LEARN
YOUR BIRDS
WEEKEND BREAK • 1C
146TH YEAR, NO. 60
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
THE CURMUDGEON
IN THE WOODS
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria
Coffee Co.
to close
storefront
Company to sell from home
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Patrick Webb/Chinook Observer
Walt Twidwell lives in rural Pacific County in a rustic home he built from scavenged lumber using a hand saw.
Ailing sailor
readies for his
final voyage
In 1991, Rick Murray and Peg Davis fled
Seattle to reestablish their small-town roots in
Astoria. The couple founded an espresso bar,
Astoria Coffee Co., at the time one of the only
purveyors of gourmet coffee in town.
Two years later, they purchased a former gro-
cery store at 37th Street and Leif Erickson Drive,
famous for its part in the “The Goonies,” and
began roasting their own beans.
Four years after the death of his wife, Mur-
ray is planning to continue the roasting business
from his home near Knappa, closing his iconic
storefront by the end of the year and selling the
building. He is searching for a retail site to carry
his coffees and teas, while setting up online sales.
“When Peg suddenly died in 2014 I tried to
keep the dream alive, and have tried some new
and fun things, but now understand that what we
did was a moment in time and cannot work with-
out her,” Murray wrote to customers in a recent
message on Facebook.
Murray and Davis, originally from small
towns in Indiana, left for Seattle in 1973. Mur-
ray’s experience with the coffee business
stretches back to 1979, when after applying on
a paper bag he landed a job at the third location
of then-nascent local coffee chain Starbucks.
He began roasting coffee in 1984 until the two
decided to flee the big city and start their coffee
company in Astoria.
They started with an espresso bar downtown,
sourcing beans from Seattle, before purchasing
the current location, buying a gas-powered cof-
fee roaster and moving upstairs.
“We had planned on doing this for as long
as we could,” Murray said. His wife’s death
“changed what was going on, and so I tried to do
some other stuff. We opened a little deli, hired
some people. But the location of the shop was
probably not good for that.”
See CLOSING, Page 7A
By PATRICK WEBB
Chinook Observer
W
hen an octogenarian is ailing, it’s a tad
unfair to label him a curmudgeon.
One exception lives in the woods of
northern Pacific County, Washington.
“Well, I am,” Walt Twidwell said, with a wry
grin. “No,” he frowned, “I’m a teddy bear in a griz-
zly bear frame.”
But now when the 81-year-old grumbles about
something, he has just cause. The old sailor has
mesothelioma — terminal cancer caused by pro-
longed exposure to asbestos.
Twidwell was a boiler tender and fireman for the
Navy. His nearly 20 years in uniform began in the
aftermath of the Korean conflict and lasted through
Vietnam. He conducted maintenance and repairs in
See TWIDWELL, Page 6A
The Daily Astorian
Walt Twidwell, of Brooklyn, is pictured at the Ilwaco Masonic
Lodge with an enlarged photo of himself in his Navy uniform.
Peg Davis and Rick Murray, pictured in 2009,
began roasting beans at Astoria Coffee Co.
on the corner of 37th Street and Leif Erikson
Drive in 1993.
Local crew responds to Hurricane Florence
Four-person
helicopter crew
rescued 19 people
in first flight
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
A four-person helicopter crew
from Coast Guard Air Station Asto-
ria is in North Carolina this week to
help with Hurricane Florence rescue
efforts.
The crew rescued 19 people and
five pets Tuesday during its first fly-
over. Before the roughly 8 1/2-hour
patrol, 2,000 people and 500 animals
had already been rescued.
Overall, dozens of people and mil-
lions of animals have died since the
storm dropped trillions of gallons
of rain. The crew was scheduled for
another flyover Thursday and will
remain in the area for at least a week,
possibly two.
“We’re glad to be here, helping
people,” said Christopher Hale, a res-
cue swimmer. “It’s definitely awe-in-
spiring and something we will all
remember for the rest of our lives.”
The crew landed in Norfolk, Vir-
ginia on Monday morning after a
red-eye flight. After driving an hour
south to Elizabeth City, North Caro-
lina, they were briefed that afternoon
Steve Helber/AP Photo
See COAST GUARD, Page 7A
A Coast Guard aircrew from Astoria assists with relief operations during Hur-
ricane Florence.