Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2021)
Nikki davidson Chains and ropes were used to elevate the lightship and transport it on dry ground to the Columbia River. Columbia Pacific Maritime Museum Collections Manager Donella Lucero inspects the pages of the recently discovered 1901 book. Crews used horses to move the lightship across dry land. Continued from Page 8 If You Go Created in 1901, the book is rare surviv- ing evidence of an underdog success story that became one of the biggest local advance- ments in shipwreck salvage operations. The album contains dozens of printed photographs illustrating the tale of the Columbia River Lightship LV-50. The ves- sel was built in 1891 to guide ships through the fog of the treacherous Columbia River Bar, however, the craft itself ran into trouble during an 1899 November storm. Winds of more than 74 miles per hour ripped through the sails after anchor chains broke, tossing the lightship aground between North Head Lighthouse and Cape Disap- pointment. Crews were able to rescue the men aboard, but the ship itself was a mess, turned and stuck deep in the sand. Several salvage companies stepped for- ward to get the boat back to the water, but the harsh conditions made their efforts unsuc- cessful. Then, a wild proposal from Portland came into the picture from Andrew Allen and J.H. Roberts, a house-moving company. They promised to have the ship refloated in 35 days by picking it up and moving it more than a third of a mile on land to be launched in the Columbia River. In 1889, this kind of operation seemed an impossible task. Despite skepticism, the plan to move the ship with logs, chains and horses worked. It took longer than 35 days, but the vessel made it to Baker Bay, where it was repaired and successfully put back in the water. History comes home The mission took place just 2 miles away from the Columbia Pacific Maritime Museum. But, until now, much of the pro- cess was a mystery. Lucero explained that’s why this donation is so significant. Not only does it include 46 photos, but the original owner also stored a clipped article from Sci- entific American magazine that detailed the process. columbia Pacific heritage museum 115 Lake st. se, Ilwaco Open Wednesday to saturday 10 a.m to 4 p.m. each page and I thought, ‘oh my goodness! I think I just hit on something really import- ant,’” she said. “I told my husband, ‘we’re not leaving without this book.’” Although Kelley’s ultimate mission is to give an artifact like this to a family member, she couldn’t find any connections. An inter- net search led her to the Columbia Pacific Maritime Museum, where she offered to donate the book. A mystery The names of the people involved in the lightship project have been lost in time. The collections manager believes who- ever owned this book was an important part of the mission. Lucero explained the com- pany likely printed out several of these books, as she had encountered a partial ver- sion of another copy in the Oregon Histori- cal Society in Portland. Envious of the book ever since, she’s overjoyed that this complete copy has a new home in Ilwaco. “We’re always thrilled when we get a piece of history that just fills the blanks in,” she said. “We always knew (the ship) had been moved, and saw a couple of photos, but never to the extent of this book.” How the Ilwaco book ended up in Boston remains a mystery. Its rescue is all thanks to Kate Kelley, a woman who could be consid- ered an Indiana Jones of antique stores. Dubbed the “Photo Angel” in her Face- book group of more than 5,000 people, Kel- ley refers to her hobby of reconnecting fami- lies and old photos as “an addiction.” The long-time family tree research junkie came across a pile of anonymous photos in an antique store one day and couldn’t look away. “I thought, ‘these are somebody’s rel- atives,’ and ‘oh they have price tags on them,’” said Kelley. She purchased the pho- tos and launched an internet mission to find the family members of the people in the pic- tures. It wasn’t long before she located them and gifted the photos. Immediately, she wanted to dig again. She and her husband now visit various stores in search of pictures with names on them. She’s connected more than 100 families to lost photographs, some are even overseas. Early this fall, she came across the Columbia River Lightship book at a store in Lakeville, Massachusetts. “I started flipping through and I saw all these guys and the 5x7 pictures glued onto There are few clues to tell historians who the book belonged to. A name is written on the first page, that appears to read “H.W. Heakes.” Lucero believes a small scribble on one of the photos could have been the own- er’s way of identifying himself, but there’s no way to know for sure. “I’m sure it ended up in the family and someone looked at it and said ‘Where the heck is Ilwaco, Washington?” she laughed, estimating that it was given away by some- one who didn’t understand its significance. She says the discovery is an important message for residents who live on the North Coast, urging people to contact the museum if they find old mysterious objects. She believes the discovered book will become part of future shipwreck exhibits at the museum. “Some people think no one wants it because it’s just a picture of my family in front of the house,” she said. “And it could be something that we have a hundred pic- tures of, or it may be something that we don’t have any pictures of and we would want it. You never know until you see it.” Thursday, december 9, 2021 // 9