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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, AuguST 25, 2022
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
EIGHT WAVES
T
he story “Eight of the Biggest Tsunamis in History”
was an eye-catcher, especially because of the Ore-
gon Coast’s proximity to the Cascadia Subduction
Zone.
The 2017 Karrat Fjord, Greenland, tsunami
reached a height of 295 feet, and was caused by a land-
slide. It wiped out a remote, tiny fishing village. Next in
line is a tsunami that hit Ambon Island, Indonesia, that
was 328 feet high. Caused by an earthquake on Feb. 17,
1674, it killed over 2,000 people.
A Lituya Bay, Alaska, megatsunami in 1853 or
1854, probably caused by a landslide, was 394 feet high;
another in Lituya Bay on Oct. 27, 1936, rose to 490 feet,
probably caused by an underwater rock slide. Icy Bay,
Alaska, also has landslide issues, and one caused a 633-
foot wave on Oct. 17, 2015.
A megatsunami after the Vajont Dam in Italy crum-
bled created a wave 771 feet high on Oct. 9, 1963, and
killed over 2,000 people. This time, the catastrophe was
caused by a poorly built dam.
The earthquake that caused Mount St. Helens in
Washington to erupt on May 18, 1980, also caused an
820-foot high wave when the north side of the volcano
fell into Spirit Lake.
And, the biggest, baddest wave, in Lituya Bay
(again), hit a whopping 1,720 feet on July 9, 1958.
Again, an earthquake and landslide were the culprits.
Conclusion: stay away from Lituya Bay.
IMPROMPTU SHARK
taff from the Seaside Aquarium participated in an
impromptu dissection of a nearly 12-foot female
thresher shark yesterday,” the aquarium posted Aug. 19
on Facebook. It was near the Cranberry Beach approach
in Long Beach.
“The female shark measured 11.8 feet, and weighed
nearly 200 pounds … By the time staff arrived, someone
had cut off the dorsal fin and removed the jaws, which
is not illegal, but does (compromise) scientific data. The
shark was too big to freeze, so the decision was made to
dissect the shark that day.” When asked if the marks on the
shark were caused by a ship’s propeller, the answer was
“no,” the cuts were made after the shark washed up.
“It was a great learning opportunity for staff and peo-
ple passing by,” the post concluded. “We had a few young
kids put on gloves and get their hands dirty. Staff took var-
ious external and internal measurements, along with tissue
and organ samples, which will be sent off to Taylor Chap-
ple at Oregon State University. He is currently studying
sharks off of the Oregon Coast, among other things.
Want to know more about sharks off of the Ore-
gon Coast? Go to bit.ly/OSUbigfish (Photo: Seaside
Aquarium)
“S
GUNS TO BUTTER
B
ookworm rerun: Seaside resident Robert Kron-
ing sells used books online; one was a first edition
of “Indecent Deception,” by R.H. Doty, published in
1984.
When Robert put the book up for sale, he in tucked a
copy of a July 9, 1987, Seaside Signal article about Doty,
who lived Seaside at the time, which said that Doty (pic-
tured), a 10-year Green Beret Vietnam veteran, managed
the Portland Fudge Company in Seaside, but also auto-
graphed copies of his book nearby at Columbia Books.
The author and his wife came to the North Coast via
Utah, planning to stay “a long time,” as he liked the
“change from guns to butter.” Even so, the couple moved
away.
Who bought Robert’s book? R.H. Doty, of course,
now living in Gautier, Mississippi. Why? “He must
have run out of copies,” Robert guessed. (In One Ear,
9/27/2013)
WE ARE CARETAKERS
f you saw balloons above the front
door last week, it was commem-
orating a big birthday party with cake
and champagne,” LaRee Johnson wrote
of her Astoria home’s 100th birthday
celebration.
The house, which is on Harrison Ave-
nue, was built for Dr. Leonard Andrews
and his wife, Asta, in 1922 for $5,000
(about $88,000 now). The house’s foot-
print remained essentially the same until
1950, when it was bought by Harry and
Nancy Flanagan, who added the back
guestroom and bathroom, an upstairs mas-
ter bedroom above and the back deck.
LaRee and her husband, photogra-
pher Andrew Cier, bought the house in
1993; the couple have done some renovat-
ing, adding a pergola, balcony and fence.
“I loved the idea that throughout the his-
tory of homeowners,” LaRee noted, “all of
them kept the architectural aspects of this
home intact, and we are so grateful.”
“This house is significant as an excel-
lent example of the Norman Farmhouse
in Astoria,” John Goodenberger wrote
for the Oregon State Historic Preserva-
tion Office. “The house greatly contributes
to the historic streetscape. Additionally,
the Norman architectural detail is carried
inside the house. It has one the most pictur-
esque living and dining rooms in the city.”
“From past to present,” LaRee wrote,
“neighbors and friends were invited to our
centennial celebration. The idea of a birth-
day party for a house may seem unconven-
tional, but we are grateful to all the pre-
vious owners over the past 100 years who
kept the historic integrity, original wood-
work, lighting fixtures, even the old ‘wavy’
window glass, intact.”
“We are but caretakers of our homes,
that will certainly go on beyond us,” she
added, “and we are pleased to take on that
role.”
“I
REFINED ENTERTAINMENT
T
he
Merriam-Webster
dictionary
describes a “dog and pony show” as:
“an often elaborate public relations or sales
presentation.” But where did the expres-
sion come from?
The Daily Morning Astorian, in the
Aug. 25, 1890 edition, provides an answer,
with the “novel entertainment” of “Prof.
Gentry and his wonderful company of 50
educated dogs and ponies (who) will give
two of the grandest entertainments ever
seen in this city …
“… There are 40 dogs and 10 ponies
in the lot, and they do everything but talk.
The ponies are the finest specimens that
money can buy. They go through military
drill, battle scenes, build revolving pyra-
mids and, in fact, do everything that is pos-
sible for a dumb brute to accomplish.
“Among the dogs are four white Rus-
sian dogs that cost Prof. Gentry $500 each
untrained, three of the funniest clowns in
the world, Master Barney, the only dog
on earth that can turn 100 back somer-
saults, and nine champion English grey-
hound leaping dogs … This entertainment
is moral, refined and instructive; a gold
mine of fun for a little money. Prices, chil-
dren, 25 cents (about $8 today), adults, 50
and 75 cents.”
Teenager Henry Gentry, the “professor,”
who had a knack for training farm animals,
and his three brothers, started touring in
1886 with their act, Gentry’s Equine and
Canine Paradox. Among the shows they
developed was Prof. Gentry’s Famous
Dog and Pony Show, replete with “aristo-
cratic animal actors.” By 1910, their Gen-
try Bros. Circus was the largest circus on
the road.
SAD LIST
T
he sad list of summer drownings grew larger last
weekend in Seaside. The Aug. 25, 1890 edition of
The Daily Morning Astorian mentioned a similar inci-
dent, also in Seaside.
The young man had been warned to be cautious in
the surf and riptide, but “when he found he was being
carried out, he attempted to swim back against the cur-
rent, which was impossible for anyone to do,” the news-
paper reported. He exhausted himself in his desperation,
and disappeared from sight.
Even in 1890, informed swimmers knew what to do:
“… Instead of attempting to swim back against the cur-
rent, (the swimmer) lets himself be carried along with
it,” the newspaper advised, “knowing that after a lit-
tle, the current will lose its force and be lost in the vol-
ume of water farther from shore, then at his leisure he
can swim back and regain the beach at a more favor-
able point.”
A gentleman from the East Coast noted that the “life
saving appliances on the beach were very meager … At
all watering places where surf bathing is indulged in, it
is the custom to have a raft or float anchored beyond the
breakers, where bathers who desire a long swim may
rest … To it are attached life lines connected with the
shore, and a case of drowning is seldom heard of.” A
good idea, even now.
POOPED PARKLET
storia’s parklets: People either love them or hate
them,” a local little bird opined.
“Wonder how they got started? Well, you have to
look back to 2015, when a pilot program was introduced
to try out a parklet on 11th Street for a two-year period.
And here we are, seven years later, with a parklet made
out of used pallets, that has reached its life’s end, riddled
with rot, and unsafe, so Jeff Daly removed it.
“Some of the local merchants next to the parklet were
upset with the move, and since have put signs in their
windows saying that Jeff, who built the parklet to begin
with, for heaven’s sake, is no longer welcome on their
premises.
“So, Jeff being the good prankster, has decided to
test the waters. A group of his friends will walk into the
store wearing a photograph of Jeff in the sixth grade, and
another looking 90 years old, covering their faces, mak-
ing the cashier wonder which one was the real or the
fake Jeff.
“They’ll all be fakes,” the little bird reported. “Jeff
will be watching from afar, respecting and questioning
the reasoning.”
“A
MAMMOTH MOTH
T
he Aug. 5 Washington State Department of Agri-
culture newsletter, Ag Briefs, reports that a solitary
atlas moth was discovered in Bellevue, Washington.
This moth, with a wingspan of almost 10 inches, is non-
native, so it was filed under a “pest alert.” This is the first
U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed detection of
an atlas moth in the U.S.
Anyone who finds one is “encouraged to photograph,
collect and report” it. They are safe to handle, but as a fed-
erally quarantined pest, it’s illegal to “obtain, harbor, rear
or sell live moths” in any form without a USDA permit.
“This is a ‘gee-whiz’ type of insect because it is so
large,” Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department
of Agriculture managing entomologist, noted. “… This
is normally a tropical moth. We are not sure it could sur-
vive here …
“We hope residents will help us learn if this was a
one-off escapee,” he added, “or whether there might,
indeed, be a population in the area.” (Photo: WSDA)