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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, FEbRuARy 6, 2020
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
GUNDAM IT
pon reading, “The Port of Yokohama will play host
to a colossal, walking Gundam robot for a year
starting this October,” on NewAtlas.com (bit.ly/Port-
Gundam), the Ear immediately wondered what kind of
amazing new-fangled port equipment they were talking
about.
Uh, no. In case you didn’t know (as the Ear certainly
didn’t), the Japanese are passionate about Yoshiyuki Tom-
ino’s Gundam anime TV series about giant sword-fight-
ing robots, which inspired later mega-bot hits like
Transformers.
This particular gargantuan Gundam robot (yes, there
were three others), is being built by Gundam Factory
Yokohama, which provided the image shown. It will be 60
feet tall, have 24 degrees of motion, weigh 25 tons, and be
able to walk. There will be no sword-wielding, thankfully.
Its hands alone are 6.5 feet tall and weigh around 440
pounds. Gundam will probably scare the living you-know-
what out of anyone around it when the attraction opens on
Oct. 1.
Can you imagine being out at sea, sailing into port, and
seeing that thing moving around on one of the docks? Bet-
ter yet, can you imagine one of these at the Port of Astoria?
U
‘AN EXCEPTIONAL
PLACE TO VISIT’
REMEMBER MARTY
s of Feb. 10, Martha Lavonne (Marty) Benthin
Evans (pictured, inset) has been missing for 30
years. Marty, 33, left the High Climber Room Lounge
in Knappa that day in 1990, driving a 1984 brown Ford
truck, and vanished (bit.ly/DoeNetMarty). She left
behind her children, Marina, now 41, and Andrew, now
40.
“She had left a wedding reception to run into the
nearby town of Warrenton to pick up something, and
had clearly planned to return,” her sister, Linda Ben-
thin-Weirup explained. She is pictured in a still shot
from a KOIN News 6 video interview that was posted
Jan. 31 on KOIN’s Facebook page. (KOIN’s special
report about Marty aired Tuesday, bit.ly/KOINmarty).
On that last day, “… people saw her talking on the
phone, she was upset about something, she was crying
and upset,” Linda added.
Linda posted in the KOIN Facebook page comments
that the last time Marty was seen was “around 10 p.m.,
my brother saw her head out to Highway 30 from D and
D market … where he’d come to jump her truck. It went
dead, while she ran in the store to pay for gas.”
“… Law enforcement at the time told (the) family
that she had voluntarily disappeared, and refused to take
a missing person report,” Linda noted. “And this was
despite the fact that Marty didn’t take her purse, and the
only known clothing she had with her was the brides-
maid dress she was wearing.”
Consequently, no one was questioned around the time
of her disappearance. Marty wasn’t even listed as offi-
cially missing until around 2005, when Detective Matt
Beeson of the Oregon State Police took the case.
At noon Monday, Marty’s family is gathering to “say
a few words” at the Maritime Memorial Park, under
the bridge, where Marty’s memorial plaque is on the
wall, according to the “Finding Marty Benthin Evans”
Facebook page.
“Anyone would like to join us, feel free,” Linda said.
“Remember her, never forget her. We will never stop
missing her.”
Please help this broken-hearted family get some clo-
sure. If you know anything about what happened to
Marty, call Detective Beeson at 503-861-0781, ext.
34006.
A
AROUND TOWN
T
idbits from the icy Tuesday, Feb. 6, 1883 edition of
The Daily Astorian:
• The ice was solid yesterday along the beach from the
OddFellows building to Hume’s mill.
Note: From the corner of current 10th and Commercial
streets to 14th and Commercial.
• Throat inflammation killed Geo. Washington.
Note: MountVernon.org says it’s true, he died of quinsy,
an “inflammation of the throat, especially an abscess in the
region of the tonsils,” according to Lexico.com.
• Carp for Oregon have arrived at Washington.
Note: Now considered an invasive species, carp
was highly desirable in the late 1800s. According to the
National Park Service, the U.S. Commission of Fish and
Fisheries began carp cultivation in 1877. “Subsequent
efforts by state Fish Commissions had introduced the carp
to many area waters by 1883 …”
• Capt. Gray advertises good skating at Fort Stevens
… Good skating is reported at Skipanon … Frozen ponds
toward Trulliuger’s mill afford small boys great gratifica-
tion … Upper river frozen over; mercury out of sight.
• Cold weather causes much profanity among early
risers.
SPECTACULAR SIGHT
’m wondering about the new(ish) colored lights on
the Astoria Column,” Hope Harris wrote. “There
seems to be no rhyme or reason for the rainbow of colors
to be on … I thought there was supposed to be an occa-
sion. Who decides when they’re on?” A photo of an LED
light demonstration is shown, courtesy of Colin Murphey/
The Astorian.
“After the lights were purchased, the Friends of Asto-
ria Column and the city of Astoria decided that creating
a ‘light show’ would be a great way to display the new
lights,” Lyndsay Salmi, Astoria Column Gift Shop man-
ager, explained.
“There are hundreds of different combinations of colors
that can be created with our new lights, but it was agreed
upon to display the more ‘primary’ colors in a 5-minute
show.”
“The daily light show is supposed to start at 5 p.m. and
continue on the hour, every hour, until sunrise. However,
there is a delay … so if you look up at 5 p.m., and don’t see
the lights on yet, give it until 5:05 p.m., and they should
turn on.”
Nope, there’s no special occasion involved. “The light
show is something for all to enjoy,” Lyndsay added, “and
it is spectacular!”
‘I
he Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Com-
merce has completed a series of video shorts high-
lighting the people and places that make our region such
an exceptional place to visit — particularly in the fall, win-
ter and spring,” Regina Willkie, the chamber’s marketing
manager, wrote in the chamber’s monthly newsletter.
“More than 40 clips of locals and locales were shot,
and scenes include clam digging, camping, ship watching,
artisans at work in breweries and kitchens, on farms and in
shops — touching a wider range of experiences than tradi-
tional vacation icons.”
In other words, keep your eyes open for familiar faces
and places as the one-minute video whizzes by at travelas-
toria.com. Astoria man-about-town Jeff Daly is pictured
in a screenshot.
“The effort was spearheaded through the Lower
Columbia Tourism Committee,” Regina explained.
“The music was written and performed by local musicians,
and recorded and mastered at The Rope Room, a new stu-
dio in Astoria.”
Every time you watch the video, you’ll spot something
new. Enjoy!
‘T
NO ANSWERS
o, what happened to billionaire Clive Palmer’s plan,
announced in 2012, to build the luxurious Titanic II?
In 2022 she’s supposed to sail the same route as the origi-
nal. But is she even being built? The Liverpool Echo tried
to find out (bit.ly/WhereT2).
The publication emailed Palmer’s shipping company,
the Blue Star Line (bluestarline.com.au). Twice. They got
automated responses. So then they tried contacting them
via Facebook, @TitanicIIOfficial. No reply. Next they
called the Blue Star Line in Brisbane, Australia. The phone
rings and rings. There are no answers to be had.
The last entry on the Blue Star Line Facebook page is
a photo (shown) of Clive Palmer offering a 2019 Christ-
mas greeting. No mention, or photos, of Titanic II being
built.
One snarky poster quipped: “Is that the iceberg?”
Maybe so.
S
CAPT. BERGMAN, SEA HERO
F
rom the Tuesday, Feb. 6, 1883 edition of The Daily
Astorian:
• Capt. Gregory arrived in with the Shubrick from Siu-
slaw river Sunday. He saw pieces of the wreck of the
Tacoma all along that shore. Mr. Sweet, a resident, said
when the Tacoma struck, she broke in two immediately.
The second sea swept clean over her.
Note: What isn’t mentioned is that because of the
Tacoma’s demise, Capt. John Bergman of Astoria was
declared, “one of the heroes of the sea,” by the “Cen-
tennial History of Oregon 1811-1912.” And with good
reason.
When a faulty compass caused the steamship Tacoma
(the Bothal is pictured) to run hard aground off Reedsport
in heavy breakers on Jan. 29, 1883, the closest rescuers
couldn’t, or wouldn’t, assist.
According to a newspaper account, the captain and six
men went ashore to get help, and tugs set out to save those
left behind on the Tacoma. Unfortunately, due to heavy
surf, they couldn’t even get close.
Ironically, the lifesaving station at Cape Arago was
well equipped and manned, but the life-saving keeper,
James Desmond, displaying a shameful lack of cour-
age, wouldn’t let his men take the boat and go help the
survivors.
Fortunately, some enterprising souls on board the sink-
ing ship started making rafts out of doors and anything
else they could find, and made it to shore.
When Capt. Bergman heard of the Tacoma’s distress,
he and his crew — without a thought to their own safety
— raced to the scene and risked their lives to save the 18
souls that were left behind on the ship. Even so, nine lives
were lost that day.
The Tacoma, which cost $400,000 to build ($10 mil-
lion now), had only been in service for 30 days. She was
a total loss.
For their valiant efforts, Bergman and his crew received
gold medals from the U.S. government for their heroic
service.
As a footnote, according to U.S. Coast Guard history,
the cowardly keeper Desmond was “discharged due to
unfitness” after the incident. (tinyurl.com/byedesmond,
bit.ly/PStacoma)
COAST WEEKEND
GETS AROUND
un rerun: While Dwight Caswell and his wife, Mary
Oswald, were on a three-week vacation in China and
Tibet, they got a bit of a surprise. “I thought you’d like to
know that Coast Weekend gets around,” Dwight told the
Ear.
“Here I am (pictured), reading a copy I found in China
on a riverboat on the Yangtze River. The issue with belly
dancer Jessamyn West on the cover was a little out of
date, probably something about shipping time to China,
but it provoked quite a bit of interest.”
So what happened to the issue of Coast Weekend he
found? “I left in on the boat,” Dwight said. “Who knows?
When the women of China find out what they’re miss-
ing, there might be a counter-revolution.” (In One Ear,
12/24/10)
F