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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANuARY 18, 2019
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
LET THERE BE LIGHT
BLOOD MOON RISING
A
re you ready for a Super Blood Moon total lunar
eclipse to start at 7:33 p.m. Sunday night? (A mon-
tage of a total lunar eclipse is shown courtesy of
Keith Burns/NASA/JPL). Just in case, you might want
to brush up on a few lunar superstitions for the occasion,
thanks to Farmer’s Almanac. Here are a few highlights:
Tibetan Buddhists believe that both good and bad acts
are multiplied tenfold during the eclipse, so you might
want to behave nicely. They might be right.
In India, avoiding cooking, eating and drinking is high
on the agenda during eclipses, as you might get indigestion.
Maybe you should stash that seafood platter till it’s over.
Incan civilizations believed that a Blood Moon was
caused by a mythological jaguar trying to devour it, so
they made lots of noise, even getting their dogs in on the
racket, to scare off the jaguar. Some people make lots of
noise during an eclipse to this day, probably just because
they can.
If you get the chance, and if the sky will let you, try to
see this celestial event. After all, the next total lunar eclipse
isn’t until May 26, 2021. (bit.ly/20moon, bit.ly/FAlunar)
A BETTER LIFE
A
ron Moxley (left) lives in Portland now, but many
years ago he was a Vietnamese child refugee who
was brought to this country, and wound up being
raised in Astoria.
“I graduated from Astoria High in 1992,” Aron recalled.
“I was freshman class president, student body vice presi-
dent and class clown.” He even wrote a song about his
home town, “Astoria,” when he was lead singer of The
Slants (bit.ly/aronastoria).
Recently he had an encounter with someone who
reminded him of his beginnings in Vietnam. “This regu-
lar named John Barnes (right) has been coming into my
work for years,” Aron posted on his Facebook page. “I told
him I was going to Vietnam next week with my girlfriend,
Ali Marie. He told me he was over there during the fall of
Saigon (in 1975) and helped orphan babies get on evacua-
tion planes and helicopters as a Marine.
“I told him I was one of those babies. He looked at me,
his eyes started to well up, and said he might have held me
in his arms during the rescue mission (Operation Baby-
lift). We talked for a while, and I thanked him dearly for
his service and kindness. At the end he told me he’ll sleep
better tonight, now that he’s seen that what was a small
innocent baby is now all grown up, with a better life in
America. What an amazing man you are, John. And thank
you again for your service! No longer an orphan, Aron
#thankyouservicemenandwomen”
GIVING AN ACCOUNT
I
n the winter doldrums, reading is a good pastime, so
why not get a history fix and read Washington Irving’s
“Astoria, Or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the
Rocky Mountains,” originally published in 1836 (tinyurl.
com/IrvingAstor)?
Astoria’s founder, John Jacob Astor, regaled his writer
friend with tales of expanding his fur trading business to
the West Coast. “(Astor) expressed a regret that the true
nature and extent of his enterprise and its national char-
acter and importance had never been understood,” Irving
wrote in the introduction, “and a wish that I would under-
take to give an account of it.” And so he did.
onday marks the 138th anniversary of the offi-
cial completion — at a cost of $123,493 (more
than $3 million now) — of the Tillamook Rock
Lighthouse, aka Terrible Tilly.
Getting to that point was no easy feat. The basalt rock,
about 100 feet high, and 1.2 miles out at sea, wasn’t
exactly welcoming to visitors. With no way to land except
to jump from a small boat to the rock, lighthouse builder
John R. Trewavas, who was tasked with surveying the
rock, slipped and was washed out to sea before he could
even get started.
In June 1879, after several previous attempts failed,
construction superintendent John R. Wheeler managed to
get onto the rock to do the survey. Because of the difficulty
landing, all he could bring was his measuring tape.
After Trewavas’ death, locals weren’t clamoring to
work on Tillamook Rock, so the construction supervi-
sor, Charles A. Ballantyne, had to hire an out-of-town
crew. He sequestered them in Washington before the work
started so they wouldn’t hear local gossip.
Finally, construction began in October 1879. Ballan-
tyne landed men and gear by using a rope pulley between
the top of the rock and a ship’s mast. The crew lived in
wooden shacks on the slopes of the rock, enduring bitter
winter weather, even being stranded once.
It took until May 1880 to blast off the top 30 feet of
the rock to form a level surface. In June, massive derricks
were built to bring up the basalt blocks from a Portland
quarry (for the walls of the lighthouse), along with equip-
ment and supplies, and even the Fresnel lens.
On Jan. 3, 1881, while the lighthouse was still under
construction, the Lupatia ran aground on Tillamook Head,
killing everyone aboard except the crew’s dog. The disas-
ter reinforced the need for a lighthouse, and the crew has-
tened complete the construction in three weeks to prevent
a repeat of Lupatia’s tragic fate.
On Jan. 21, 1881, Tillamook Lighthouse’s beacon
shined for the first time. Seventy-seven years later Tilly’s
job was done, and on Sept. 1, 1957, the light went out. (bit.
ly/nrhptilly, bit.ly/oetilly)
M
LOCAL BREVITIES
THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT
T
he Oregon Lottery has succumbed to the “there’s
an app for that” fever, and has launched a mobile
app called, of course, “Oregon Lottery” that is
available to download for both Apple and android devices.
Three screen shots are shown.
No, you can’t gamble using the app, but it does have a
scanner, so you can see if you’re holding a winning ticket,
and there’s also a helpful FAQ section that covers taxes on
lottery winners, plus information on annuity payments and
much more.
A fun addition is the Winners’ Stories section, and the
Games section lists all of the different types of games
available to flex your wallet on. Don’t worry, if you find
yourself getting carried away, there are also links to the
Oregon Problem Gambling Resource and GamTalk.
TRAPPING BIGFOOT
D
id you know there is a Bigfoot trap in Oregon?
Seriously, there is. It’s near Jacksonville, which is
about 5 miles west of Medford. Specifically, it’s in
the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, on the Collings
Mountain Trail No. 943 near the Hart-Tish Park entrance,
about 3/4 of a mile in.
The 10-by-10-foot square, made of wood with metal
bands, was originally built in 1974 by the North Amer-
ican Wildlife Research Team (now disbanded) after a
local miner saw 18-inch footprints in the area. The team
diligently baited the trap with animal carcasses for six
years, but all they ever caught was a befuddled hunter —
which is probably why the trap was locked open in 1980
as a safety measure.
In 2006, the U.S. Forest Service repaired the bedrag-
gled wooden contrivance, and it still stands. As far as any-
one knows, it’s the only Bigfoot trap in the U.S. (bit.ly/
quatchtrap).
A HANDSOME FELLOW
F
rom the Friday, Jan. 18, 1889, edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian:
• A post office has been established at Colum-
biaville, Columbia County, and John A. Walsh appointed
post master. Note: Inquiries have been sent out about the
mysterious Columbiaville.
• A great raft of logs, about 8 million (feet) is to be
built somewhere on the coast of Washington territory, to
be towed to Valparaiso (Chile) to be sawed. This exper-
iment will be watched with interest. Note: Probably not.
It appears that 5-million-foot log rafts didn’t exist until
the late 1890s in Washington state. In Oregon, it wasn’t
until 1906 that Portland timber magnate Simon Benson
designed and developed an ocean-worthy raft that could
transport 4 to 6 million logs at a time. By the way, his rafts
were assembled in Wallace Slough, near Clatskanie. (bit.
ly/stellalogs, bit.ly/8mlogs)
• The rainfall in Astoria by months for 1888 was as
follows; Jan. 13.84 inches, Feb. 4.12, March 6.64, April
4.04, May .79, June 7.23, July 1.25. Aug. .74, Sept. 2.32,
Oct. 7.45, Nov. 10.45, Dec. 9.86. Total for the year, 68.73
inches. Note: Current average annual rainfall: 67.2 inches,
1.53 inches less. (bit.ly/astorain)
• J. C. Ward has returned from Juneau, Alaska, for two
months’ sojourn before going back. He has some excel-
lent mining claims, and reports considerable of a boom in
mining matters in that part of the territory. Note: He was
way ahead of the game; the Yukon Gold Rushes were from
1897 to 1904. (bit.ly/auhills)
• Katie Putnam: Next Monday and Tuesday at Ross’
opera house, this charming little actress will present her
highly successful sensational drama “Erma the Elf.”
Note: At the time, Putnam (pictured inset) was a very pop-
ular and well-known stage actress and comedienne.
S
peaking of Bigfoot … North Carolina drivers have
been reporting a rash of Bigfoot sightings to animal
control, according to an AP story, and for a while,
everyone was wondering what was going on.
It turned out that what the motorists were actually see-
ing was an 8-foot carved wooden statue of a Sasquatch that
stands on private property, but is visible from the roadside.
In response to the influx of calls, the Davie County Ani-
mal Shelter in Mocksville felt compelled to post the photo
shown, and the following caveat, on its Facebook page
(bit.ly/mockquatch):
“This handsome fellow stands on Pine Ridge Road in
Mocksville. If you are traveling this road at night, please
be advised that the eyes appear to glow. If you see this
phenomenon, you do not need to call animal control to
report seeing Bigfoot, Sasquatch or any other large crea-
ture. Thank you.”
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to
1 p.m., Homespun Quilts &
Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knit-
ting, crochet or other nee-
dlework projects to this com-
munity stitching time. All skill
levels welcome.
Columbia Northwestern
Model Railroading Club —
1 p.m., in Hammond. Group
runs trains on HO-scale layout.
For information, call Don Car-
ter at 503-325-0757.
Spinning Circle — 1 to
3 p.m., Astoria Fiber Arts Stu-
dio, 1296 Duane St. Bring a
spinning wheel. For informa-
tion, call 503-325-5598 or go
to astoriafiberarts.org
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. Pro-
ceeds after expenses help sup-
port local and other charities.
Cannon Beach American
Legion Women’s Auxiliary
Breakfast — 9 to 11:30 a.m.,
American Legion, 1216 S.
Hemlock St., Cannon Beach.
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 information,
call 503-325-3231.
Grace and Encourage-
ment for Moms — 10 to
11:30 a.m., Crossroads Com-
munity Church, 40618 Old
Highway 30, Svensen. GEMS
group is a time for moms to
relax and enjoy each oth-
ers’ company. Free child-
care is provided. For informa-
tion, 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
See Notes, Page B4