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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 11, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
ASTOR GOSSIP
AROUND TOWN
F
rom The Daily Morning Astorian, Nov. 11, 1882:
• Those who have not yet seen the comet should
embrace the opportunity afforded by these crisp, starlight
mornings. The celestial wanderer shows above the pines
that skirt the southern horizon …
Note: This would have been the “Super Comet,” the
Great September Comet of 1882, which Space.com
notes was probably “the brightest comet ever seen,” even
visible in broad daylight in September. It broke up into at
least four pieces, and could be seen in the morning sky for
months.
From The Daily Morning Astorian, Nov. 12, 1889:
• … About the biggest thing in the way of spuds seen
in these parts yet (is from) J.F. Warren of Knappa ... they
are 15 inches long and 3.5 inches through, and are dry and
mealy.
Note: Guinness World Records judges by weight, and
the heaviest is around 11 pounds, but the New York Post
says there’s a new contender from New Zealand, Doug the
Ugly Spud, weighing in at a bit over 17 pounds.
From The Daily Morning Astorian, Nov. 13, 1888:
• The British ship Maxwell, 14 days from San Fran-
cisco, arrived yesterday afternoon … She is 324 feet in
length. Some say she is the largest ship that ever crossed
the Columbia River Bar.
Note: The container ships we see so often anchored
off Astoria or heading upriver “often exceed 900 feet,”
according to the Columbia River Pilots.
CRUISING LARGE
s if cruise ships weren’t gargantuan enough already,
Royal Caribbean just took delivery of what is now
the world’s largest cruise ship, Wonders of the Sea (pic-
tured, courtesy of Royal Caribbean).
At 1,188 feet long, with 18 decks, she can accommodate
a maximum of 5,734 passengers (Warrenton has a popu-
lation of almost 6,000), along with 2,300 crew members.
She will begin service next March, sailing from Flor-
ida. During the summer, she will move to sail from Euro-
pean locations.
Photos on the Royal Caribbean blog show the ameni-
ties, which include a boardwalk and carousel, a pool and
sports zone, Central Park (trees and all), the Royal Prome-
nade through the shopping zone, a casino, a youth zone, a
spa and fitness club, and more. It would be easy to get lost,
especially with 11 bars on board.
Astoria is not currently on her route, but maybe
someday.
A
A RARE EVENT
n Friday evening, Oct. 29, around 7:10 to 7:15 p.m.,
I was out raking leaves off the driveway in the
dark,” Wallace Hummasti wrote, “when I saw a very
bright meteor-like object descending toward the northeast
as it burned up in the earth’s atmosphere.
“It was so bright that it lit up the ground around me as
if it was daylight. I wonder if anyone else saw this object,
and if part of it might have reached the Earth’s surface
intact.”
Actually, it was a fireball, and 36 people in Washing-
ton and Oregon reported seeing it to the American Meteor
Society, and the International Meteor Association.
The meteor society says while 10 to 50 meteorite drops
happen over the earth daily, two thirds happen over ocean,
and another one fourth over uninhabited lands, which
leaves only about 2 to 12 meteorite events discoverable by
people … if they look up. There’s no word on the Oct. 29
fireball landing, but just so you know, the largest meteorite
found on the ground weighs 66 tons.
As for fireballs, the meteor society says “the brighter
the fireball, the more rare is the event,” making the one
Wallace Hummasti saw rare, indeed. (Image courtesy of
the American Meteor Society)
‘O
hile researching a shipwreck, the following
popped up in a September 1883 edition of The
Daily Astorian: “Gossip About the Astor Family
Name.”
• The New York correspondent of The Philadelphia
Record says the Astors do not appear to have kept a very
correct list of births, marriages and deaths during the
first half century of their stay in this country …
… Mr. John Jacob Astor (pictured) seems to be
unaware that the family name was originally “Ash-
door.” An advertisement in the New York Gazette of
April 11, 1783, mentions a “dark brown horse, about 15
hands high,” as stolen from the first immigrant of that
name.
“Three guineas reward for the horse, saddle and bri-
dle. For the thief, horse, saddle and bridle, 10 guineas
will be paid by Henry Ashdoor.”
Henry died childless and left half a million dollars
($13.6 million now) acquired by the art and mystery
of butchering to his nephew, William B. Astor (1792–
1875, John Jacob Astor’s son and heir).
The change of name appears to have been made prior
to 1790, for in May of that year the inhabitants in the
neighborhood of the Fly Market petitioned that the stall
of Henry Astor, butcher, be removed to the lower mar-
ket …
Note: Henry Astor (1754–1833) was John Jacob’s
older brother, and came to New York with one of the
Hessian regiments hired by the British to fight in the
Revolutionary War.
The brothers were born in Germany, and their father,
Johann, was also a butcher. John Jacob joined Henry in
New York in 1783.
What about the name Ashdoor? Well, apparently it
wasn’t gossip at all. According to a 1913 issue of Amer-
icana magazine:
On Sept. 1, 1784, land records show “Henry Ashdoor
bought three lots … for £360. He signed his name Ash-
door to an advertisement of a reward for a stolen horse
in April 1783.
“He … was the first of this German name in New
York, now so well known under its Anglicized form of
Astor.” (bit.ly/JJAfam)
W
SAVING FALLS OF CLYDE
LITTLE BITS
obert Dziak, a scientist with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Marine
Environmental Laboratory, who is based at the Hatfield
Marine Science Center in Newport, has wanted to find
out if trees in Oregon were affected by the 1700 earth-
quake and tsunami for the last decade, according to an
Oregon State University press release.
The challenge was to find old-growth trees in the
tsunami inundation zone. Luckily, a stand of Douglas
firs was discovered just south of Newport, about three
quarters of a mile inland, which had somehow escaped
being logged. A tsunami model showed the area could
have been under almost 33 feet of water during the 1700
inundation.
Using core samples to examine the rings (which didn’t
harm the trees), they discovered the firs dated back to
around 1670. Dziak found what he was looking for: In
1700 the trees grew “significantly” slower.
“Getting these little bits of the picture,” Dziak
explained, “helps us understand what we might expect
when the next ‘big one’ hits.”
R
GOING HOLLYWOOD?
BAD BOYS
F
n The Daily Astorian, Nov. 12, 1884, an age-old lament,
“Concerning the boys,” by T. T. Caraniss, hoping to
“remedy the evil”:
“The engine house of No. 2 is a place of resort at night
for boys who should be at home. It would be doing justice
to the parents and the boys, if those who are in authority
would stop this practice.
“There are fruit and candy shops also, where dice
throwing is done for cigarettes, nuts, etc. The boys of this
town are thus taking their first lessons in gambling, and
thus unfitting themselves for business, as businessmen will
not employ boys who remain out late at night in bad com-
pany, or who gamble.
“… I make the suggestion that the city council take
some steps to aid parents in … much-needed police reg-
ulation in this town, where there are so many places of
resort which are disreputable … ”
I
rom The Daily Astorian Nov. 11, 1893:
• The four-masted ship Falls of Clyde came down
the river at 3 p.m. yesterday … She will go to sea today.
Note: Believe it or not, this iron-hulled tall ship, built
in 1878 at the port of Glasgow, Scotland, is still afloat,
and moored in Honolulu.
But not for long, if the Honolulu Harbors Division
has anything to say about it. They impounded the ship
in 2016, calling it “derelict,” and unsuccessfully tried to
auction it off.
Their plan is to scuttle (sink) this historic vessel,
which has been a Honolulu landmark and museum ship.
In 1989, she was even named a National Historic Land-
mark by the National Park Service.
She was the first, and now last, of eight sister ships;
the others were lost at sea or destroyed during the
world wars. The Falls of Clyde is also one of the last
sail-driven oil tankers. She is pictured in her former
glory.
After a close call in 2008, she was rescued when a
local group, the Friends of Falls of Clyde, a nonprofit,
was formed to buy her. But now the vessel has come
full circle, is in poor shape again, and is threatened with
being scuttled again.
However, another organization, the Falls of Clyde
International LTD, in Scotland, wants to save her, and
is raising money to do so. If you’re interested, you can
donate at foci.scot
Saving her from being destroyed — which is immi-
nent, if the Harbors Division auctions her off — would
then mean getting her back home to Scotland.
The plan is to rebuild her and restore the rigging,
making her a green energy teaching ship to “sail the
oceans of the world.”
un rerun: The internet music sensation “Gangnam
Style” by Korean rapper Psy, real name Park Jae-Sang
— with more than 150 million views on YouTube — has
sent the University of Oregon Duck, pictured with sev-
eral cronies, over the edge.
Astorian Andrea Larson Perez pointed out to the
Ear that the Duck, Oregon Cheer, Sluggo, Bigfoot and a
watermelon (honest) are all listed as stars in a tribute/par-
ody to the catchy tune, also on YouTube, which has gar-
nered more than 3 million views.
The Duck, disputing rumors of temporary insanity,
claims the video was created as a result of being bored
one day.
Psy wound up with a high-powered Los Angeles music
talent manager, prompting the burning question of the
week: Will the Duck go Hollywood, too? (In One Ear,
9/14/2012)
Note: Apparently not. But … the Duck’s video now has
almost 7.6 million views; Psy’s has been viewed an astro-
nomical 4.2 billion (yes, billion) times.
F