1B
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018
CONTACT US
ewilson@dailyastorian.com
(503) 325-3211 ext. 257
COMMUNITY
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorian
IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’
ecently Warrenton High School put on a production of the
Broadway musical hit “Bye Bye Birdie.” But did you know
Astoria High School put on the same show, on March 12, 13 and
14, 1970? ShawnAnn Hope remembers it well, because she was
in it. She is pictured, middle, in an AHS yearbook photo with
fellow castmates Debby Anderson, left, and Karen Kinnunen.
It was the first musical to be produced at AHS for several
years. The cast included current city attorney Blair Hennings-
gaard (pictured, inset), starring as Conrad Birdie. For a list of the
full cast and crew, check out the newspaper clipping at tinyurl.
com/byebye1970
From ShawnAnn’s diary:
• Jan. 26, 1970 — I found out that a few people found out
what parts they got in “Bye Bye Birdie.” I prayed to God to get
me a part.
• Jan. 27, 1970 — I was over-thrilled about getting the part
in the play I tried out for. I got the part of Ursula Merkle, Kim
MacAfee’s best friend. It is one of the bigger parts …
• March 14, 1970 — … I did not show off as much as I did
last night, but when your name is Ursula Merkle, I suppose you
wouldn’t want to …
• March 27, 1970 — “Bye Bye Birdie” production taped play
was being played at Astoria High School. We all went to watch it.
Which begs the question: Where is that taped version now?
Does anyone know?
R
THINK PINK
TITANIC TIDBITS
N
ewser.com reports there was more to the story of
oceanographer and Navy commander Robert Bal-
lard finding the RMS Titanic than was originally believed
(tinyurl.com/titanfound). Ballard was actually out in the
North Atlantic on a top-secret Navy mission to find two
sunken subs to see if their nuclear reactors were a threat,
and figure out why they wound up on the ocean floor.
Ballard suspected the Titanic was in the vicinity of the
wrecked subs, so he asked if he could search for her after
had finished his mission. He received permission to do
so, and took a novel approach — instead of looking for
the ship, he searched for the debris field, instead. He was
rewarded at 2 a.m. Sept. 1, 1985, when the submersible
robot started sending images of the Titanic’s boiler.
The Navy was nonplussed Ballard found the Titanic,
since they didn’t expect him to succeed, so “they got really
nervous because of the publicity.” Ballard said.
Another recent story about the Titanic speculates that it
might not have wound up on the ocean floor at all, but for a
quirk of fate (tinyurl.com/DaBlair). Second Officer David
Blair, who handled navigation equipment, looked forward
to serving on the maiden voyage, but was bumped off the
crew when the ship’s owner brought in a man from Titan-
ic’s sister ship, Olympic, to replace him.
When Blair left Southhampton, disgruntled and disap-
pointed, he apparently left with the key to the locker that
held the crow’s nest binoculars. During an official inquiry
after the sinking, one of the survivors said that if they’d
been able to access the binoculars, they would have seen
that fatal iceberg in time to avoid it. Ironically, when the
ship went down, Blair’s replacement went with it.
The great-grandson of Astoria’s namesake, John Jacob
Astor IV, went down with the ship, as well. His pregnant
wife, Madeline, survived and gave birth to John Jacob
“Jakey” Astor VI four months later in New York (tinyurl.
com/jjastorVI).
‘IT’S LIKE A MIRACLE’
cean Network Epress’ (ONE) Line’s first eye-popping
magenta-branded containership, ONE Commitment, is
on its maiden voyage from Asia to North America, gCaptain.com
reports (tinyurl.com/ONEpinkship). She is pictured, courtesy of
ONE Line.
Actually, she’s not a new ship, only new to ONE, which is a
conglomerate of Japanese shipping companies “K” Line (Mit-
sui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK)). She
was originally the MOL Commitment — and definitely not pink.
Indeed, she was a very staid blue.
Colorful Commitment’s debut voyage began May 15 from
Singapore, and as of Thursday, she was in Tacoma, Washing-
ton. Next stop is Vancouver, then back to Asian ports of call and
Singapore.
O
NAME THAT ’TOON
n The New Yorker that arrived today, Arnie Hummasti of
Astoria is a finalist in the weekly Cartoon Caption Contest,”
Steve Forrester wrote. “The cartoon is of a flock of naked men
and women at the gates of hell, watching a television set show-
ing flames. A man is talking to a woman. Hummasti’s caption is:
‘The only other channel is brimstone.’”
You can help him win by voting for his caption. First, go
to tinyurl.com/TNYvote. You’ll have to create an account, but
it’s free, and only takes a minute. Once you’re logged in, pick
his caption — but you’d better hustle, as the voting closes at
8:59 p.m. Sunday, Pacific Daylight Time. The winner is being
announced Monday, June 18.
I
n Saturday, Vanessa Marie Troffer’s puppy King, a
black 14-pound terrier, was hit by a car on U.S. High-
way 30 between Scandinavian Road and the John Day
trailer park. Whoever hit him took off and left King to die.
Thankfully, Cala Graxiola saw him in the middle of the
road, and rescued him before anything else happened.
Getting King help was quite a process, as most local vet-
erinarian offices were closed by the time Cala found him,
so she took the pup to the Astoria Police Station. Some-
one there called Steve Hildreth, supervisor of the Clatsop
County Animal Shelter, and luckily for King, Steve was
able to reach Dr. Brad Pope of Bayshore Animal Hospi-
tal in Warrenton, to ask for help. Soon King was taken to
Bayshore for evaluation. “It’s like a miracle that it hap-
pened the way it did,” Vanessa marveled.
One of King’s front legs was badly injured when he was
hit, and he’s having a difficult time walking. “Seeing him
trying to walk, and falling, is breaking my heart,” Vanessa
said. “He wants to move, but isn’t sure how.”
At this point, it is too soon to tell if the leg will have to
be amputated; the decision will be made in about a month,
and the outcome will depend on whether the feeling comes
back in the leg or not.
“King has been through everything with me,” Kayla
wrote. “The moments I was in some town with no family, no
loved ones near, I had King. The nights I slept on the streets
in Portland, he was by my side. He’s been more than just a
dog to me. If he would have died, I would have been broken.”
“I just wanted these people (who helped King) to know
they did something so meaningful, and acted so quickly,”
Vanessa added, “that because of them, I don’t have to tell
my daughter our little baby died. I don’t have to feel emp-
tiness going home.”
Hopefully, King’s leg will heal. “Any extra prayers for
my little guy would help a ton!”
O
THIS ’N THAT GOONIES
ince Goonie Days runs through Sunday, some Goonie trivia is
in order, and a visit to a website devoted to the partially found/
deleted scenes from the beloved 1985 movie — which can be
found at tinyurl.com/missingGoon — seemed in order.
There you will find videos of the octopus encounter and shop-
ping at the convenience store, and several still shots from scenes
where there is no known video footage, including a car going into
the Columbia River and two photos from the vanished alternate
ending (one photo is shown, courtesy of LostMediaWiki.com).
With all the versions of the movie that have been released over
the years, scenes that are deleted in one, might pop up in another.
The Internet Movie Database’s explanation of the several varia-
tions will make your head spin (tinyurl.com/diffGoons).
And, last but not least, did you know there was a song that
was supposed to run with the credits? It was director Richard
Donner’s idea, and set teacher Rhoda C. Fine wrote the ditty,
which was supposed to be sung by the Goonie kids. The lyrics
to “The Goondock Rock” are here: tinyurl.com/rhodasong (did
you know One-Eyed Willie’s last name is Wilcox?). Sorry folks,
there’s no known recording.
S
MY GOODNESS
ottery winners can turn up in the most interesting, out-of-
the-way places. Like Vernonia, for instance, where Ashley
Smith, 24, lives with her boyfriend. Actually, it was a friend who
won a $200 Oregon Lottery prize that inspired Ashley, that same
evening, to pick up an Oregon Lottery Scratch-it when she was
shopping for groceries at R&S Market in Vernonia, owned by
Randy and Sharon Parrow. Only Ashley’s winning ticket was
for a lot more than $200 — it was worth $100,000.
“The only time I really play is during the holidays when I get
Scratch-its as gifts,” Smith said. “I never buy these, and then I win
$100,000. I mean, I bought it in this small town here, my goodness.”
She plans to use some of her prize for her upcoming wedding, and
“We haven’t really traveled anywhere,” she said. “We are exploring
and seeing the best deals to go somewhere out of the country.”
“It’s life-changing money for me,” she noted, but she plans to
be sensible with her windfall. “The first thing I did was pay off
my student loans. We are going to invest the rest. It will give us
a nice cushion.”
“We are very excited for the person who won,” the Parrows
said. “We are happy it was a person from Vernonia.”
L
TEN STATES, 4,300 MILES
nless you were at the Columbia River Maritime Museum
early Saturday morning, you missed the departure of the 114
avid participants in the fifth Trans Am Bike Race (pictured from
the group’s Facebook page) who are racing 4,300 grueling miles
across 10 states to Yorktown, Virginia.
Anyone tackling this adventure would be wise to note the
detailed list of rules, dos and don’ts (mostly don’ts). Rule No. 1
holds few surprises: “No complaining about the rules.”
Want to watch the racers’ progress? Check out the Trans Am
Bike Race 2018 website at transambikerace.com. Last year’s
champion made it in 17 days, 8 hours and 58 minutes.
And what does the winner receive? There’s “nothing to win
or lose but honor.”
U
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Lower Columbia R/C Society
— 8:30 a.m., Jim’s Roadhouse Grill,
1605 E. Harbor St., Warrenton. Lo-
cal Academy of Model Aeronautics
(AMA) chartered radio control model
aircraft club meets for breakfast and
business. All model aircraft enthusi-
asts are welcome. For information,
call 503-458-5196 or 503-325-0608.
Seniors Breakfast — 9 a.m.
to noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420
17th St. Cooked to order from menu,
includes coffee. Cost is $5 for seniors
62 and older, $7.50 for those young-
er than 62. Breakfasts are open to
the public. Proceeds after expenses
help support local and other charities.
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.
Pug Socializing Club — 1 p.m.,
Carruthers Park, Warrenton. For pugs
and their owners. For information, call
Dave Kinney at 415-827-5190. Join
online at tinyurl.com/socialpugs
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
SUNDAY
Seniors Breakfast — 9 a.m.
to noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420
17th St. Cooked to order from menu,
includes coffee. Cost is $5 for seniors
62 and older, $7.50 for those young-
er than 62. Breakfasts are open to
the public. Proceeds after expenses
help support local and other charities.
Blacksmith Enthusiasts Meet
— 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Camp 18 Black-
smith Shop, 42362 U.S. Highway
26, Seaside. Participants can bring
own forge and anvil setup. Metal
available to experiment with; coal
provided. No charge; donations to
Camp 18 Loggers Memorial Muse-
um welcome. For information, con-
tact Mark Standley at 503-434-0148
or Herman Doty at 971-306-1043 or
ringinganvildesign@gmail.com
Military Officers Association
of America, Lower Columbia
River Chapter — 5 p.m., Doogers
Seafood and Grill, 103 U.S. High-
way 101, Warrenton. Quarterly
meeting and dinner. Guest speak-
er to discuss Oregon elections. All
U.S. military officers and former offi-
cers, active duty, reserve, retired or
warrant officers are invited, as well
as U.S. Public Health Service and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration officers. For informa-
tion, contact Captain R. Stevens at
503-861-9832.
See NOTES, Page 4B