COFFEE BREAK
Saturday, August 19, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 5C
OUT OF THE VAULT
Pendleton woman drowned in steamer wreck
A
holiday trip ended in tragedy
for a Pendleton woman in 1921
when the steamer ship she was
sailing on ran aground in dense fog on
Blunts Reef off the northern California
coast.
Ruth Hart, a telegraph operator
for the O.-W. R. & N. Railroad in
Pendleton, boarded the steamer Alaska
in Portland on Aug. 5, 1921, en route
to California for a month-long holiday.
The following evening the steamer’s
inexperienced crew lost its way in
heavy fog off the northern California
coast south of Eureka and, though
they changed course several times, the
steamer was allowed to travel too close
to shore. The foghorn near Blunts Reef
was heard, but couldn’t be located.
When the steamer crashed into the
reef, the passengers fl ooded the decks
in an attempt to secure a place on the
ship’s lifeboats. But the green crew
badly bungled the launch of the loaded
boats and two were upset, throwing
their passengers into the water. The
ship sank in just 30 minutes. Captain
Hovey was last seen on the bridge of
the steamer with two wireless operators,
one of whom bailed into the water just
before the steamer went under.
The survivors, clinging to debris
from the sunken steamer, fl oated
for hours before the steamer Anyox,
alerted by the S.O.S. calls from the
Alaska, arrived at the crash site to begin
rescue efforts, eventually picking up
166 of the more than 210 passengers
and crew. Many of the survivors were
covered in fuel oil from the steamer’s
ruptured tanks. Residents of Eureka
provided, food, clothing and baths for
the rescued passengers, most of whom
were transported to San Francisco the
following evening. Fishing boats from
nearby villages had the grim task of
hauling the bodies of the dead ashore.
Though accounts of the accident
varied, passengers and crew said the
wreck would not have occurred if the
steamer had not been traveling too
fast along the treacherous coastline
in an attempt to make up speed. The
inexperienced deck crew also took
much of the blame, one boatswain
stating that only fi ve of the 14 crew
members were competent in their
duties.
The dead washed ashore for days.
On August 10, the body of a girl about
25 years of age wearing a wrist watch
bearing the initials R.G.H. and a lapel
pin with the letters O.R.T. (Order of
Railway Telegraphers) was found.
Ruth’s sister, Julia Metzler of La
Grande, traveled to Eureka to identify
her body and bring it home.
Ruth Hart was laid to rest August
15, 1921, next to her parents at Olney
Cemetery in Pendleton.
■
Renee Struthers is the Community
Records Editor for the East Oregonian.
See the complete collection of Out of the
Vault columns at eovault.blogspot.com
The weekend TV Schedule,
crossword and KenKen have
moved to the comics section
DEAR ABBY
Teen weighs impact of joining school gay-straight alliance
Dear Abby: I’m 14, starting
and respect, regardless of their
my freshman year in high school
sexual orientation. But some-
and, of course, will be joining
where you got the impression
lots of clubs to prepare for
that sexual orientation is a
college.
choice. It isn’t. Your friend’s
My best friend is gay, and
orientation was determined
when I asked her if she wanted
before she was born, just as
to join any clubs together, she
yours was.
suggested the Gay-Straight Alli-
Wanting to support your
Jeanne
ance club. As a saved Christian, Phillips friend by joining a Gay-Straight
I am unsure how to answer.
Alliance is a commendable thing
Advice
I believe Christians should
to do, and it follows the Golden
treat homosexuals with kindness
Rule. I can’t see how a church
and respect. I believe also in same-sex that preaches love would object to that.
marriage because of the legal protection
Dear Abby: I am a 24-year-old
it gives a couple. I respect my friend’s college graduate who has been unable
decision, and I’m happy she’s happy to fi nd a full-time teaching job, so I’m
with her life. My family doesn’t know working as a teaching assistant. My
how to respond either, though they have salary is less than average, and between
similar beliefs.
rent, bills and student loans, I am
I am afraid if my church found out, stretched more than thin.
they would dislike me for joining, as
Recently, a woman has been talking
well as question where I really stand as to me about nannying for her child after
a Christian. I feel confl icted about how school. She’d like to hire me and have
to address both sides of my beliefs. Can me meet her child in person, and we
you help? — Caught In The Middle In agreed on an hourly rate. I was excited
Kentucky
about the opportunity and looking
Dear Caught: I, too, believe that forward to starting.
Christians (and people of all faiths)
This week she told me she wants to
should treat each other with kindness report my work for her on her taxes,
which means I’ll have to report as a
freelancer and pay estimated quarterly
taxes while I work for her. Abby, this
is unheard of in the baby-sitting world!
I have been baby-sitting from my
preteens all the way through college,
and never once have taxes ever been
part of the conversation.
My mother says I shouldn’t be upset
because the woman is doing what
she’s supposed to as far as the IRS is
concerned, but I feel shortchanged.
Shouldn’t she have been upfront about
her intentions when we discussed my
hourly rate? Am I wrong for asking her
for more money per hour to make up
for some of the taxes? — After-School
Nanny
Dear Nanny: William R. Turner,
CPA, says your mother is correct. Your
prospective employer is obeying the
law. She wants you to meet her child,
negotiate an hourly rate and hire you
as a NANNY, not as a baby sitter. Your
new employer should have you fi ll out a
form W-4 and pay you as an employee.
Because payroll deductions will be
taken out of your gross pay by your new
employer, you should negotiate your
hourly rate accordingly.
ODDS & ENDS
DAYS GONE BY
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 19-20, 1917
Last Sunday evening, long before the
stars were out, a very odd but beautiful
thing was seen to fall from the sky over
Meacham. It was like a meteor, but
many say it was not. It fell very slowly,
with the appearance of a sky rocket.
Before disappearing, it burst and spread
fi ery particles about. It was very large
and of a beautiful color, of purple and
red, and did not seem far away.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 19-20, 1967
A Pilot Rock man was arraigned in
district court Friday and charged with
intent to kill. The suspect, James E.
Mulvaney, 23, remained in the county jail
after being arrested at his home in Pilot
Rock. State police and sheriff deputies
arrested Mulvaney in connection with the
beating of Dennis Lyle Holmes, 21, of
Pendleton. Holmes remained in serious
condition Saturday morning at Kadlec
hospital in Richland, Wash. He was to
have undergone surgery, hospital author-
ities said. Holmes, who was found about
6:30 a.m. Friday morning in a ditch along
Highway 395 at milepost 3 south of Pend-
leton, was sent to Richland for treatment
by neurosurgeons. A state policeman said
Mulvaney did not resist arrest.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Aug. 19-20, 1992
A surprise visitor awaited Bonnie
Rada of Pendleton when she entered
her living room on Friday. She
discovered Kjell Havnevik, former
exchange student from Norway who
stayed with Rada and her husband,
Rudy, during the 1966-67 school year.
Havnevik, 43, returned for the Radas’
50th wedding anniversary celebra-
tion. Now living in Uppsala, Sweden,
Havnevik is a senior researcher for
the Scandinavian Institute of African
Studies through Sweden’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Today is the 231st day of
2017. There are 134 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlight in
History:
On August 19, 1942,
during World War II, about
6,000 Canadian and British
soldiers launched a disastrous
raid against the Germans at
Dieppe, France, suffering
more than 50 percent casu-
alties.
On this date:
In A.D. 14, Caesar
Augustus, Rome’s fi rst
emperor, died at age 76 after
a reign lasting four decades;
he was succeeded by his
stepson Tiberius.
In 1812, the USS Consti-
tution defeated the British
frigate HMS Guerriere off
Nova Scotia during the War
of 1812, earning the nick-
name “Old Ironsides.”
In 1814, during the War of
1812, British forces landed at
Benedict, Maryland, with
the objective of capturing
Washington D.C.
In 1918, “Yip! Yip!
Yaphank,” a musical revue
by Irving Berlin featuring
Army recruits from Camp
Upton in Yaphank, New
York, opened on Broadway.
In 1934, a plebiscite
in Germany approved the
vesting of sole executive
power in Adolf Hitler.
In 1936, the fi rst of a
series of show trials orches-
trated by Soviet leader Josef
Stalin began in Moscow
as 16 defendants faced
charges of conspiring against
the government (all were
convicted and executed).
In 1955, torrential rains
caused by Hurricane Diane
resulted in severe fl ooding
in the northeastern U.S.,
claiming some 200 lives.
In 1964, The Beatles
opened their fi rst full-fl edged
U.S. tour as they performed at
San Francisco’s Cow Palace.
In 1976, President Gerald
R. Ford won the Republican
presidential nomination at
the party’s convention in
Kansas City.
In 1980, 301 people
aboard a Saudi Arabian
L-1011 died as the jetliner
made a fi ery emergency
return to the Riyadh airport.
In 1987, a gun collector
ran through Hungerford,
England, 60 miles west of
London, killing 16 people,
including his mother, before
turning his gun on himself.
In 1991, Soviet hard-
liners stunned the world by
announcing that President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev had
been removed from power.
(The coup attempt collapsed
two days later.)
Ten years ago: Hurricane
Dean, which had already
killed eight people on its
destructive march across
the Caribbean, pummeled
Jamaica with gusting winds
and torrential rains as a Cate-
gory 4 storm. French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner
paid an unannounced and
highly symbolic visit to
Baghdad — the fi rst by a
senior French offi cial since
the war started. Elvira Arel-
lano, an immigrant without
legal status who’d taken
refuge in a Chicago church
to avoid being separated
from her U.S.-born son,
was deported to Mexico.
(Arellano eventually made
her way back to the U.S. and
was paroled by immigration
authorities in March 2014;
her case remains under
review.)
Today’s
Birthdays:
Actor L.Q. Jones is 90.
Actress Debra Paget is 84.
USTA Eastern Tennis Hall
of Famer Renee Richards is
83. Former MLB All-Star
Bobby Richardson is 82.
Actress Diana Muldaur is
79. Rock musician Ginger
Baker (Cream, Blind Faith)
is 78. Singer Johnny Nash
is 77. Actress Jill St. John is
77. Singer Billy J. Kramer
is 74. Country singer-song-
writer Eddy Raven is 73.
Rock singer Ian Gillan
(Deep Purple) is 72. Former
President Bill Clinton is 71.
Actor Gerald McRaney is 70.
Tipper Gore, wife of former
Vice President Al Gore, is
69. Actor Jim Carter is 69.
Pop singer-musician Elliot
Lurie (Looking Glass) is
69. Rock musician John
Deacon (Queen) is 66.
Bluegrass musician Marc
Pruett (Balsam Range) is
66. Actor-director Jonathan
Frakes is 65. Political consul-
tant Mary Matalin is 64. Actor
Peter Gallagher is 62. Actor
Adam Arkin is 61. Sing-
er-songwriter Gary Chapman
is 60. Actor Martin Donovan
is 60. Pro Football Hall-of-
Famer Anthony Munoz is
59. Rhythm-and-blues singer
Ivan Neville is 58. Actor
Eric Lutes is 55. Actor John
Stamos is 54. Actress Kyra
Sedgwick is 52. Actor Kevin
Dillon is 52. Country singer
Lee Ann Womack is 51. TV
reporter Tabitha Soren is 50.
Country singer-songwriter
Mark McGuinn is 49.
Actor Matthew Perry is 48.
Country singer Clay Walker
is 48. Rapper Fat Joe is 47.
Olympic gold medal tennis
player Mary Joe Fernandez
is 46. Actress Tracie Thoms
is 42. Actor Callum Blue
is 40. Country singer Rissi
Palmer is 36. Actress Erika
Christensen is 35. Actress
Melissa Fumero is 35. Pop
singer Missy Higgins is 34.
Actor Peter Mooney is 34.
Actress Tammin Sursok is
34. Country singer Karli
Osborn is 33. Olympic silver
medal snowboarder Lindsey
Jacobellis is 32. Actor J.
Evan Bonifant is 32. Rapper
Romeo is 28.
Thought for Today:
“Being an intellectual creates
a lot of questions and no
answers.” — Janis Joplin,
American rock singer (1943-
1970).
Escape artist llama makes bid for
freedom on golf course
JACKSON, N.H. (AP) — Maybe these golfers in
New Hampshire didn’t yell “fore” but they might have
considered “llama on the links.”
Golfers at Eagle Mountain Golf Course in Jackson were
joined Monday on the sixth fairway by a llama that escaped
from his pen about two miles through some woods.
The Conway Daily Sun reports that the pack animal,
named Noir, was friendly and got in pictures with the
golfers.
The fugitive is well known to local police. Offi cers
escorted him home in June when he escaped from his
electric fence enclosure. And this time, Jackson Police
Chief Chris Perley again returned him to his pen with help
from his owner, Russ Miller.
Miller admits the electric fence needs to be a little
higher.
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