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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2019)
B1 THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 21, 2019 CONTACT US ewilson@dailyastorian.com (971) 704-1718 COMMUNITY FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorian IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON ‘A VERY UNIQUE SHARK’ EYE OF THE BEHOLDER ‘O n Halloween, the educational director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum (crmm.org), Nate Sandel, led Steve Porter’s Warrenton High School zoology class in the dissection of a thresher shark,” Tif- fany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium (seasideaquarium. com) wrote. The shark washed up and stranded on the Manzanita beach on July 31. Unfortunately, attempts to return the shark to the ocean failed, and the shark died. The aquar- ium recovered the shark to be used for educational pur- poses, and Nate Sandel asked for it for the dissection class. “Though sad, it was a great educational opportunity that they may not have otherwise gotten,” Tiffany noted. The shark is pictured, courtesy of Tiffany Boothe/Seaside Aquarium. “Nothing remarkable was discovered during the dis- section, so the cause of death still remains a mystery,” she revealed. “The kids got to explore the contents of the shark’s stomach and get an up close look at the shark’s large liver. “Thresher sharks are native to the Oregon Coast, but are more commonly found off the California coastline. … They use their large tail to beat the water, which frightens and stuns the fish, making them easier to catch. The max- imum size of this species of shark is 20 feet, averaging about 18 feet. It was the first thresher shark to wash ashore on the northern Oregon Coast in 10 years.” “The class was very enthusiastic and engaged in the dissection,” Tiffany added. “It provided a great opportu- nity for the students to learn the anatomy and life history of a very unique shark.” ICE SURPRISE #DOGTHANKING A re you thankful you have the most amazing dog on the planet? Now’s your chance to show the world how grateful you feel during the “National Dog Show Presented by Purina” on NBC or nbc.com from noon to 2 p.m. (in all time zones) on Thanksgiving Day. To enter, share a photo or video of your pet in a post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #DogThanking and tag @Purina. Want to give it a shot? Some examples are at bit.ly/dogthank ack in October, photos of a starving, terrified dog began appearing on the Tillamook Animal Shelter’s Face- book page. The dog was clearly lost, and unapproachable. A post on Nov. 5, was encouraging: “… We have a plan in place. We know where he hangs out and the trap is on its way tonight. … He’s being fed, and he knows where to go for that right now. Wish us luck in trapping him.” After a good deal of anxiety, finally the good news came on Nov. 16. “I have an awesome story to share,” Maria Nagy posted for the shelter. “This is Evan (the man, not the dog), and Evan is a camp ranger at Camp Meriwether. Evan is also a hero :-) Recognize the dog?” The shelter’s photos are shown. “This dog has been on the run for more than a month. He started somewhere near Cape Lookout, we had sev- eral sightings in Sand Lake, and we were always one step behind with the trap.” “Evan called us the other day and told us this dog had been eating on his porch. Dan Dixon went and set the trap. The dog was wary of the trap and as it turns out, he’s too tall to get in it.” “After a few days, the dog decided Evan was all right. With a little coaxing, and a little food, the dog finally let himself be caught, by hand. Evan has a dog already, but his dog was welcome to having a buddy, too.” “This story also has the perfect ending,” Maria con- cluded. “He gets to stay! Apparently he already knew where he was supposed to go, we were just slow to get it.” B D ave Wilson sent in a link with an eye-catching head- line from NBC29.com: “Charlottesville (Virginia) Approves Plan to Remove Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea Statue.” Why? Well, the 18-foot statue — which sits on Main Street, and was donated in 1919 — is offensive to Native Americans because it appears to depict Sacagawea as cowering beside explorers Meriwether Lewis and Wil- liam Clark. The sculpture is shown, courtesy of NBC29. com “This morning, I went out there to look at that statue,” Shoshone descendent of Sacagawea, Emma George, remarked, tearfully. “It did not make me feel good at all.” But wait. Was that subservient-appearing depiction what the artist, Charles Keck, intended? The Daily Progress (bit.ly/Sakastatue2) mentions a 1919 article in Natural History magazine that insists his intention was to show Sacagawea “bending forward, intent on the vast expanse of the ocean.” Which is appropriate, since Keck’s name for the statue is “Their First View of the Pacific,” according to its 1996 National Register of Historic Places applica- tion, which mentions that she “crouches against the rock where Lewis stands.” The application also says “the sculptor has made her look down and seem interested in the immediate sur- roundings, for she is not aware of what is in the minds of the explorers.” (bit.ly/NRHPkeck). It should also be mentioned that the statue includes four murals around its base, one of which is the home- coming of Sacagawea. So, the issue in Charlottesville is pretty straight-for- ward: What is more important — modern-day percep- tions, or the artist’s original intent? It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Modern perceptions won out in Charlottesville. The city council voted 4-0 to banish the statue. They also voted that a new sculpture be installed, “with primary consultation from indigenous people on the design of the statue.” Could Charlottesville’s loss be Oregon’s gain? “Ore- gon should get this statue that they don’t want,” Dave Wilson opined. “It would be great to have it at Fort Clatsop.” AROUND TOWN A few weeks ago, Astorian and nautical writer Peter Marsh sent in a link to a BBC.com story about a peculiar winter phenomenon — ice balls mysteriously appearing on a beach on Hailuoto Island, Finland, in the Gulf of Bothnia (bit.ly/BBCice). Photographer Risto Mattila was stunned by the sight, which covered about a 100-foot area; the balls ranged from egg-sized to being as large as footballs. One of his photos is shown, courtesy of BBC.com “That was an amazing view,” Mattila said. “I have never seen anything like this during 25 years living in the vicinity.” So what causes this to happen? “… They form from pieces of larger ice sheet which then get jostled around by waves, making them rounder,” BBC weather expert George Goodfellow said. “They can grow when sea water freezes on to their sur- faces, and this also helps to make them smoother.” Then they’re blown in to shore, or brought in by the tide. And now you know. END OF THE RUN HIGH HOPES F or Astoria history buffs, this little gem: “Port of Asto- ria, Astoria, Oregon, U.S.A.: Smith Point Terminal,” a report prepared to attract business to the Port at the 1920 National Foreign Trade Convention in San Francisco. A photo from the report is shown. The Port was bustling with commerce then. The water- front had two railroad terminals (20th and 14th streets), and three privately owned wharves: the Ninth Street Dock (Geo. Sanborn & Sons, Eighth through 11th streets), the Elmore Dock (Third and Fourth streets), and the Callender Dock (14th Street). Meanwhile, the Port had Piers 1, 2 and 3, and commer- cial wharves abounded, consisting of fish canning and cold storage, oil companies, grain and flour mills, coal bunkers, warehouses, marine repair plants, lumber mills and more. The Port’s final selling point was a grand plan for a Belt Line Railway to “touch every industrial site” for 20 miles of water frontage south and west — but only three miles of it were completed in 1920. Want to read or download the report? It’s a beaut, and can be found at tinyurl.com/port1920 ALMOST UNBEATABLE F rom The Daily Morning Astorian, Friday, Nov. 23, 1883: • The party who stole the quarter of beef from Jeff’s Restaurant got 30 days at Mack Twombly’s boarding house. He is bound to eat a quarter of beef at somebody’s expense. Note: A. M. Twombly was the Clatsop County sheriff from 1880-1884. He was the arresting officer in a notori- ous local case, “The Klaskanine Homicide,” mentioned in the Nov. 20, 1883, edition of the paper. One fine morning, Jack Leonard happened upon John Leahy and his two brothers, who were armed to the teeth and in an extremely ugly mood. John’s response to Leonard’s greeting of “good morn- ing, gentleman,” was to first shout “go, go!” to alert peo- ple standing by, then he raised his revolver and shot Leon- ard dead at point blank range. His brothers then opened fire with their shotguns. The unarmed witnesses didn’t have time to flee before the shooting started, so they saw Leonard fall. One was even grazed by a bullet. Leonard’s shot-up body was put on display in the cor- oner’s office, and received hundreds of visitors. An unre- pentant Leahy told the sheriff he “had shot John Leonard, and would do it again.” No reason for the shooting was given. • Another Claimant: C. A. Enberg of Upper Astoria says he is the man who saved the individual who tumbled into the drink last Tuesday night. He was in Frank Fab- re’s getting a cup of coffee when he heard the man fall in, and with the aid of his lantern, guided him safely to the shore. Note: It’s not mentioned how many others came for- ward to claim the hero’s role. A tidbit from The Daily Morning Astorian, Saturday, Nov. 21, 1885: • The patrons of the manly art of self-defense will see a first-class exhibition at Liberty Hall tonight. Jack Dempsey, the champion middleweight of the world … and other notables will appear. Note: Having famous American bare-fisted (and gloved) boxer “Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey on the billet would have been quite a coup for Liberty Hall and Astoria. Born John Edward Kelly in Ireland, Dempsey began boxing in 1883, and didn’t lose his first fight until 1889, so he would have been at the top of his game during his appearance in Astoria. He lost his title in 1891, but kept fighting until he retired to Portland in 1895, weakened by tuberculosis. He died that same year. (bit.ly/JDemps1)
