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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
SHOO!
A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS
storia’s sea lions were not deterred in the least by the orca
escapade, and were only temporarily dissuaded from loung-
ing all over the East Mooring Basin docks by the arm-waving
tube men. Our city’s attempts to shoo away the pinnipeds made
the national news, and were noted by other coastal towns with the
same problem. At least now everyone knows what won’t work.
However, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in California
has come up with an imaginative trick to scare off the sea lions,
according to Mother Nature Network: Plastic coyotes (http://
tinyurl.com/scarelion). Seriously. With yellow eyes, fanged
snarling grins, and furry tails wafting in the breeze. A screen shot
of the coyotes at work is shown, courtesy of CBSLA.com
Even though sea lions and real coyotes would probably never
encounter each other in the wild, the sea lions are still avoiding
the plastic predators lurking on Newport’s docks and piers. And,
this is not a very expensive tactic, either, as the faux coyotes are
available at Walmart for $38.19 each.
The Newport Beach harbor master is so impressed with the
initial results at the yacht club, the city is buying eight of the
decoys to place around the harbor, where sea lions are acting like
drunken frat boys, sinking boats with their weight, chasing peo-
ple and getting into all sorts of mischief.
The only catch is that sea lions are devilishly smart, and
sooner or later they’ll probably catch on that the coyotes aren’t
real, and ignore them. Then what?
A
TIME LAPSE
mily Knutson posted a heart-felt thank you “To
the Kind Man in the Large Black Truck” on
Facebook last Friday. It’s one of those smile-induc-
ing feel-good stories. Here’s hoping “the kind man” is
reading this, so he will know how much his generosity
of spirit impacted a little girl in Seaside.
“A man I have never seen before approached me
earlier this afternoon when I was outside in my yard
playing with my daughter,” Emily wrote. “He said
he had found pink children’s toys, and had no use for
them. He asked if she would like them, and if it was
OK that he bring them back by later today. I thanked
him and watched him walk away, not thinking a lot
about it.
“Just a little while ago the man came back in a very
nice lifted black truck with a kitchen set in the back.
My daughter has been wanting a kitchen set for so
long, and this man unknowingly has made her wish
come true. I didn’t get his name, and I know nothing
about him. He remains a stranger to us, but a stranger
I can’t thank enough.
“To the man who has made my little girl so happy
this afternoon: Thank you. Thank you for the gift, your
kindness, your time, the gesture that reminded me
that not everything and everyone in this world is bad.
Thank you from the Knutson family in Seaside, Roy,
Emily and Mai’la (the receiver of your pink kitchen)
Knutson! Happy Holidays and God Bless!”
E
eople attending the recent Clatsop Community College’s
dedication of Patriot Hall were excited to see the first
official lap around the indoor track in the new building run by
Bob Swenson and his grandchildren,” Bob’s wife, Gerry wrote.
Pictured, from left, Audrey May Swenson, Ben Swenson, Bob
Swenson and Aaron Kennedy. Other family members were also
there to cheer them along.
“I purchased this wonderful opportunity for him at the Clat-
sop Community College Foundation’s auction this past May,”
Gerry explained. “The funds raised at the auction are designated
for scholarships for CCC students.”
“Bob has a history with Patriot Hall. As a student at Asto-
ria High School from 1944 to 1946, he ran the track in the ‘old’
Patriot Hall, and now here he is running it again, over 70 years
later, in the ‘new’ Patriot Hall!”
Naturally,” she added, “Grandpa was the first to cross the fin-
ish line. What a thrill!”
‘P
ack in 2015, a Vancouver, British Columbia, band named
Marianas Trench (pictured) released an album, “Astoria,”
that included a song, “Astoria” (not recommended for those with
tender sensibilities). The Ear never did figure out what the song
actually has to do with Astoria, other than this explanation from
the band:
“When Marianas Trench’s lead singer Josh Ramsay came
up with the title ‘Astoria,’ he saw the album as a concept record
based on 1980s’ fantasy adventure films; specifically ‘The
Goonies,’ which is set in the seemingly doomed town of Asto-
ria, Oregon. The idea was to let a classic coming-of-age movie
inspire the music and overall feel of the record.”
Well, now the video is out (www.marianastrench.net), and it’s
an homage to glorious Astoria, visually, with a dash of Cannon
Beach and Olney, and a lot of other places, too. You’ll even spot
some familiar local faces. So check it out, and enjoy! “Let the
melody save me, Astoria.”
B
ent to the Portland Antique Expo for the first time Satur-
day, found some cool stuff, but this is the one I got the
biggest thrill out of …” Aaron Buda posted on Facebook, refer-
ring to the photo shown. “(It) was in one of the many postcard
boxes at the show, no markings on it. But I knew right away what
ship these soldiers are standing in front of — soldiers from Fort
Stevens posing by the Peter Iredale, mid-1910s.”
Aaron is both a historian and collector of items related to the
Harbor Defenses of the Columbia River (Washington and Ore-
gon), consisting of Forts Stevens, Canby and Columbia. You can
see several more of his historical photos on his Facebook page,
http://tinyurl.com/Coast249th.
“My main goal is to preserve, share and honor the history of
the U.S. Army Coast Artillery, who served at the mouth of the
Columbia for nearly 80 years,” he explained, “from the 1860s to
the end of World War II.”
This newly discovered Iredale photo is a welcome addition to
the extensive Aaron Buda Collection. “I love finding these rare
images!”
‘W
A SIGHT TO SEE
SAVE ME, ASTORIA
RARE IMAGE
S
hame on the Ear for letting a local landmark date
slip by without some fanfare and recognition —
namely, the 111th anniversary of the wreck of the
Peter Iredale on Clatsop Spit at 7:45 a.m. Thursday,
Oct. 25, 1906.
Capt. H. Lawrence, his crew and two stowaways
escaped unharmed, rescued almost immediately by the
hearty souls at the Point Adams Life Saving Station.
Several of the stranded mariners were taken to Fort
Stevens, and all of them eventually made their way to
Astoria.
The shipwreck caused quite a stir, The Daily Morn-
ing Astorian reported Oct. 26: “Everybody in the coast
country … literally swarmed out to render what assis-
tance they might to the imperiled crew, and, as is usu-
ally the case in such matters, nearly all were equipped
with big, or little, bottles of liquor, which … was alto-
gether too generously applied, and to the ultimate dis-
comfiture of several of the Iredale’s crew, who were
too drunk to make good with the rest of their fellows
in reaching this city.”
According to the Oregon History Project, a few
weeks later, the captain and his officers were cleared
by the Naval Court at the British Vice-Consulate in
Astoria of any possible wrongdoing in causing the
wreck (http://tinyurl.com/IreOHP).
Note: Also in the Oct. 26 edition, the Astorian pro-
phetically declared “the wreck of the Iredale will be
one of the sights for some time to come … and thou-
sands will avail themselves of the opportunity to see
her, riven, dismantled, inert and abandoned, high on
the raw coast.”
TALES OF THE TOWN
idbits from 128 years ago in The Daily Morning Astorian,
Sunday, Nov. 3, 1889:
• There being no visitors yesterday from Washington, D.C.,
the sun shone out bright and warm.
• The poles for the telegraph line from here to Tillamook
Rock are up all the way from Fort Stevens to a point opposite the
rock, and the wire is being strung. If the cable reaches here before
Christmas, it will be laid by the (Lighthouse Tender) Manzanita.
Note: Tillamook Rock Lighthouse was lit for the first time
Jan. 21, 1881. It took 575 days to build, often in horrific weather
conditions, with only one casualty, the drowning of the master
mason, John R. Trewavas (http://tinyurl.com/tillylit).
• The tallest and finest flag pole in Western Oregon was yes-
terday hoisted and put in place at the office of the Main Street
dock, and the flag with 42 stars on it run up amid the boom of
brass cannon. The pole is 8 inches through at the butt and 104
feet high, and is a monument to Capt. J. G. (Jackson Gregory)
Hustler’s patriotism.
Note: According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, he was one of
the earliest licensed Columbia River Bar pilots. S.C. Reeves was
the first, and J.G. Hustler, C. White, and George Flavel followed
shortly thereafter (http://tinyurl.com/barcaptain).
• A private letter from Seattle says that by actual count there
are now 3,111 brick buildings being erected in Seattle. That is
3,110 more than are now being erected in Astoria.
T
‘A GOOD, CLEAN PASTIME’
ell, here’s a
new hobby
for you: Magnet
fishing. But hope-
fully you won’t
catch anything as
scary as Longview,
Washington, res-
ident
Jeremy
Girard
(pic-
tured), did, in Lake
Sacagawea on Oct.
28 — a hand gre-
nade. As reported in The Daily News (TDN) of Longview, once
he gingerly landed his catch, Jeremy called the police, who in
turn called in the Portland Bomb Squad, who whisked grenade
away (http://tinyurl.com/magfish).
“I have (magnet) fished from Cathlamet all the way to Sil-
ver Lake, and am still expanding,” he told the Ear. “I’ll say it’s
a good, clean pastime for people of all ages. And it’s a crazy bit
here, but I’ve always been prone to finding crazy things. When I
was 12, I found the human remains of a missing person up in the
woods in Rose Valley, Washington. Guess you could say I’m a
bit of an explorer.”
Thankfully, magnet fishing is, for the most part — hand gre-
nade aside — safe. “It never gets old,” he told TDN. “You never
know what you’re going to pull out of there.”
W
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.
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
Angora Hiking Club — 2 p.m.,
Seaside Hostel, 930 N. Holladay
Drive. Annual fall potluck and elec-
tion of officers. For information, call
Bob Westerberg at 503-325-4315.
Group discusses issues facing re-
ligious faith in the modern secular
world. All are welcome. For informa-
tion, call 503-861-2421.
knitting, crocheting, embroidery
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.
Scandinavian Workshop —
10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725
33rd St. Needlework, hardanger,
Grace and Encouragement
for Moms — 10 to 11:30 a.m.,
Crossroads Community Church,
40618 Old Highway 30, Svensen.
GEMS group is a time for moms to
relax and enjoy each others’ com-
pany. Free childcare is provided.
For information, call Rachael Bid-
dlecome at 503-458-6103.
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.
See NOTES, Page 4B