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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2019)
B1 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, ApRIL 26, 2019 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (503) 325-3211 ext. 257 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON TALES OF THE TOWN ‘A TRYING TIME’ A nother Titanic tidbit is going up for auction on Saturday at Henry Aldridge & Son in England. This little gem is a letter written on board the Titanic and mailed before the ship sank (bit.ly/geddeltr). Richard Geddes, a steward on the ill-fated ship, wrote the letter to his wife, describing a disturbing almost-im- pact with another ship. A portion of the letter is pictured, courtesy of Henry Aldridge & Son. “… We got away yesterday after a lot of trouble. As we were passing the New York and Oceanic, the New York broke her ropes and very nearly ran into us, but we just happened to avoid a collision. … It must have been a try- ing time for the Captain.” Unfortunately, Geddes was not as fortunate when the Titanic sideswiped an iceberg, and he was presumed drowned. The auction lot, which includes his letter, the envelope and his “Death of a Seaman” certificate, is expected to fetch $15,000 to $23,000. ALL OF A SUDDEN … N ews snippets from the Sunday, April 26, 1885 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian: • The 75-pound salmon is a little behind time this year. He was due last Thursday. Note: To give you an idea of the size, Jalmar Wil- son of Uniontown was photographed (inset) holding up an 82.5 pound chinook salmon he caught while gillnet- ting in 1936. • Carnahan & Co. are agents for the sale of J. C. Trul- linger‘s patent Duplex axe. This axe is something that “sells itself,” for any man who uses an axe would not part with a Duplex after chopping with it an hour. Note: “No scandal touched the life of J. C. Trullinger,” notes Ralph Friedman in “Tracking Down Oregon” (bit. ly/tullinger). He was the operator of Astoria’s first elec- tric plant, and also had seven patented inventions, includ- ing the duplex axe. • … E. C. Holden will sell at public auction, under a decree of foreclosure … (land in) Adair’s Astoria, together with the wharves, buildings and tenements thereto belong- ing. The property is known as the Adair cannery, and the judgement against it is for $26,169 (about $686,000 now) and costs. Note: It’s hard to say which cannery this was. In 1874 S. D. and John Adair Jr. built a cannery in Astoria, the second one built here. It was later renamed A. Booth & Co.; S. D. eventually sold his half.When he sold his Fraser River cannery, S. D. bought one on the Colum- bia River, and S. D. Adair & Co. was formed. In 1881, he partnered with William B. Adair, continuing as S. D. Adair & Co. (bit.ly/sdadair) • Tomorrow will be the 63rd anniversary of Gen. (Ulysses S.) Grant’s birthday. Note: Grant was no stranger to Astoria. He visited merchant Adam Van Dusen’s (1823-1884) Uppertown store in the 1850s, way before The Late Unpleasantness (aka the Civil War). Grant died in July 1885. (old300.org/ ahistory.html, bit.ly/USGvandusen, bit.ly/USGrant) B etter late than never: The Ear just happened on this little tidbit about some folks on a fishing trip on the Newport Tradewinds excursion boat Sea Venture I who got the stuffing scared out of them in late March. Just as a customer was about to reel in a ling cod, “all of a sudden, a big mouth comes up and grabs it,” boat captain Richard Hall told BeachConnection.net (bit.ly/ sharkthief). That big mouth was attached to a great white shark. “We’ve seen quite a few sharks out here around 5 or 6 feet,” the captain explained, “… (but) it was about 12 to 14 feet. It was the biggest I’ve seen in the 20 years I’ve been out here.” He guesstimated it weighed about 1,000 pounds. Unfortunately, in the battle for the cod, the hook got caught in the shark’s snout, so the fisherman wound up doing battle with the beast. Finally, the line broke. Hall took the photo shown, just before the shark disappeared. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Also on the bright side, the fisherman will have a whopper of a “the one that got away” fish story to tell. Cue the “Jaws” theme. X MARKS THE SPOT ‘D eidra and I were asked by vlogger Mike Cowling if we’d like to participate in his Cowlazars Grand Adventure Forrest Fenn coin hunts,” Deirdra’s husband, Dustin White, wrote. “We enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity.” Cowling and Kris Thor talk about treasure hunts around the country on their vlog, but their primary focus is on ‘The Thrill of the Chase’ treasure hunt by Forrest Fenn, which is where the prized collectible coins come from. The Whites centered their treasure hunt theme around “The Goonies.” The vloggers liked the Whites’ idea so much, they decided the prize would include two Forrest Fenn coins instead of just one. The coins vary in value, but White says these two were worth around $1,000. Treasure seekers got their clues from snippets of a poem — released a few lines at a time — that gradually narrowed down the theme and location of the treasure. The hints, and their explanations, are at bit.ly/GoonFenn The treasure could have been anywhere in the coun- try; people were looking in Florida, and anyplace that was known for pirate tales, Dustin noted, until they caught on to the Goonies theme. Naturally, the hiding spot was in Astoria’s back yard. Lisa Kristine and Wayne Patterson of Forest Grove found the prize in Shively Park on April 20. Treasure-hunt- ing Goonies never say die. A ‘BOSS’ FLOOR A lso from the Sunday, April 26, 1885 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian: • There will be skating at Ross’ Opera House next Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings. All who have tried it say the floor is “the boss.” Note: Believe it or not, roller skating was hugely popu- lar in the 1880s (http://bit.ly/skateross). But where was Ross Opera House? A photo is shown, courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society. (Enlargement at bit.ly/wixross) “The building in the middle of the square area (red arrow) is the old post office that was built in 1868 on the same spot where it is now,” Liisa Penner, archivist at CCHS, noted. “The courthouse is a small wooden building that is on the southwest corner of Eighth and Commercial streets (Benton and Squemoqua then). The courthouse was replaced by the present structure in 1908.” “The Ross Opera House was built by Job Ross’ sons, first as a skating rink, and then enlarged for a place for per- formances,” she added. “It was a large building that later burned. “Job Ross was a pioneer of the 1850s who lost every- thing while trying to make it west. They spent the win- ter readying to leave again, and made it across the plains to Astoria. Their house still stands at the southeast corner of Eighth and Exchange streets. A son’s house was next door. “As a result of their hard work,” Liisa added, “they managed to thrive.” Inside Art show this month benefits wildlife center, Page B2 Students compete with remotely operated vehicles, Page B3 Community notes, Page B4 POOPED PUP T his week, the Seaside Aquarium responded to a fur seal hauled out on the beach just south of the Oysterville, Washington, approach. “The pup was only about 7 to 10 pounds, cold, dehy- drated and out of its range,” the aquarium reported on its Facebook page. “The male pup was easily captured, and is being trans- ferred to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Cali- fornia, for rehab and eventual release.” A photo of the rescued pup is shown, courtesy of Sea- side Aquarium. “Guadalupe fur seals are considered threatened, with an estimated population of only 34,000 individuals,” the post explained. “… Unlike the pinnipeds that inhabit the coastlines of Oregon and Washington, fur seals do not have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm. They are equipped with a thick layer of fine fur which prevents heat loss, and by trapping air gives them buoyancy.” ‘IT JUST HAS TO GET DONE’ H ere we go again. Sean Astin talked recently about the possibility of a sequel to “The Goonies” in a recent interview with Collider.com (bit.ly/ ColliderSA). “Well, for 20 years my answer to that question was an unequivocal answer: ‘Yes, there will be a proper sequel — it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,’” he said. “Just certainty.” “Well, that’s gone,” he added, laughing. “Now I think we’ve probably passed the threshold for which all of us original cast members are right for doing a sequel.” He is pictured, courtesy of Collider.com “… I think (producer Steven) Spielberg has been wait- ing for whatever that magical mystical secret sauce is, and he just hasn’t found it yet. … And he’s so busy, I don’t know if he could do it himself. And you know, (director) Dick Donner wants it ...” But if a movie doesn’t come to be, “I’ve always said it should be a cartoon, like a Saturday morning cartoon,” Astin noted. On the other hand … “You know, nothing is this beloved and this in demand for such a long period of time and not getting done,” he observed. “It just has to get done. It has to.” No matter what, Astin is game. He’s just waiting for that phone call. THE AFTERMATH O n April 18, 107 years ago, the Carpathia docked in New York with 705 Titanic survivors aboard. One of them was Madeleine Astor, the pregnant young bride (and second wife) of Col. John Jacob “Jack” Astor IV (inset), great-grandson of Astoria’s namesake. He went down with the ship. Astor left her the annual income from a trust fund of $5 million ($131 million now) and several other perks, plus an annual payment of $500,000 (about $13 million now) until she remarried. A fund of $3 million was left for his unborn child, John Jacob “Jakey” Astor VI, who was born Aug. 14, but wouldn’t inherit until he was 21. Made- leine married twice more, had two more sons, and died at 46 in 1940. Vincent Astor, Jakey’s older half-brother, loathed Jakey and his playboy lifestyle, and didn’t consider him an Astor. As a result, he left Jakey nothing of their father’s enormous estate when he died in 1959. Jakey sued, but settled for $250,000 (about $2.1 million now). He mar- ried four times, and had a son and a daughter. Jakey died in 1992 at the age of 79, and was buried with his parents. (bit.ly/madjakey1, bit.ly/madjakey2)
