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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 • B1
WATER UNDER
THE BRIDGE
COMPILED BY BOB DUKE
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week – 2012
H
AMMOND — Civil War re enactors were easy to
spot at Fort Stevens State Park on Labor Day week-
end. Amid a sea of shorts and T-shirts, they roamed
the site decked out in layers of antiquated clothes.
I should know — I was one of them.
My outfi t was provided by several generous ladies of the
Confederacy, who loaded me a chemise, and underskirt, a
hoop skirt, a corset, a dress, a pair of gloves, a brooch and
a bonnet.
I was missing the pantaloons and the correct footwear ,
but I think I got the general idea. The men wore about the
same amount of layers, so don’t go thinking they got off
scot-free.
A hoop skirt isn’t heavy, but maneuvering around in a
crowd — or even walking side-by-side with a similarly
dressed friend — can turn into a clumsy endeavor. Thank-
fully, I mastered the art of sitting, so there were no fears of
an up ended skirt.
Here’s a little behind-the-scenes tidbit: though the last
vestiges of the public left Fort Stevens State Park by 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, the fun didn’t stop for re enactors.
They remained fi rmly planted in the past, multi-cotton-
and-wool layers and all.
Oil lamps and candles warded off the night, and the
breathable canvas tents off ered comfortable sleeping
quarters.
Union and Confederate joined together Saturday night
for a dance where re enactors performed period dances like
the Tennessee Waltz and the Patty-Cake Polka to live music.
For my part, I wouldn’t mind dressing up again — just so
I could dance the Virginia reel one last time.
2012 — With a background of the Columbia River, soldiers charge a position at the Civil War reenactment at Fort Stevens.
The women wore their largest hoop skirts and
their best dresses, complete with bonnets, gloves
and even the occasional parasol to shield against
the setting sun.
The men – Union, Confederate and civilian –
put aside their diff erences to join together for the
ceremony. As the guitar, violin and fl ute began
to play the wedding march, the crowd stood and
sighed in appreciation as the bride made her way
down the aisle toward the groom.
Though the cameras were digital and modern
spectators stood on the sidelines, it was a scene
right out of 1865.
Jim Stanovich and Sharon Wilson’s Civil War-
themed wedding brought Sunday evening’s activi-
ties to a close at the Northwest Civil War Council’s
Civil War re enactment at Fort Stevens State Park.
50 years ago – 1972
SEASIDE — The shape of Seaside soon may be dras-
tically changing. Seaside’s Planning Commission recom-
mended Thursday the annexation of 525 acres south of the
existing city limits.
Approximately 400 acres of the proposed annex-
ation is earmarked to become a planned recreational
and residential development by Portland contractor Carl
Halvorson.
Halvorson told the Planning Commission his proj-
ect eventually could provide 1,500 residential and condo-
minium units.
The proposed development, designed by Planning Asso-
ciates of San Francisco, would be in the area south of the
Seaside Golf Course and west of U.S. Highway 101.
Halvorson’s proposed development, “The Trees,”
includes a series of recreational ponds fed by the Necani-
cum River and Circle Creek.
Thousands of tourists jammed Clatsop County
beaches and parks during the fi rst two days of
Labor Day weekend, sweating through a swelter-
ing 95-degrees Saturday and cooling off on a more
normal, 70-degree Sunday.
Most tourists prepared to leave for home today
on highways clogged with trailers and campers.
Long, tube-like structures along both sides of the ship
dangle down like grotesque tentacles waiting idly while the
ship stands in port.
A mass of gray-and-black levers and gears litter the cen-
ter deck. Others, color-coded in orange, red and yellow, lie
everywhere in a mind-boggling array.
“How do you ever fi gure out which gear does what and
which lever moves what?” I asked one of the crewmen.
“It’s easy,” he said, “Once you’ve been on the boat for
awhile.”
This is the dredge Biddle, one of four U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers’ oceangoing dredges.
With reports of a very good vacation season
from Astoria-Seaside area motels, one motel is get-
ting ready for next year.
Astoria’s Thunderbird Motel is expected to
have 31 new units ready by Oct. 1. Construc-
2012 — Daily Astorian reporter Rebecca Sedlak took on
the role of a Civil War-era Southern woman during the
reenactment that took place during the weekend at Fort
Stevens State Park.
2012 — Jim Stanovich and Sharon Wilson pledge their
“troths” in a wedding ceremony at Fort Stevens State
Park on Sunday. They met at a historical reenactment.
Performing chaplain duties was Eric Woods.
tion started in mid-July for the river front motel
expansion.
opening day, C.R. Jennings, Portland, caught a salmon
weighing 44 pounds, 8 ounces, which won him second
prize.
LONG BEACH, Wash. — The Ocean Stage Lines, the
only means of public transportation serving the Long Beach
Peninsula, will suspend its service indefi nitely Sept. 16.
Service will be suspended because expenses during win-
ter will go up and revenues will go down, according to Lou-
ise Olson, a spokeswoman for the Longview, Washington,
fi rm that operates the bus line.
ILWACO, Wash. – An order for more than
$1,000 worth of new textbooks was sent out this
week by the Ocean Beach School District.
The funds were raised through donations by
the Citizens’ Committee for Textbooks on the
Long Beach Peninsula.
The committee formed recently to make up for
budget cuts caused by the failure of the d istrict’s
special operation levy last spring.
75 years ago — 1947
The 45-pound r oyal Chinook salmon caught by C.W.
Coff en, of Portland, on the opening day of the Astoria
Salmon Derby still remains the biggest fi sh to be landed by
a derby fi sherman.
The second-largest fi sh taken Sunday was a 42-pounder,
turned in by H.E. Leonard, of Seahurst, Washington. On
The two state ferries transported 966 vehicles
in 22 trips Monday for a new record since the
state took over ferry transportation between Asto-
ria and Megler, Washington. This total is believed
to exceed any previous record for carrying cars
across the Columbia River in one day.
Funeral services for Merle R. Chessman, 60, publisher of
the Astorian-Budget and state senator from Clatsop County,
will be held Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 from the Presby-
terian church.
WARRENTON – A derby fi sherman was hos-
pitalized with burns after a 22-foot speedboat
exploded, burned and sank in the Skipanon Mon-
day morning.
Thomas W. McIrvin, of Portland, was reported
in satisfactory condition Monday night at St.
Mary’s Hospital, where he was being treated for
burns of the face when he was blown into the river
by the gasoline explosion.
Estimated actual property loss by fi re in Astoria during
1946 totaled $991,730 and rural and farm losses in Clat-
sop County were estimated at $22,090, according to fi gures
taken from the annual report of Seth B. Thompson, the state
fi re marshal.
An unprecedented number of sport fi sher-
men are taking advantage of the two-week ban
on commercial operations in the Columbia River,
according to the Washington State Department of
Fisheries.
Director Milo Moore said that air patrolmen
counted more than 2,000 boats, some carrying
three fi shermen, on the river Labor Day. Sport fi sh
landings are the heaviest in years, he added.
1972 — Visitors should be extremely cautious when walking on the South Jetty in Fort Stevens State Park. State park
offi cials warn that sharp, jagged rocks and unpredictable wave action during high tides can be dangerous.
A bright fall salmon, weighing 41 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces,
won the $100 daily prize of the largest fi sh caught in the
Astoria Salmon Derby Wednesday. The derby ends tomor-
row at 8
Merrill Potter, of Hermiston, a sport fi sherman, hooked
the winner off Point Ellis. He also won the $50 daily boat-
man’s award since he had his own boat.
Rain during the night aroused the hope of fi shing fl eet
of more than 2,000 boats that fi shing would be good today.
The fi sherman turning in the heaviest salmon today will
win $100 and if the fi sh weighs more than 48 pounds, 8 1/4
ounces, he will receive in addition the $1,000 grand prize.