145TH YEAR, NO. 239
RFK’S
COASTAL
CAMPAIGN
The Daily Astorian
The Morton Nelson Building, home of national retailer
J.C. Penney until last summer, has been purchased by
Sean Fitzpatrick and Anne Carpenter.
Local apartment
owner buys former
J.C. Penney store
Restaurants and retail planned
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Sean Fitzpatrick and
Anne Carpenter, the owners
of the Illahee Apartments,
have purchased the Morton
Nelson Building, home of
J.C. Penney until its closure
last summer.
Fitzpatrick and Chris-
topher Holen, chef and
co-owner of Baked Alaska,
are planning a collection of
restaurants and other retail
vendors inside the Commer-
cial Street building.
The closure of J.C. Pen-
ney last summer hit the
downtown hard, Fitzpatrick
said.
“A lot of people
approached me, asking me
what I could do with the
space,” he said. “I gave it
considerable thought, but
didn’t want to take it on by
myself.”
Fitzpatrick said Holen, a
longtime friend, asked him
one night what was needed
in the building.
“From the way he asked,
I knew we were on the same
page,” Fitzpatrick said. “I
told him I had a very good
idea about what was needed
at the building, and if he was
serious about working on it
with me, we should move
forward with it. We were on
the same wavelength from
the start.”
The developers are gath-
ering contractors to remodel
the inside of the building,
with a planned opening some
time in the fall.
J.C. Penney moved into
the three-story Morton Nel-
son Building in 1924 after
a large fire gutted much of
downtown, including the
retailer’s prior location. The
company announced last
year it would close 130 to
140 stores amid competition
from online and niche retail-
ers, a similar issue faced by
other large chain stores such
as Sears and Macy’s.
Port faces challenge
in advancing airport
Struggles over
profit margin
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — The
Astoria Regional Airport,
operated by the Port of
Astoria in Warrenton, is pro-
jected to make about $4,000
next year, not including cap-
ital investments and grants.
But Port staff say the slim
profit
margin
doesn’t
account for the cost of
repairing the airport’s
World War II-era infrastruc-
ture and a myriad of other
issues.
Amid declining grant
resources, Port staff are
searching for ways to make
more money at the air-
port and repair a crumbling
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018
infrastructure that supports
an estimated 400 jobs.
Jim Knight, the Port’s
executive director, said the
airport in 2003 made an
estimated $60,000 in prof-
its. He pinned the airport’s
declining fortunes over
the past 15 years on sev-
eral decisions that haven’t
panned out financially.
The Port in the mid-
2000s borrowed more than
$3.5 million to expand and
improve the aging hangars
used by Lektro, a manu-
facturer of electric airplane
tugs. The company is one of
the region’s few high-tech
manufacturers and employs
nearly 100 people.
The Port makes a small
profit from the Lektro lease
over related debt, said Will
Isom, the Port’s finance
See PORT, Page 7A
Shortly before his death, Kennedy
found piece of home on North Coast
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
azing at the Pacific Ocean
near Fort Stevens State
Park, Robert F. Kennedy’s
nostalgia was apparent.
“I can’t believe this is so much
like home,” the Massachusetts
native said. Soon after, he kicked
off his shoes and socks, rolled up his
dress pants and ran out toward the
ocean.
“You could tell he was like, ‘Oh
my God. I needed this,’” said Rita
Hankel Lerwick, a teenage volunteer
for Kennedy’s Clatsop County cam-
paign team. “I was just shocked.”
On May 24, 1968, Kennedy vis-
ited Astoria and other places along
the coast during his bid for the Dem-
ocratic presidential nomination in
the Oregon primary. Less than two
weeks later, after winning the Cal-
ifornia primary on June 5, he was
assassinated after a victory speech
in Los Angeles.
Witness accounts and news
reports from the time reveal Kenne-
dy’s visit to the coast caused a stir,
making his sudden death shortly
after especially poignant.
Kennedy, who entered the race
in March, announced May 20 that
he would be visiting the Oregon
Coast that Friday, beginning with a
flight from Portland to the Astoria
area. The next day, the campaign’s
local headquarters was established
on Marine Drive as the U.S. senator
from New York toured other parts of
the state.
“He picked up momentum
Wednesday for the Oregon Demo-
cratic presidential nomination. He
had overflow crowds at each of his
five stops in Eastern Oregon, which
is perhaps an indicator of Kennedy
popularity, but certainly is an indica-
tion of more aggressive staff work,”
an Associated Press story from that
week read. “Without crowds Ken-
nedy could lose the image he’s try-
ing to build. That is the image of a
man who has so caught the imagi-
nation of the people that they swarm
to him.”
Predominantly younger crowds
G
Photos by Clyde Keller/clydekellerphoto.com
Robert F. Kennedy walks near the Peter Iredale shipwreck with his
wife, Ethel, and dog, Freckles.
MORE INSIDE
Robert F. Kennedy’s visit
to Astoria in photos
“The ’60s were a real turbulent
time,” Lerwick said. “We were just
so for what he stood for.”
Page 5A
greeted Kennedy at his campaign
stops. Lerwick, 16 and an Astoria
High School student at the time, said
his promises to reduce the country’s
military presence in Vietnam, pro-
civil rights stance and solutions to
poverty appealed to her.
‘I CAN’T
BELIEVE THIS
IS SO MUCH
LIKE HOME.’
Robert F. Kennedy
‘Common endeavor’
Kennedy’s plane landed near
Astoria shortly before 11 a.m., about
an hour later than expected.
Hundreds of people were held
back by Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s Office deputies until the plane
landed and they swarmed the tar-
mac. After taking a few steps down
the plane’s staircase, he grabbed a
bullhorn and briefly addressed the
crowd, describing “this beautiful
part of this beautiful state” and urg-
ing residents to “work together in a
common endeavor.”
He shook hands with spectators
after descending the steps, prompt-
ing one girl to cry, “I got to touch
him.” Lerwick, who has a fondness
for him still, wore a Kennedy cam-
paign hat, a sash and a navy blue
skirt.
Kennedy, the news media, state
officials and members of his cam-
paign — including Lerwick —
then waded through the crowd and
See KENNEDY, Page 7A
Robert F. Kennedy peers above a crowd
in downtown Astoria on May 24, 1968.
Family finds comfort in memory of Astoria man
Oregon State Police are investigating
the cause of the crash. Despite the cir-
cumstances, the way Larson lived his
By JACK HEFFERNAN
life has given his family comfort.
The Daily Astorian
Larson’s father was a Swedish immi-
On the final drive of his life, Dale grant who settled in Clatsop County
in 1930. The second-genera-
Larson was going home after
tion Astorian was a longshore-
taking care of his wife at an
man and logger. He owned the
assisted living residence. Fam-
ily members say the trip’s pur-
Lewis and Clark Shake Mill for
pose was fitting.
46 years and worked until the
day he died.
“With the way everything
Along the way, he employed
went, it felt like he was still tak-
many people.
ing care of us,” said Robin Jen-
Dale
sen, his daughter.
“They said he was like their
Larson
second dad and taught them
Larson, 84, of Astoria, died
Tuesday after his white Ford
work ethic without saying a
Escape crossed the centerline of U.S. word. He was truly gold,” Jensen said.
Highway 101 north of Gearhart and
See LARSON, Page 7A
collided head-on with a pickup truck.
Larson killed in crash
Dale Larson was a second-generation Astorian with a large family.