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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, FEbRuARy 25, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN
ther than to go to physical therapy in Astoria twice a
week, I’ve pretty much been housebound for many
months,” Long Beach Peninsula resident Jan Bono wrote.
“Recently, however, I really needed to run a few errands
while I was across the river. ‘A few’ errands quickly turned
into almost a dozen.
“I masked up, and got in and out of most stores in under
five minutes — one thing here, one thing there. Run in, run
out. No time to dilly-dally.
“I was running out of steam when I got to Goodwill,
but I quickly found a pair of slacks and a couple of poster
frames and hustled through the checkout.
“But when I opened my purse for my wallet — it wasn’t
there! I had enough cash in my pocket to pay for my items,
got outside, and nearly tore my car apart. Still no wallet.
“My heart started jack-hammering in my chest. My
driver’s license, credit and debit cards, Medicare cards,
AARP and even my Costco card — suddenly gone.
“I went back to the previous store, where I’d bought
just one item. ‘Did anyone find a wallet in the last hour?’ I
tentatively asked one of the workers stocking the shelves.
‘What does it look like?’ he asked. ‘You mean someone
actually turned in a wallet today?’ I replied.
“Long story short — a huge thank you to the person
who found my wallet in the parking lot in front of the Dol-
lar Tree in Warrenton, and immediately took it inside to
turn it in. May the continuous joy of good karma make
your blessings too numerous to count for years to come.”
“You are one fine, upstanding citizen,” Jan added.
“Thank you. Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how
grateful I am!”
COLDLY CONTEMPTUOUS
‘O
THE SWEETEST THOUGHT
TURTLE TALE
o many times we hear of a sad end for a sea turtle who
gets stunned in winter water that is too cold for them,
and winds up stranded on an Oregon beach. Despite efforts
to save them, most do not survive. Happily, this is not one
of those stories.
Early this month, the Oregon Coast Aquarium (aquar-
ium.org) got a call about a loggerhead turtle stranded near
Lincoln City. The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding
Network (mmi.oregonstate.edu/ommsn) — which thank-
fully doesn’t care that turtles aren’t mammals — retrieved
the turtle and brought her to the aquarium, which provided
the photos shown.
The young loggerhead’s temperature was 50 degrees;
normal is 75 degrees. To avoid shocking her, her tempera-
ture could only be raised about 5 degrees a day. This was
accomplished by putting her into increasingly warm water
baths, accompanied by constant monitoring.
She steadily improved as she got warmer, and started
eating. Triage: Successful. But, for long-term care and
rehabilitation, she would have to be moved to SeaWorld
in San Diego (seaworld.com/san-diego).
But how to get her there? A nonprofit organization
called Turtles Fly Too (turtlesflytoo.org) did the honors.
Strapped into her very own stretcher and crated, she flew
off to her new adventure. She adapted quickly at SeaWorld,
and is doing well. When she is ready, she will be released.
Courtney Pace of the aquarium noted that “the reintro-
duction of even one turtle is enough to impact the overall
population.”
Which is good news, indeed.
S
rim rerun: Financier John Jacob Astor III, 67,
grandson of Astoria’s founder, died Feb. 22, 1890,
in New York, of heart failure. It’s estimated he was worth
around $200 million (about $5 billion). An unpleasant
tidbit about him appeared in the Feb. 23, 1890, edition
of The Daily Morning Astorian:
“The death of the hundred-millionaire, John Jacob
Astor, in New York yesterday, recalls to the writer’s
mind the fact that several years ago a distinguished Asto-
ria clergyman, on a visit to New York, called upon the
millionaire, told him of the city by the sea founded by
his grandfather of precisely the same name as himself,
and suggested (he) fund or endow an institution of learn-
ing in the city that will perpetuate the name and fame of
the Astors when their scattered millions will have been
forgotten.”
It would not be untoward for the minister to ask, as
Astor and his wife, Charlotte, were well-known philan-
thropists in New York. Huge sums and works of art
were given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Trin-
ity Church, Astor Library (money and land), New York
Cancer Hospital, Woman’s Hospital, St. Luke’s Hos-
pital and the Children’s Aid Society. However, Astor’s
interest in far-off Astoria, namesake or not, was
negligible.
“The millionaire looked coldly contemptuous at the
reverend gentleman when he had concluded his kindly
plea,” the Astorian article continued, “and told him he
would give him an order on his cashier for $100 (about
$2,700 now).”
The minister declined the “princely offer,” and
quickly bowed himself out.
“The millionaire lies dead in his marble palace this
morning,” the story concluded, “and his millions lie idly
in the massive vaults, as cold as the clay that so lately
clung to them.” (In One Ear, 2/23/18)
G
AROUND TOWN
THAT CRAG
ife is not measured by the number of breaths we
take, but by the number of moments that take our
breath away.”
“That’s what happened when I was driving down
Broadway in Seaside in front of the Sunset Pool,” Mary
Blake wrote. “On their reader board, a beautiful send-off
for my mother, Marion Blake.”
Mary’s “mudder,” whom she affectionately referred
to as “a force of nature,” died at age 102 on Feb. 6. The
reader board says: “Marion Blake, 1918 — 2021; ‘Of all
the stars in the sky …; You shine the brightest.’” You can
see the tribute in action at bit.ly/BlakeSign
“It took my breath away,” Mary recalled, “filled my
eyes with tears of joy, and gave me the sweetest thought
and memory that she is one of the brightest stars out there.
That’s who she was, and will remain, shining her bright
light.”
‘L
F
rom The Daily Astorian, Feb. 25, 1879:
• A subscriber asks: “Where will you find a coal
mine to develop, near Astoria?”
We reply at Oak Point, Columbia City, and in the
vicinity of Knappa … We have not seen either one of the
mines, but Hon. Geo. Abernathy, Dr. Caples, Capt. Geo.
W. Woods and others have.
Note: The notables mentioned who claimed to see coal
mines may have been in their cups at the time. There have
been, and are, several mines in Clatsop County, most of
which produce stone, sand, gravel, clay, some minerals
and a little titanium.
But the U.S. Geological Survey notes that the county
has only “a few thin coal beds.” Coal mines? Not likely.
(bit.ly/ClatMines1, bit.ly/ClatMines2)
• A man fell overboard from the boom at Hume’s mill
yesterday, but by lustily yelling, saved himself; as he
raised the lown, and the town raised him.
he story, “Life on That Crag in a Storm,” in the Feb.
18, 1888 edition of The Daily Astorian, tells of J.
M. Flynn’s harrowing experience in the Tillamook Rock
Lighthouse. He relayed the tale to the editor via a pass-
ing tug:
“We had quite a picnic here last Sunday … The ball
began in the southeast about 4 p.m. on the 11th, increas-
ing in fury and wearing to southwest; about 10 a.m. of
the 12th, the seas commenced breaking over house and
tower.
“At 2 p.m., two chimney tops were washed away;
2:30 p.m., wash tanks washed adrift from lashings, chim-
ney and top of kitchen washed down, one upper pane of
glass in lantern stove in; 5:30 p.m., another upper and
one middle pane stove in; 6 p.m., another upper pane
was stove in, making four in all.
“The panes were replaced with wooden covers as
soon as possible, which was dangerous work; in fact, we
thought at one time we would have to give up trying, the
seas came so fast.
“I think more water came down the tower than during
the other storm, and certainly the seas struck the rock
harder. There has been so much of the rock washed off
the southwest part that the building is not so much pro-
tected from the seas.
“Between 8 and 9 p.m. the storm commenced to
abate, but the seas came over until 4 a.m. of the 13th.
It was impossible to light the (lighthouse) lamp …
but two lanterns were hung in the tower, one north
and one south. The lamp was lighted last night at sun-
set time.
“About 2 this p.m. we noticed … the tug Escort No.
2, the captain of which, on being hailed, very kindly
changed his course and came close to and took my
message.”
Original image is courtesy of Oregon Public Broad-
casting (bit.ly/Tillystorm)
T
SITTING PRETTY
ascinated by eagles? You’re in luck.
The Decorah North Bald Eagle Cam in Iowa is
up and running to give you (literally) a bird’s eye view of
a pair of nesting eagles, thanks to the Raptor Resource
Project, at bit.ly/DecorahN
So far, the eagles are waiting for two eggs to hatch.
During the incubation, the parents take turns; when one
stays on the 7-foot nest, the other one hunts. A screenshot
of one parent is shown.
The second egg was laid on Feb. 19. Incubation takes
about 35 days, and you can drop in on them any time —
but you might especially want to watch in late March,
when the eaglets are expected to hatch.
F
WHERE ARE THEY?
ow that crabbing season is upon us, fishermen will
be out on the water catching as much Dungeness as
they can. Ever wonder where they are fishing, exactly?
Or where any type of fishing vessel is, for that matter?
Wonder no more.
You can track the ones who have Automatic Identifi-
cation System transponders aboard via the MarineTraffic.
com map at tinyurl.com/where-boat
The larger icons on the live map are the container ships,
etc., that ply our waters. The fishing boats are the small
orange icons. Just hover over one of them, and it will tell
you the boat’s name; click on it, and a few more details are
available. The screenshot shown was taken around noon
Monday.
Too bad it can’t tell you how much they’ve caught.
N