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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MARcH 10, 2022
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
A DREAM PIECE?
FEELING UPLIFTED
CAPT. HARMON’S MISERY
nything related to vanished aviatrix Amelia Ear-
hart — who was, incidentally, a fan of Miss R.E.
Barrett, a city manager of Warrenton — draws tre-
mendous interest. In fact, Heritage Auctions in Dal-
las recently sold one of Earhart’s leather flying caps
for $825,000.
Backed up by “photo match documentation,” Ear-
hart apparently wore this particular cap when she
became the first woman fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
About 14 months later, in August 1929, Earhart par-
ticipated in the National Air Races in Cleveland,
Ohio, which Anthony Twiggs‘ mother attended with
friends.
Among them was a young man who ran down into
the field, found the cap on the ground near Earhart’s
plane, and gave it to Twiggs’ mother. Inside, the name
“A. Earhart” is handwritten in black ink. The cap has
been tucked away in a closet ever since, “an absolute
dream piece for the advanced Earhart collector,” the
auction company claimed.
Not so fast, says The International Group for His-
toric Aircraft Recovery, in an email titled “Due Dili-
gence”: There appears to be no evidence that Earhart
wore that type of cap during the 1929 race, but at least
one other woman flyer did; those caps were commer-
cially available for $1 ($16 now); and, the handwriting
in the cap does not match Earhart’s.
“If the auctioned helmet is the one Earhart wore
during the 1928 transatlantic flight, it belongs in
a museum,” the group concluded. “If it’s not, it’s
right where it belongs.” (Photo courtesy of Heritage
Auctions)
A
he Daily Morning Astorian of March
10, 1887, mentions a letter from Capt.
Steve Babbidge to publisher J. F. Halloran,
about Capt. George Harmon, and the ill-fated
steamer, Dawn:
“Herewith I send enclosed a letter written on
board the steamer Dawn Feb. 10th. The letter
will tell its own sad story. Mr. D. H. Williams,
living at Alsea, picked up a bottle containing
the above-mentioned letter, three miles below
(or south) of Alsea bar …
“On reading Captain Harmon’s letter, I am
inclined to think he mistook Yaquina entrance
for Shoalwater, and Alsea for Gray’s Harbor
… You can dispose of the letter as best suits
you. Most likely the writer would cherish it as
a treasure.”
But Capt. Harmon’s misery wasn’t caused
by mistaking one place for another. He simply
had a string of incredibly bad luck.
Harmon and the Dawn’s co-owner, Capt. A.
H. Church, left Knappton, Washington Ter-
ritory, on Feb. 3. Shortly thereafter, a steam
pipe burst, and they lost power. They tried to
anchor; the chain broke. They tossed out small
anchors; they wouldn’t hold.
Signaling the master of the General Canby
several times for help was fruitless. He ignored
them. They managed to cross the Columbia
River Bar, hoping to be spotted, but by morn-
ing, they had been pushed out to sea.
They repaired the steam pipe, but ran out of
fuel. They put up some small sails, but were
blown offshore again for three more days. Once
the wind died down, land was in view, but they
drifted another 24 hours.
The steamer Empire found the pair, and
gave them provisions and a tow — just in time;
they had almost died of starvation. At Coos
Bay, the survivors were put aboard the Empire,
keeping the Dawn in tow, but she broke free
and was lost, costing her owners everything
they had. Once docked in San Francisco, the
Empire crew generously bought the men pas-
sage to Astoria.
Although grateful, “we feel hard about the
matter,” Harmon noted, “because had our sig-
nals been heeded, we would not have gone to
sea and lost our vessel.” To think he would have
cherished his letter as “a treasure” seems doubt-
ful, indeed.
T
NOT FUN FACTS
ince Friday is the anniversary of the 2011 Japanese
9.0 earthquake and tsunami, a few facts from
LiveScience.com are in order, since a similar event is
expected on the Cascadia Subduction Zone off Ore-
gon’s coast.
The earthquake shook the ground about
six minutes. There were more than 5,000 after-
shocks, the largest being a 7.9. Honshu island moved
8 feet east, and the Pacific Plate, near the epicen-
ter, slid 79 feet west. The Earth shifted on its axis,
and the length of a day was shortened by about a
microsecond.
The tsunami, which took 10 to 30 minutes to
arrive, reached a maximum height of around 128 feet
in Iwate Prefecture, and swept inland for 6 miles in
Sendai. Five million tons of debris were swept out to
sea.
Got that go bag ready?
S
INDUSTRY AGROUND
he American barkentine Industry was tragically
lost on March 16, 1865. She left San Francisco on
Feb. 23, with 24 aboard and Capt. Lewis as master
and, after two weeks of rough sailing through heavy
gales, she reached the Columbia River.
After several days, a bar pilot boat came out, and
the pilot raised his flag. Lewis approached to let a pilot
board, but the pilot boat turned and headed back over
the bar. Capt. Lewis assumed that the pilot boat was
guiding him in, so he followed.
It didn’t go well; he had to drop anchor to avoid
grounding. Under way again, he drifted onto a sand
spit stern first. The ship was done for. One of the boats
was lowered, but it was quickly swamped, and the
mate drowned. Desperate, the crew climbed up into
the rigging, and heavy seas destroyed the rest of the
small boats during the night.
The next morning, two rafts were hastily con-
structed. The five men on one raft were rescued. Of
the eight aboard the other raft, four were washed over-
board, and two died of exposure. Ten, including the
captain, vanished with the wreck.
Clara Munson recalled that her father, Capt. J. W.
Munson, when he was lighthouse keeper at Cape Dis-
appointment in 1865, found a wrecked longboat on
the beach. “Father realized that if he had had a good
lifeboat, he could have saved the crew of the Indus-
try, so he decided to fix up this old boat for future
emergencies.”
Which he did, raising the money by playing the vio-
lin at two dances he gave in Astoria, netting over $200
(about $3,400 now). He fixed the boat and, with two
assistants, even built a boathouse for it … and proba-
bly saved several lives. (bit.ly/LewDry)
ant to serve your community in a very real way?”
Marcy Dunning, president of Clatsop Animal
Assistance asks. “The Clatsop County Animal Shel-
ter and Clatsop Animal Assistance are always in need of
hard-working and reliable volunteers!
“We have plenty of opportunities, including dog walk-
ing, cat socializing and cuddling, fostering, transport-
ing animals to vet appointments, and just loving on our
animals.”
“I have been a volunteer dog walker for four months,”
Lisa Minnear said, “and only wish I had started years
ago. I care deeply for animals, but was reluctant to vol-
unteer because I didn’t think I would be able to handle it
emotionally.
“I was wrong, I had no idea how rewarding the experi-
ence would be. Every walk, trick, praise and pat that I con-
tribute helps to improve the animal’s social skills and qual-
ity of life while they wait for their forever home.”
Interested in some therapeutic (for both of you) animal
bonding time? Call the shelter to schedule an orientation
at 503-861-7387.
For questions, email Marcy at marcy.dunning@gmail.
com, and check out the volunteer videos at dogsncats.org/
volunteer-opportunities
“I look forward to my shelter shifts and always feel
uplifted when I leave,” Lisa added. “The fresh air, move-
ment, quality time with the dogs, and connection with an
amazing group of shelter staff and volunteers fills my cup.”
‘W
RIGHT AND RARE
osh Trosvig, captain of the 58-foot fishing vessel
Cerulean, made a rare discovery on Feb. 8 in Alas-
ka’s Bering Sea while fishing for cod. He was waiting
for the tide to change when he spotted something that
looked like a large tote floating on the surface of the
water about 300 feet away.
It was actually a group of whales with an unusual
feeding tactic; they were moving “like bulldozers” he
told KUCB. So he kept watching, and took videos,
which he sent to fisheries biologists for identification.
Other fisherman saw and photographed the whales as
well.
The scientists were shocked; it turned out what Tros-
vig had seen were very rare, critically endangered North
Pacific right whales. The National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration estimates there are only 30
of these whales left in the world.
“For 35 years now, I have been flattening waves out
here, and never seen one,” Trosvig wrote on Facebook.
Yet on that one day, he estimates he saw “at least 10
individuals.” (Photo by Brenda K. Rone, courtesy of
NOAA)
J
T
DELINQUENT COWS
lease say this can’t happen here: A homeowner in
Georgia was invaded by “dozens of cows mooing
loudly” Fox5 Atlanta reports.
The bovine miscreants, who had roamed almost 2
miles from their dairy farm home, were filmed by a
Ring video doorbell camera.
“The cows completely destroyed my new land-
scaping and ate my bushes,” homeowner Alisha said.
“There are deep holes from the cows walking in the
grass, along with some lovely cow pies, but overall
fixable damage.”
One cow was particularly intent upon devouring the
Ring doorbell but, Alisha said, “the cow ended up giv-
ing up, and enjoyed a plant instead.”
P
TITLE AND TARTAN
t. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, and in case you’d
like to give that special someone something a little
more substantial than green beer, CelticTitles.com might
just be the answer.
You can obtain a Laird, Lord or Lady of Ardmore
title by buying a minuscule plot of land in Slievekirk
Wood in Northern Ireland. A 1 square foot plot costs
$60, but if you buy 10 square feet, it’s only $240. Natu-
rally, there is a tartan to go with the title. A screenshot of
the general area is shown.
OK, so it’s a bit of a vanity thing, but there’s a good
deed in there, too. Since they receive no government, lot-
tery or other financial grants or assistance, the company
uses the profits to manage the land as a nature reserve.
And yes, you can actually go visit your little piece of
Ireland. Slàinte!
S