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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
MAMMOTH FIND
A
n enthusiastic puppy named Scout dug up a “rock” he loved
to play with in Kirk Lacewell’s back yard in Langley, Wash-
ington on Whidbey Island, Fox News reports (http://bit.ly/mam-
tooth). Upon closer examination, he realized it wasn’t a rock at
all, and took some photos. Lacewell and Scout are pictured, along
with Scout’s find, courtesy of screen shots from a Fox News
video.
“I called the museum over there at the University of Washing-
ton,” he recalled, “and the paleontologists examined the pictures
and told me this was part of a wooly mammoth tooth.” Which
makes that “rock” a 13,000-year-old fossil.
While it’s apparently not a rare find in Western Washington,
nonetheless Scout’s proud owner is going to keep the tooth as a
“family heirloom.”
AMAZING JETHRO
ethro the lobster, a rare “half-and-half,” was caught by fish-
erman Blaine Stewart off the coast of New Brunswick,
Canada, CBC News reports, and turned over to the Hunts-
man Marine Science Centre aquarium in Saint Andrews, N.B.
(bit.ly/halflob). The crustacean is pictured, courtesy of Graham
Thompson/CBC.
Jethro is “one in a few million at least,” aquarium manager
Cynthia Callahan guesstimates. “It’s known to be a genetic
abnormality,” she noted. “The mechanism isn’t exactly known,
but we know after they moult they look the same, which tells us
it’s genetic rather than environmental or diet.”
A big hit with the aquarium’s patrons, Jethro is happily
snugged away in a tank with other lobsters and skates, and could
potentially live for decades.
J
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
ntriguing nugget from the Friday, Dec. 7, 1883 edition
of The Daily Morning Astorian: A Total Wreck, The
Crew Missing: Reliable report comes to The Astorian from
Hobsonville, Tillamook county, that the schooner Alpha,
which left here two weeks ago last Saturday, is lost with
all hands. …
Parties at Tillamook saw her with sails set, trying to
enter: she got pretty well in, but when off Fuller’s Point she
broached to and went into the breakers. She drifted for two
miles, and … had lost all sails and was badly stove. Noth-
ing was seen of her, but as her boats have come ashore at
Tillamook, and the beach is covered with wreck and dam-
aged goods, the probability is that she is lost.
The Alpha was a staunch little craft and was well
known here, having plied between the Columbia River
and the southern coast. She was owned by Wm. Olsen, of
Tillamook.
Note: Little historical mention of the Alpha can be
found, but Hobsonville is an unincorporated area in Tilla-
mook County across Miami Cove from Garibaldi. Now a
ghost town, it was once a thriving little community, named
after John Hobson, who helped found the local salmon
cannery, the Tillamook Packing Company, in 1884. A
stop on the coastal railroad from 1883 to 1913, the town
also had a hotel and creamery.
Already dying by 1930, the town was overgrown with
alder trees by 1940, but several of the buildings still stood,
except the Smith Lumber Mill — the first operational
mill in Tillamook County, built in 1883 by Joseph Smith
— which had already washed into Tillamook Bay. The mill
is pictured in happier days, courtesy of the Oregon Histor-
ical Society Research Library.
Incidentally, the Hobsonville Indian Community was
nearby, but a separate entity. As Hobsonville was fading in
the 1930s, so was the Indian Community, which by then,
consisted mainly of women, both old and young. Now the
buildings are all gone, and the land has fallen out of tribal
ownership, but the community’s descendants are seeking
formal federal tribal status as part of the Clatsop-Nehalem
Confederated Tribes. (bit.ly/hville01, bit.ly/hville02, bit.
ly/hville03)
I
LOCAL BREVITIES
MISCHIEVOUS MITCH
‘I SURE REMEMBER IT’
little reminiscence from March 2013: Recently, Astorian
Karen Mellin was listening to “Talk of the Nation” on
National Public Radio. “All of a sudden there was Terrie Rem-
ington, a local artist,” Karen told the Ear. “I know her voice.”
Terrie is pictured in a photo from her website, terriereming-
ton.com. She was on the radio responding to a question posed
to the public, the gist of which was, “What was a newscast that
affected your life?”
“I was just holding on, it was busy, busy, busy — then all
of a sudden I was on the radio,” Terrie recalled. The broadcast
she remembered was the announcement of the bombing of Pearl
Harbor. She was 5 years old, and living in New York. Terrie
grabbed her mother’s spaghetti colander and a broom, hid under
the table, and pretended to shoot everyone. Her mother was not
amused.
“I sure remember it,” Terrie stated. “And the next day FDR
was on the radio saying we’re at war.”
There was a short delay from the time she was talking to NPR
and the time it was broadcast. So “after the phone call, I went into
the other room and heard it,” she recalled. “I was really shocked
to hear myself.”
“To hear her talk about that on the radio, and have her live
right here in Astoria,” Karen noted, “that was pretty cool.”
A
MAKING IT WORK
n a recent update from TheOceanCleanup.com, founder and
CEO Boyan Slat, a young Dutch entrepreneur, gave a prog-
ress report on beta System 001, aka Wilson, which consists of
a 6.5-foot skirt hanging from a 1,900-foot long U-shaped boom,
created to clean up and capture plastic debris in the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch for future pickup and recycling. Pictured, Slat
and System 001, courtesy of The Ocean Cleanup.
Wilson was deployed in the Garbage Patch over a month ago
after several essentially successful concept trials, but so far, the
news isn’t good. Plastic is escaping, and retooling is needed.
Slat is undaunted, however. “Although we are not harvesting
plastic yet,” he noted, “based on the current results, we are posi-
tive we are close to making it work.” Stay tuned.
I
SAIL ON
idbits from The Daily Morning Astorian, Friday,
Dec. 7, 1883:
• Shipping masters report little difficulty in procur-
ing crews this season. The business of supplying Colum-
bia River with men is mostly done at Astoria this season.
Note: That’s probably because men were being shanghaied
out of boarding houses run by the likes of James Turk.
Shanghaiing ceased with the passage of the Seamen’s Act
of 1915, which made it a federal crime. (bit.ly/noshang)
• Of the wrecked Victoria at Cape Blanco (near Port
Orford), a correspondent of the News reports that the vessel
will be a total loss; she is partly under water, and has bro-
ken in two. The beach is strewn with wreckage of all kinds.
Note: The steamship Victoria wrecked on an offshore reef
on Nov. 28, 1883 despite the beam from the Cape Blanco
lighthouse, built in 1870 to prevent such incidents.
• Zamloch gave another of his unequaled entertain-
ments last evening. His cabinet trick was well done … and
though securely tied, the Professor and his assistants did
what most people could do when free. Some costly gifts
were distributed. The skeleton will be the leading feature
to-night.
Note: A highly skilled magician, Anton Zamloch (pic-
tured, aka Professor Zamloch and Zamloch the Great)
toured the U.S., Hawaii, Mexico and Canada with his
act (and eventually almost a ton of baggage) from 1869
through 1912. One popular bit was two skeletons doing a
tap dance to ragtime music. (bit.ly/azamloch)
T
blast from the past (Dec. 11, 2015): “Much was said this
week about Mitch Mitchum (pictured inset), capable and
active public works director for Astoria, restorer of downtown
buildings (along with Rose Marie Paavola), business partner,
landlord, amazing volunteer, husband and father,” Jan Mitchell,
a retired city planner (also pictured) wrote. ‟There is something
else to tell, and now is the time.
‟Years ago, Mitch and I were talking about Astoria’s formida-
ble chain-saw statue (near the roundabout) representing a North
Coast Native American, “Ikala Nawan,” or “Man Who Fishes.”
One of us thought about giving him a Santa hat (meaning no
disrespect, as that sculpture, while an interesting bit of Astoriana,
doesn’t have any meaning to any local tribe that we could find).
Mitch said, ‘If you make it, I’ll see that it gets up there.’ I did,
and he did, after ‘borrowing’ a fork lift.
“That one was put away wet, and had to be thrown away. He
said, ‘If you’ll make another one, I’ll pay for the fabric.’ I did
and he did.
“He apologized for forgetting it last year; he was really already
too sick. So, if there was a mystery about where that Santa hat
came from, now you know.”
Note and update: Unfortunately, Mitch Mitchum died Nov.
28, 2015.
A
F
rench car company Renault has partnered with Neoline,
which hopes to become the world’s first shipowner specializ-
ing in (take a deep breath): Sailing cargo ships (bit.ly/rorosail).
Specifically, they plan to build two sail-powered Ro-Ro (Roll
on/Roll off) vessels in 2020-2021 to transport Renault cars and
reduce the company’s carbon footprint. An illustration of a pro-
posed ship is shown, courtesy of the Renault Group.
“Groupe Renault’s objective is to reduce the environmen-
tal impact of each vehicle throughout its entire life cycle,” Jean-
Philippe Hermine of the Renault Group said, “from parts trans-
portation up to delivery and end-of-life processing.”
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Lower Columbia R/C Society
— 8:30 a.m., Buoy 9 Restaurant &
Lounge, 996 Pacific Drive, Ham-
mond. Local Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA) chartered radio
control model aircraft club meets for
breakfast and business. All model
aircraft enthusiasts are welcome.
For information, call 503-458-5196
or 503-325-0608.
Chinook Indian Nation Coun-
cil — 11 a.m., Chinook Nation Trib-
al Office, 3 E. Park St., Bay Center,
Washington. Open to all tribal mem-
bers; please arrive on time. Those
attending should bring a potluck
item. For questions, call 360-875-
6670.
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
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.
Blacksmith Enthusiasts Meet
— 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Camp 18
Blacksmith Shop, 42362 U.S. High-
way 26, Seaside. Participants can
bring own forge and anvil setup.
Metal available to experiment with;
coal provided. No charge; dona-
tions to Camp 18 Loggers Memorial
Museum welcome. For information,
contact Mark Standley at 503-434-
0148 or Herman Doty at 971-306-
1043 or ringinganvildesign@gmail.
com
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 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.
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.
Astoria High School Class
of 1970 — 11 a.m., Koffee Klatch
at Rod’s Bar and Grill, 45 N.E.
Skipanon Drive, Warrenton. For in-
See NOTES, Page 4B