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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2018)
1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2018 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON A LURKING ENEMY F ormer North Coaster Carl Jacobson of Salem called in with a reminder that June 21 was the 76th anniversary of the shell- ing of Fort Stevens during World War II — and the first attack on an American mainland military base since the War of 1812. That night, Cmdr. Meiji Tagami slipped his I-25 submarine into the mouth of the Columbia River with some incoming fish- ing boats, surfaced, and fired his 5.5-inch cannon toward where he guessed a military base might be. At Fort Stevens, the artillerymen at the 10-inch guns were infu- riated when the order to fire never came. Despite swirling rumors, the reason was quite prosaic: Firing back would have revealed the fort’s location. Meanwhile, Tagami fired 17 shells, making craters on the beach, destroying a baseball backstop and scaring the stuff- ing out of neighboring civilians. There were no casualties. An in-depth video, “The Attack on Fort Stevens,” by the Friends of Old Fort Stevens and Retrospect Films, can be seen at tinyurl.com/shelltalk (warning: the actual film doesn’t start till 50 seconds in). Screen shots from the video of a bomb crater, and a roadside sign, are shown. “I think the attack affected me mostly in making me realize that there really was an enemy lurking over our shoulders,” civil- ian Margaret Swindler said, “who might be ready to attack the mainland of the U.S. at any time.” ‘STAGGERED BY ASTORIA’ MAKING A DIFFERENCE B ud Rigoulot, a professional comedian, became an above-the-knee amputee after being hit by a car, but that didn’t stop him. Once he was able to get around with his prosthetic leg, he began volunteering at Tacoma, Wash- ington, inner-city schools and entertaining the kids. “One day I noticed a young boy wrapping up his lunch and slipping it into his bag,” Bud recalled. “‘What are you saving your whole lunch for?’ I asked the boy. ‘My fam- ily is homeless and my sister hasn’t eaten since yesterday,’ he said. ‘I’m taking this lunch home to her so she can have dinner. I got to eat breakfast this morning.’” With that, Bud found his mission, and starting bring- ing food to the school for hungry kids. Wanting to do more, Bud founded a nonprofit, Quarters for Kids to raise money for, and awareness of, hungry school children. And he’s walking the walk, literally, to show how much he cares. He left his home in Spanaway, Washington, to walk to Fairfield, Texas, and is fundraising along the way. On Monday, he was camping outside Astoria, and told the Ear he figured the trip would take him more than four months. He is not only walking, he’s also using a recum- bent bike for 30 to 40 miles a day, pedaling mostly with his left leg. When asked why he’s going to Fairfield, the answer is simple — he’s from the area, and still has a lot of friends there. Want to donate to the cause and follow his progress? Go to quartersforkids.com or fb.me/Quarterforkids. The dona- tion proceeds collected go to schools in the zip code where the money was raised. As the website says, Bud is truly “making a difference, one step at a time.” GOBLE OR BUST lso from the June 29, 1893 issue of The Daily Morning Asto- rian: “Yesterday afternoon Mr. C. W. Shively made a war- ranty deed for 10 acres of land in Shively’s Astoria, to Mr. W. H. Remington, the deed to be held in escrow … until Oct. 1, 1894, when the railroad is to be completed. “There are no conditions … further than that a railroad shall be built from Astoria to a transcontinental railroad connection. Mr. Shively will be perfectly satisfied if this is done, and does not care where the terminus shall be located …” It was a grand gesture, to be sure, since Astoria had been push- ing for a railroad to connect the city with the rest of the country since the early 1850s, but a charter to build a line from Astoria to Eugene failed in 1858, as did many other attempts. In 1883, the transcontinental Northern Pacific Railroad extended to Portland, and as much as Astoria wanted to hook up with it, the project was a no-go. The railroad was in the red, so the line dead-ended at Goble (about 6.5 miles east of Rainier). Efforts to connect Astoria to Goble were pursued during the 1880s and into 1894, but they, too failed, including Shively’s plan. Finally, in December 1894, businessman Andrew Benoni Hammond (pictured, and yes, the town of Hammond is named after him) came along, and he had the experience, connections, chutzpah and funds to get the job done. The Astoria and Colum- bia River Railroad spur to Goble was completed in May 1898, and at last, Astoria was connected to the Northern Pacific Rail- road, and the rest of the country. (tinyurl.com/AstGoRR) A SNAPPY RETORTS AROUND THE TOWN B oth Laurie Caplan and LaRee Johnson wrote in to mention that a UK news outlet, The Independent, featured a story called, “Why Astoria is a hipster haven for people priced out of Port- land,” in its Travel section (tinyurl.com/hipAstoria). “This trendy enclave is providing a home from home for Oregon’s hippest resi- dents,” the subtitle says. Really? Such things are of note in the UK? Apparently so. The writer, Liz Dodd, describes herself as a “travel journalist, solo rtw (round the world) cyclist, adventurer, noisy enthusiast” on her Twitter page (@liz_dodd), yet confesses to being “fairly staggered by Astoria.” She thinks it’s a “seaside town,” but that’s OK, she’s forgiven, since she finds the place “beguiling.” She did all the usual touristy things (Flavel House, Astoria Column, etc.), checked out several food and drink spots, and even went clam digging at Fort Stevens. Ms. Dodd sure paints a pretty picture with her words. Don’t be surprised if Astoria gets an influx of tourists from across the pond. PIECES OF SHIPWRECKS storia’s Maritime Archaeological Society’s (maritimear- chaeological.org) research team, which meets weekly at the Columbia River Maritime Museum library to research ship- wrecks, and the museum curator, Jeff Smith (pictured, right), were featured in a June 12 OPB article and video by John Ros- man about the history of the Graveyard of the Pacific (tinyurl. com/MASopb). “There are hundreds, probably thousands of shipwrecks out here,” Christopher Dewey (pictured, left), president of MAS, said. “You can’t walk around and probably not walk over a piece of a shipwreck.” He and Smith are shown in screen shots from the video. “The river is the river and the ocean is the ocean,” Smith con- cluded. “We’ve made it safer, we’ve made it more predictable, but it’s never tamed.” The story got a little national love, too, as the video was picked up by the award-winning PBS NewsHour. A I T idbits from the Thursday, June 29, 1893 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian: • The house of Jonas Lind, the Lewis and Clarke mail car- rier, with all its contents was destroyed by fire while he was in Astoria with the mail last Saturday. … The house was built of cedar, and the lumber to build it was carried by the owner on his back from Sackett’s mill, which is a couple of miles away. • The planking of the Young’s Bay road from the city cemetery to Peterson’s has been completed … (and was mea- sured to be) 2,080 feet. Note: Plank roads were popular because they were rela- tively inexpensive and easy to build. Unfortunately, they also deteriorated quickly. The famous Great Plank Road, con- structed in 1856, connected the Tualatin Valley to Portland (tinyurl.com/GrPlank). • The warship Monterey passed the mouth of the river yes- terday. She was sighted from Fort Canby (Cape Disappoint- ment) about 3 p.m., steaming slowly northward, and contin- ued in sight until hidden by North Head about 8 p.m. Note: The 260-foot long USS Monterey (pictured), com- missioned in February 1893, was the only Monterey class monitor (small warship), and served in the Spanish-Ameri- can War in the Philippines in the late 1890s. She was decom- missioned in 1921 and sold for scrap in 1922. (tinyurl.com/ ussmont) • The second mate of the bark Homer was arrested Tues- day evening on a charge of drunkenness. He was perfectly helpless when Officer Seafeldt took him in charge, and a wheelbarrow had to be secured to carry him to the city prison. He forfeited $5 (about $133 now) bail yesterday. • Two of the crew of the bark George H. Homer appeared before Judge Osburn yesterday to ask that he issue a com- plaint for the arrest of Captain Hemeon and the first mate on a charge of inhuman treatment. They were informed that Judge Osborn had no jurisdiction in the premises. Note: That wasn’t the end of bad times for bark’s crew. The George S. Homer (real name), with Capt. Clarence Hemeon at the helm, departed New York heading for Shang- hai on Sept. 26, 1897, and was never heard from again. A mutiny, perhaps? (tinyurl.com/gshomer) n these contentious times, one can never have enough words in one’s arsenal, it would seem. Robert Clark has done everyone a service by discovering the website “42 Old English Insults,” which will up your game and help you remain somewhat civil in times of verbal trial. For example, a gowpenful-o’-anything is “applied to one who is a medley of everything absurd.” A klazomaniac is “some- one who only seems able to speak by shouting.” A lubberwort is “a lethargic, fuzzy-minded person,” a scobberlotcher is “some- one who never works hard,” and a snoutband is “someone who constantly interrupts a conversation, typically only to contradict or correct someone else.” Well, you get the idea. Have at it. A CHALLENGING MANEUVER S o, you’ve got everything you could possibly want, including a yacht. What more is there? A self-docking yacht, that’s what. Volvo Penta, part of the Volvo Group, is working on an “advanced docking solution,” using sensors and onboard com- puters, that will be launched in 2020, according to the company’s website, tinyurl.com/volvodock. However, they’ve already unveiled the technology in a live demonstration in Gothenburg, Sweden, when a 68-foot yacht autonomously self-docked perfectly in a tight spot between two other yachts. The photo shown is courtesy of Volvo Penta. “Docking is one of the most challenging boat handling maneu- vers,” Björn Ingemanson, president of Volvo Penta noted, “(and) getting it wrong can be embarrassing, expensive and precarious.” Especially with a yacht. COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Seniors Breakfast — 9 a.m. to noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420 17th St. Cooked to order from menu, includes cof- fee. Cost is $5 for seniors 62 and older, $7.50 for those younger than 62. Breakfasts are open to the public. Proceeds after ex- penses help support local and other charities. Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knitting, cro- chet or other needlework proj- ects to this community stitching time. All skill levels welcome. Columbia Northwestern Model 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 Acad- emy, 1296 Duane St. Bring a spinning wheel. For information, call 503-325-5598 or go to asto- riafiberarts.com SUNDAY Seniors Breakfast — 9 a.m. to noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420 17th St. Cooked to order from menu, includes cof- fee. Cost is $5 for seniors 62 and older, $7.50 for those younger than 62. Breakfasts are open to the public. Proceeds after ex- penses help support local and other charities. Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m., Seaside American Legion, 1315 Broadway. For information, call 503-738-5111. No cost; sug- gested $5 tip to the instructor. MONDAY Chair Exercises for Seniors — 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St. For information, call 503-325-3231. Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Nee- dlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. Grace and Encourage- ment for Moms — 10 to 11:30 a.m., Crossroads Community Church, 40618 Old Highway 30, Svensen. GEMS group is a time for moms to relax and enjoy each others’ company. Free childcare is provided. For information, call Rachael Biddle- come at 503-458-6103. 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. See NOTES, Page 4B
