Note: Councilman Alf Bowen established the first
newspaper in Pacific County, Washington, the Pacific
Journal, in Oysterville in 1883, where it was published for
five or six years (http://tinyurl.com/sydoyster).
• No section shows a greater amount of building going
on than Uppertown. Fully 50 buildings have been erected
this season. Among others now in process of construc-
tion is a large building being put up for a store by Jos.
Olson, a boarding house opposite the Occident Packing
Co.’s premises, and dwellings by Messrs. Larsen, Ostrom,
Anderson and others.
Note: The road from Astoria to Upper Astoria was
completed in 1878, connecting the two cities, ending their
three-decade rivalry and separate post offices. In 1883, a
fire raged through lower Astoria waterfront, and the city
was still in the process of rebuilding in 1884. In 1891,
the corporate limits of Astoria were changed to include
Uppertown, making the merger of the two cities official
(http://tinyurl.com/upperasto).
• And so the old Shubrick is finally to be replaced! The
Manzanita comes in her stead. The old side-wheeler has been
in service for over a quarter of a century, and has weathered
many a heavy southwester on this northwest coast …
Note: The Shubrick was the first lighthouse tender
steamer built by the Lighthouse Board, launched in 1857
in Philadelphia. A Confederate plot to seize the Shubrick
during the Civil War was discovered and foiled in 1863.
She is pictured, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Histori-
an’s office (http://tinyurl.com/shubrick).
After the war, the ship was transferred to the Navy
for service at the Bering Sea, returning to the Lighthouse
Board in 1866. In 1880, she was transferred to lighthouse
tender duty on the North Coast. Sold in Astoria in 1886, the
new owner ran her aground, stripped the vessel and burned
the hull to collect the metal. A very inglorious end.
MYSTERY AT SEA
I
t’s been two months now, and Astoria’s wayward sailor, Rus-
sian-American Rimas Meleshyus (pictured) is still missing at
sea. He set off from Hilo, Hawaii, in early summer on his latest
attempt to sail around the world in the 30-foot Mimsy, with lit-
tle sailing experience, but a great talent for drifting, “Kon Tiki
style.”
In his last Facebook post on July 30, he was drifting west
southwest at 1.87 mph, just east of Fiji, after an unsuccessful call
for help. He had no motor, life raft, fishing gear or sails, and was
running out of food.
Friends have notified Fiji land and sea authorities of his plight,
but no wreckage has been found, and no one has actually seen
Rimas or his boat. A rumor surfaced recently that he had been
spotted at a McDonald’s in Lautoka, Fiji, but no one has been
able to verify the sighting.
The mystery continues. Rimas seems to have literally fallen
off the face of the earth.
TRULY SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA
T
he Oregon Archives recently posted a “shanghai” letter from
July 29, 1891 on its Facebook page. It’s from Darius Norris
(who wound up in London after being shanghaied in Astoria)
to Astorian Bill Joplin. You can read the whole letter at http://
tinyurl.com/NorrisLtr. Here are a few excerpts:
“I am in this city, I was run aboard a ship, shanghaied by
(Astoria) Chief of Police (W. J.) Barry. I will be back as soon as
I can get back. I will go over to New York, then I will telegraph to
(Bill) Edgar to send me money … If you see him tell him I was
run on a ship by them scoundrels. … They shanghaied me under
the name of Smith. I will come back and face the whole crowd of
them that wronged me …
“… They done this job to try and rob me out of my property.
… They got $140 blood money on me by shanghaiing me on that
ship. I got nothing. They told me that I was no seaman; so I got
abused and crippled and got nothing, and was left here destitute
by the action of those scoundrels. I will meet them if I live.”
One can’t help but wonder if he got his revenge.
CLEAN SUDS
S
ince this is the land of beer lovers, the Ear cannot resist pass-
ing on an AtlasObscura.com story about a Czech brewery’s
devotion to the purity of its product (http://tinyurl.com/crayH2O).
To ensure that they are using the cleanest water possible, the
brewery has hired five new employees in an unusual experiment.
Actually, they are crustaceans. Crawfish, to be exact.
The little critters have been outfitted with infrared sensors on
their backs that monitor their heart rates and movement. Some
of the water flowing into the brewery vats is diverted into a tank
containing the crawdads, and if the heart rates of three or more
climb, and they start moving around too much, a computer lets
the brewers know there’s a problem with the water within three
minutes.
What’s next? Crawdad heart monitors. Na zdravi!
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Mom’s Club of Astoria Ga-
rage Sale — 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 130
W. Klaskanine Ave. All proceeds
from sales will be used to purchase
gifts for the Astoria/Knappa Wishing
Tree program.
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.
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
seum welcome. For information,
contact Mark Standley at 503-434-
0148 or Herman Doty at 971-306-
1043 or ringinganvildesign@gmail.
com
Blacksmith
Enthusiasts
Meet — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Camp
18 Blacksmith Shop, 42362 U.S.
Highway 26, Seaside. Participants
welcome to bring their own forge
and anvil setup. Metal available to
experiment with; coal is provided.
No charge, but donations to the
Camp 18 Loggers Memorial Mu-
National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI) Support Group
— 2 to 3:30 p.m., Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway. Family to
Family Support Group, for anyone
with friend or loved one suffering
from a serious brain (mental) illness.
For information, contact Myra Kero
at 503-738-6165, or k7erowood@q.
com, or go to www.nami.org
world. All are welcome. For informa-
tion, call 503-861-2421.
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.
Chair Exercises for Seniors
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
Seekers Group — 6 to 7:30
p.m., Pioneer Presbyterian Church,
33324 Patriot Way, Warrenton.
Group discusses issues facing re-
ligious faith in the modern secular
MONDAY
Scandinavian Workshop —
10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725
33rd St. Needlework, hardanger,
See NOTES, Page 3B