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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019 • B1
WATER UNDER
THE BRIDGE
COMPILED BY BOB DUKE
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week — 2009
W
hen the 88-year-old son of a lumber baron
died following a fall in 2005, he left a gift to
North Coast conservation supporters.
Norman Yeon left a large cash donation to the con-
servation group Friends of the Columbia Gorge.
He also left a valuable piece of North Coast real
estate near Gearhart to the Trust for Public Lands.
The transfer of ownership of that 104 ½-acre tract to
the North Coast Land Conservancy — a local land trust
— was completed June 5, clearing the way for it to
become part of the Lewis and Clark national Historical
Park. And the property, which contains a cabin retreat
that was probably designed by Yeon’s prominent archi-
tect brother, John Yeon, who once owned a signifi cant
portion of Cannon Beach, is slated to become a nation-
ally prominent environmental leadership classroom.
GARIBALDI — Access to a clam digging
site has been restored through a coopera-
tive effort of the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife and several stakeholder groups.
Reconstruction of the 12th Street stairway has
been completed, re-establishing pedestrian
access to the Garibaldi clam fl ats.
The new steel-reinforced concrete structure
replaces an aluminum stairway washed away
during a storm in the early 1990s. Since then
people have been reaching the clam beds it
provides just off U.S. Highway 101, said Ron
Rehn, project coordinator for ODFW’s North
Coast Watershed District, who noted that most
of the clamming in Tillamook Bay is accessible
only by boat.
The stairway is part of the 12th Street Pier
complex, located next to the waterfront just
one block off Highway 101 on the north end of
Garibaldi. ODFW owns a parking lot next to
the pier. The site provides crabbing and fi shing
opportunities to the public.
“I am a victim of the handling characteristics
of the car,” explained prominent Portland attorney
Akin C. Blitz, whose fi rm does work for North Coast
governments.
Blitz was in Clatsop County Courtroom 200 Thurs-
day to argue why he didn’t deserve a speeding ticket.
Oregon State Police trooper David Corkett busted
Blitz last Labor Day weekend for traveling 76 in a 55
mph zone.
Blitz argued that Corkett and the philosophy of the
Astoria offi ce of the OSP were inconsistent with Ore-
gon’s policies and standards.
Blitz offered a PowerPoint presentation in the court-
room about his car’s fancy features during the two-
hour trial. He used “expert” testimony from a mechanic
to argue that he had a high-performance BMW 535xi
that was safe to drive at high speeds.
But Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Philip Nel-
son disagreed with Blitz. He found Blitz guilty of vio-
lating the basic rule and fi ned him $182.
50 years ago — 1969
The Coast Guard rescued a sinking vessel Friday
through the combined efforts of a helicopter from the
Astoria Air Station and a motor lifeboat from Tilla-
mook Bay, a spokesman said.
A call was received by the Coast Guard at 1 p.m. that
the Tomahawk, Portland, had hit a submerged object
about two miles off the mouth of Tillamook Bay and
was sinking. The helicopters were dispatched from the
Air Station, and a 36-foot lifeboat was sent from Tilla-
mook Bay, the Coast Guard said.
As soon as the lifeboat arrived, the operator, Leland
Harman of Portland, was rescued, and the stricken ves-
sel was taken into tow. While being towed, several por-
table pumps were taken aboard, and the vessel was kept
fl oating until it could be towed into Garibaldi.
2009 — A trail pushes past a rhododendron-covered hillside toward the Yeon house in Gearhart.
nese, have proceeded to Olympia and Tacoma.
Meanwhile, logs continued to be stockpiled at
Tongue Point and on three rivers — Youngs, Lewis and
Clark and Skipanon.
75 years ago — 1944
Three men are dead, one was rescued at sea and one
was injured in three airplane accidents near mouth of
the Columbia River last weekend.
Two of the accidents involved Navy planes and one
an Army fi ghter plane that undershot the runway at the
airport facility of the U.S. Naval Air Station here.
Col. C.S. Doney, commanding offi cer of
Fort Stevens, announced today that WACs at
the fort will be detailed to serve as color bear-
ers marking what is believed to be the fi rst
U.S. Army post in the world to employ the use
of women as color detail.
The decision permitting women to serve in
this capacity resulted from the shortage of sol-
diers, Doney said.
2009 — Clammers use a new stairway to gain access to
the clam beds next to the 12th Street pier in Garibaldi.
area. No interpreter was available, however,
and when the boats returned to retrieve their
gear, they discovered the damage.
The Nippon Maru, a Japanese training vessel, arrived
in Astoria today at the face of Pier 2. It is four-masted,
bark-rigged sailing craft.
While in Astoria, the ship’s company will tour Fort
Clatsop, the Astoria Column and the Columbia River
Maritime Museum with Jean Hallaux. Tour arrange-
ments were made by Port of Astoria, Chamber of
Commerce, city of Astoria and the Board of County
Commissioners.
Astoria Mayor Harry Steinbock presented Capt. Isao
Ikeda and his offi cers with a key to the city and a minia-
ture Astoria Column.
Saturday’s the day for all residents of
Uppertown, Uniontown, and adjacent areas
of the community to proclaim and enjoy tra-
ditions of the countries of their heritage at the
second annual Scandinavian Midsummer Fes-
tival. Events will begin at 1 p.m. at the 4-H
Fairgrounds, concluding with dancing in the
evening.
Two U.S. salmon fi shermen lost several
miles of fi sh lines Sunday when a Russian
stern trawler moved through the area they
were fi shing.
The Sally Kay and Mary Stewart, both
from Eureka, Calif., put their lines down about
20 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia,
and because they knew the Russian was in the
area, called the bureau of commercial fi sheries
to get an interpreter so the Russians could be
told where the lines were and could avoid the
Two more ships scheduled to load logs for Japan
bypassed the Port of Astoria this week. Because of
the Master, Mates and Pilots strike, Port Manager Ted
Hodges has established that the area loses $30-$40,000
worth of business each time a ship fails to load.
The Senyo Maru and Matsushima Maru, both Japa-
1969 — Cadet of the training bark Nippon Maru tosses a
heaving line in docking procedures at the Port of Astoria.
1969 — Japanese training vessel Nippon Maru stands off
Tillamook Head preparing to enter Port of Astoria for a
two-day visit.
The Aleutian Islands are now presenting military
authorities with a problem much like the one the War-
renton sand dunes made for Clatsop County, according
to word from an advanced Aleutian base.
Russell Annabel, United Press correspondent in the
Aleutians, wrote, “The old timers around here used to
congratulate themselves on having survived everything
in the weather man’s book; wind, snow, ice, rain and
fog. But this month the Aleutians came up with a new
one and it’s a dilly — dust storms.
“The Army engineers have been engaged for two
years here in one of the largest dirt-moving operations
ever carried out anywhere, but the williwaws this spring
are showing them some new tricks. The engineers took
the tough island sod off and moved mountains to make
room for military installations, and with the sod off and
the sand and volcanic ash exposed, the wild Aleutian
winds are starting where the engineers quit.”
The way such wind and sand activity starts has been
seen on the coast of Clatsop County, as well as in other
sections of the Oregon coast, Afton Zundel, county
agriculture agent, pointed out.
“The Aleutian situation might be comparable to the
situation here,” Zundel said, “only here grazing started
it, tramping over the hills and scarring the topsoil in
spots that the wind blew bigger and bigger.”
1944 advertisement.