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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018
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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