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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2018)
1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON BEACH FIND ‘BEGGARS BELIEF’ autical history fans might be interested to know that what is believed to be the oldest known message in a bottle was found recently on a beach in Wedge Island, Australia, NPR reports (tinyurl.com/aussiebottle). Before Tonya Illman found this one, which is dated 1886, Guinness World Records noted that the previous title holder was 108 years old. When discovered, the bottle was open, and had sand in it, along with the message — rolled up and tied with string — which, when dry, proved to be legible, but written in German. The Western Australia Museum, and colleagues in the Nether- lands and Germany, helped authenticate the note (which details the route of a ship that was part of a German study of ocean cur- rents done between 1864 and 1933) by matching the handwriting to the log of the ship Paula (pictured, inset). Images of both the bottle and the ship are courtesy of the Western Australia Museum. Researchers estimate the note probably made landfall within a year, and has been resting in the sand ever since. “This has been the most remarkable event in my life,” Illman said. “To think this bottle has not been touched for nearly 132 years and is in perfect condition, despite the elements, beggars belief. I’m still shaking.” N HAVE YOU SEEN SCOTT? OH, BABY! EARLY ARRIVALS isa Lamping at ClatsopNews.com reported that Julie Wing of Seaside, who was expecting a baby, went into labor on Sunday morning. Her husband, Dan, hustled her to Providence Seaside Hospital, where he was met with an unexpected development: They were short-staffed. So, the couple were sent to Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Astoria, instead. By the time they reached CMH, Julie still wasn’t ready to deliver, so the hospital advised them to go home. Dan didn’t want to drive all the way to Seaside, just to come back again, so he booked a room at the nearby Comfort Suites to wait it out. He didn’t have to wait very long. Julie’s contractions started intensifying rapidly, so he called his mother-in- law, Clydene Paul, to come and comfort his wife. But by the time she got there, the baby was already crowning and ready for her dramatic entrance. Grandma wound up delivering Danielle Faith, while Dan frantically called 911 for help. “I don’t even remember the phone call now,” he mused. “It was a crazy chain of events that happened.” By the time the Astoria Fire Department and Medix arrived, everything was pretty much under control. While their visit amounted to a well-baby check up for Danielle, it was a huge comfort to a frazzled Dan. “I got a hotel room, and within an hour, we had a baby,” he recalled on Tuesday, still a bit dazed. “The fire and Medix people were absolutely awesome,” he declared. “Calmed me down right away.” The Fire Department even brought balloons and flowers to the hospital, once mother and baby were comfortably settled. Comfort Suites was very supportive, as well. When the management saw all the excitement going on, someone came to check on the couple. As a result, all of the cleaning fees were waived, and the room was comped. “I thought that was really super kind,” Dan observed. “A big shout out to them.” This isn’t exactly Dan and Julie’s first rodeo, although Danielle is their first child together. Julie, 46, has a son, who is 26; Dan, 49, has two daughters, 31 and 15, and a son, 20. “I’ve got babysitters,” Dan announced. L ary Lund of Kodiak, Alaska, wrote in asking for some help locating an old school friend she believes is living on the North Coast. “I am looking for a man named Scott Lucas,” she wrote. “In high school he went by Scott Brown. We attended Hillsboro High School in 1972-73. The last address I have was in Warrenton, Oregon.” “He lived there about 30 years ago,” she added. “I was recently in Warrenton, and a young man came up to me and said hello. After he left, I realized he looked like Scott, only with lighter hair. That is what started this search.” She provided the photo shown, which was probably taken in 1973 in Portland. Scott is the young man on the left. There’s one last hint to his identity. “He always claimed he was Cherokee,” Mary wrote. If you have any information to pass along to her, please contact the Ear at ewilson@dailyastorian. com or 503-325-3211, ext. 257. M f you’ve been looking around and thinking, “Weren’t there a lot more trees over there?” you’re not alone. StreetRoots.org posted bird’s eye view photos of Oregon clearcuts taken by satellite for Google Earth in the last one to three years, and you can see for yourself where the clearcuts are at tinyurl.com/gonetrees. There’s even a time-lapse image of for- ests in Clastop County from 2000 to 2016. Pictured, a Google Earth photo of the land east of Cannon Beach. So no, you aren’t imagining things. There aren’t as many trees “over there,” or anywhere else, any more. I OUT AND ABOUT idbits from the Tuesday, March 9, 1886 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian: • Dean Blanchard has been elected chairman of the board of trustees of the new town of Rainier. No more hogs on the streets of Rainier. Note: Blanchard (inset left, 1832-1918), a former Columbia County judge, was a businessman and sawmill owner. He replatted Rainier in 1888 tinyurl.com/dblanch. • J. E. Graham has a handsome schooner rigged boat that prom- ises to be the fastest boat in the bay the coming season. It is a 30-foot keel, a beautiful model, and a credit to her builder and designer, O. P. Graham. Note: Oliver P. Graham is more well-known for building a per- manent fish trap on Baker Bay in 1879. Webs made of tarred rope were fastened to pilings in such a way that fish could swim in, but couldn’t get out. The catch was always enormous, much to the ire of gillnetters, and the two groups of fishermen constantly clashed. Traps were finally outlawed in 1934. (tinyurl.com/OPGtrap) • Tam O’Shanter hats and red stockings are quite fashionable. … Dresses will be worn longer this month than last — about three days. • The coming summer visitor is most charitably requested to make all necessary arrangements with the undertaker at home as Ilwaco (Washington) does not yet possess a cemetery or graveyard. Note: Ilwaco Cemetery didn’t exist until July 1888, created out of land owned by Isaac and Mary Whealdon, who sold it for $1 to the township for public burials. Because of the many shipwrecks in the area, it’s thought that most of the more than 150 unknown graves likely belong to sailors. (tinyurl.com/ilwaco-bury) • It is reported that L. A. Loomis has opened a general store in Oysterville and is doing a splendid business. Note: Magnate Lewis Loomis (inset, right) opened hotels on the Long Beach (Washington) Peninsula in 1872, and soon joined with other investors to build a wharf, then form the Ilwaco Steam Navi- gation Company, and later the Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Com- pany, aka the Clamshell Railroad, to then shuttle tourists to loca- tions on both sides of the peninsula. (tinyurl.com/loomisRR) T eal Moore, a freelance journalist called “a mod- ern-day Huck Finn” by CNN, set off from Pier 39 in Astoria last Saturday to start his two-year 7,500 mile cross-country canoe expedition. But his mission is more than the journey — along the way he wants to “spin a story of the human face of the economic situation. And in Asto- ria, I’d love to start out with a good one.” To that end, he wanted to interview Astorians “from the Nordic, Finnish and/or Chinese-American community who run a business. … The idea is to speak about the first settler inhabitants of the town (these three cultures), and see what they’re up to today.” Regina Willke at the Astoria-Warrenton Area Cham- ber of Commerce helped him set up interviews, and he was off and running. He talked to Liisa Penner, Pam, Julie, and Lori Lum, Robbie, Roger, Ron, and Flora Law, Berit and Yorgen Madsen, Saara Matthews, and Sari Vedenoja. Floyd Holcom was Neal’s departure consul- tant, advising him on the tides and safest time to leave, and local writer Peter Marsh took the photo shown of the actual takeoff. The Astoria interviews will be the first of his 100 stories across America, which will turn up on his blog at tinyurl. com/NealMoore in a few months. Photos are already up on his Instagram account at instagram.com/alittlewake, and you can also follow his travels at fb.me/alittlewake “The town has been so very hospitable and friendly,” he recalled of our fair city. Apparently Astoria made as good an impression on Neal as its residents. N ttention, aspiring actors: A casting call has been issued for extras to work on “Staties,” an ABC drama pilot filming Monday through March 28 in the Portland metro area and other sites in Oregon and Washington. PDXTRAS is casting a very wide net for the background peo- ple: “We are looking for a diverse range of real people. All ages and backgrounds are welcome to apply!” The only caveat seems to be you have to be able to prove eligibility to work in the U.S., and that’s it. They’re paying $11.25 an hour (with bumps for upgraded roles), but you’re on your own for transportation and lodging. There’s a synopsis of the premise of the show, and you can apply to work as an extra, at pdxtras.com/staties. You’ll need a head shot and body shot to upload with the application. If you’re interested, you’d better hustle — they’re filming some scenes in Manzanita next week. WHAT TREES? SPINNING A STORY CASTING CALL A ccording to BeachConnection.net, it appears that the gray whales aren’t feeling like waiting for Whale Watch Week, which starts March 23, and are already trundling en masse up the Oregon Coast (tinyurl.com/BCwhales). They’ve already been spotted near Seaside, Astoria, Cannon Beach and Manzanita. Pic- tured, a mother and her calf, courtesy of the Seaside Aquarium. If you really want to stay on top of things, there’s a Facebook group you can follow, Clatsop & Pacific County Whale Sightings (tinyurl.com/wherewhales). So, whale fans, break out the binoc- ulars and head for the beach. A COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Lower Columbia R/C Society — 8:30 a.m., back room at Uptown Cafe, 1639 S.E. Ensign Lane, War- renton. Local Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) chartered radio control model aircraft club meets for breakfast and business. All model aircraft enthusiasts are welcome. For information, call 503-458-5196 or 503-325-0608. Fort Columbia Historical State Park, U.S. Highway 101, Chinook, Wash- ington. Council meeting and annual Story Gathering event. Meeting open to all tribal members; attend- ees are reminded to bring food to share, finger foods encouraged. Members should arrive shortly be- fore the meeting begins. For ques- tions, contact the Tribal Office at 360-875-6670. Chinook Indian Nation Coun- cil — 11 a.m., Scarborough House, 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 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 astoriafiberarts.com tact Mark Standley at 503-434-0148 or Herman Doty at 971-306-1043 or ringinganvildesign@gmail.com SUNDAY 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 Muse- um welcome. For information, con- 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 k7e- rowood@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. MONDAY Chair Exercises for Seniors — 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in- formation, call 503-325-3231. See NOTES, Page 4B
