A7
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, FEbRuARy 24, 2022
CONTACT US
ewilson@dailyastorian.com
(971) 704-1718
COMMUNITY
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorian
IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
MIMI AND TILLY
O
ne of the most beloved landmarks on the North
Coast is the legendary Tillamook Rock Light-
house, aka Terrible Tilly, whose light first shone in 1881,
and was shut down in 1957.
Mimi Morissette bought the lighthouse in 1980,
cleaned up the mess, did repairs, and reopened it as
Eternity at Sea, a columbarium to house urns of ashes.
Unfortunately, the venture did not fare well.
The columbarium has since lost its license, and the
weather, wind and sea have wreaked havoc on the light-
house, which is quite difficult to access, but Morissette
remains optimistic that the lighthouse, and the colum-
barium, can be revived.
“This is a great picture showing the work that must be
done,” she wrote on Facebook about the photo shown.
“Replace tower metal with titanium panels, and the front
and back doors with titanium. Then a good paint job, and
Tilly will be back to square one.
“Of course, we have to evict the sea lions,
and they are not very tidy, so will need a major
swabbing out of the interior debris that they will leave
behind …”
“We will be looking for new owners in the ceme-
tery industry at a convention starting March 21. Tilly
will have her own booth at the Mandalay Bay hotel in
Las Vegas.” Tilly was featured at a similar convention
in 2019.
“Tilly is a dedicated cemetery, where she has room
for 300,000 urns,” Morisette noted. “A small piece of
each purchase will go in her perpetual care fund, where
she should have enough money to look beautiful for
years, and maybe even centuries.” Fingers crossed for
both Mimi and Tilly.
VERY BERRY
WISHFUL THINKING
F
rom The Daily Morning 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, and on the Nehalem, 25 miles from here.
We have not see either one of the mines, but … oth-
ers have.
Note: In 1892, the Northwest Mining
Review contains a piece by the editor titled, “Knappa,
Oregon,” which proclaims that although the area
is “almost an unexplored wilderness,” its access
to the Columbia River would be advantageous to
development.
“… Within a short quarter of a mile” of Knappa
are “fine indications of coal, which is supposed to be
the continuation of the Nehalem coal beds, which are
directly south about 30 miles distant.”
Samples from another coal bed nearby were sent to
Portland and San Francisco for testing, and found to
be a “superior quality of lignite,” a type of coal used
by blacksmiths and popular for “parlor use” because it
doesn’t leave residue on the hands.
Better yet, the coal beds were near deep water, not
far from the proposed railroad’s path, and were ulti-
mately “the best and most convenient outlook for coal
on any railroad in the Northwest.”
Coal and iron had also been found along Big Creek
in Knappa, which “is the shortest and easiest route into
the great forests along its banks and into the Nehalem
country.”
And yet, reports of actual coal mining in the area
are, so far, not found. Perhaps that is because a 1981
study for the U.S. Geological Survey concluded: “Coal
occurs in many places in Oregon, but the only large
reserves of high quality are in the Coos Bay and Eden
Ridge coal fields in southwestern Oregon.”
The Northwest Mining writer may have indulged
in wishful thinking about coal mining in Knappa, but
he was spot on about development: “… The almost
impenetrable forests will disappear, and in their stead,
well-tilled farms and gardens and orchards will greet
the eye.”
GREETING GRANT
‘A
s I read your recent In One Ear,” Tim Dixon wrote,
“I was reminded of a note in a journal I have that
belonged to my great-grandpa, Thaddeus Steven Trul-
linger (TST), son of John Corse Trullinger (Astoria
businessman, entrepreneur and mayor), and thought you
might find it of interest …”
“General U.S. Grant sailed from San Francisco on
the steamer St. Paul calleed at Astoria,” Thaddeus wrote.
“Made a speach at the 9th Dock. He greete al the peo-
ple, and shook hands with all the school kids and kissed
many of the girls. TST shook hands with Gen. Grant. He
arrived in Portland Oct. 14th 1879.”
The encounter in Astoria was on Oct. 13; young Thad-
deus (1867 — 1944), was around 12 years old when he
wrote the journal entry.
But Gen. Grant was no stranger to Astoria. He visited
merchant Adam Van Dusen’s (1823 — 1884) Uppertown
store in the early 1850s. In fact, the Oregon Encyclope-
dia says Grant, when stationed at Fort Vancouver, which
was then in Oregon Territory, not only visited Astoria, he
wanted to settle in Oregon.
“The fact is, my dear wife,” he wrote in a letter, “that
if you and our little boys were here I should not want to
leave here for some years to come.” However, he was
reassigned to California in 1853. And then there was The
Late Unpleasantness (aka the Civil War) and becoming
president.
Aside from his 1879 visit, Grant did not return to Ore-
gon again, and died in 1885.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
J
O
regon is a very strawberry-oriented state, and yes,
they are yummy, and fairly large, but …
Guinness World Records recently announced that it
has confirmed that the world’s heaviest strawberry,
of the Ilan variety, grown in Israel by Chahi Ariel,
weighs 10.19 ounces and has a circumference of 13.3
inches.
“During this strawberry season in late January and
early February it was particularly cold,” explained Ilan
breed creator Nir Dai, who witnessed the weigh-in.
“The strawberry developed slowly for more than 45
days from flowering, which caused its large size at full
ripening stage.” What he’s really saying is that multi-
ple berries fused into one giant berry.
There was no word about how it tasted, however.
(Image courtesy of Guinness World Records)
SITTING PRETTY
he Decorah (Iowa) North eagles, Mr. North and
Decorah North Female, are in parenting mode again,
and one egg has already been laid. A second, and possi-
bly a third, are anticipated.
Thanks to the Raptor Resource Project a web cam
is focused on the nest, and you are literally eye to eye
with the eagles while they go about their egg-sitting and
parenting duties.
Hatching usually happens in late March to early
April, and fledging is from mid-to-late June. The fledg-
lings leave the and become independent, but the parents
stay in the area year-round, returning to the nest annu-
ally to produce the next batch of eaglets, and you are in
on the whole process. Once you start watching, it’s hard
to stop.
T
CULLOUGHBY,
CULLABY
F
rom The Daily Morning Astorian,
dated Feb. 24, 1889:
• Mr. Tallant, of Astoria, came up yes-
terday morning in response to a telegram
to meet the U.S. Fish Commission car
and procure some white fish to plant in
Culloughby Lake on Clatsop Plains …
(He) secured 100,000 young white fish
and returned home happy.
Note: An article on MyODFW.com says
the lake, now called Cullaby Lake, “sup-
ports a variety of fish.”
According to NPS.gov, the lake is
named after a Native American named Cul-
laby, who is believed to be the son of Jack
Ramsay (or Ramsey) whom the Lewis and
Clark Expedition met Dec. 31, 1805 when
they were wintering at Fort Clatsop.
William Clark described Ramsay as “…
freckled with long duskey red hair, about
25 years of age, and must Certainly be half
white at least,” and who understood some
English, but did not speak it. It’s believed
that Ramsay’s father was probably a ship-
wreck survivor, or had deserted from a
British trading ship. Ramsay’s name was
known because it was tattooed on his arm.
In 1832, author Ross Cox wrote that
“poor Jack was fond of his father’s coun-
trymen, and had the decency to wear trou-
sers whenever he came to the fort (Asto-
ria). We therefore made a collection of old
clothes for his use, sufficient to last him for
many years.”
The Ocean View Cemetery Burial Site
Guide mentions the “Red-Headed Man, aka
Jack Ramsey.” In 1955, construction work-
ers near Fort Stevens uncovered his grave,
but then covered it up again, and the lost
grave is “consigned to future archeology.”
Sadly, little is written about Jack’s son,
Cullaby, even though he was clearly once
well-known enough to have a lake named
after him.
ust think: Now it will be possible to be doing some-
thing useful when buying a cell phone … if it’s the
newest Samsung Galaxy series, the S22, and Tab S8,
that is.
The new devices will contain “repurposed ocean-
bound discarded fishing net plastic,” PCMag.com
reports. More commonly known as ghost nets, they
entangle and kill marine life, including endangered spe-
cies, damage coral reefs and can even eventually wind
up in sources of food and water.
“Collecting and repurposing these nets are vital first
steps in keeping our oceans clean,” Samsung said in a
press release, “as well as preserving the planet and our
collective future.”
This notable advancement is filed under “better late
than never,” since Samsung recently stopped a toxic
spill that lasted 106 days in Austin, Texas, that wiped out
almost all of the aquatic life in a local tributary.
DOING WHAT’S RIGHT
eel good rerun: “There’s no substitute for doing
what’s right,” Thomas Colvin wrote, after find-
ing a wallet and a cellphone in the middle of Wire-
less Road.
“Was I tempted? Kids need braces, a chance to get
ahead on bills. Maybe for a second, but I know what it’s
like to live paycheck to paycheck. And I also know what
it’s like to be the recipient of generosity and goodness.
That’s why I’m at where I’m at right now.”
He found the owner, Brian, and refused a reward.
Instead, he asked Brian to help someone else when he
had the chance.
“… As a community we’re not without our short-
comings,” he mused, “but this is the best place in the
world to grow up, best place to raise a family, and best
place to live.” Especially with people like Thomas Col-
vin living here. (In One Ear, 4/22/2016)
F