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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 12, 2022
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
JOGGING WITH BUSH
OVERLOOKING FORD
L
ast week this column ran a story about presidents
visiting Oregon, based on an Oregon Historical
Society accounting of such visits, and Roger Dorband
sent in a fun correction based on personal experience.
“The Ear overlooked President Gerald Ford who
visited Portland four times from 1974 to 1976,” Roger
wrote. “In 1976, at around 10 p.m., I was walking home
on Broadway Avenue in Portland from a local bar, when
all traffic was stopped and Ford’s limo, darkened win-
dows and all, and an open, black convertible with half a
dozen secret service went roaring by.
“I’ll never forget the feeling of having the nucleus of
power flash past. It was chilling, energetically dark and
frightening. Those were not the feelings I would have
predicted in that situation, but that’s how I felt.”
“There were a lot of Gerald Ford jokes around at that
time,” Roger noted. “One I remember was the statement
that Ford was so inept, that in a TV special on the White
House during his short time there, he was shown butter-
ing his English muffin on the wrong side.”
CLOWN AROUND TOWN
ell, here’s another tidbit about presidents visiting
Oregon, this one about George H. W. Bush who,
as president from 1989 to 1993, visited Oregon four
times, in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993.
“You missed one of the future presidents to visit Ore-
gon,” Scott Ames chastised the Ear. “George H. W.
Bush was in Eugene on May 14, 1980.
“I was a student at the University of Oregon at the
time. Bush was running for the Republican presidential
nomination against Ronald Reagan and others. Bush’s
campaign offered U of O students a free T-shirt that
bore the words ‘I Jogged With George Bush.’ I actually
did run close to him and his Secret Service detail for
a short distance, but Mr. Bush was a good athlete, and
much faster than me.
“But I got the shirt, and threw it out recently. It was
in tatters, but I regret not photographing it. I recall the
shirts made a minor stir in the media because the Bush
campaign was accused of giving away something of
value in exchange for votes.”
“I don’t think his campaign was fined or sanctioned
as a result,” Scott recalled, “but the event was mentioned
in Time magazine, or Sports Illustrated or some other
prominent periodical of the period.”
W
SUNSHINE IS GONE
storia’s favorite clown around town, Jeff Daly, who
grew up here, is prominently featured in a story by
Joni Kabana in the most recent issue of 1859 Oregon’s
Magazine. Her photos and a bit of the article are shown.
Did you know that Jeff has won two Peabody Awards
and an Emmy for his TV sports filming? It’s a skill he’s
still using around town for his own (and our) amusement.
He also produced a documentary, “Where’s Molly,”
about his long-lost sister, and another short documentary
about Astoria icon John Wedell, “Helmet John — Asto-
ria is Home.”
And of course, Kabana mentions those car creations
… The Glam Tram (now gone), and The Joy Train,
which brings a smile to faces all over town as he rolls by.
And who can forget the original Astoria Clown Car?
Found in Shaniko, he eventually finagled its release and
return to Astoria, only to reappear on our streets restored,
but seemingly driving backwards.
And, let’s not forget he’s created the Astoria Under-
ground Tour and the Wunderground Experience Airbnb.
As Kabana notes: “To consider Daly an original is an
understatement. But, to him, he’s just clowning around.”
And that’s a very good thing.
MORE PRESIDENTIAL VISITS
A
ccording to a 2015 story in The Oregonian, several
other presidents visited Oregon in addition to Ger-
ald Ford, George H. W. Bush and those mentioned in
last week’s column.
President Theodore Roosevelt (pictured) visited
once as president, in 1903, and at least twice at other
times, one of which was to Portland to lay the Mult-
nomah Athletic Club’s cornerstone.
President William Howard Taft spoke at Mult-
nomah Stadium, Providence Park, which was then part
of the Multnomah Athletic Club in 1909. President
Woodrow Wilson visited Portland in 1919, and Presi-
dent Warren G. Harding spoke at the Multnomah Ath-
letic Club 1923.
In June 1948, President Harry Truman hit the cam-
paign trail by train, covering Portland, Salem, Albany,
Eugene, Oakridge and Klamath Falls in a single day,
probably breaking a record. Apparently, he enjoyed the
convenience of speaking from a train’s rear platform,
and did so in Oregon in both 1950 and 1952.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first com-
mander-in-chief to fly in to Oregon in 1954 to speak at
the Pendleton Airport; in 1956, while campaigning, he
spoke at the Portland Airport and Civic Auditorium and
also rode in a parade. President Lyndon Johnson visited
Portland in 1964, and President Richard Nixon visited
Portland in 1971.
President Ronald Reagan visited Klamath Falls in
1983, and campaigned in Medford and Portland in 1984.
Phew! And that should complete the list of presidents
who visited Oregon, but if someone was missed, or if
anyone has a personal recollection, please don’t hesitate
to let the Ear know at ewilson@dailyastorian.com
By the way, although Herbert Hoover was born in
Oregon, he didn’t come back to visit until after his pres-
idency was over.
A
OH, BABY
T
he Daily Morning Astorian, May 13, 1884, had
this tidbit: “Robert Miller is the new postmaster of
the new post office at Sunshine.”
Sunshine? That took some digging, but Sunshine was
small town located across Willapa Bay from the east side
of Long Island in Pacific County. It was established in
1883, in what was then Washington Territory.
The Chinook Observer shed some light on the long-
gone town in its heyday, which evolved next to a busy
sawmill, and consisted of about 20 wood-framed build-
ings, including the post office, houses, a few shops and
a school.
A salmon cannery was built, and operated seasonally
until closing in 1903. It was demolished in 1905; only
the boat landing was still in use by 1908. The original
sawmill closed in 1896, and was torn down in 1902. The
post office closed in 1902, and the Nahcotta mail boat
no longer stopped there. Note: Even though the town
was gradually shutting down, a watchman was hired and
looked after the buildings before they were demolished.
As a last gasp, the well-equipped school, with a land-
mark large flagpole, which was built when hopes of
enduring business success were running high, closed in
1916.
Although the town failed, and essentially disappeared,
logging operations in the area continued for decades.
TURKEY TANTRUMS
he Center for Whale Research is dedicated to the
study and conservation of the endangered south-
ern resident killer whales (aka orcas) of the Pacific
Northwest.
With only 75 orcas left in that group, according to
Deborah Giles, science and research director for the
nonprofit Wild Orca, the birth of a new calf is a cause
for celebration. And, recently, one was spotted off the
Oregon Coast, the first born into K pod in more than a
decade.
“The CWR is aware of a video posted by the You-
Tube channel, The Guide’s Forecast, taken off Pacific
City on April 28, of members of K pod,” the Center for
Whale Research posted on its Facebook page on May 2,
“including what appears to be a very young calf associ-
ating with K20.” A screenshot from the video is shown.
“This calf would be the first viable baby born into K
pod since K44 in 2011. CWR plans to document the calf
during our photographic surveys so that we can assess its
health, confirm the identity of its mother, and assign it an
alphanumeric designation.”
“The mortality rate for young calves is very high,”
the post added, “but we are pulling for this little whale,
and hope to see it soon.”
T
disgruntled wild turkey has buffaloed Washington,
D.C., and well, they probably deserve it.
This particular fowl attacks humans with impunity,
and has since last November. DeDe Folarin’s video has
even made the Twitter rounds; a screenshot is shown.
According to Field & Stream, various agencies are
all over this crisis, including the National Park Service,
which put up warning signs, and the D.C. Department
of Energy and the Environment and the Humane Res-
cue Alliance.
The turkey crossed the river into Maryland, so the
Prince George’s County Department of Parks and
Recreation and the Maryland Department of Natural
Resources got involved.
“So far, neither the FBI nor the National Guard has
been called in,” Field & Stream quipped. “But this is
D.C., folks. Anything could happen.”
A
THIS ‘N THAT
F
rom The Daily Morning Asto-
rian, May 13, 1884:
• The old adage that the sea shall
give up its dead was faintly illustrated
last week. As Linsey Stone was walk-
ing on the ocean beach near Ocean
Park, Washington Territory, he came
upon the skeleton of a man lashed to
a board. Nothing remained but the
bones and skull, and so soon as they
were untied from the board, they fell
to pieces.
• There is some talk of starting a
Scandinavian newspaper in Seattle. It
is under discussion to establish a simi-
lar institution in Upper Astoria.
Note: Well, it didn’t happen in
Uppertown, but the Finns of Union-
town started a Finnish-language
socialist newspaper, Toveri, in 1907.
In fact, from 1891 to 1951, there were
10 Finnish language newspapers being
published in Astoria.
• Wm. Hume is authority for the
statement that there are no bears at
Eagle Cliff, but he has a great big $20
gold piece for anyone, regardless of
age, sex, or previous condition of ser-
vitude, who will bring or send him a
75-pound salmon.
Note: William Hume and his
brother, George, partnered with can-
ning guru Andrew Hapgood and,
according to the Oregon History
Project, opened the first salmon can-
nery on the Columbia River at Eagle
Cliff (about 50 miles east of Astoria)
across the river in Washington Terri-
tory during the winter of 1866 to 1867.
• John Bland and Horace Mace
met in a Burns saloon, on the fourth,
and turned loose on each other with
their revolvers. Both fell dead.