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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 30, 2019
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
RULE NO. 1
he Trans Am Bike Race starts this Sunday, June 2,
from Astoria,” Mike Davies of North Coast Old
Spokes wrote. “The Trans Am is the premiere self-sup-
ported road race across America. Riders from all over the
globe converge on Astoria to begin the 4,200-mile bicycle
race toward Yorktown, Virginia.”
If you are an early riser, you can watch the
massive group of die-hard bikers take off from the
Columbia River Maritime Museum at 6 a.m. Sunday.
Pictured, last year’s start, courtesy of the Trans Am Bike
Race.
“Rule No. 1: No complaining about the rules.” Riders
are on completely on their own. There is no support van;
riders can only resupply along the route. Sure, friends and
family can visit, but can’t in any way provide “material
support or shelter.” If you want to follow the race, go to:
transambikerace.com
To top off this 10-state exercise in masochism, there’s
not even any prize money for the winner. In the video
“Inspired to Ride,” by Mike Dion, one rider noted, “This
is just for the crazies.”
‘T
‘IS THIS AWESOME?’
he KPTV Fox 12 Surprise Squad paid a visit to
the Jewell School Band recently, as the band was
getting ready to compete in the Oregon School Activi-
ties Association Band/Orchestra Competition in Wil-
sonville May 8 to 11.
Band director Corey Pederson had taken on the task
of being sure the band had proper footwear for the occa-
sion, and had been buying shoes at the Goodwill and on
Ebay so they would look spot on.
And that’s where the “surprise” in the Surprise
Squad came in. The reporters descended on the school
to visit a band rehearsal and, in partnership with Les
Schwab Tire Centers, brought shoes for the entire band.
Fox 12 also recorded the reactions, which were shown
on TV several times. You can see the segment here: bit.
ly/bandshoes
“Is this awesome?” a delighted Pederson asked
the band. “Can you remember this kind of stuff? And,
I will say, hard work really does pay off for you.” And
so it does: The band came in second in the 2A/1A
category.
THERE’S A GRAIN OF TRUTH
y husband Pete and I are the current owners of
the Forsstrom House in Astoria (theforsstrom-
house.com) and are restoring the home in an ambitious
five-year plan,” Lauri Krämer Serafin, home resto-
ration aficionado and genealogist, wrote. The house,
which is on Seventh Street, was built in 1914.
“I have spent about 40 hours researching the first
owners of the house, Dr. Toivo and Alli Forsstrom,”
she explained. “Dr. Forsstrom came to Astoria in early
1906, and died in the house in August 1945. He was a
local physician and surgeon from Finland.
“He attended medical school in Helsinki, and did
postgraduate studies in Berlin and Vienna. He had
many lovely cars, according to Oregon Automobile
Licensing information!
“Alli, his first wife, is a bit more of a mystery. I have
a large number of clues to pursue. She appears to be
related to the Johann Heitanen family, and came to
live with them after her arrival in the U.S. in October
1906. I believe she met the doctor in May 1907, during
a weekend house call for diphtheria illness in a child of
the Heitanen household.”
The couple married in 1909; when they divorced
in August 1926, they were childless. During the mar-
riage, Alli was an Astoria Regatta Queen in 1914 after
her husband conducted a “rigorous campaign.” One of
her Regatta photos still hangs in the house. After the
divorce, she disappeared from Clatsop County records.
“Dr. Forsstrom’s second wife was Nelma Mattson
Northe. They married in 1933. She sold the home in
the early 1950s. She married Arvid Anderson in the
1950s. I am in contact with her family in the Portland
area. However, they could not provide many details
about the first wife, Alli.
“I’m looking for anyone with information or arti-
facts from the home. Pauli Palumbo owned the home
from about 1981 to 2002, and told some stories about
the Forsstroms. I have heard many of them, but want to
hear them all!” You can reach Lauri at 206-778-6880 or
lauriks@hotmail.com
After all, she noted, “There is usually a grain of
truth somewhere, and I can compare (the stories) to the
known records.”
‘M
TALES OF THE TOWN
T
JELLY WATCHIN’
aving a tough day? Just want to chill out? Go jelly-
fish watching, courtesy of the Monterey Bay (Cali-
fornia) Aquarium jelly cams at bit.ly/MBjelly. A screen
shot from the sea nettles cam, which is live from 7 a.m. to
6 p.m. daily, is shown.
The aquarium explains that you shouldn’t let those
blithely trailing tentacles and arms fool you; they’re full
of stingers that paralyze and stick to prey that’s drifting by,
which is then gradually moved up via the mouth-arms to
an unhappy fate.
For a little change of scene, you can switch over to the
Moon Jelly Cam, which is live from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A
screen shot is inset. They change colors, depending on
what they’ve consumed; pink or lavender for crustaceans,
orange for brine shrimp.
Sit back and enjoy. It sure beats hunting down an aquar-
ium to stare at.
H
rom the Friday, May 30, 1884 edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian:
• C. W. Leick is fast assuming prominence as a skill-
ful architect and draughtsman. He is now busy on plans
for various residences throughout the city.
Note: Architect Carl Leick (1854–1939) moved to
Astoria in the 1880s. Among his designs are the Capt.
George Flavel House (1885), still reigning over Eighth
Street, and Grace Episcopal Church (also 1885).
He also designed lighthouses, one of which is the
Grays Harbor Lighthouse at Westport, Washing-
ton, built in 1898, which he considered his “master-
piece.” Once 400 feet from the tideline, the structure
still stands tall over 3,000 feet from the shore.
Leick’s work lived up to his motto: “Build ’em stout,
and make ’em last.” (bit.ly/CWLeick, bit.ly/GHLight)
• Judge Deady was engaged yesterday in hear-
ing testimony in the case of the Queen of the Pacific,
George Flavel (inset) libellant.
Note: When the Queen of the Pacific ran aground in
1883, Capt. J. H. D. Gray and Capt. Flavel and their
tugs swooped to her rescue. As a result, no lives were
lost, and the ship was undamaged, as was most of her
cargo, saving the shipping company almost $737,000
(more than $19.2 million now).
And therein lay the problem: The ship’s owners did
not want to pay what they were charged for the salvage
efforts. The court sided with the captains, and awarded
them around $65,000 (almost $1.7 million now). (bit.
ly/QueenPacFlavel)
• Dr. Fulton‘s telephone number is 41.
Note: Nope, it’s not a joke. Believe it or not, a
steamboat captain, George Ainsworth, brought the
first telephone to Oregon in 1878, and the first phone
line connected his office and home in Portland. The
new gadget didn’t take long to catch on, and by the fall
of that same year, there were almost 100 phones in the
City of Roses.
Astoria got on the bandwagon, and opened local
exchanges in 1884, which is why Dr. Fulton’s phone
number really was 41. But you’ve got to wonder who
was the first. Capt. Flavel, perhaps? (bit.ly/AstPhone)
F
TAKE THE TOUR
hipwreck fans, rejoice: MaritimeExecutive.com
reports that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has
opened its online Virtual Archaeology Museum, which
features details from five previously undiscovered
wrecks that occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries (bit.
ly/BOEMwrecks).
The mystery ships were discovered by the BOEM
while exploring the sea floor for oil and gas in 4,000 to
7,000 feet of water. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
filmed the ships employing the latest technology in under-
water videography; the resulting high resolution images
were used to create 3D models and mosaic maps of the
ships and their contents. One of the images, from Ship-
wreck 15377, is shown.
Go ahead, take the tour.
S
WHICH SCRIPT IS IT?
ryan Wood posted an intriguing item on the Goonies
Memorabilia Facebook page on May 23: He has an
old 134-page “The Goonies” script postmarked as being
mailed from Astoria on Dec. 11, 1984. Production on the
movie ended in November 1984.
“(The script) was purchased in London in 1997 with
a box of vinyl records and music memorabilia,” Bryan
explained. “That buyer wanted the collection because
it contained an original Led Zepplin ‘object’ which he
wanted. When he was going through the box, he found the
script. He put the script back in the box with most of the
other stuff, and it sat there until a year ago,” when Bryan
bought it from him.
But that’s all he knows about its history. “I have zero
interest in trying to sell it,” he noted, “I’m just super curi-
ous what it is.”
Randell Widner (Sloth’s stunt double in “The
Goonies”) noted that a shooting script would have differ-
ent colored pages added or replaced that reflect changes.
Nope, Bryan said, the pages are aged, once-white paper,
and not copies.
What makes the script particularly interesting is that it
includes scenes that never made it to the finished movie,
like the octopus, gorilla and convenience store scenes.
Which means it is possibly a pre-production script.
“So the best I can conclude is that this was printed by
Warner Bros.,” Bryan surmised, “and someone in Astoria
mailed it around the time of the movie’s production … the
rest, you got me!” Anyone know who mailed it?
B
SAVING THE GOONDOCKS
tem on eBay: “Autographed Siding Off The Goonies
House” (bit.ly/goonsiding). It’s a 4-by-8-inch piece,
and the eBay photo is shown. As of this writing, on Tues-
day, the bids are up to $460.
“So, you may know the Goonie house is under con-
struction,” the seller wrote. “Unfortunately, they have
uncovered additional damage while doing the updates.
“(The owner) has sent me all the siding that came off
the house. I have the first piece signed by Sean Astin,
Corey Feldman and Jon Key Quan. All the money is
going straight to her to offset the cost of the renovations.
So you can truly Save the Goondocks!”
This auction ended Wednesday. Goonie fans: Stay
tuned for more Goondocks auctions!
I