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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 20, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
A RARE SIGHT
or marine biology fans: A very rare fish washed up on
a California beach on May 7.
“Last Friday morning, an incredible deep sea fish
washed up on shore in Crystal Cove State Park‘s Marine
Protected Area,” the Laguna Beach park posted on its
Facebook page.
“There are more than 200 species of angler fish world-
wide, and this particular fish is most likely the Pacific
Football Fish. Only females possess a long stalk on the
head with bioluminescent tips, used as a lure to entice prey
in the darkness of waters as deep as 3,000 feet.”
Photos of the fish are shown, courtesy of Crystal Cove
State Park.
“Their teeth, like pointed shards of glass, are transpar-
ent, and their large mouth is capable of sucking up and
swallowing prey the size of their own body. While females
can reach lengths of 24 inches, males only grow to be
about an inch long …
“Males latch onto the female with their teeth and
become ‘sexual parasites,’ eventually coalescing with the
female until nothing is left of their form but their testes for
reproduction.
“To see an actual angler fish intact is very rare,” the post
added, “and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up
on the shore.”
F
WHAT A RELIEF
un rerun: Denny Tibbetts, of Berkeley, California,
visited the Astoria Column recently, and wanted to
know the story behind the bronze relief map donated
by the Angora Hiking Club in 1966. Part of the map is
pictured, courtesy of Astoria Daily Photo (tinyurl.com/
columnmap).
Bob Westerberg, chief guide of the hiking club,
explained: The club was founded July 4, 1920, “on the
summit of Saddle Mountain, long before easy trails and
highway access. A logging railroad took them out to the
base of the mountain, and hikers pretty much scrambled
directly up the south slope.
“In the 1930s, the club had built a cabin on the north
face of Tillamook Head on a parcel of land acquired, and
later sold to, Oregon State Parks for the coast hiking trail
…”
Part of the money from the sale made the brass relief
map at the Column possible.
“The map was the dream of Ruben Jensen, an Asto-
ria High School photo and mechanical drawing instruc-
tor,” Bob added. “… Jensen designed the map with all the
inscriptions, including the ‘new’ Astoria Bridge.”
And now you know the story, too. (In One Ear,
4/22/2016)
TILLER TALE
n April 2017, this column ran a story about the tiny
unincorporated town of Tiller, in southwest Oregon,
most of which was for sale for $3.85 million (bit.ly/
YTTiller).
Tiller is surrounded by the Umpqua National Forest,
and sits right on the South Umpqua River and Elk Creek.
A photo of the town is shown, courtesy of LandLeader
Properties.
A little history: Tiller was founded in the mid-1800s
by farmer Aaron Tiller, a pioneer from Missouri. Once
environmental logging regulations kicked in some time
ago, logging came to a halt, and the Tiller timber mill
closed.
There went the town’s main source of income and
most of its citizens. A longtime resident, Richard Cas-
well Sr., bought up the majority of the downtown prop-
erties (28 tax lots) for a family vacation area. When he
died in 2014, his heirs put the town on the market. Sur-
prisingly, inquiries came in from all over the world.
The property included six houses, a shuttered general
store and gas station, land (257 acres), water rights and
infrastructure, including sidewalks, fire hydrants and a
working power station. Not to mention, there was also
access to berries, acorns, fruit trees and merchantable
timber.
In September 2018, it was announced that the anon-
ymous new owners hoped “to create a tree-laden river
resort open to the public,” according to a story in The
Oregonian, with forest maintenance, local hiring, selling
local products and “biofuel public transportation.”
In March 2019, The News Review in Roseburg
revealed that the owners are Timothy Pham and Global
Shopping Malls, who bought four deeds for $4.85
million. Future planning mentioned a summer pro-
gram to bring urban children to Tiller to learn about the
environment.
So, what has happened since then? Good question,
since the town seems to only be mentioned online in old
news and real estate listings on Zillow.com
Looking for an answer, the Ear visited the Tiller Ore-
gon Facebook page and sent a message inquiring what
changes had been taking place under the new owners.
The answer was, as one English professor put it, “terse
but pithy.”
“No changes at all,” was the reply. “Pipe dream. Zero.
Not surprising at all, really.”
And there you have it.
I
F
WATCH YOUR STEP
arine oddity: In March, a furious octopus leapt
out of the water, lashing out with its tentacles, try-
ing to smack Lance Karlson while he was walking in shal-
low water on a beach in western Australia, the Indepen-
dent reported.
A screenshot from Karlson’s video shows the critter in
mid-attack. This was shortly after the octopus tried to beat
up a gull in a similar fashion.
Not one to leave well enough alone, Karlson went
swimming and found the fuming critter perched on a shell
bed. This time, the octopus gave Karlson a proper thrash-
ing, whacking him hard on the neck and arms.
Aside from some stinging, Karlson was fine. So was
the octopus.
M
LOCAL BREVITIES
few nuggets from the Saturday, May 20,
1882 edition of The Daily Astorian:
• “Shall a hotel furnish quill toothpicks?”
is the latest question.
Note: For centuries, many considered
wooden toothpicks not up to the task of remov-
ing trapped food for two very good reasons:
One, they get soggy and wear out, and two,
they splinter.
Early civilizations made toothpicks out of
metals, such as bronze and silver. The ancient
Romans came up with a clever and much more
inexpensive idea: Pulling bird feathers, and
sharpening the quill.
This idea made its way to Europe, and then
to this country via colonization. Those already
here had their own take on the toothpick
dilemma: Native Americans carved toothpicks
out of deer bone, and Eskimos found wal-
rus whiskers were handy for the task. (bit.ly/
quillpick)
• One hundred feet of a Seattle wharf fell
a few days ago. The piles having been com-
pletely eaten through by the teredo.
Note: The teredo navalis, or shipworm,
isn’t really a worm at all. Instead, it is a repul-
sive and voraciously hungry tunneling clam
who devours wood.
Perhaps the pilings in Astoria were safe
from these critters, though, because they
require water that is very high in salinity to
survive, and the water here is only brackish
(seawater mixed with freshwater).
Besides, Astoria’s pilings’ primary enemy
was fire. Both major blazes in the city, in 1883
and 1922, destroyed the waterfront pilings
on which many of the city’s businesses were
built. (bit.ly/teredos)
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
o many people have worried about John Wedell, aka
Helmet John, living on the street here in Astoria,
especially during the long, wet, bone-chilly winters.
Fortunately, he has a legion of friends who supply
him with warm winter clothes and gear, not to mention
his favorite treats, and keep an eye on him year ‘round.
“It’s been over a decade since John Wedell had
a roof over his head and had a bed to sleep in,” good
friend Jeff Daly posted on the Friends of John Wedell
Facebook page on May 14. “Today ‘Helmet John’ has a
home.”
His new and cozy abode is in the Merwyn Apart-
ments on Duane Street, next to City Hall.
Jeff’s heart-warming announcement is accompanied
by a video he took of John getting settled in, thanks to
friends who helped him move into his new studio apart-
ment, replete with a dishwasher (which made him smile).
A screenshot is shown.
Thanks also goes to T&C Home Furnishings in
Astoria, for donating a bed, the Cannery Pier Hotel and
Hotel Elliott for sheets and towels, and Shauna at Inno-
vative Housing Inc.
Jeff summed up the long-awaited happy day in four
words: “It’s all about community.”
S
COMMUNITY STRONG
ravis Oja was transferred late last night via Life
Flight (to Portland),” Kendra Cavett wrote on May
16. “He suffered from a spontaneous bleed in his brain
caused by a clot. He had emergency surgery to drain the
buildup of cerebrospinal fluid, and also to remove the clot
in his brain.”
“ … The days ahead will be critical in determining the
outlook for the future. His girlfriend, Paula McCargish,
along with their families, will be commuting and staying
in the Portland area during this time.”
Which is why Kendra has set up a GoFundMe account
at bit.ly/HelpTOja
“The goal amount,” she explained, “is for commuting,
hotel expenses, loss of wages, help with personal expenses
and to provide a cushion for the days ahead, that may
include some rehabilitation.
“Neither Travis or Paula, would ever ask for help.
Instead, these two are the front force of helping, supporting
and organizing many community events to help others …”
“This is our time,” Kendra added, “to show them
they have an army behind them. And we are community
strong!”
‘T
A
UNSINKABLE. REALLY.
or six years now, construction of a Chinese tourist des-
tination theme park, an exact full-scale replica of
the ill-fated ship Titanic, has been underway in Sichuan
Province, according to the South China Morning Post.
The landlocked site in China will also feature a South-
ampton port replica and tour buses that play “My Heart
Will Go On” endlessly. The progress on the ship is shown
in a photo courtesy of Agence France-Presse.
The Titanic project’s main backer, Su Shaojun, was
wildly inspired by the 1997 movie to the tune of, so far,
$153.5 million. Tourists will have to pony up about $310
to spend a single night on the ship, which includes “five-
star cruise service” and, thanks to the ship’s steam engine,
will have that “at sea” feeling … minus the Dramamine
and iceberg.
When will the project be completed? There was no
mention of an opening date, and from the photo, it looks
like it won’t be anytime soon.
“I hope this ship will be here in 100 or 200 years,” Su
declared.
F