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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DEcEmbER 14, 2018
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
1922 FIRE RAVAGES ASTORIA
THE DISAPPOINTMENT
OF CAPT. BLACK
‘PEACE AND RECONCILIATION’
f you ever come across one of these silly look-
ing birds on the beach, they are going to need
your help,” Nellie Hux wrote. She is referring to
grebes, and her photo of one is shown. “They were cursed
with their feet too far back, and they need a running start
to fly.”
On the beach, they can easily be snatched by predators,
or drown in the rolling surf.
“Western grebes cannot physically walk on land, and
can only take off from water,” Christina Merten explained.
If you find one on land, it’s in trouble. Call the Wildlife
Center of the North Coast at 503-338-0331 (or message
them on Facebook at bit.ly/fb-WCNC) to find out what
you can do to help.
“I
S
aturday was the 93rd anniversary of the Friday, Dec.
8, 1922 fire that raged under the waterfront pilings
and destroyed almost 30 blocks, wiping out most of
Astoria’s downtown residential and business district. A
Frank Woodfield photo of the fire looking east from Bond
Street is shown.
Luckily, there were only two fatalities. One was Notores
Staples, a bank president who dropped dead of heart fail-
ure. C. J. Smith, a transient, was found hanging under the
sidewalk on the waterfront, a probable suicide.
The Seattle Star reported that the fire started because
of a furnace explosion in the Theil Brothers‘ pool room
at about 2 a.m. By the next day, Mayor James Bremner
was convinced it was set by ‟firebugs,” and one woman
declared a lumberjack told her, shortly before the alarms
went off: ‟I have set fire to the old town. You will see
soon.”
‟Millions of dollars worth of cash, jewelry and other
valuables, lying in the ashes and debris here, were unmo-
lested last night and today,” The Seattle Star reported.
‟Soldiers, sailors, national guardsmen and special police-
men, all under orders to ‘shoot to kill’ any looters, have not
reported a single case of attempted theft.
“One man, with an automatic pistol in hand, has stood
guard over $1 million in gold and greenbacks ever since
the heat abated sufficiently to allow him to approach his
vault in the smoldering basement.”
Damage from the fire was estimated at $15 million
(about $226 million now), and 2,000 residents were left
homeless. On the bright side, other citizens took them all
in, and several stations were set up to serve hot meals.
The will to rebuild was there right from the start. ‟The
citizens are showing an unbounded and indomitable cour-
age,” The Seattle Star declared. “We’ve got no town left,
but we’ve still got the best harbor on the Pacific coast,”
Mayor Bremner declared. “We will start rebuilding at once
on the old site.” And so they did. (tinyurl.com/sstar1208,
(tinyurl.com/sstar1209, bit.ly/AstFire1922)
GROUNDED GREBES
ec. 13, 1813, during the War of 1812 between
America and England, is an important date to mark
in Astoria’s history. Here’s why:
In September, Capt. William Black, at the helm of the
British Royal Navy sloop HMS Racoon, commanded a
squadron of ships escorting one of the North West Co.‘s
fur-trading vessels to the Columbia River.
Black charged on ahead up the Columbia to “destroy,
and if possible, totally annihilate any settlements which
the Americans may have formed.” At the time the only
settlement around to annihilate was Fort Astoria, which
Black believed was owned by an American outfit, John
Jacob Astor‘s Pacific Fur Co.
Black’s first disappointment came after crossing the
Columbia River Bar — practically licking his chops in
anticipation of seizing the settlement for the crown —
when he first laid eyes on Fort Astoria. Fur trader Gabriel
Franchère reported the captain exclaimed, “What, is this
the fort I have heard so much of? Great God, I could batter
it down with a four-pounder in two hours!”
The second letdown came when Black was informed
his prize was no longer owned by an American company.
The Pacific Fur Co., knowing the British squadron was
on the way, and would probably seize the place, sold the
fort to a British Canadian company. There was nothing to
conquer.
On Dec. 13, the Racoon’s officers and the North West
Co. men officially claimed the fort and the surrounding
area for the British crown. Renamed Fort George, the
Union Jack flag was raised, and a bottle of wine broken on
the flagpole to seal the deal.
Disappointment wasn’t done with the good captain,
however. On the way out to sea, the Raccoon scraped her
bottom twice and lost a chunk of her keel. Not willing to
hang around, Capt. Black headed to San Francisco for
repairs.
Incidentally, that 12-foot section of keel washed up in
1973, and is displayed at the Columbia River Maritime
Museum in Astoria. (bit.ly/frtgeorg)
D
TSU, TOO
GO FOR THE SHOW
ike and Teale Adelmann have gone all out once
again with their Christmas Light Show at their
home, the D. K. Warren House, at 107 N.E.
Skipanon Drive in Warrenton. The display runs from 5 to
10 p.m. daily until Jan. 1. When you drive up, tune your
radio to 95.7 to get the full impact — Mike has synchro-
nized six different Christmas songs to the lights. A photo
from the light show is shown.
Local history buffs will likely know that the house,
built for Daniel Knight Warren in 1885 for $8,000 (about
$209,000 now), is on the National Register of Historic
Places (bit.ly/dkwarren). The site for the mansion was the
only area in the estate above flood tide at the time, so War-
ren hired 20 Chinese laborers to build the first dikes to
hold the water back, according to the NRHP application.
The Ear digresses. Back to the Adelmanns’ light show,
which is too good to miss. There’s a lit donation box close
by, and all net proceeds go to the Warrenton-Hammond
Healthy Kids Inc. So go for the show, and help kids, too.
M
MOOSE CABOOSE
note arrived saying the “Obon Society has a
YouTube video (bit.ly/obonpeace) that is being
watched around the world at the rate of about 3,000
people each day, which is not viral, but pretty darn impres-
sive for a local Astoria-based organization.”
Founded by Rex and Keiko Ziak in 2009, the Obon
Society is an international humanitarian organization
whose “goal is peace and reconciliation.” It helps Amer-
ican World War II veterans or their survivors return war
keepsakes — such as hinomaru yosegaki flags — to the
families of Japanese soldiers.
The flags, which were worn under a Japanese soldier’s
clothes, were signed by family members and friends, send-
ing him good wishes as he went off to war. Many wound
up being brought home by American soldiers.
Once a flag is turned in, the Obon Society’s scholars
try to find surviving family members of the Japanese sol-
dier who owned it. If they are found, the flag is returned
to them at no cost. If you have one of these flags, or some
other item to return, instructions on how to do so are at
obonsociety.org
The YouTube video mentioned above is about World
War II veteran Marvin Strobe, of Montana, who, after 73
years, with the Obon Society’s help, personally returned a
flag to a family in Japan. A screenshot of the touching pre-
sentation is shown, courtesy of the Obon Society.
As of Wednesday, the video had 615,163 views. Pretty
darn impressive, indeed.
A
n 2013, some striped beakfish (aka barred knifejaw),
native to Japan, were found swimming around inside
a fishing boat that got torn loose in the 2011 Japa-
nese tsunami and landed on the Long Beach, Washing-
ton, Peninsula.
Branded an invasive species, only one of the beakfish,
Tsu, was allowed to live, and was sent to the Seaside
Aquarium. Unfortunately, she died a few years ago.
Then in 2015, another striped beakfish was found in
a crab pot in Port Orford, and sent to the the Hatfield
Marine Science Center in Newport.
At the time, Sam Chan, an invasive species expert,
wondered if there were more. The answer is “yes.”
Since October, divers Nicholas Ta and Dennis Mar-
shall Lewis have spotted one several times while diving in
the Monterey Bay, California, area, The Mercury News
reports (tinyurl.com/bkfish). A screen shot from Ta’s video
is shown. Luckily, the fish are no longer considered an
invasive species.
“It’s just one guy,” Ta said. “He’s enjoying his time here
… he’s doing good.”
I
n AP story out of Alaska reports that an Anchorage
couple was literally rudely awakened in the middle
of the night by the doorbell.
Kyle Stultz went to the door and looked out, but didn’t
see anyone. He assumed it was kids playing a prank, but
checked his security camera video just to be sure.
What he saw was a huge moose who had been wander-
ing around by the front door, then backed up and planted
his “caboose” on the doorbell. A screen shot from his
video is shown.
Let’s just hope the North Coast elk don’t get wind of
this prank.
A
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to
1 p.m., Homespun Quilts &
Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knit-
ting, crochet or other needle-
work projects to this communi-
ty stitching time. All skill levels
welcome.
ning wheel. For information,
call 503-325-5598 or go to
astoriafiberarts.org
SUNDAY
Columbia Northwestern
Model Railroading Club —
1 p.m., in Hammond. Group
runs trains on HO-scale layout.
For information, call Don Carter
at 503-325-0757.
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 after
expenses help support local
and other charities.
Spinning Circle — 1 to 3 p.m.,
Astoria Fiber Arts Academy,
1296 Duane St. Bring a spin-
Cannon Beach American
Legion Women’s Auxiliary
Breakfast — 9 to 11:30 a.m.,
American Legion, 1216 S. Hem-
lock St., Cannon Beach.
Military Officers Association
of America, Lower Columbia
River Chapter — 5 p.m. Christ-
mas dinner, Astoria Golf and
Country Club, 33445 Sunset
Beach Road, Warrenton. All U.S.
military officers and former
officers; active duty, reserve,
retired or warrant officers are
invited, as well as U.S. Public
Health Service and and Nation-
al Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration officers. For
information, contact Capt. R.
Stevens at 503-861-9832.
Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m.,
Seaside American Legion, 1315
Broadway. For information, call
503-738-5111. No cost; sug-
gested $5 tip to the instructor.
MONDAY
Chair Exercises for Seniors —
9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For
information, call 503-325-3231.
Scandinavian Workshop
— 10 a.m., First Lutheran
Church, 725 33rd St. Needle-
work, hardanger, knitting,
crocheting, embroidery and
quilting. All are welcome. For
information, call 503-325-
1364 or 503-325-7960.
Grace and Encouragement
for Moms — 10 to 11:30 a.m.,
Crossroads Community
Church, 40618 Old Highway 30,
Svensen. GEMS group is a time
for moms to relax and enjoy
each others’ company. Free
childcare is provided. For infor-
mation, call Christina Leonard
at 503-298-3936.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Sug-
gested donation $3 for those
older than 60; $6.75 for those
younger than 60. For informa-
tion, call Suzanne Bjaranson 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
Program — noon, Warrenton
Community Center, 170 S.W.
Third St. Suggested donation
of $5 for seniors and $7 for
younger than 60. For informa-
tion, or to volunteer, call 503-
861-3502 Monday or Thursday.
See Notes, Page b4