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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JuNE 6, 2019
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
THIS ’N THAT GOONIES
S
ince Goonie Days are Friday through Sunday,
some Goonie trivia is in order, starting with a
website devoted to the partially found/deleted scenes
from the beloved 1985 movie at tinyurl.com/missingGoon
There you will find videos of the octopus encounter,
shopping at the convenience store, Data’s “Spy Eyes”
and still shots from scenes where there is no known video
footage, including a car going into the Columbia River,
gorilla car thieves, and photos from the vanished alter-
nate ending (one photo is shown, courtesy of LostMedi-
aWiki.com).
With all the versions of the movie that have been
released over the years, scenes that are deleted in
one, might pop up in another. The Internet Movie
Database’s almost 1,000 word explanation of the sev-
eral variations will make your head spin (tinyurl.com/
diffGoons).
And, last but not least, did you know there was a song
that was supposed to run with the credits? It was direc-
tor Richard Donner‘s idea, and set teacher Rhoda C.
Fine wrote the ditty, which was supposed to be sung by
the Goonie kids.
The lyrics to “The Goondock Rock” are here:
tinyurl.com/rhodasong (did you know One-Eyed Wil-
lie’s last name is Wilcox?). Sorry folks, there’s no known
recording.
#TEAMWORK
TALES OF THE TOWN
S
ome snippets from June 6 editions of The Astorian,
covering various years:
• Tuesday, June 6, 1876: Special Notice — We shall
not, cannot, in future, answer letters of inquiry written to us
by parties desirous of settling in Oregon, unless such letters
of inquiry contain at least the amount of stamps necessary
to pay postage on the return letter.
Note: Astoria was attracting newcomers at a steady pace
by then. According to U.S. Census data, the population in
1870 was 639; by 1880, it was 1,803; and by 1890, it was
6,184. (bit.ly/astoriapop)
• Saturday, June 6, 1885: The latest from the Tillamook
mines is that an essay shows “1,400 pounds of lead, and
1,541 pounds of silver to the ton” — 2,941 pounds of metal
out of 2,000 pounds of rock isn’t bad.
Note: Aside from the disastrous math, the Ear was unable
to find any history of lead or silver mining in Tillamook
County. The Oregon Metals Handbook (1951) says the
mining industry there consists of sand, gravel and crushed
rock, along with small seams of coal. (bit.ly/tillycoal)
• Thursday, June 6, 1889: Mr. Henderson states that he
has been authorized to accept and transmit free of charge a
telegraphic transfer of funds for the Johnstown sufferers …
Note: Then, as now, Astoria was known for its
willingness to help others. On May 31, 1889, a dam failed,
and a 35-40 foot wall of water, moving 40 mph, slammed
into Johnstown, Pennsylvania. More than 2,200 died and
1,600 homes were demolished. Bodies were found as far as
350 miles away, and until 1911. (bit.ly/jtownflood)
• Wednesday, June 6, 1900: Don’t fail to try coco cola.
It is the most popular new drink this season at the Parlor.
Note: Yes, “It’s the Real Thing.” Atlanta pharmacist
John S. Pemberton created the syrup in 1886, took it to a
nearby soda fountain, mixed it with carbonated water, and
so it began.
His partner, Frank M. Robinson, named it Coca-Cola,
and designed the logo, still used today. In 1888, Pemberton
sold most of the business to Asa G. Candler, a distributor,
which is likely how the drink wound up in Astoria. (bit.ly/
cocahist)
THE PRODIGAL SKIFF
T
he Japanese 2011 earthquake and tsunami is the
gift that keeps on giving, sometimes in the oddest
ways.
On May 27, according to a story in The Asahi Shim-
bun, a 21-foot fishing boat that was swept away eight
years ago from Ishinomaki, in Miyagi Prefecture, has
been found out at sea, about 1.4 miles off the coast of
Susaki, in Kochi Prefecture, which is about 750 miles
southwest of its home base (bit.ly/nisshinmaru). That’s a
lot of drifting.
A Kochi prefectural police patrol boat happened across
the capsized vessel, which was covered with barnacles,
and its engine was missing. However, they were able to
find the registration number, which proved it to be the
Nisshinmaru, owned by a fisherman named Tomohiro
Sato. It is pictured, courtesy of the Kochi branch of the
Japan Coast Guard.
Sato was able to move his other fishing boat before the
tsunami hit, but he lost his house and the Nisshinmaru in
the disaster. “I wonder why it was discovered now after
all these years,” he mused. “I imagined it had sunk to the
bottom of the sea.”
BIGFOOT BELIEVES
GOLDEN DREAMS
S
‘I
t is all about the #TeamWork,” the Oregon State Police
posted on their Facebook page on May 31.
“Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife and the Warrenton Police Department
worked together to safely relocate an aggressive cow elk
and her calf near Hammond, Oregon.
After numerous reports that a new mother was charging
cars and pedestrians in a highly populated area of the city,
Warrenton Police closed off the area as ODFW and OSP
Fish & Wildlife tranquilized the elk.” The photo shown is
courtesy of OSP.
“Several citizens of Hammond assisted in loading her
into a horse trailer,” the post wound up, adding a happy
ending: “The calf was located hiding in the tall grass
nearby and was also relocated with its mother.”
‘STAR MACHINE’
A
s you may know, Krist Novoselic, formerly of grunge
band Nirvana fame, lives in Wahkiakum County,
Washington, and performs in a new group he put together,
Giants in the Trees (giantsinthetrees.com), a decidedly
un-grungy bunch.
RockCellarMagazine.com recently featured the ensem-
ble in a story not only because they released a new album,
“Volume 2,” in late March, but now there’s a new video,
“Star Machine” (bit.ly/kristtrees). A screen shot is shown;
from left, Novoselic, Erik Friend, Jillian Raye and Ray
Prestegard.
As the video’s description says: “Take a tour of beauti-
ful Western Wahkiakum County with the band in their Big
Blue Whale of an automobile. Secrets will be revealed —
to a funky beat. Turn up the volume!”
While watching, you’ll likely find yourself pointing and
exclaiming, “Hah! I know where that is!” several times.
And hey, the music is fun, too.
W
hile it’s debatable what was going on in the Tilla-
mook mines in 1885, a mini gold rush started in
Clatsop County that same year, according to a blog post
by Kerby Jackson (bit.ly/kerbyblog), an Oregon mining
history buff, prospector, Southern Oregon mining district
manager and author of “Gold Dust: Stories of Oregon’s
Mining Years” (bit.ly/kerbygold).
According to Jackson, even though Clatsop County is
“hardly an ideal geological setting for gold country,” that
didn’t stop anyone from trying. Accordingly, J. M. Weed
filed a placer claim on Rock Creek in eastern Clatsop
County on May 25, 1885.
If your mining terms are a bit rusty, it means he found
“valuable minerals contained in loose material such as
sand or gravel” (according to Wikipedia) at a spot on
public land; with a placer claim, he had the right to mine
there.
Weed named his mine Gertrude, but there wasn’t any
mention of how much gold old Gertie coughed up. If he
needed consoling, Weed Creek — about 6 miles east of
Elsie — was named for him.
Weed was followed by plethora of gold miners stak-
ing claims around the same area. Consequently, the Rock
Creek Mining District was formed in 1889, which Jack-
son says “extended all the way to the … Nehalam River,
near the town of Vernonia.”
Jackson listed some claim names in the area — Pro-
tector, Defender, Bonanza and Last Chance were a few
— but the whole shebang died out by 1894, and he says
whatever gold was discovered there never even made it
into the history books. And, most of Rock Creek Mining
District is now off limits for mining — it’s on private tim-
berland or in Tillamook State Forest.
In the Gold Creek Mining District on the Nehalem
River, in 1901, Sebastian Glaser filed a number of gold
claims on Gold Creek (now George Creek) about 2 miles
from Elsie. Did he find any gold? No one knows.
And, one final Clatsop County gold tidbit: TheDig-
gings.com (bit.ly/SandIsgold) mentions the Sand Island
Placer, in the Columbia River, where “gold and iron
deposits are documented.” But, alas, “there has been no
production and little or no activity since discovery.” What
a pity.
tep aside, Smokey Bear, there’s a new kid in town to
help prevent forest fires: Bigfoot. The Oregon Office
of State Fire Marshal has declared Bigfoot a “protector
of wilderness” and a “friend in wildfire prevention.”
In the big guy’s honor, a new series of posters featur-
ing him has been released, with slogans like “Believe in
fire safety,” “Prevent wildfires … leave only footprints,”
“When you’re in our hood, prevent wildfires,” and the one
shown, “Protect Bigfoot, don’t let wildfire be the one that
got away.”
You can see all of the posters at bit.ly/OSFMbigfoot,
along with the desktop and mobile phone wallpapers. And,
keep your eyes open for roadside billboards, coming soon.
“We want people to believe in fire safety, whether you
are camping, visiting Oregon, or recreating,” State Fire
Marshal Jim Walker noted. “… By preventing wild-
fires in Bigfoot’s home, we can help residents protect their
homes and our communities.”
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
F
or once, there’s good news from the dwindling South-
ern Resident Killer Whales J Pod: A new orca calf
has been born, the Tofino Whale Watching blog, based
in British Columbia, reports (bit.ly/newJbaby). It’s swim-
ming happily with some female orcas about four miles off
Lennard Island, B.C.
“We were both really excited to see the calf was very
orange and still had fetal folds,” the bloggers noted. The
photo shown of the new arrival is courtesy John Forde and
Jennifer Steven.
The Center for Whale Research (whaleresearch.com),
on San Juan Island, Washington, said that before this year,
there were no documented successful births amongst the
Southern Resident Killer Whales since 2016, which was
worrisome. This baby, born sometime in May, makes No.
2 for the year, after L124, who was born in January.
This little orca certainly has its timing down. He/she
was born right in time to celebrate Orca Awareness Month,
which just happens to be June.