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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 23, 2019
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
WORTH A THOUSAND
CHARACTER TIMES TWO
T
he Mount St. Helens volcano erupted 39 years ago,
on May 18, 1980, blanketing Astoria in a snow storm
of ash.
In 2014, The Columbian of Vancouver, Washington,
ran a story about the discovery of a roll of film of aerial
shots taken of the smoldering crater about five weeks
before the eruption by one of ihe paper’s photographers,
Reid Blackburn (tinyurl.com/volcanofilm). He is shown,
inset, along with the contact sheet from the roll, courtesy
of The Columbian.
Sadly, the photographer was killed while sitting in his
car, in the blast zone, when the volcano erupted. His cam-
era was later found, but his film of the event had been
destroyed.
The roll of unprocessed film taken in April had been set
aside in a storage box, but there was no way to know until
it was developed if the film was usable. “I was astonished
to see how well the film showed up,” the paper’s film edi-
tor at the time, Troy Wayrynen, said.
The film likely would not have been found at all if a
photo editor working on a geology book hadn’t contacted
the paper wanting a photo of a logjam taken the day of the
eruption. While searching for the requested image, a photo
assistant found a paper bag containing some of Black-
burn’s negatives and the roll of film.
When she saw the cannister, the assistant thought:
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we found what was on it?” Yes,
indeed.
CALL IT A DAY
W
ell, since it’s a holiday weekend, it seemed like a
good idea to see what else we ought to be celebrate,
according to NationalDayCalendar.com
The Friday before Memorial Day offers several options
to consider. First there’s National Road Trip Day, which
is self-explanatory, but puzzling, since it’s hardly a good
time to be out in traffic. And, it’s National Cooler Day
(seems obvious), and National Don’t Fry Day (no, not
burgers and ribs; don’t fry yourself in the sun).
For those with a more esoteric take on celebrating, Fri-
day is also National Scavenger Hunt Day, and National
Escargot Day (not for the squeamish, but pass the garlic
butter, and don’t forget the snail tongs). Enjoy!
THE SOUND OF GOONIE
G
T
he Friday, May 23, 1890 edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian included mention of two inter-
esting historical characters of the time:
• Miss Flora Batson (1864-1906), the leading black
prima donna in the world, will sing at Ross’ opera
house June 13 and 14.
Note: An international star, in her heyday she per-
formed for Queen Victoria of England, Pope Leo XIII
and Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii. Known as the
“Double-Voiced Queen of Song,” she had a three-oc-
tave range — from baritone to high soprano — and
sang everything from operatic arias to ballads. (bit.ly/
FloraBBook, bit.ly/MissFloraB)
• George Francis Train (1829-1924) … expects to
reach Tacoma, Washington, at 7:30 tomorrow evening,
making the fastest trip on record around the world in
65 days.
Note: Train, an eccentric businessman and one-
time presidential candidate, was the epitome of
newsworthy.
In 1871, he went around the world in a reputed
80 days, with some bizarre and lengthy side-trips.
The Phileas Fogg character in Jules Verne‘s novel,
“Around the World in 80 Days,” written that same
year, was based on Train’s escapades. The adventurer
was not amused, saying Verne’s character, “stole my
thunder.”
In 1890, reporter Nelly Bly decided to beat his
record, and made the trip in 72 days (her book: bit.ly/
NBWorld), and Train was furious.
Not to be outdone, also in 1890, he made a second
trip around the world, the one mentioned in the Asto-
rian clipping. This time he dashed around the globe in
67 days.
He gave it one more shot two years later, when the
city of Whatcom, Washington, sponsored the trip to
publicize the city. He beat his own record again, and
made the trip in 60 days.
Quirky to the end, he donated his skull and
brain to the American Institute of Phrenology (a dis-
credited pseudoscience linking bumps on the noggin
to character and personality).(bit.ly/GeoFTrain, bit.ly/
GFTbrain)
HOMESTEADER MYSTERY
oonies fans, loosen your wallets: Varèse Sarabande
Records (bit.ly/goonCD) is putting “The Goonies”
soundtrack — 71 minutes of David Grusin’s original
score — out for wide release on June 21.
The CD, which has 30 tracks, does not include Cyndi
Lauper‘s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.” But that’s
OK, you can see the video of it here: bit.ly/CLgoon
Can’t wait? Want to preorder on Amazon.com? Go
to bit.ly/gooncd. Of note: The last time the soundtrack
was put out — in limited release in 2010 — it sold out
immediately.
MEMORIAL DAY TIDBITS
J
ust because it’s Memorial Day on Monday, here are a
few tidbits to ponder:
The tune “Taps” came about when Union Gen. Dan
Butterfield (inset) took a dislike to the regular “lights out”
call, so with the help of a bugler, took it upon himself to
change the tune.
The first time it was used at a military funeral was during
the Civil War, while near enemy lines, to replace the stan-
dard gun volleys — which would surely have attracted the
wrong kind of attention. It’s use quickly spread for such
solemn occasions.
“In Flanders Fields” a very grim World War I poem by
John McCrea, was the inspiration for those cheerful-look-
ing red Buddy Poppies, assembled by disabled veterans,
that you see so many wearing on Memorial Day. The Vet-
erans of Foreign Wars rely on poppy sales to continue
their work helping veterans.
As you might recall, Memorial Day was originally
started to honor the dead on both sides after the Civil War.
Even so, to this day, there is still a Confederate Memorial
Day, set aside to specifically honor the Confederate dead.
Seven states — Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mis-
sissippi and North and South Carolina — still celebrate it,
but contentious as ever, on different dates. (bit.ly/vfwpop,
bit.ly/confedday, bit.ly/memotidbits, bit.ly/buttertaps)
BOTTLE BABY
TO THE RESCUE
‘I
ast week, troopers out of the St. Helens worksite
stopped a vehicle for speeding on Highway 30,” the
Oregon State Police posted Monday on their Facebook
page. “The driver had found an injured owl on the side of
the road and was trying to get it to a rescue center for care,
but wasn’t going to make it before they closed.” The owl
is pictured, courtesy of OSP.
“The troopers, after explaining that in the future the
driver should have called OSP was able to make arrange-
ments with the Wildlife Center of the North Coast
(coastwildlife.org) to drop of the little guy for treatment.”
By the way, Josh Saranpaa, executive director of the
WCNC, says the young barred owl is “doing great!”
So remember: If you come across injured wildlife in
your travels, aside from calling the WCNC at 503-338-
0331, another option is to dial *OSP on your cell phone to
ask for assistance.
‘L
’m a German from the city of Berlin who is search-
ing for traces of an ancestor, Carl Nebe (pictured),
who left his home country more than 125 years ago,”
Raimo Riedel wrote. “He arrived in the New World
(Ellis Island) in the year of 1893. He was of German
descent, and born in 1864. He was the great-uncle of my
grandmother, and a ship-carpenter by profession.”
Nebe apparently started in the Pacific Northwest,
then lived in Dawson City, Canada, from 1897 to 1920,
where he was digging for gold. He moved back to the
Pacific Coast to work as a carpenter in the early 1920s,
according to letters sent from Tacoma and Aberdeen,
Washington. But where was he from 1893 to 1897?
“The reason why I contact you is an article in your
newspaper dated from Dec. 18, 1895 (saying he) applied
for (Astoria) land under the Homestead Law,” he
explained. Could it be found? The date fit Nebe’s time-
line and preferred area, the Pacific Coast.
The story in question was, indeed, in The Daily
Morning Astorian archives. A Carl Nebe did file
for a plot in the “southeast quarter of section 11” in
Astoria. Mr. Reidel is certain that it refers to his fam-
ily member, but that is all we know about his stay in
Astoria.
Unfortunately, Mr. Nebe disappeared on March 2,
1923, at the age of 59, while working as a port dredge
carpenter at the Port of Grays Harbor, Washington.
His body was found April 6, face down on a sand bar
west of Hoquiam. It was thought he fell in the river and
drowned crossing boom sticks from a lumber mill on his
way to work.
The only survivors mentioned were family mem-
bers in Germany. He is buried at Fern Hill Cemetery in
Aberdeen.
Does anyone know anything about Carl Nebe, or his
sojourn in Astoria? If you have any information at all,
please contact the Ear at 971-704-1718 or ewilson@dai-
lyastorian.com. It is important to his family.
o here he is!” Dawn Carr of Clatskanie wrote, refer-
ring to the little bull calf pictured in her Facebook
post on Sunday. “He has a neat story.”
“I picked up Gracie from the school, and on our way
home there was this little calf, maybe an hour old,” she
explained. “Cutest little thing, stumbled while he walked,
and then laid down by the fence line at a local farmer’s
ranch. The mom had walked over to the tree line leaving
the calf.
“The next morning the calf was still there, and no
momma. So I didn’t say a thing to Gracie, thinking to
myself the poor thing died. I came home, and as I passed
the fence line the calf was gone, and the farmer’s truck was
there. I was sad, thinking he died.
“Well, a few days later the farmer called me and said,
‘Hey, would you want a bottle baby?’ I said, ‘Is that the
one by the fence?’ He said, ‘Why yes, it is.’
“Super excited, I said, ‘Heck yes, I want him,’ so the
farmer brought us this lucky little bull calf that is now nine
days old. Apparently the momma had twins, and didn’t
bond with this little guy.” But Dawn did. “He’s absolutely
adorable!” she proclaimed.
So what’s the calf’s name? “Lucky!” Dawn noted. “He
was found — lucky; he survived — lucky; and he gets to
live his life with his women cows — lucky.” It fits.
‘S