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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, SEpTEmbER 2, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
LABOR OF LOVE
S
ince Monday is Labor Day, a little history lesson is in
order, right from the source, the U.S. Department of
Labor (tinyurl.com/5Sep1882).
Although there had been many parades, picnics, etc.
supporting labor in the 1800s, there was no specific day
devoted to the working man. However, at a meeting of the
Central Labor Union in New York in May 1882, some-
one — no mention of who, exactly — proposed a “mon-
ster labor festival” for September. A committee was duly
formed, the date set, a park was chosen and a resolution
was passed declaring “that the 5th of September be pro-
claimed a general holiday for the workingmen in this city.”
Unfortunately, employers weren’t exactly on board with
the idea, and anyone participating in the event would lose a
day’s pay. But that didn’t seem to throw a wet blanket on the
festivities, as the various local unions puffed up their coffers
by managing to sell 20,000 tickets to the event.
Sept. 5, 1882, started out with grim prospects, as only a
few showed up at the beginning of the parade. Gradually
groups of union members and labor supporters showed up,
however, and an estimated 10,000 people wound up in the
parade by the time it arrived at the park for the celebration.
An illustration of the crowd is shown.
The event was a decided hit, and gradually other areas
started having festivals honoring workers, too. In fact,
Oregon was the first state declaring Labor Day a state hol-
iday in 1887, making it the first Saturday in June, strangely
enough (tinyurl.com/OreLD). Eventually, bowing to pub-
lic pressure, in 1894, Congress declared an annual Labor
Day to be celebrated the first Monday in September, as it
has been ever since. And there you have it. Enjoy the day!
(In One Ear, 9/1/2017)
HONORABLE MENTION
MYSTERIOUS MANZANITA
T
his item in the Sept. 4, 1897, issue of The Daily
Astorian sent the Ear on a history chase: “The U.S.
lighthouse tender Manzanita will be launched from
the Smith’s Point ship yards between 4 and 5 o’clock
this afternoon. As this is the first large ship building con-
tract ever taken in Astoria it is anticipated that every-
body in town will be there.”
But the Ear could not find a Manzanita, built
in 1897, in Astoria. The only lighthouse tender named
Manzanita of that vintage was a wooden-hulled, steam
powered ship built in New York in 1880 (tinyurl.com/
manzan2). Sad to say, she was off to an inauspicious
start.
In 1881, lighthouse inspector Charles McDougal
made an inspection trip up the California coast on the
vessel. As they neared Cape Mendocino, he strapped
on a money belt holding the lighthouse keeper’s pay in
gold coins. Heading ashore, the launch capsized in the
breakers, and he and two members of the tender’s crew
drowned.
Some felt the deaths cast a pall over the Manzanita,
which was only the second lighthouse tender to serve in
the Pacific. She transferred to the 13th District (which
includes Astoria) in 1886, and the historical references
say that she was rebuilt in 1887, but do not mention spe-
cifically where.
On Oct. 6, 1905, a dredge ran into the tender on the
Willamette River. She sank, but wasn’t done yet. A
month later she was raised and towed to Tongue Point.
Decommissioned, she was unceremoniously sold to a
tug company, and eventually replaced with a new light-
house tender, also named Manzanita (pictured), built in
1908 in San Francisco.
Around 1912, the original Manzanita was rebuilt
again, this time to be used commercially, and served
until the 1940s. In 1944, she met a sad end, and was
burned for scrap metal.
Back to the original 1897 Daily Astorian story: The
Ear suspects that it is not referring to a new vessel being
launched at all, but to the launch of the rebuilt 1880
Manzanita. If so, the historical accounts putting the date
of the rebuild at 1887 are wrong by 10 years. And, if it
weren’t for the newspaper’s snippet, no one would be
the wiser. Mystery unraveled … hopefully. (In One Ear,
9/2/2016)
HAVE BARGE, WILL TRAVEL
atie Rathmell, owner of Pacific Window Restoration,
is restoring windows and building sashes for the oldest
house in Astoria, the Hiram Brown,” Mindy Stokes wrote.
“Katie has also restored windows in other treasures found
around Astoria: The Astoria Column, the Norblad, and the
Astor.” Mindy’s photo of Katie is shown, inset.
Of course, the Ear was intrigued, and wanted to know
more about the house, which was originally built in Adairs-
ville (east Astoria) — which is not where it is now. So
why did it get moved? According to the National Register
of Historic Places registration form for the Shivelvy-Mc-
Clure Historic District (tinyurl.com/brownmove):
“Adam and Caroline Van Dusen, who settled in Asto-
ria’s eastern district in 1847, were among the first prominent
families to realize Col. Adair’s dream was simply that: a
dream. In 1864, they moved to Shively’s Astoria since it was
apparent Adairsville was not progressing, and they desired
to be near a thriving business district … Capt. Hiram Brown
(a bar pilot) is another prominent individual who lost faith in
Col. Adair. Not only did he move to central Astoria, but in
1862, Brown moved his entire 1852 Gothic-style house —
barging it from Adairsville (to 12th Street, then rolling it to)
its current location at 1337 Franklin Avenue.”
Amazingly, it came through the ordeal “without even
cracking the wallpaper or breaking a window,” the plaque on
the side of the house says. And, as Paul Harvey said so often,
“Now you know the rest of the story.” (In One Ear, 9/2/2016)
‘K
THERE BE DRAGONS
A
COLD OFF THE PRESS
ince Saturday, June 4, 1887, was the first official
Labor Day in Oregon, the Ear decided to check out
what was going on that day in The Daily Morning Asto-
rian. The simple answer is: Not much.
On Page 1, the featured story takes place in a Native Amer-
ican village outside Juneau, Alaska; the reporter attended a
double cremation ceremony. The only other story, amongst
all the ads (e.g. “C.H. Stockton, Pioneer Painter and Paper
Hanger”), was a short rant about the price of hay.
On Page 2, the prominent story is whether or not the
star of Bethlehem would be visible during the Christmas
season. Of lesser importance, “The Joy of Planked Shad.”
Page 4 offers a short column of “Shipping Intelligence,”
and the rest is ads, many touting local saloons.
But hey, what about mentioning the first state holiday
honoring the working man? It’s on Page 3, where the local
tidbits and “Latest Telegraphic News” items are. Look just
under the masthead for two words in small type, and there
it is: “Labor day.” (In One Ear, 9/1/2017)
S
IS THAT YOU, ASTORIA?
T
he Ear audibly hooted in disbelief at Sunset Mag-
azine’s review of Astoria, which came in at No. 2
in “Top 14 Unsung Beach Towns” (tinyurl.com/Asto-
riaOcean): “Yellow-slickered fishermen mix with just a
sprinkling of iPad-toting tourists in this small riverfront
town with San Francisco–steep streets. Particularly fine
stretches of sand with towering dunes and uninterrupted
ocean views make Astoria a dreamy spot ….”
Cannon Beach got a nod, too, as did Depoe Bay, New-
port, Port Orford, Bandon and Westport, Washington,
but there’s no mention of Hammond, where the photo of
“Astoria” used for the story was taken by Jake Stangel.
The Ear only has only one question: Would someone
please point out Astoria’s “towering dunes and uninter-
rupted ocean views”? (In One Ear, 9/1/2017)
or your amusement and edification, some tid-
bits from the Aug. 14, 1888, edition of The Daily
Morning Astorian (one of the ads of the day is
pictured):
• If you remark that hot weather always makes you
transpire profusely, the chances are that someone will
take you up for an incorrect use of the word “transpire.”
But as a matter of fact, you will be using the word in
strict accordance with Webster’s definition of it. Men
who knew this are winning wagers on their knowledge
every day.
• Good order and security to person and prop-
erty characterize Astoria. While other places suf-
fer nightly depredations from thieves, Astoria enjoys
immunity. The reason of this is that we have a vigilant
police service. In this case it is good to let well enough
alone.
• Dr. J.B. Pilkington, the veteran surgeon, oculist
and medical specialist of Portland, will be at the Occi-
dental Hotel, Astoria, all day Friday, Aug. 17, 1888, and
will give special examinations free ... Over 300 cases
of piles, fissures, fistulas and rectal ulcers treated suc-
cessfully, without use of knife or ligature within the past
three years.
• Personal Mention: Capt. George Flavel was
reported much better last evening ... People who come
down from Portland naturally forget to bring their
blankets.
• Hurrah for the Clatsop railroad! Half the stock was
taken yesterday. What’s the matter with taking the other
half today!
• The great black and white sign that informed all and
sundry that the roadway was unsafe and dangerous to
travel by order of the City Council is now a part of a
fence on the upper Astoria roadway.
• John Fistenmacher lived in east Portland till quite
recently. He had economy down fine and last week
pulled the strap one hole tighter and went dead. By strict
self-denial, he was able to leave $10,336.49; didn’t take
a cent along. He has no heirs, and the state of Oregon
gets the swag. John had a great head and a correct value
of himself. (In One Ear, 9/4/2015)
rather large chunk of Scandinavian history literally
appeared out of the blue in August, The Local (Swe-
den’s news in English) reports, when a Danish ship’s fig-
urehead in the shape of a grinning dragon was pulled up
from a seabed off the southern Sweden town of Ronneby
(tinyurl.com/dragonsup).
Believed to be one of the oldest preserved wooden carv-
ings of its kind, the figurehead weighs in at more than 650
pounds. It is thought to be from a ship that sank after a fire
in the 1480s, the Gribhunden, which was commissioned
by King Hans, who ruled Denmark from 1481 to 1513.
The creepy critter is pictured, courtesy of the Ble-
kinge Museum, which plans to put the dragon on display
soon. The museum also aims to preserve it, starting with a
3-month bath in sugar water to remove by osmosis the salt
it has absorbed from the sea.
“This figurehead is probably the only one left from a
15th century ship in the world,” Marcus Sandekjer, from
the museum, speculated, and said it was a “fantastic feel-
ing” watching expert archaeologists lift it out of the water.
“520 years under water ... and in such a great condition!”
(In One Ear, 9/4/2015)
F
HAMLET FIRE TO THE RESCUE
he Hamlet Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook
page had a heartwarming post on Monday: “This
evening, Hamlet Fire was called to Saddle Mountain.
A slightly unusual situation greeted fire personnel: The
injured party was furry and had four legs.
“A family and their two Bernese mountain dogs had
completed the hike to the summit and were on their way
back down the mountain. The hike proved to be a little too
much for one of the dogs; with a little more than a mile left
to go, she simply couldn’t go any further. A stokes basket,
wheel and some padding were put to use, and the canine
was treated to a downhill ride … ” “We carried the 100-
plus pound dog … down the trail back to the parking lot,”
Fire Chief Matthew Verley told the Ear. Pictured, a grate-
ful “Remi,” being assisted by, from left, Will Cochran,
Shane Mergel, Susan Oxley (paramedic), and Dayton
Vetter. Also helping out was John Benson. Remi’s four-
legged pal, “Aspen,” looks on in the background.
Grateful family member Stephanie Brockett Smith
posted, “You guys and gals are Rock Stars!” Indeed. (In
One Ear, 9/2/2016)
T