1B THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON THE ART OF ADVENTURE autical writer Peter Marsh sent in an interesting tidbit: John Kuntz, 61, is in the midst of what many would think of as the kayak trip from hell — more than 1,250 miles from the source of the Columbia River in British Columbia to Astoria — but he’s loving it. Kuntz, owner of Olympic Outdoor Center in Port Gamble, Washington, says the purpose of this trip is to inspire kids to get outside more, back to nature, and away from digital and social media. “Summertime from sun up to sun down, we were outside,” he told the Kitsap Sun. It’s a way of life he’d like to see revived. Plus, his journey is an educational tool. Students from Lincoln Elementary School in Oak Park, Illinois, are tracking his progress by GPS, and studying his trip (geography, math, the environment, Native American culture, etc.) as part of the school curriculum. Since he’ll be arriving in Astoria around Oct. 13, Astoria schools might want to follow suit (curriculum info is here: bit.ly/JKcurric). Actually, anyone can follow his travels. Kuntz is shown in a selfie from his Facebook page (fb.me/john.kuntz.140), where he posts reg- ularly, and his GPS tracking information is at bit.ly/wheresJohnK In addition to teaching youth the “art of adventure,” Kuntz’s journey is also to honor Erica Reith (Eri), who died at the age of 19. “In life we have a chance to pay it forward and that is my goal,” he wrote, “to let youth know there is more to life than the world that they know. That it is OK to take risks safely to gain the reward of a lifetime.” N SAVED BY THE DRONE rones are proving quite useful in the lifeguarding busi- ness. Recently, a group of seven swimmers got caught in an undertow off a Spanish beach, and were being swept out to sea, NewAtlas.com reports (bit.ly/NAdrone). They signaled the life- guard for help, and an Auxdron Lifeguard Drone (bit.ly/Aux- save), carrying two inflatable life jackets, was deployed. One woman swimmer in particular was in serious trouble, so the drone operator, guided by the lifeguard and the drone’s video feed, dropped a life jacket to her, which inflated when it hit the water. A screen shot from the drone’s video, courtesy of General Drones S.L., is shown. Lifeguards on Jet Skis then brought her back to shore, while the drone monitored the other swimmers and noted their location until they could be retrieved, as well. Thanks to the drone, hope- fully, they all lived happily ever after. D WILLIAM MURRAY TELLS ALL he wreck of the Haddingtonshire was sold in San Francisco last Saturday for $80 (now about $2,078).” — The Daily Morning Astorian, Monday, Aug. 25, 1885. The paper also gives an account of the wreck, near Port Reyes, California, by cabin boy Wil- liam Murray. The vessel left Astoria July 4, with a full cargo and 21 aboard, heading for San Francisco. It was good sailing for three weeks until a squall hit, tipping the Haddingtonshire over. The carpenter and two able seamen were washed out to sea before the ship could be righted. The next morning revealed the second mate dead on deck, the starboard lifeboat “smashed,” the sails torn, and the starboard forecastle gone. Worse yet, the captain’s navigational gear, the chronometer and sextants, were destroyed. All Capt. John Frazier could do was guess their head- ing, and get back underway. Four days later, in rough seas and foggy weather, sailing at about 8 knots with foghorns blowing, the lookout spotted land — too late. The Had- dingtonshire ran hard aground. When an attempt to board the remaining lifeboat failed, the captain ordered the crew up into the rigging and went below for signals and rockets. Once back on deck, the rockets were washed right out of his hands. Eventually the rigging gave way, and the crew was ordered back to the deck. On his way down, William was washed overboard. “I heard nothing but cries for help,” he recalled. “I was in the breakers and so exhausted that I lay on my back and tried to swallow enough water to drown.” But then his fin- gers touched sand, and he “swam and straggled” to the beach, where he fainted. When he awoke, he made his way to the farm of Mr. Reinhold, who went down to the beach and found the only other survivor, Hans Markuson. The bodies of the captain and rest of the crew were never found. When asked by a reporter what he planned to do next, William was certain of one thing. “Well,” he replied, “I was thinking I have had enough of the sea for a while, sir.” ‘T IN REMEMBRANCE OF KINDNESS HAPPY? OR NOT. nd yet another RMS Titanic item, a gold cigarette case (with a delicious hint of scandal attached), is up for bid at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, England, on Sept. 28, according to the Hansons’ blog (bit.ly/ CigCase). Sir Cosmo and Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon managed to escape into Lifeboat No. 1 as the Titanic was founder- ing that icy night in April 1912. Designed to hold 40, only 12 were in the boat, including seven crew members. As the ship sank, Lady Lucy was overheard rather tactlessly saying to her secretary, “There is your beautiful night- dress, gone.” One of the crewmen took offense, and remarked that while the couple could easily replace any lost property, the crew members were wiped out. In response, Sir Cosmo offered them £5 each (£560 or $723 now) each. Conse- quently, since no good deed goes unpunished, he was later accused of bribing his way off the Titanic. During an inquiry he insisted it was just a goodwill gesture to the crewmen, but his reputation was permanently tainted. When the RMS Carpathia eventually rescued the couple, the ship’s purser, Ernest Brown, was kind to them. In return, they gave him a gift — an Aspey gold cigarette case inscribed with the words: “Ernest G F Brown RNR, in remembrance of kindness. SS Carpathia. From Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon.” It is pictured, courtesy of Hansons Auctioneers. Interested? Start counting your pennies; the item is expected to fetch up to £60,000 (about $77,500). A FLUKE ince we’re having such weird weather lately, because of smoke from fires in British Columbia and Washington, here’s an odd weather rerun … July 29, 2011: Linda LeBrun told the Ear there was a funnel cloud over Clatskanie recently. Huh? So the Ear called Rachel Krotzer, who was mentioned in a Clatskanie Chief article as hav- ing seen the phenomenon. She took photos (one is shown) and film of it from her house on the top of Steward Creek Road in Clatskanie. At the time it happened, around 6 p.m. July 17, Rachel was sit- ting at the kitchen table facing a window and talking to her mother and sisters-in-law. Even without her glasses, she could tell some- thing strange was happening in the sky. Rachel saw the funnel for about three minutes, but she heard from others that it lasted about 10 minutes. While she was watching, it constantly changed shape, but never touched the ground. “It’s kinda scary,” Rachel admitted. “What a fluke to see that.” Her pictures of the funnel cloud were also on KATU news. “My son, Iolaus, and daughter, Lillian, thought it was really cool to hear my name on the news,” she added. “I’m now constantly looking at the view for more than sunsets or rain warnings.” S BOOK TOUR DETOUR storia native and half-Finn Briana (Bononcini) Volk and her husband, Andrew, pictured, own the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club, a bar with Scandinavian (especially Finnish) inspired food, in Portland, Maine. Now the couple have written a book, “Northern Hospitality,” which is being released on Amazon.com on Aug. 28, so it’s book tour time. NBC News BETTER interviewed Briana, and did mention their book, but really wanted to know about the Finnish/English term “päntsdrunk,” i.e. drinking alone in your underwear (bit.ly/pants- drunk). Seriously? No, it is not about depression or wanting to forget, Briana explained. Finns are used to solitude, and getting päntsdrunk is drinking while enjoying and celebrating your alone time. Inspired by her NBC interview, KABC radio in Los Angeles came calling. Doug McIntyre of the “McIntyre in the Morning” show interviewed Briana Tuesday to talk about her book — and to elaborate more on the meaning of päntsdrunk. If this keeps up, she’ll sell lots of books and inadvertently become an authority on the topic. If you’d like to do some creative päntsdrinking yourself, you might want to try a Portland Hunt & Alpine Club Finnish Nail. The recipe is at the NBC link above. Kippis! A SEA BOTTOM BREW A hile at the Astoria Post Office last Friday, the Ear noticed an addition: a HappyOrNot.com Smiley Terminal (pic- tured), so you can rate your experience in the land of stamps. HappyOrNot.com, a Finnish company, says the wireless ter- minals — which can be used to measure feedback from custom- ers or employees — transmit the data over a secure 3-G network for evaluation. Telegraph.co.uk interviewed the company’s CEO and co-founder, Heikki Väänänen, in February (bit.ly/Heik- kiV). He is pictured, inset, courtesy of Porssisaatio.fi “We had the idea for HappyOrNot 15 years ago, when I was frustrated by the poor customer service in a local gaming shop in Finland,” Väänänen explained. “There was no way for me to voice my dissatisfaction, and as a result I could not expect the business to ever improve.” Just so you know, the terminals also have “a built-in cus- tom setting that filters out excessive button presses.” Like when you’re fit to be tied, for instance. W rom the Aug. 24, 1890, edition of The Daily Morning Asto- rian: “The Fort Canby (Cape Disappointment) life saving crew, while taking soundings off the Cape yesterday, found a keg of beer at the bottom of the ocean. It was lost over a year ago by a passing vessel. Upon being tapped, the amber-colored fluid was found to be in good condition. This speaks well for Mr. Kopp, as it was of his brew.” Note: In 1883, John Kopp and Andrew Hemrich founded Seat- tle Brewing and Malting. In 1888, they acquired Rabbeson’s brew- ery and the Rainier brand, which they produced in Washington until 1916, when a statewide prohibition took effect. (bit.ly/KoppBeer) F COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m., Sixth Street parking lot. Mystery hike. Membership is not required to participate. For information, call Gail Sunderland at 541-213-4793 or go to angorahikingclub.org 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 Karaoke — 7 to 8 p.m., Seaside Lodge and International Hostel, 930 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside. Free session, all ages, for those who love to sing karaoke. Refreshments served. For information, call 503- 738-7911. 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 younger than 62. Breakfasts are open to the public. Proceeds af- ter expenses 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; 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. Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do- nation $3 for those older than 60; $6.75 for those younger than 60. For information, call Suzanne Bja- ranson at 503-861-4202. 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. Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro- gram — noon, Warrenton Commu- nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug- gested donation of $5 for seniors and $7 for those younger than 60. See NOTES, Page 3B