The daily Astorian., October 30, 2018, Page 6A, Image 70

6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
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Circulation Manager
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Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
LIFE
IN THE
FUR
LANE
What kind of person gets in a fur suit
and travels across the state for a good
cause? For these costumed folks, every
day is Halloween. And for others, it is a
lifestyle. Louis Lamp of Portland (pro-
nounced “Louie”) is a member of a group
called the Pool Party, originally intended
to spoof the political parties. Earlier this
month, they descended on Seaside to
spread cheer and to help raise funds for
children’s swimming lessons and children’s
theater.
Q: What is the “Pool Party?” Is it
political?
Lamp: The group comes from all
walks of life and not all, but most opin-
ions. Most of us are primarily getting away
from our jobs, going to
have fun. I believe in
going out into the com-
munity and raising
money for nonprofits or
interacting with the pub-
lic. We’re working on
becoming a 501(c)3.
R.J. MARX
Q: How hot is it in
the fur suit?
Lamp: Almost too hot. For folks who
do it really they build up stamina, but we
make sure they have water and radios,
we don’t want anyone overheating, imag-
ine the weight of a sofa without the frame.
Some people have small fans or cool-in
vests built inside. On hot days, shorter
shifts, I can’t even go 30 minutes. For
those who have tolerance built up, they can
go 30 minutes to a couple of hours.
Q: What’s your background?
Lamp: I’m retired from the Army.
Q: Do you want to talk about your mil-
itary experience?
Lamp: Sure. I was in the Army for
about 10 years. I joined in 1999, retired in
2009. I was overseas for almost half my
career, four years in Germany and then I
invaded Iraq. After the invasion, most of
my overseas duty was temporary duty six
weeks here, two weeks there.
When I retired from the Army, I had a
huge problem with crowds. It didn’t mat-
ter what kind of crowd, I couldn’t get on
a bus.
I fell into the furry community by acci-
dent. A friend of mine, a writer in Northern
California, said, “Stop by, we’re having a
convention.” It was “Further Confusion,”
in 2009 in San Jose, California. I had more
fun than I’ve ever had at that convention
than any sci-fi or anime convention.
Three thousand people in one hotel and
I didn’t get triggered once. Crowds didn’t
bother me at all. I called my therapist and
said, ‘I’ve got a cure for this one thing.’
For me it was a “no-duh.”
I probably got 100 hugs at my first con-
vention. To put things in perspective, vet-
erans often find a few ways to escape
and the way I escape is constructive and
good for me. It’s not for everybody. Of
the choices most veterans wind up going
through, I think I came out OK.
Q: This was almost therapy?
Lamp: Quite a big part. I still haven’t
gone to rock concerts or other crowded
events.
Q: Tell me about the suits you wear.
Lamp: Fur suits are like zoot suits,
only warmer.
Q: Are they based on cartoon favorites?
Lamp: It’s much more of a personal
expression of an idea, rather than say-
ing “I’m Tony the Tiger” or “I’m Bugs
Bunny.”
Q: Where do you get the suits?
Pool Party
Louis Lamp as Baphnedia in the cockpit of the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. 
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Louis Lamp in Seaside.
Pool Party
Furries on the Promenade in Seaside. 
Lamp: It’s very much a cottage indus-
try. Some of us make our own.
Q: If you can’t sew can you do this?
Lamp: You can definitely learn. I have
no talent. A friend is helping with my suit.
Q: Are they gender free?
Lamp: That is totally up to the individ-
ual. I’d say most of the time no one is wor-
ried about gender, but they will have an
apparent gender, male or female.
Q: How much does a typical fur suit
cost?
Lamp: Costumes are about $2,000
to $4,000, and they can run as high as
$15,000.
Q: You have parties at pools through-
out the state. Do you go in the pool with
the costumes?
Lamp: No! Just like pets, faux fur will
shed. The last thing you want to have hap-
pen to a pool pump is for that to shed. We
go swimming out of the costumes. In bath-
ing suits.
Q: Does the audience see you
disrobing?
Lamp: We tend to keep any disrob-
ing out of sight, out of mind of families
and kids. We call it “ruining the magic.”
Imagine if you’ve got your family, kids or
grandkids at Disneyland and then Mickey
Mouse takes off his head and swigs a bot-
tle of water. It’s all over.
Q: How many members do you have?
Lamp: We’ve got about 35, including a
few couples and teens.
Q: What are some of the other careers
of group members?
Lamp: We have some in the military,
a lot of folks involved in art, sewing, illus-
tration, outside the cottage industry side of
things, a lot of IT folks, firefighters, EMTs,
first responders. Then you have the folks
who work at Burgerville.
Q: What are some of your favorite
causes?
Lamp: For conventions it will be
for no-kill animal shelters, conservation
efforts, things along those lines. In Seaside,
for this year, our pet causes are the Clatsop
Children’s Theatre Company and the Sun-
set Rec Foundation. We’re raising money
for sponsoring swimming lessons for kids
who need to learn how to swim but aren’t
able to afford it.
Q: What is your costume?
Lamp: Mine is a gray-and-lavender
dragon. What we call a “partial.” I have
a head, paws, tail and feet. I have to wear
long sleeves underneath because I don’t
have a body suit.
Q: What’s that?
Lamp: That covers the neck from the
ankles. I have a fur-suit head.
Q: How are you generally received?
Lamp: Some people are indifferent. If
they want space away from us, that’s OK.
Out in public most of our time is making
sure we don’t step on people’s toes — kid-
ding — but getting on and off the carousel
is harder than people would think.
Q: How do you communicate with the
audience at an event?
Lamp: When we’re in public there are
a number of us who are not in costume, we
call them handlers because there are num-
ber of characters who might not speak or
communicate via barks or chirps. We make
sure to have a couple of people on hand to
welcome the public, answer questions and
make sure no one gets hurt.
Q: What sounds does a dragon make?
Lamp: I get tired of “Roar!” After 15
minutes my throat is raw, I’m still finding
my voice, so to speak.
Q: What does the costume say about
the person?
Lamp: A lot of times it will express
who we want to be. A lot of folks are very
reserved in public. They don’t want to per-
form or talk with people. They’re para-
lyzed with anxiety. When you are in a suit,
all of that disappears and is off to the side,
very much like an actor in a role, in char-
acter. Whereas an actor has training in
becoming that role, for those who have no
experience with that, it’s a very easy men-
tal cue. It’s important for their identity.
Q: Have you ever fallen?
Lamp: When I was bowling in a pre-
vious fur suit. It’s retired now. It had felt
on its feet. On a bowling alley it was like a
cartoon, the feet shuffling back and forth.
Q: I understand you work with children
in area hospitals.
Lamp: Some of us go to a children’s
hospital every month to visit the kids.
Q: What’s that like?
Lamp: Nobody goes to a hospital to
have a good day, especially kids who are
inpatient, 5 to 15 years old. That’s the
kind of giving back money can’t buy.
I wouldn’t quite put it in the realm of a
higher calling, but for a few minutes, when
they are interacting with us and getting
photos, they’re not thinking about insur-
ance, diagnoses, prognoses or how it will
affect their lives going forward. It’s really
nice.
Q: How do kids respond?
Lamp: Almost universally they are
overjoyed to see us. And when they’re not,
they very clearly don’t want to have any-
thing else to do with us.
If I had a tip for parents that encoun-
ter us in public, it’s happened a few times,
if your kid is not clearly interested in being
around us, don’t force them. “But they’re
so cute,” and this baby wailing. We try to
nonverbally communicate, sometimes the
handler will intercede, a picture would be
nice but another day. I would hate to be
that kid.
Q: Same with dogs. How do they look
at you?
Lamp: They look at us like we’re
weird humans.
Q: How will you be spending
Halloween?
Lamp: I usually answer my door in
costume. Some of us trick or treat.
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South
County reporter and editor of the Seaside
Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
‘Yes’ for Astoria schools
t is my privilege to be the principal at Asto-
ria Middle School. I have a very dedicated
staff who work very hard. One area that helps
promote student learning is the facility and
environment that students learn in and teach-
ers teach in.
The middle school classroom wing has
sixteen classrooms and only six have win-
dows that go to the outside. The six class-
rooms that have an exterior window in them
have only one small window in a triangu-
lar-shaped classroom. The lack of natural day-
light does impact learning and well-being for
our students.
Unfortunately, we read, hear, and are
exposed to news about school violence
throughout our country. That is the reality
I
of the age we are educating our students in.
Astoria School District needs to assure that
we have facilities that are safe. In particular,
the district needs to monitor and control entry
and exits, as well as provide security cameras
and door lock systems that assure our students
are safe and secure while at school.
There are numerous other projects on the
bond list at other schools. The average age
of our schools is 63 years. We are working to
maintain and care for what we have, but much
of it is simply worn out. It is time to update
our facility so we can serve our community,
our children and, our families for an addi-
tional 50 years.
Please vote “yes” for the school bond.
LINDA BRECH
Principal, Astoria Middle School
One-party rule
his state has been ruled by Democrats
for over 30 years. Let’s count some of
their accomplishments:
We have homeless people like we’ve
never had before.
Oregon has one of the highest dropout
rates for high school students in the nation.
The state is building a bike trail from
Troutdale to Hood River. It is costing mil-
lions of dollars, yet Astoria can’t get a
bypass.
This state has destroyed the commer-
cial fishing industry for no other reason than
prejudice and politics.
The Forest Practices Act in some cases
flies in the face of good silviculture man-
agement. This state has declared war on
T
small-scale mining in eastern and southern
Oregon.
The sanctuary policy of this state is dis-
graceful. It costs $1.2 billion a year for peo-
ple who are here illegally. Of course, there
is no limit to the mainstream media protec-
tion of illegal immigrants. The fact remains,
it undermines the very existence of not only
this state, but of the country. That’s why we
need to vote “yes” to repeal Measure 105.
As long as we have people in govern-
ment like Kate Brown, we will never solve
the problems, not only in this state but as a
nation.
Think about that when you cast your vote
in November.
ROBERT BOEHM
Clifton