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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week — 2008
Courtney Standring woke up Saturday morning feeling
relaxed and ready, but not necessarily royal. That no-sweat
attitude must have helped Standring to sleep that night as the
new Miss Clatsop County.
“Truthfully, I didn’t expect to win,” said Standring,
shortly after being crowned Miss Clatsop County 2008.
The 17-year-old Seaside high School senior impressed
the judges with her poise, thoughtfulness and her rousing
tap-dance rendition of “Boogie Down.”
Every contestant chose a platform as a point of activism
and pride. Standring choose to promote child literacy. It’s
something she is clearly passionate about.
“I want to make sure each school in Clatsop County
has a reading program that will benefit each child,” she
said.
It took a decade and nearly $7 million to set the
stage for a performing arts center at the Liberty
Theater.
Through tireless fund-raising and grant-writ-
ing efforts and countless contributions from volun-
teers, Liberty Restoration Inc. labored to bring the
historic theater in the center of town from rags to
riches.
Now, leaders of the nonprofit say they’ve
reached a new milestone.
With the lion’s share of the restoration complete,
the Liberty is, at long last, an operating theater.
The Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish
Conservancy and two citizens have filed suit in U.S. District
Court to halt the authorized killing of sea lions at the base of
Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River.
The white stuff came with little warning
Wednesday afternoon. One minute it was raining,
the next the raindrops had turned into snowflakes.
The snow hit the North Coast for a 1 1/2 hour
period and blanketed much of Clatsop County and
Washington’s Pacific County for a while.
Most of it melted as the rain returned, but then
it turned to ice, and lingered on rural highways.
50 years ago — 1968
It is sad news that the eight-story, 200-room John Jacob
Astor hotel, once the city’s pride, has finally been shut down
by combined action of the federal and city governments, for
non-payment of taxes and non-compliance with fire safety
regulations.
The old hotel’s fate is not unique, however. Big hotels in
small cities have fallen upon evil times in many another com-
munity. The people who once lodged in them now find motels
This photo by Terry Duoos, Astoria High School senior, won first place in the scenic classification in the first
Metropolitan league high school photo contest in 1968.
more convenient, and one by one the old small city hotels
have been abandoned or torn down.
One gray vessel rides at anchor in Cathlamet
bay, last survivor of a fleet of 225 ships that were
mothballed under supervision of the Maritime
Administration.
Pacific Far East Line has filed a proposal to buy
the vessel and convert it to a cargo ship.
SS Lakeland Victory and a former navy ship, the
Wisteria, left upriver Wednesday night under tow to
be scrapped at the Schnitzner Bros. Yard in Portland.
75 years ago — 1943
A descent over the 100 foot high Young’s River falls was
experienced Saturday afternoon by Dixon Scoffern, who not
only lived to tell the story but apparently escaped serious
injury. Scoffern is the 18-year-old son of Mr. And Mrs. Ray
Scoffern, 595 Kensington Avenue.
According to the story told today, Dixon was showing a
girl friend, daughter of a navy man at Tongue Point, one of
the beauty spots of the Lower Columbia when the accident
happened. The couple had walked along the upper level of
Youngs River to the point where the river drops an even 100
feet through a narrow gorge of rocks.
Here it was the young Scoffern slipped and plunged head-
long down the precipice, he says he remembers hitting a ledge
of rock or two on the way down, but before he realized what
had happened he was at the bottom of the pool at the foot of
the falls, unable to rise to the surface, because of the force of
the water plunging down on him.
Conscious despite the fall, young Scoffern proceeded to
swim out from under the falls and came to the surface of the
river, where the down-coming water pelted him like hail stones.
Almost half of the mothers with children at the
three elementary schools are working either full or
part-time outside their homes, according to a sur-
vey made by the parent-teachers associations at
the John Jacob Astor, Robert Gray and Lewis and
Clark schools. The survey was made at the sugges-
tion of the community council, acting in its capac-
ity as the defense council’ committee on child care,
health and welfare.
Literally hundreds of Astorians are making sure today and
Saturday that they will have bacon, a liberal chunk of beef,
pork or veal roast, steaks and hams tucked away in their
refrigerators come meat rationing on Monday.
In just one store, Fred Meyer’s, the meat department did
not open until noon today and the crowd of men and women
was already three deep by the time sales began. The rush did
not assume proportions of a riot, but the jostling, calling for
attention and peeved expressions were significant sign of the
times. The three clerks, two men and a woman, were kept hus-
tling to fill all orders.
GUEST COLUMN
Socializing through games and movement improves health
D
id you know that socializing and
playing games can keep you healthier
longer?
In the comfortable lobby of the Astoria
Senior Center a few people are relaxing and
talking. About 20 bridge
players are in another room
gearing up for an afternoon of
cards. In the cafeteria, another
18 people gather to play
pinochle.
Similar to the Bob
SUE
Chisholm Center in Seaside,
CODY
activities abound for residents
to get out and do something.
Whether it is line dancing, music, yoga, exer-
cise classes, free movies, cards, board games,
education or a musical jam session, there are
ways to engage and meet like-minded people.
The Astoria Senior Center is a great place
to socialize, says Larry Miller, the center’s
director. The new space is designed for many
activities that don’t interfere with each other,
such as playing pool, using computers or eating
lunch.
“Everybody enjoys it,” Miller says. “It is
welcoming and friendly, and you can get lots
of snacks and coffee. The coffee’s always on.”
The benefits of playing games
Researchers have discovered that mentally
challenging games such as bridge are well
suited for older people because the games offer
intellectual and social stimulation on a routine
basis, according to the AARP. A study in 2000
at the University of California, Berkeley, found
strong evidence that an area in the brain used in
playing bridge stimulates the immune system.
Paul Buckman of Astoria was mourning
after his wife died, he said. He tried group
counseling, then took some bridge lessons.
He found bridge was much more helpful than
counseling.
Sue Kroning, a Seaside bridge instructor,
said “You sit down at the bridge table and
everything else just melts away.”
Sue Cody
Jeanne Nasby, left, Marion Blake and Jack Bland play bridge at the Astoria Senior Center.
Buckman says, “It’s a fascinating game. It
keeps me away from TV and napping on the
couch.”
He now assists Kroning, setting up tables
for lessons and bridge games at the Bob
Chisholm Community Center.
The main benefit of playing bridge is the
social aspect, Kroning said. You can interact
with friends.
“I don’t like to call it a club, because it
sounds exclusive, and it’s not,” Kroning said.
“Membership is loose. You don’t have to
belong to a bridge club … anybody can come
and play.
“For people new to the area, it has wonder-
ful benefits like meeting people and forming a
social circle.”
Playing in a bridge tournament in Seattle,
Kroning recognized an accent from where she
grew up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). When
hearing the woman’s name, she realized the
woman was in her class in grade school.
“I feel like I can go anywhere and find a
bridge game and meet new friends,” she said.
Even though many players on the coast
are older, young people are doing really
well at bridge, Kroning said, pointing to an
American Contract Bridge League publication.
The Player of the Year is a 28-year-old from
Denmark.
There are bridge games nearly every day in
Seaside, Astoria or Long Beach, Washington.
Lessons are available for people who want
to learn the game or improve their skills. For
information on lessons and games go to bit.ly/
W2Wbridge or call Kroning at 503-738-7817.
Other activities, such as pinochle, bingo and
board games, keep the brain active and offer
social interactions. All are available in Seaside
and Astoria.
Movement for the body
Jennifer Soprano teaches a number of
classes at the Bob Chisholm Community
Center, including tai chi and exercises for
balance and strength.
“I see amazing changes,” Soprano said
about those participating in exercise classes.
A husband and wife came in about a month
ago and she saw significant improvement. “It’s
not about being perfect. It’s about giving your
body some attention and movement.”
She has seen people become more confi-
dent, socializing more and improving their
mood.
“People are excited for tai chi,” she said.
“They are here because they want to be.”
People of all abilities and range of motion
participate. Adult foster care visitors come
once a week and interact with other adults.
Everyone loves it when they come, Soprano
said. “Everybody accepts each other.”
The focus of all the classes is to make
everyone feel included. The community center
is a place to start, make friends and find that
you belong somewhere.
The Astoria Senior Center helps get people
out and socialize.
“Many elderly people sit at home with noth-
ing to do,” Miller said. “They get bored. They
might drop in here or accompany a friend and
realize it is a great place to socialize.”
The Way to Wellville and its spon-
sor, Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care
Organization, support healthy activities
and encourage seniors to check out their
opportunities.
• Find activities for seniors
Bob Chisholm Community Center, Seaside:
bit.ly/W2WSEPRD
Astoria Senior Center: bit.ly/W2Wsenior
Sue Cody, a former deputy managing editor
of The Daily Astorian, is communications lead
for The Way to Wellville in Clatsop County.