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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANuARY 25, 2019
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
MOOSE WARS
M
other Nature News reports that an international
incident in the form of moose war is gather-
ing steam between Norway and Canada (bit.ly/
moosespat).
Mac the Moose, a 32-foot tall steel-framed con-
crete-coated statue in Moose Jaw (of course), Saskatch-
ewan, Canada, has reigned supreme as the world’s tallest
moose statue since 1984.
It turns out that Norway had the temerity to purpose-
fully dethrone Mac by erecting a handsome, 33-foot tall
sparkling stainless steel moose, Storelgen, alongside a
highway in 2015 … but the Moose Jawians didn’t realize it
until recently, apparently. They are incensed. And insulted.
Accordingly, Justin Reeves set up a GoFund me
account to raise $50,000 to give Mac a “height adjust-
ment” to overcome the Norwegians’ “grievous offense” at
bit.ly/macmoose. A screen shot from his video with Greg
Moore is shown. The offending Norwegian moose is inset.
“There are some things you just don’t do to Canadians,”
the Moose Jaw mayor declared. “You don’t water down
their beer, you don’t tell them they can’t put maple syrup on
their pancakes, and you don’t mess with Mac the Moose.”
DOUBLE DATE
L
ast Friday, the following announcement was sup-
posed to appear in The Daily Astorian: “Jim and
Cherie Bernard of Warrenton recently celebrated
their 70th anniversary on Maui, Hawaii, compliments
of their children. The couple were married Jan. 1, 1949,
and have four children, Kris, Kim, Brad and Barbara, 14
grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great
grandchild.”
Well, it did run, but there was a glitch and it only
appeared online. Jim wrote in over the weekend, relieved
that it wasn’t in print, because technically, it’s not factually
correct. Here’s why:
“Here is the ‘Rest of the Story.’ In late December 1948,
I bought a Keepsake diamond ring for $75, and on Jan. 1,
1949, proposed to Cherie,” he recalled.
“I was still in the Merchant Marines. I left for sea, and
it wasn’t until June of 1949, when I returned from my trip,
that we could actually get married. My parents were mar-
ried on Jan. 1, and since our commitment to each other was
also Jan. 1, we’ve got 70 years celebrated on Jan 1.”
Happy anniversary!
WHAT’S THE HURRY?
F
oolish or not, some things one just takes for granted.
For instance, many assume the North Pole politely
stays put. Well, it doesn’t. It’s always been moving,
but now it’s been heading towards Siberia at a rate of 34
miles a year for the last few years, which is causing navi-
gational concerns, the UK Express reports.
With the pole moving much faster than expected, the
World Magnetic Model (based on the North Pole loca-
tion), which is used for GPS worldwide, urgently needs to
be updated now by global geomagnetism experts, instead
of waiting until 2020 as planned. Precision is vital for
GPS, and “Nature” reports that the current location refer-
ence almost exceeds “the acceptable (safe) limit for navi-
gational errors.”
You might want to keep an eye on your compass,
though. (bit.ly/polemove)
RUNAWAY SEAL
319 AND COUNTING
S
aturday is the 319th anniversary of the Jan. 26,
1700 megathrust 9-plus earthquake on the Casca-
dia Subduction Zone that devastated the coasts of
Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The subduc-
tion zone ruptured along its full length of over 600 miles,
and the shaking lasted for several minutes, causing coastal
land to suddenly drop and become flooded with seawater.
The Native Americans who lived through the cat-
astrophic event preserved the memory — and tried to
explain what happened — by creating a colorful oral
history.
In Washington, the Quileute and the Hoh describe a
horrific battle between Thunderbird and Whale; the moun-
tains shook, and the ocean rose and covered the land. On
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Nuu-chah-nulth
people tell of a dancer who accidentally kicked a drum and
got “earthquake-foot,” so every step caused an earthquake.
Nine or 10 hours after the shaking stopped on the West
Coast, a tidal wave hit Japan, and observers there were
puzzled by the “orphan tsunami.” The wave didn’t seem
to have any local cause, and no one could figure out where
it came from. Nonetheless, the time, date and details were
fastidiously recorded in several municipalities. It took 300
years for scientists and historians in the U.S. and Japan
to connect the 1700 orphan tsunami with the catastrophic
event on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Remnants of the disaster are still visible on the North
Coast to this day. One example is the Neskowin Ghost
Forest. The trees, 150 to 200 feet tall, disappeared when
the land suddenly dropped, and they were covered with
debris. Stumps, more than 2,000 years old, according to
carbon dating, appeared occasionally on the beach over
the years, then re-emerged for good during the winter of
1997-1998.
So when will the next Cascadia “big one” hit? The Ore-
gon Office of Emergency Management estimates there is a
40 percent chance that a megathrust earthquake of 9.0-plus
magnitude will occur in the next 50 years. Are you ready?
(tinyurl.com/twave1700,
tinyurl.com/quaketales,
tinyurl.com/bkwave1700,
bit.ly/ghosttrees,
bit.ly/
quakeguess)
TALK OF THE TOWN
W
e responded to a Guadalupe fur seal today
who decided haul out for some rest,” the Sea-
side Aquarium posted on its Facebook page on
Saturday. “This animal was first seen on Monday, Jan. 7,
entangled in rope near Ocean Shores, Washington. Luck-
ily, Washington police officers were able to cut the fur seal
free and the fur seal happily took off back to the ocean.”
But it wasn’t a walk in the park, as the feisty seal gave
the officers quite a tussle. You can watch the video here:
bit.ly/undoseal.
Happily, “the three-foot juvenile fur seal, is headed
south and looks to be fat and healthy (minus some superfi-
cial wounds from the rope that appear to be healing). Good
luck little buddy!”
Now another fur seal has popped in, and he needs a
happy ending, too. “We are on the lookout for a runaway
fur seal,” the aquarium posted on Wednesday. “This morn-
ing we responded to this fur seal (inset) with rope around
its neck on the south end of Seaside beach. We were hop-
ing to capture the little guy and remove the rope.” Both
seals are pictured, courtesy of Tiffany Boothe/Seaside
Aquarium.
“Unfortunately, he was quite spry and swam away as
soon as we approached. If you seem him, please give us a
call at 503-738-6211. We would really like to help the lit-
tle guy out.”
LATE SKATE
A
nother tidbit from the Seaside Aquarium: “Friday
afternoon we got a call about a large skate which
washed ashore at the Cove ... we were able to deter-
mine that the four-foot skate was a female longnose skate
(Raja rhina), which had been very close to laying an egg
casing (often referred to as a mermaid’s purse).” The skate
is pictured, courtesy of TiffanyBoothe/SeasideAquarium.
“Longnose skates can reach a maximum size of 4.5 feet
and can live for up to 20-plus years. They are bottom feed-
ers, which have adapted a unique way of capturing prey by
pouncing on top of their victims and pinning them to the
ocean floor.”
‘CLEAN, PURE ENERGY’
F
rom the Sunday Jan. 25, 1885 edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian:
• E. C. Holden sold the wreck of the Dewa Gun-
gadhur to Martin Foard at public auction, yesterday, for
$16 (about $414 now).
Note: The British iron bark ran aground on Jan. 19,
1885 on Shoalwater Bay. Capt. John Gattersby said the
vessel was done in by a dense fog and strong current, and
she was likely a total loss. (bit.ly/gungadhur)
Martin Foard was a prominent Astoria businessman
who, with his partner, Frank Stokes, founded Foard and
Stokes Groceries, one of Astoria’s leading businesses. He
seemed to have a soft spot for salvaging wrecks. (bit.ly/
mfoard)
• It is said that as soon as Capt. Scott’s new boat, the
Telephone, is put on the route, the fare between here and
Portland will be reduced.
Note: Capt. Uriah Bonsor Scott‘s Telephone (pic-
tured, inset), whose maiden voyage was March 1, 1885,
set the speed record for the Portland/Astoria route. It was
also one of the first vessels to have a bucket-design stern-
wheel, which increased speed and saved on fuel. (tinyurl.
com/scott-tele)
• The New Northwest publishes opinions from various
authoritative sources which sustain the belief that under
the constitution, the legislature of this state has the right to
grant woman suffrage.
Note: Maybe so, but woman suffrage wasn’t actually
voter approved (by 52 percent) until November 1912 in
Oregon. (bit.ly/galsvote)
S
ailCargo Inc. (sailcargo.org) is taking “green” ocean
shipping seriously. The keel of their 148-foot three-
masted sailing cargo vessel, Ceiba, is taking shape
in Costa Rica at their “eco-shipyard,” built from storm-
fallen trees uprooted by a hurricane. And, the company is
undertaking a reforestation project, planting trees regularly
to offset those used to build the ship, which is expected to
take three or four years. An illustration of how the Ceiba
will look is shown, courtesy of SailCargo.
When finished, the vessel can carry a cargo of 250 tons
of “organic, sustainable products,” and will essentially be
powered by sails, but with auxiliary power provided by a
100 percent electric engine that runs on solar batteries and
panels and wind turbines, as the company says, “100 per-
cent renewably sourced.” Even the propeller is designed
to convert kinetic energy into storable electric energy.
They’re certainly on the right path to live up to one of the
quotes on their website: “Clean, pure energy. That’s sail
cargo.”
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Coins and Coffee “Show
and Tell” — 9:30 to 11 a.m.,
Coast Gallery and Numis-
matic, 3350 Highway 101 N.,
Suite D, Gearhart. For those
interested in coin and bul-
lion collecting. For informa-
tion, call 503-739-7575.
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 Northwest-
ern Model Railroading
Club — 1 p.m., in Ham-
mond. Group runs trains on
HO-scale layout. For infor-
mation, call Don Carter at
503-325-0757.
Spinning Circle — 1 to
3 p.m., Astoria Fiber Arts
Studio, 1296 Duane St.
Bring a spinning wheel. For
information, call 503-325-
5598 or go to astoriafiber-
arts.org
Karaoke — 7 to 8 p.m.,
Seaside Lodge and Inter-
national Hostel, 930 N. Hol-
laday Drive, Seaside. Free
session, all ages, for those
who love to sing kara-
oke. Refreshments served.
For
information,
call
503-738-7911.
SUNDAY
Seniors
Breakfast
— 9 a.m. to noon, Asto-
ria 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.
National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI)
Support Group — 2 to
3:30 p.m., Seaside Pub-
lic Library, 1131 Broad-
way. Family to Family Sup-
port Group, for anyone
with friend or loved one
suffering from a serious
brain (mental) illness. For
information, contact Myra
Kero at 503-738-6165, or
k7erowood@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.
See Notes, Page B4