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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
‘I KNOW WHAT I SAW’
ake heart, Bigfoot believers: ABC30 reports that Claudia
Ackley is suing the state of California because state author-
ities didn’t believe her when she and her two daughters saw a
Bigfoot on a remote trail near Lake Arrowhead in Southern Cal-
ifornia last year (tinyurl.com/sue4bigfoot). Ackley is pictured,
courtesy of ABC30.
When she called 911 to report the sighting, she was told it was
a bear. Not so, Ackley says. “I know what I saw,” she declared.
The Bigfoot, perched about 30 feet up a tree, weighed about 800
pounds and “looked like a Neanderthal man with a lot of hair.”
Two other Sasquatches were nearby. None of the creatures made
any move to harm the Ackley family, but they were terrified,
nonetheless.
Consequently, Ackley is bringing the lawsuit because the state
and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are refusing
to recognize the Bigfoot species, and she believes it’s a danger to
the public not to officially acknowledge their existence. “There’s
a lot of people that come on this trail,” she told ABC30, “and I
want public safety more than anything.”
The case goes to court March 19 in San Bernardino. Stay
tuned.
T
A TOTAL LOSS
DOWN ON THE FARM
he Dec. 16, 1885 issue of The Daily Morning Asto-
rian asked for bids “for the support of the county
poor for one year” and a “poor farm.” In February 1886,
George Flavel and others were tasked to consider “pro-
viding the county with a poor farm.” What happened to
this project?
Robert Strickland recalled talking to a woman who
spoke about a poor farm being in Clatsop County. Liisa
Penner of the Clatsop County Historical Society, says
it’s true, but it was not built until around 1914. A CCHS
photo of the Clatsop County Hospital & Home, which
was torn down in the 1940s or 1950s, is shown.
“Every time I used to mention the ‘Poor Farm’ to Syl-
via Mattson,” Liisa noted, “she would correct me and
say the proper name was the ‘County Home.’ That did
not sound as bad.
“It was located near the fairgrounds. … The peo-
ple who lived there were generally elderly people who
could not survive on their own, or those who had mental
impairments. I’m not sure if there were any children. But
all who could work were expected to work, taking care
of cows and chickens, the garden, etc.
“There are a number of stories about the place …
(such as) Nick Johnson, an old chicken farmer, who
agreed to give his farm to his neighbor in exchange for
taking care of him for the rest of his life. His neighbor
died, and the neighbor’s wife immediately put Nick into
the Poor Farm and sold his property to her son for a dol-
lar, and moved to Portland. Nick spent the rest of his life
at the Poor Farm.”
“Before (1914), the county’s indigents were placed in
individual homes where someone received money from
the county to take care of them,” Liisa noted, meaning
Flavel et al must have failed in their mission. “In one
case, an elderly man had been placed with a family (and)
he did not realize that the family had no intention of pay-
ing him for his work, and that the agreement with the
county was that his pay was a place to sleep and some
clothes to wear.”
Seems right out of the pages of a Charles Dickens
story, doesn’t it?
T
he American schooner Frank W. Howe, home ported in Port
Townsend, Washington, was on her way from Ballard, Wash-
ington, to San Pedro, California, with a heavy load of railroad
ties, when she got caught in a gale and ran aground at Seaview,
Washington, on Feb. 23, 1904, North Dakota’s Bismark Tribune
reported the next day. The schooner is pictured courtesy of the
Saltwater People Historical Society.
The Howe was spotted flying distress signals that morning,
and about an hour later spun in the breakers and grounded stern
first. Even though lifesaving crews got to the area as speedily as
possible, the heavy seas had already started pounding the vessel
to pieces. Life lines failed to reach the foundering schooner, so
the rescuers were forced to launch a boat to rescue Captain Kee-
gan and six crew members.
Fortunately, there were only two fatalities on the Howe’s last
journey. A Norwegian sailor was swept from the rigging and
drowned, and the cook, William Van Sant, was hit by a large
wave, which threw him across the deck, “killing him instantly.”
The ship was a total loss.
T
COLDLY CONTEMPTUOUS
FROZEN IN TIME
or marine biology fans: A “weird and frozen” 70-pound fish
washed ashore in Chilkat Inlet, Alaska, and was found by
Harry Rietz, the Chilkat Valley News reports (tinyurl.com/chilk-
fish). He and his stiff prize are shown in a photo by Brad Badger.
It’s actually a ragfish, which is apparently a rare find. Because
they are deep ocean dwellers, not much is known about them, not
even what they eat. They do occasionally wash up — most often
on Southeastern Alaska beaches — and are sometimes caught by
commercial fishermen.
This particular fish had spawned, and Rietz found eggs about
50 feet away from it, in a seaweed bed. Unfortunately, local
seagulls decided they were lunch.
Meanwhile, Rietz is keeping the ragfish on ice until he finds out
if the American Bald Eagle Foundation wants to put it on exhibit.
F
DID YOU SEE IT?
id you see what looked like a fireball streak across the clear
night sky around 9:20 p.m. on Valentine’s Day? Oregon
Museum of Science and Industry astronomer Jim Todd “checked
reports from various sources” according to BeachConnection.
net (tinyurl.com/ORfireball), and it was seen from Oregon and
Southwest Washington, and inland Oregon, as well. Pictured,
interstellar objects above the Oregon Coast courtesy of Andre
Hagestedt/Oregon Beach Connection.
The orange/yellow object had a trail behind it as it moved
slowly from west to east, and was seen for 12 to 20 seconds. It
either broke up into two pieces, or started that way. Based on
speed, “in my opinion, this was a space junk,” Todd said, not a fire-
ball. “Space junk is slower than a meteor or bolide. … Meteors are
often quicker and brighter, sometimes exploding bright and low.”
Apparently there were no reports from anyone on the Oregon
Coast. Well, here’s one: Carol Lucas saw the mysterious objects
from Gearhart. “I saw two of them,” she said. “Definitely two.
They moved slower than a shooting star, but faster than a satellite
— all bright, twinkly and golden.” At least it was pretty space junk.
D
MAYBE IT’S …
PIRATES AT BAY
inancier John Jacob Astor III, 67, grandson of
Astoria’s founder, died Feb. 22, 1890, in New York,
of heart failure. It’s estimated he was worth around $200
million at the time of his death (about $5 billion now).
A glimpse of the man’s character shows in a story
in the Feb. 23, 1890, edition of The Daily Morning
Astoria: “The death of the hundred-millionaire, John
Jacob Astor, in New York yesterday, recalls to the writ-
er’s mind the fact that several years ago a distinguished
Astoria clergyman, on a visit to New York, called upon
the millionaire, told him of the city by the sea founded
by his grandfather of precisely the same name as him-
self, and suggested (he) fund or endow an institution of
learning in the city that will perpetuate the name and
fame of the Astors when their scattered millions will
have been forgotten.
“The millionaire looked coldly contemptuous at the
reverend gentleman when he had concluded his kindly
plea, and told him he would give him an order on his
cashier for one hundred dollars. The Astorian dis-
claimed any desire to pecuniarily embarrass the munifi-
cent patron by the acceptance of so princely a sum, and
bowed himself out.
“The millionaire lies dead in his marble palace this
morning, and his millions lie idly in the massive vaults
as cold as the clay that so lately clung to them.”
F
he use of guns may be all over the news of late, but some
enterprising Philippine-flagged cargo ship crew members
took a more medieval approach to weaponry while fending off
an attack by pirates in the Celebes Sea: They threw boiling water
and oil on the armed attackers when they attempted to board the
ship (tinyurl.com/pirateH20).
Yes, it worked. The pirates opened fire (but didn’t hurt any-
one), and sensibly beat a hasty retreat. The Philippines Coast
Guard responded to the incident, and treated one man who had
cut his hand on some glass. The vessel is pictured shortly after
the attack, in a photo courtesy of Western Mindanao Command.
The ship with the clever crew, by the way, was aptly named:
MV Kudos.
T
n Jan. 26, this column featured a “what is it?” story about a
round object (pictured left) found by Farrah Billings on
a Long Beach (Wash.) Peninsula beach. Initial guesses included
ambergris (whale barf), the inside of a golf ball or baseball, a
black walnut, a seaweed pod or a tar ball. Google’s reverse image
lookup proclaimed it is a Christmas Rum Ball. Nope, not likely.
Other good guesses included a sweet gum tree seed pod
(Donna Byes) and a spruce tree wood gall worn smooth by the
ocean (Josie Tripp).
In desperation, the Ear sent Farrah’s photo to the Oregon State
University’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, and was
grateful to receive a reply from Melanie Link-Perez. She said
they looked through some books about common plants and plant
parts that commonly wash up, but couldn’t make a match.
“A physical sample may have been able to let us discern what
type of object this is,” she wrote, “but the photos just are insuf-
ficient (there is so much degradation that occurs when things are
floating).”
Which leaves us with Aaron Webster’s guess as the best bet. He
thinks it’s a manganese nodule (pictured, right). Mr. Wikipedia says
the nodules (usually 1 to 4 inches in diameter), are “rock concretions
on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese
hydroxides around a core.”
So, unless anyone has any better ideas, congratulations Mr.
Webster, a manganese nodule it is.
O
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
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.
Astoria Fiber Arts Academy, 1296
Duane St. Bring a spinning wheel.
For information, call 503-325-5598
or go to astoriafiberarts.com
Karaoke — 7 to 8 p.m., Seaside
Lodge and International Hostel, 930
N. Holladay Drive, Seaside. Free ses-
sion, all ages, for those who love to
sing karaoke. Refreshments served.
For information, call 503-738-7911.
SUNDAY
Spinning Circle — 1 to 3 p.m.,
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 suffer-
ing from a serious brain (mental)
illness. For information, contact
Myra Kero at 503-738-6165, or
k7erowood@q.com, or go to nami.
org
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.
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
world. All are welcome. For informa-
tion, call 503-861-2421.
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.
MONDAY
Chair Exercises for Seniors
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
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.
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
gram — noon, Warrenton Com-
munity Center, 170 S.W. Third St.
See NOTES, Page 4B