The daily Astorian., December 26, 2019, Page 9, Image 9

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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, dEcEmbER 26, 2019
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
A SPECIAL YEAR
‘E
ach year Astor Lodge No. 215 has celebrated the
Swedish tradition of Lucia,” Terry Arnall wrote.
“… The afternoon begins with a potluck meal featuring
Swedish foods and traditional ham. The adults then sing
Christmas carols, while the children are escorted to dress
for the pageant.
“The lights are dimmed, and the procession parades
around the seated guests while Sankta Lucia music is
repeated and sung.
“There is a final pose with Lucia in the middle, girls on
either side in descending height, and boys on each end of
the line. This may vary from year to year; I know because
I am lodge historian … I also have children and grand-
children who have been in the pageant. I love the whole
scene. I’m glad the lights are dim, because I usually get
teary.
“This year was special. There were so many activities
on the same night as the pageant, that our attendance was
low. We were missing children. We had a senior princess
and two young boys … No small girls. What to do?
“We honored our hard-working members who have
watched so many Lucia processions in the past. The ‘over
80 members’ helped continue our tradition.
“Violet Hagnas, lodge secretary, Dolores Nielson,
master of ceremonies … added to the girls, and Bob
Swenson, who is 91 and helps in the kitchen with the pea
soup, was added to the boys.” Pictured, from left, Landon
Major, Bob, Dolores, Violet, Lucia Bride Kaisa Liljen-
wall, and Liam Major.
The pageant turned out just fine, especially for Bob. He
“always wanted to be a Star Boy!”
‘JUST ONE WORD: PLASTICS’
LUPATIA’S SAD FATE
T
he year 1881 was an ugly one for ships coming to
the Columbia River, and it started out with a par-
ticularly grisly wreck, that of the British bark Lupatia
on Jan. 3, according to Lewis & Dryden’s Marine His-
tory of the Pacific Northwest, published in 1895 (bit.
ly/LewDry).
Sailing from Hiogo, Japan, she was heading up the
coast in a dense fog, and approaching the Tillamook
Lighthouse, which was not lit, as it was still under con-
struction. The lighthouse is pictured, courtesy of the
Cannon Beach History Center & Museum.
“About 8 p.m., Capt. Wheeler, who was in charge
of the work (at the lighthouse), was startled by the
sound of voices outside,” Lewis & Dryden’s reports.
“The weather was thick, with a strong southwest gale,
but they at once sighted the red light of a ship inshore,
and heard a terror-stricken voice give the order, ‘Hard
aport.’
“Capt. Wheeler immediately ordered lanterns placed
in the uncompleted tower, and as quickly as possible a
large bonfire was lighted. The glare lit up the scene so
that Wheeler and his men could plainly see the vessel
struggling to escape, less than 600 feet away.
“Her yards were aback, and she seemed to be work-
ing out of the dangerous place, but soon afterward the
red light disappeared, and no further cries were heard
from those on board.
“The watchers were hopeful that she had succeeded
in working out of her perilous position, but when morn-
ing dawned a shattered topmast and other portions of the
rigging were discovered above the surface of the water
near the rocks alongshore.
“Not a soul was left to tell the tale, but the next day
the bodies of 12 men were washed up on the beach.
Whining about them was a half-grown shepherd
dog, which had been more fortunate than his human
companions.
“The Lupatia was in command of the mate, B. H.
Raven, her master, Irvine, having died at sea on the way
out from Antwerp. She carried a crew of 16 men, and
most of the bodies were recovered, although the dif-
ficulty of communication with the coast at that point
necessitated their burial on the spot.”
NEW DECADE? THINK AGAIN.
I
f you think the new decade begins in 2020, like most
people, you’re also wrong, like most people, according
Farmers’ Almanac (bit.ly/decade20).
“For a decade to begin,” the article says, “we must start
with the year ending with 1 (2021) and finish with … a
year ending in 0 (2030).”
Apparently the blame for this common misconcep-
tion can be squarely placed on Dionysius Exiguus (pic-
tured, left) and the monk St. Bede the Venerable (pic-
tured right).
Dionysius calculated that Christ was living in what
was 525 A.D., but didn’t number the years before Christ’s
birth. In 731 A.D., Bede added the concept of B.C. (before
Christ), and backward counting the years before Christ’s
birth.
But … he didn’t include the year zero, so the year
before 1 A.D. was 1 B.C., when it should have been 0. We
won’t even get into the part where 1 A.D. was misplaced
in the history timeline to begin with.
“In essence,” the article says, “on our calendars,
2021 is the equivalent of a ‘first-floor lobby,’ and after
going up 10 flights (or years), we’ll arrive at the 10th
floor. Or, in this case, the year 2030 — when that decade
ends.”
It’s probably just easier to have a glass of champagne
at midnight on Dec. 31, and forget this whole decade thing
altogether.
OLIO ELF
‘YES. ABSOLUTELY.’
‘T
L
ast August, this column posted a story about Free the
Ocean (freetheocean.com), a website started to help
clean up the 18 billion pounds of plastic that enters the
ocean each year.
The website gives you a free, easy little thing you
can do every day to help them clean up the mess. “Sim-
ply answer the daily trivia question, and we’ll remove a
piece of plastic,” the website says. You can even set it up
to receive a daily email reminder to play.
Money generated from site advertising is used to pay
Sustainable Coastlines, Hawaii, a nonprofit, to remove
plastic debris. And it’s working.
As of August, there were only 157,000 pieces of plastic
removed. Now, only four months later, (as of Monday) it’s
almost 2 million pieces. People from all 50 states and over
130 countries are playing the trivia game; Free the Ocean’s
map is shown.
Go to the website and do your part. It only takes a
minute.
G
BLOOMIN’ BLACKBERRIES
F
rom the Sunday, Dec. 27, 1885 edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian:
• A cutting from a blackberry bush was yesterday
brought to the office by Harry Wood, who cut it in front
of his house at upper town.
Bud and blossom and fruit in every stage were upon the
stem, crowned by half a dozen luscious berries as black
and ripe as blackberries ever get.
It is but a type of the Christmas climate of Astoria; ripe
fruit growing in the front yards of residences and bloom-
ing roses climbing along the verandas and porches on
Christmas Day.
Note: Blackberries and roses in winter? It’s research
time.
ail Griffey, who died Dec. 17, was a well-known
sight around downtown Astoria, pushing her shop-
ping cart. She loved to stop and shoot the breeze on any
topic. For the Ear, talking with her was a sunny break in a
hectic day.
“I’m always congenial, no matter what,” she told Roger
Hayes in a YouTube video interview about her life (bit.ly/
GailGriffey). “That’s my job. This is my natural habitat
to do this.” It was a job she took seriously. (A screenshot
from the video is shown.)
While Gail was homeless, she was no transient.
She was born in Astoria, at Tongue Point, and lived
here as a child and in the 1980s before returning this
time. It was when she was evicted from her apartment
that she wound up out on the street for the first time in her
life.
Even so, she had it better than some, as she received
Social Security and food stamps, and supplemented her
income by turning in cans. Plus, people often gave her
money, clothes, cans, food and gift cards.
Despite her situation, she was generous. When some-
one gave her a brand new sweatshirt, she gave it to a friend
who needed it more. If she borrowed a couple of ciga-
rettes, it wasn’t unheard of for her to come back and repay
with a whole pack.
As she made her rounds downtown, she made herself
useful, continuously cleaning up after others, picking up
cigarette butts, cups, food, garbage, etc., and passing out
cheerful bon mots.
“Not me, I never struggle in my life,” she told Hayes,
in her typical upbeat manner. “I take it one step at a time.
Yes. Absolutely.” And so she did.
Rest well, Gail. You will be missed.
he Astor Street Opry Company production of
‘Scrooged in Astoria’ got a surprise guest Friday
night, Dec. 20,” Judith Niland wrote, “when out popped
Preston Meyer in an elf costume, to recreate one of his
past olio performances.”
Preston is the son of Chuck and Sara Meyer, by the
way. He is pictured center; inset photo of him is courtesy
of Liisa Penner. Also pictured, Ed Green, left, and Dave
Bergquist, right.
In case you’re wondering, Dictionary.com says “olio”
means “a specialty act performed downstage while the
upstage set is changed … a program of variety acts, espe-
cially the second half of a minstrel show.”
“Now living in Germany,” Judith explained, “Preston
was not only one of ‘Shanghaied in Astoria’s’ infamous
performers from 1987 to the early 2000s — including the
part of Krooke and Eric Olsen — but was also in the very
first holiday show produced by ASOC, ‘Holiday Music
Magic,’ precursor to ‘Scrooged in Astoria,’ now in its 13th
season.”
“And yes!” Judith added. “He is still able to fit into the
very costume he wore for that memorable performance 15
years ago!”
BOVINE REALITY
H
umans aren’t the only beings affected by seasonal
affective disorder, aka the winter blues. Cows suf-
fer with it, too.
The London-based Independent reports that in a recent
experiment, Russian cows at a farm in northwest Moscow
have been fitted with custom prototype wrap-around vir-
tual reality glasses that show them scenes of lovely, green
grassy meadows. The cow pictured is courtesy of the Mos-
cow Regional Agriculture Ministry via The Independent.
So far, so good: The cows are calmer and happier this
winter. Whether they are contented enough to produce
more milk is being monitored …