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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
B
BC.com recently ran a story about the Finnish Mieskuoro
Huutajat (Men’s Choir Shouters) who, dressed like penguins,
have been performing for the crew of an ice-bound ship in the Bal-
tic Sea (bit.ly/shoutfinns). By the way; normally the shouters wear
dark suits with black ties made from car tire inner tubes.
Performing, in their case, means screaming in unison. Just what
they’re screaming on the Baltic wasn’t explained, but according to
their website (huutajat.org), the “choir” is internationally known
for entering in a paramilitary fashion, then yelling, bellowing and
shouting snippets from national anthems, children’s songs and
international treaties. They do not sing. Ever. Pictured, some pho-
tos from the choir’s website.
The group was formed in the northern Finnish town of Oulu in
the late 1980s, and consists of 20 to 40 very loud men. Calling the
ensemble “ambassadors of Finnish art,” the website explains that
“it all started with surprise performances for unsuspecting audi-
ences anywhere in the Oulu region.” Please don’t try this here.
So, what brought the shouting choir to the Baltic Sea? “It is
always something the choir has wanted to do,” Huutajat member
Mika Ronkainen attested to the BBC, “because such antics create
a form of absurdity which we find works the best.”
BREAD BANDITS
LOCAL BREVITIES
T
idbits from The Daily Morning Astorian, Sunday,
Sept. 21, 1890:
• A whale was seen spouting or blowing in the chan-
nel opposite the West Shore mills yesterday morning. This
is, we believe, the first time a whale has been seen so far
up the river.
Note: Seeing whales in the Columbia River is clearly
not a new phenomenon.
• Captain W.H. Whitcomb last evening received
orders from Major Handbury to man the steamer Cas-
cades and be ready for service early in the week to tow
barges of rock for the jetty. So the noble work goes bravely
on.
Note: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began con-
struction of the South Jetty in April 1885; it was com-
pleted in 1895 at 45 percent below budget. (bit.ly/jetty45)
• The pastor of the Congregational church will dis-
course upon … “What God Hath Joined Together Let No
Man Put Asunder; or, A Recent Case in Court.”
• On board of the Manzanita is a splendid model yacht
with full sails, small boats, and everything as complete in
detail as on a large yacht … It is the work of Capt. Bab-
bidge, of Newport, and is sent here in care of his son Gus
Babbidge, who will forward it to the Exposition at Port-
land …
Note: The Portland Great Industrial Exposition
(Sept. 25 to Oct. 25, 1890) ads boasted it featured Signor
Liberati’s Military Band of 50 Selected Musicians, and 6.5
acres of floor space “filled to overflowing with the wonders
of this wonderful age.”
• Notice: Neither the captain nor consignees of the
British bark Noddleburn will be responsible for any debts
contracted by the officers or crew while lying in this port.
A. Hall, Master.
EARLY ARRIVAL
K
aylie and Ryan Hochhalter’s baby girl was supposed to
arrive in October, but she had other plans, and was born
quite unexpectedly in early September (after a life flight for Kay-
lie to Oregon Health and Science University Hospital), several
weeks premature.
If her parents, pictured, look familiar, it’s because they are
both employed in the service industry. Kaylie was working as
a bartender at the Merry Time Bar and Grill, and Ryan works at
the Wet Dog Cafe, now known as the Astoria Brewing Company.
Although Miss Melanie Rae weighed in at only 4 pounds 4
ounces, it’s a healthy 4 pounds and 4 ounces. Even so, she needs
to stay in the hospital in Portland for a while to get stronger and
put on some weight.
The young couple are going to have a tough time ahead finan-
cially, so their friend, Fester Rosenberg, started a GoFundMe
page to help them out at gofundme.com/melanierae
“Please help us raise the money they will need for hospital
expenses and the time off work, hotel rooms and other expenses
in the big city,” Fester wrote. “We all know and love Ryan and
Kaylie, and I know we will all love little Melanie Rae.”
CASTING CALL
A DISAGREEABLE FACT
imon Max Hill Casting in Portland (smhcasting.com) is
looking for “rough-looking men” in Oregon and Washing-
ton, ages 20-50, for two movies. “We need men of all ethnici-
ties to play bikers, trappers, Chinook traders and other roles,”
the casting call says. “Weathered faces with a lot of character are
very welcome.” So are beards.
No, you do not have to be in a union or have an agent to sub-
mit an application, which can be found at bit.ly/SMHrough.
You’ll need to attach two photos (three if you have a motorcy-
cle), and be sure to list any special skills or abilities. (By the way:
“Dogs, bicycles, sports and mustaches are special!”).
J
enny Serwylo of Toronto, Ontario, Canada had an unsettling
encounter with three brazen raccoons, according to TheStar.
com (bit.ly/breadbandit). She woke up to noises coming from her
kitchen, and when she went to investigate, she found the masked
bandits devouring her bread. They got in by ripping a window
screen.
Serwylo grabbed a broom and started making noise, which
scared off two of them, but the third ensconced himself behind the
toaster oven. He stared at her audaciously, and in between bouts
of terrifying her by attacking her broom, he wiped out her entire
English muffin stash. Her photo of the miscreant is shown.
When he’d had his fill, he sauntered back out the way he came in.
“I’m going to go bleach my apartment now,” she told The Star.
HUDDLED HERD
A
storia’s resident sea lion population is a drop in the bucket com-
pared to what’s happening on the northwest coast of Alaska
along the Chukchi Sea.
Around 25,000 walruses, gathered in a shoulder-to-shoul-
der huddle, are resting there, an AP story revealed. The enormous
gathering is pictured, courtesy of Vickie Beaver/National Ocean-
ographic and Atmospheric Administration; inset, a closeup from
2013 by Ryan Kingsbery/U.S. Geological Survey.
As it turns out, the critters prefer lolling on sea ice between for-
ays hunting for clams and snails, but when the ice recedes they head
for the shore, instead. Around Aug. 22, the residents of the Inupiaq
village, which is two to three miles away from the herd, reported
they started hearing walrus noises to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice. (To get some very small idea what anyone nearby must endure,
noise-wise, check out 10 hours of walrus sounds at bit.ly/walrus10.)
Unless something startles them into a stampede to the sea — like
a hunter, polar bear or airplane — things should stay fairly peaceful
until the animals decide to move on. In the meantime, the herd will
be monitored by locals, the USFWS and U.S. Geological Survey —
who are all hopefully wearing good noise-canceling headphones.
S
S
ome newspapers, such as the Daily Alta California, lauded
the miraculous rescue of the captain and crew of the pilot
schooner Gov. Moody, which wrecked — in the early morn-
ing dark, in a dense fog, fighting a strong current — on North
Head cliff on Sept. 20, 1890.
Three of the four aboard, including Capt. Peter Cordiner,
climbed the mainmast, which broke, dropping them to the
deck, so they scrambled up the forerigging and escaped
onto a rock with only minor injuries. Especially lucky was
the cook, George Salvely, who landed on a lower ledge and
was initially presumed drowned. Hunkered down, he was
sprayed by breakers for six hours until he was finally found.
Even Capt. George Flavel marveled “it is a wonder that
all hands were not lost.” It was the lifesaving crew at Fort
Canby station who not only rescued the Moody’s crew, they
secured the schooner to a rock, and were able to salvage most
of the property on the vessel.
The Daily Morning Astorian of Sept. 21 took a far more
pragmatic approach to what happened: “The loss of a pilot
schooner in its own immediate locality, where it is supposed
that the officers on board know every foot of the coast, is a
singular thing to chronicle in a home paper, but nevertheless
it is a disagreeable fact.” Especially since the vessel had just
been overhauled, refitted and relaunched the day before.
The Gov. Moody was owned by the state of Oregon, but
operated by the Union Pacific, which caused the Astorian to
huff, “The action of the Union Pacific in placing in command
of a pilot schooner a man who is a stranger to these waters is
very reprehensible, for however good a navigator he may be
he certainly was not familiar with this locality and the course
of the currents.”
The editor also noted that “… there are scores of men
here well qualified for the position, who know every foot
of the coast and are possessed of every possible knowledge
required …”
Good point — and an expensive lesson for the Union
Pacific: The vessel, a total loss, cost $15,000 (around
$415,600 now) to build, but was only insured for $11,000
($305,000).
LIFEBOAT IN A BOX
he U.K. nonprofit Atlantic Pacific International Rescue
Boat Project (atlanticpacific.org.uk) turns shipping contain-
ers into a Lifeboat in a Box that can be transported to coastal
communities which would otherwise have no way to rescue peo-
ple in trouble at sea.
The container becomes a lifeboat station, replete with lifeboat,
a workshop and a crew room. An intensive training program on
how to operate the boat and the station is also offered. The top
and side-view images shown of a rescue boat “box” are from the
project’s website.
The “lifeboats where there are none” idea came about after the
company’s founder, Robin Jenkins, visited Japan after the 2011
earthquake and tsunami. He heard a chilling story about how sur-
vivors on the beach could hear people who had been washed out
to sea screaming and crying, yet there was no way to help them.
“This story unsettled me so much,” he said, “that I began to won-
der how to stop it from ever happening again.”
The resulting Lifeboat in a Box “is a project that we hope to
grow around the world,” he added, “… so that when the unbear-
able strikes, there is something to help.”
T
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m.,
Sixth Street parking lot. Radar
Ridge hike. Membership is not re-
quired to participate. For informa-
tion, call Linda Dugan at 503-440-
3909 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.
N. Holladay Drive, Seaside. Free ses-
sion, all ages, for those who love to
sing karaoke. Refreshments served.
For information, call 503-738-7911.
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
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
SUNDAY
Karaoke — 7 to 8 p.m., Seaside
Lodge and International Hostel, 930
other charities.
National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI) Support Group
— 2 to 3:30 p.m., Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway. Family to
Family Support Group, for anyone
with a friend or loved one suffer-
ing from a serious brain (mental)
illness. For information, contact
Myra Kero at 503-738-6165, or k7e-
rowood@q.com, or go to nami.org
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.
knitting, crocheting, embroidery
and quilting. All are welcome. For
information, call 503-325-1364 or
503-325-7960.
MONDAY
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.
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,
See NOTES, Page 2B