Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2017)
1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON SHE’S GOT YOUR NUMBER ‘I WANT TO SAIL 100 YEARS’ HOLVERSON’S LETTER T he Dixie Butter-nut Baking Co. story last week raised another interesting aspect of Astoria street mapping. Before the 1922 fire (the city was re-platted after the fire), the company was at 661 Commercial St., not 616, as the Ear mistakenly wrote in the earlier article. “The 661 Commercial address was located where Public Market was for so many years,” Liisa Penner, archivist at the Clatsop County Historical Society wrote, “and later Hunts Fur- niture, on the south side of Commercial between 15th and 16th streets … about where James Turk’s seaman’s boarding house (and shanghaiing business) was. “The building numbers changed in 1955, and were (very) roughly doubled from the 1954 addresses. 955 Commercial changed to 2127 Marine Drive. Instead of 50 numbers per block in 1954 and before, there were and are 100 numbers per block, with even numbers on the north side of the street and odd num- bers on the south side.” “We have had people come in to the museum to tell us they had been searching for an old address, but the houses don’t match the photos they have,” she explained. “I tell them if the address they have was from before 1955, they were probably looking in the wrong section of town, and then show them the old Sanborn insurance maps, with the old numbers, and tell them how to find the right place.” Pictured, courtesy of Charles Purdy, an old Sanborn insurance map of Astoria (http://tinyurl.com/astfiremap) Need to find an old address? “We have the maps at the Heri- tage Museum,” Liisa added, “and they are also at the Astoria Pub- lic Library.” HIDE THE BABY PENGUINS A storia’s wayward sailor, 65-year old Russian immi- grant Rimas Meleshyus, disappeared July 31 off the southeast coast of Fiji in his 30-foot boat, Mimsy, and was presumed lost at sea. This was the latest of Rimas’ several attempts to sail (more accurately, drift) around the world. When last heard from, he was in dire straits, and had no sails or motor. Then the battery died, and he lost his satel- lite and radio. After being at sea for 137 days (missing for 77), the news came Monday evening that Rimas had been res- cued by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Pub- lic Safety’s Boating Safety Section off the coast of Saipan. “All people good, I’m so happy,” he told Saipan reporter Sherri Riggs, shortly after he was brought in (www.face- book.com/SherriRiggsTV). Rimas and the Mimsy are pic- tured in a screen shot from her broadcast. But how did Rimas get so far north? His specialty, Kon- Tiki drifting with the currents, wouldn’t work to go north from Fiji; the currents move south. Using a plain white sheet as a sail, he made headway north against the current, setting his sights on Saipan. Why? Because he’d never been there before. A South Korean ship helped Rimas along the way, giv- ing him food and water supplies, and a battery for his GPS and radio, which is how he finally managed to call for help. When they arrived, the Coast Guard wanted him to leave the Mimsy, and helicopter him to a hospital straightaway, but Rimas refused. “No, I cannot leave boat,” he told his rescuers. “I don’t want to. I want to sail this boat continue around the world … This boat so good to me. I never leave the boat, you know.” Yes, you heard that right. Determined and undaunted as ever, he plans to fix the Mimsy and keep on sailing. To Japan, Alaska, Washington state, Australia, the Indian Ocean … the dream lives on. “I want to sail to 100 years, as many, many ports as can,” he enthusiastically told Sherri Riggs. “I want to go every.” A nother auction of Titanic memorabilia is scheduled for Sat- urday by Henry Aldridge & Son in London, and one item is of particular interest to historians: A sea-stained letter from sales- man Alexander Oskar Holverson to his mother, describing the Titanic’s amenities and what life aboard was like as a first-class passenger (http://tinyurl.com/holverltr). The letter, which is expected to fetch from $79,000 to $105,000, was recovered from a leather pocketbook that Holv- erson had on him when his body was found. The auction lot also includes a photo of him with his wife, Mary Alice, who sur- vived. Both the letter, and the photo are shown, courtesy of Henry Aldridge & Son. Of interest locally, Holverson mentions seeing John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, Madeleine, on the first-class deck. Astor, probably the most famous person aboard the Titanic, died in the disaster, as well, but Madeleine, who was pregnant, was saved. “This letter represents one of the last known letters to have survived the sinking,” Andrew Aldridge noted, “and the last known letter written on board by a victim.” THINGS THAT GO POP IN THE NIGHT celebrates a favorite snack of many Astorians: It’s ANDY’S ADVENTURES IN ASTORIA O ctober National Popcorn Poppin’ Month. This momentous occa- sion was brought to the Ear’s attention by a slick mailer from the Popcorn Board (www.popcorn.org). If you check out their website, you will find that popcorn has been around since about 2,000 B.C. Naturally, a plethora of rec- ipes awaits you there, as well, from Caramel Almond Popcorn Clusters, to Black Sesame Mustard Popcorn, to Hot Wasabi Pop- corn and everything in between. Pictured, courtesy of the Pop- corn Board, Lime Pickle Popcorn Mix. And guess what? Plain popcorn is actually good for you. So if you haven’t already, start popping. ‘W e had a very unique visitor come by the aquarium the other day, a south polar skua,” the Seaside Aquarium posted on its Facebook page recently. “This large predatory sea- bird remains far offshore during the summer months and returns to the edges of the Antarctic continent each year to breed. We learned that this aggressive bird feeds on baby penguins, and when not breeding, harasses other sea birds by pirating away their food.” The aquarium’s photo of the visitor is shown. Just to give you and idea of its size, Arkive.org says the birds can weigh up to around 3.5 pounds (males are smaller), and aver- age about 21 inches in length, with an approximate 53-inch wing- span (http://tinyurl.com/spskua). “This big guy was found on a local beach and brought into the aquarium to be taken to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast,” the post continued. “With a little luck and some TLC, it will be returned back to the wild.” MARINE CURIOSITY F rom The Daily Morning Astorian on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1890: Carl Boentjen brought a marine curiosity to this office last evening. It consists of an ordinary seaweed some twenty feet in length, and at the lower end the cluster of roots have a firm hold of an aggregation of marine shells several pounds in weight. These shells are occupied by a curious inhabitant that has a beak that resembles a chicken’s, only it is divided perpendicu- larly instead of horizontally. Several persons inspected the curi- ous formation, but had never seen anything like it. (Goose bar- nacles, perhaps?) Mr. Boentjen will pickle the whole outfit and place it on exhibition. BUYING THE FARM ‘A lucky Friday the 13th for Astoria,” Jeff Daly posted on his Facebook page, “a Chamber of Commerce day with perfect weather as the backdrop for Andy Car- son from KPTV Channel 12 ‘Andy’s Adventures.’” Jeff and the Glam Tram transported the TV crew around town in style. Pictured, from left, in Jeff’s photo, KPTV cameraman Mike “Rico” Heimrich, Jake Jacobs (a central figure in the day’s events), Jeff Daly and Andy Carson. “Andy first met Jake two years ago during his first live shot from Astoria,” Jeff explained, “and loved having him on the air, being the great character that he is. Andy refers to Jake as his good buddy, and also referred to him as his producer when they were here last Friday. “Jake set up all of the locations for them to do their live broadcast, and as always, Jake is thinking about the com- munity. He made sure there was coverage at the Astoria Armory and the Tourist No. 2.” “Portland wants to be weird,” Jake quipped. “But, Asto- ria is cool because it has really weird people.” “The four-hour morning ended up with Andy doing 27 live updates during their broadcast,” Jeff recalled. “They said it was a world record for them doing that many loca- tions, moving all over town. Many shots were from the Glam Tram, as we were driving quickly to the next location.” You can watch several of the “Riding Around Astoria” segments at http://tinyurl.com/carsonastoria “What impressed me the most,” Jeff observed, “is that Andy and his cameraman have worked together for 17 years doing the morning show. Every day they go to work at 4 a.m. And they always have a smile on their faces, and a giggle at what they’re doing. It was just a lotta fun to watch people at their job, enjoying it so much.” W ant to really get away? Far, far away? The Alaska Dispatch News (ADN) reports that June and John Strothenke, who live outside Fairbanks, Alaska, are holding an essay contest to “sell” their 5-acre hobby farm, Top of the Hill (http://tinyurl. com/ADNfarm). “We were doing eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, honey, meat of all different varieties, everything that comes from the ground and garden,” John Strothenke told ADN. All those 18-hour work days added up, and “due to health and personal issues,” the cou- ple want to retire from farming life, and spend more time with the family Back East. To enter the contest, all you have to do is ante up a $1,000 fee, and answer this question in 350 words or less: “Why I would like to own a hobby farm in Fairbanks, Alaska.” Only 420 entries are allowed, and the deadline is Dec. 31. A photo of the farm by Doug Lange is shown from the con- test website, http://tinyurl.com/TopHillFarm, where you can find all the details and rules. The couple will choose the top 20 essays, and three outside judges will choose the winner. “We are giving the opportunity for another family to be blessed, as we were,” the couple wrote on their website, “with a slice of heaven on earth, here in Alaska’s Interior.” COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY 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 Model Railroading Club — 1 p.m., in Hammond. Group runs trains on HO-scale layout. For in- formation, 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 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. is $6. For information, or to have a meal delivered, call 503-325-9693. For information, contact Myra Kero at 503-738-6165, or k7erowood@q. com, or go to www.nami.org ligious faith in the modern secular world. All are welcome. For informa- tion, call 503-861-2421. and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. 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. Seekers Group — 6 to 7:30 p.m., Pioneer Presbyterian Church, 33324 Patriot Way, Warrenton. Group discusses issues facing re- Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery 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. 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. Columbia Senior Diners — 11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St. Cost See NOTES, Page 2B
