Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2019)
B1 THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JuNE 27, 2019 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (971) 704-1718 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON LOCAL BREVITIES AN INSTANT FESTIVAL re you a fan of historic (1974 and older) cars? If so, you’re in for a real treat. The Great Race 2019 is making a pit stop in Astoria, in the parking lot at the Bar- bey Maritime Center, on Saturday. The 120 competing automobiles are arriving, starting at 10 a.m., so the drivers can take a break to grab a snack and have a bit of a leg-stretch. Spectators are welcome to come and chat, and have a look at the cars, one of which is pic- tured, courtesy of greatrace.com This year’s run is 2,300 miles, from Riverside, Califor- nia, to Tacoma, Washington. It’s not really a race, though, even according to the event’s website: It “is an antique, vintage, and collector car competitive controlled-speed endurance road rally on public highways.” As an incen- tive, the total prize money awarded is $150,000; the grand champion receives $50,000. The event tests each driver/navigator team’s ability to follow daily “precise course instructions,” plus the car’s ability to withstand such a journey. And, the driv- ers are instructed to drive at or below the posted speed limit. Astoria is one of the last stops along the way, as the race ends Sunday in Tacoma. “When the Great Race pulls into a city, it becomes an instant festival,” race director Jeff Stumb said. So why not join the fun? A CERTAINLY UNUSUAL idbits form The Daily Morning Astorian, Wednes- day, June 27, 1883: • Sheriff Twombly has 14 unfortunates in the county jail. Note: Arthur M. Twombly came to Oregon in 1865, a veteran of the Civil War. He established salmon can- neries in Oregon and Alaska before becoming Asto- ria’s police chief, then was Clatsop County sheriff from 1880 to 1884. (bit.ly/atwombly1, bit.ly/atwombly2) • A representative of Eliphalet Bliss of Brook- lyn, New York, is in the city in relation to an alleged infringement of a patent of machinery in general use in the canneries. Note: Bliss, a New York manufacturer, owned numerous patents, including those on machines to man- ufacture and solder metal cans … like those used to can salmon, for instance. (bit.ly/EBliss). • Lieut. Schwatka and party left Chilcat (Alaska) on the 7th of June on his prospecting and exploring trip to the Yukon country. Note: Lt. Frederick Schwatka (inset, right) explored the Yukon River on a U.S. Army reconnais- sance mission. His small group rafted the 1,300-mile length of the river, accomplishing the longest recorded raft journey at the time. You can read his account here: bit.ly/schwatka1. (bit.ly/schwatka2) • Dr. Ray V. Pierce‘s Medicines: His “Pleasant Purgative Pellets” and “Golden Medical Discovery” prevent fevers and other serious diseases and cure all scrofulous (tubercular) and other humors. Note: Pierce (inset, left), although a real physician, was better known as “The Prince of Quacks,” and his highly lucrative and popular patent “medicines” often contained opium and alcohol. Users probably didn’t care if they were scrofulous or not. (bit.ly/DrPierce1, bit.ly/DrPierce2) • The New York Sun says Astoria, Oregon, is mak- ing very rapid progress. It has 24 salmon packing con- cerns within its limits, employing 5,000 people. Note: There were 55 canneries on the Columbia River in 1883, so there easily could have been 24 in Astoria. The U.S. Census data says there were 1,803 citizens in Astoria in 1880, and 6,184 in 1890, which gives one pause. But then, the 1880 census was over- whelming, and it took eight years to tabulate the results … a lot can go wrong in eight years. (bit.ly/CRcan1883, bit.ly/astoriapop, bit.ly/census1880) T ecently, for the first time, a deep-dwelling giant squid was caught on video in U.S. waters, about 100 miles off the Gulf Coast. The 10-12 foot-long Architeuthis, a notoriously elusive critter, was filmed attacking a special lure set up by scientists aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Point Sur. You can see the clip here: bit. ly/USsquid A screen shot is shown from the video, courtesy of Edie Widder/Nathan Robinson/NOAA. By the way, the first time a giant squid was filmed was in 2012, it was by some members of the same team, but off the coast of Japan. “The giant squid is large and certainly unusual from our human perspective,” two of the scientists posted on NOAA’s Ocean Explorer blog, “but if the video shows anything of the animal’s character, it shows an animal sur- prised by its mistake, backing off after striking at some- thing that at first must have seemed appealing, but was obviously not food.” R PAYING TRIBUTE alented teenage actor Timothy Pior was plan- ning to audition for ‘Mary Poppins‘ when he fell ill and died at the age of 15,” Patrick Webb wrote. “The shock of the Warrenton High School fresh- man’s death from complications from influenza March 10 hit the theater community hard.” “Pior was active in choir, wrestling, football and soccer,” Patrick explained, “and had just completed a run playing the lead role of Tevye in the WHS produc- tion of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ “He played Lumiere, the comic servant who is turned into a lamp in the Peninsula Association of Per- forming Artists’ production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in Chinook, Washington, last summer. His sister Eliz- abeth appeared with him.” He is pictured, courtesy of PAPA. This year, when it was time for PAPA’s production of “Mary Poppins,” four of Timothy’s family members auditioned. “Director Alicia Trusty was delighted to cast Elizabeth with mom Candy, and her other daugh- ters, Victoria and Alexandria,” Patrick reported. “Elizabeth appears as one of the nannies that the naughty Banks children terrorize before Mary Poppins arrives, as well as the bank chairman. Candy Pior is a police officer, Victoria a park keeper and the youngest, Alexandria, portrays Mr. Punch, one of many toys who come to life thanks to Mary Poppins’ magic.” Pictured, courtesy of Patrick Webb, Candy Pior, rear left, and children Elizabeth, rear right, Victoria, front left, and Alexandria. The show opens Friday, and runs weekends through July 28. Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, at the Fort Columbia Theater in Chinook. Tickets are available online at papatheater. com, by calling 360-836-4448, or at the door. Patrick noted that for Elizabeth, the family doing the play is a way of paying a tribute to Timothy. “He was going to do it,” she said, “so we went ahead and did it.” ‘T DETAILS, DETAILS or serious history buffs, here’s a treat: The 1896 San- born Fire Insurance Maps of Astoria, online at http://bit.ly/1896Astoria Luckily, you can zoom in as tight as you’d like. Shown, a detailed section of Map 3, depicting the waterfront Columbia River Packing Company’s Salmon Cannery. Here’s part of the description: “ … Buildings in good repair and substantial. Two night watchmen during packing season. Man in charge of prem- ises at all times. Soldering pots on wooden benches heated by charcoal. Fuel, wood in boilers, coal in machines. Elec- tric lights except watchmen’s lanterns … Boats and nets stored in building during winter. 12 fire pails distributed over premises …” With every detail you find, there are more to glean. Twenty-two maps worth, in fact. F A SECOND CHANCE ngry group storms the gates of the Museum of Whimsy!” Trish Bright posted on Facebook on June 18, to describe the photo shown. “Haha, not really,” she explained. “This delight- ful group drove a great distance a year ago to tour the Museum of Whimsy, only to find we were closed that day. They sent me this picture, with a note stating their strong disappointment in our sometimes random hours of operation.” Just so you know, the summer hours are: Open most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., but closed Fourth of July weekend. The admission is $5 per person, or $10 per family. “This weekend, while working in the museum,” Trish continued, “I noticed the group as they toured through the building. After looking at them a bit more closely, I rec- ognized them from their picture they had sent me. They had returned, now a year later, and gave the Museum of Whimsy a second chance!” “Thank you to a fun group,” she added, “whose looks could be right out of a movie. So much fun! So good to see you in person. I love your photo. Hope to see you all again!” ‘A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW ecorah, Iowa may have their eagle cams, but now Seaside’s Osprey Cam is up and running for a literal bird’s-eye view of osprey parents and their three growing chicks. You can watch it at seasideosprey. org. Just for fun, a few osprey facts, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (bit.ly/ORosprey): Females are larger than males, and the osprey lifes- pan in the wild is about 25 years. They smell. Literally, because of an oil they secrete to keep themselves water- proof, as they dive up to 18 inches deep into the water, tal- ons first, to snatch their prey. Ospreys mate for life, and return to the same nest every year. The nest is built on a structure as tall as, or taller than, anything around it, and is made of sticks. The pair adds more nest material every year, includ- ing things they collect, like twine, rope and plastic containers. Check out the osprey cam and watch the little family in action. The screen shot shows one of the parents feeding the kiddos a nice, fat fish. Enjoy! D NO TIME FOR SOMMARØY ove those long summer days in Astoria, when it doesn’t really get dark till around 10 p.m.? Then you’ll love the island of Sommarøy, Norway, perched north of the Arctic Circle. The summer sun doesn’t set for 69 days there. Because of that, Smithsonian Magazine reports (bit.ly/ sommatime) that the 300 or so residents of the island cre- ated a petition, which has been presented to a Norwegian parliament member, asking that Sommarøy be declared the world’s first time-free zone. (Photo courtesy of nord- norge.com) “One does not need to be put into a box in the form of school or working hours,” resident Kjell Ove Hveding said. “Our goal is to provide full flexibility, 24/7. If you want to cut the lawn at 4 a.m., then you do it.” “To many of us,” he added, “getting this in writing would simply mean formalizing something we have been practicing for generations.” L
