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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2016)
4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL September 21, 2016 O PINION Offbeat Oregon History Fish wheels a legacy of when Columbia swarmed with salmon BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel ning on the upper river, scooping out fi sh by the millions. In that year, 42 million pounds of salmon meat was canned up and shipped out by the fi sh-wheel operators. And it wasn’t an unusual year. Even as late as 1906, the catch was still phenomenally strong, although dwindling; in fact, one particular cannery, just north of The Dalles, pumped out almost half a million pounds of canned salmon all by itself that year. Meanwhile, though, a vast fl eet of gillnet fi shermen had gone into business on the broad, quiet waters of the lower river near Astoria. The gill-netters had been there before the fi rst fi sh wheel went in; a Maine fi sherman named Thomas Hodgkins made the fi rst net and went into busi- ness out of the town of Oak Point, near Clatskanie. Others, noticing his success, followed, and soon the river was becoming increasingly thick with them. No gill-netter could make the same dent in the fi sh run that a wheel by Cascade Locks could make, of course; but they made up for it in sheer num- bers. The fl eet soon numbered in the hundreds, possibly thousands. So no one was surprised when the numbers of fi sh being landed started to decline, because everyone involved had someone they could comfortably blame for it. The businessmen running the fi sh wheels raged at the swarms of small-fry gill-netters hogging all the fi sh before they could even get up the river to their wheels; the weath- er-beaten fi shermen groused in their taverns in Astoria and Brownsmead and Cathlamet and Altoona about the fat-cat cannery owners snatching up so many fi sh that none were left to spawn. The truth of the matter, of course, was that both parties were right. The people of Oregon seemed to have felt that way when, in 1908, they voted to ban both practices. The gill-netters that year had used the brand-new Initiative and Referendum system to propose that fi sh wheels be banned from the river. Independently, the fi sh-wheel operators had gotten a proposal on the ballot that would have essentially banned gillnet fi sh- ing. Both initiatives were passed by a public that was growing increasingly alarmed at the prospect of the salmon being totally fi shed out. And both ini- tiatives – in a development that was to become very familiar to the sponsors of initiative petitions in subsequent years – were blocked from enforce- I f you get out on the Columbia River in the more inland reaches – past the Beacon Rock area – you’ll often notice that there are lines of rotting, weather-beaten posts leading out into the waters. These posts are all that’s left of what was once one of Oregon’s big- gest industries: Salmon canning. Spe- cifi cally, they are the mortal remains of riverside canneries with their adja- cent fi sh wheels. Your basic fi sh wheel is a diaboli- cally simple device. It’s like a big water wheel with scoops instead of paddles. As a salmon swims up- stream toward its spawning grounds, it encounters the scoop, which is moving the opposite direction. The scoop picks the fi sh up out of the wa- ter, and at the top of its turn rotates past a chute that allows the fi sh to slide out of the basket and drop into a net-walled pen or holding tank, ready for processing. The story of fi sh wheels on the Columbia is an old and complicated one. Many people believe their use is responsible for the fact that the Columbia, once renowned for hav- ing such a massive annual salmon migration that folks wondered if they might walk across the river on their backs, now has comparatively few. This isn’t really true; the real destroyer of the big salmon runs was Grand Coulee Dam, up in Washing- ton, built without fi sh ladders, which cut off returning salmon’s access to close to half of the river’s spawning grounds. But the fi sh wheels certainly didn’t help. By the time the dam project de- livered the coup de grace in 1934, the Columbia River salmon fi shery was on its knees, hammered almost to the point of full collapse by 50 years of enthusiastic overfi shing by the fi sh- wheel operators, competing with growing swarms of gill-netters on the lower stretches of the river. The fi rst fi sh wheel and cannery was built on the river in 1866 by Hap- good, Hume & Co. It was a colossal success, both in its production of fi sh and in the enthusiasm with which the canned product was received in the market. After that, the canneries came thick and fast to the banks of the riv- er with pile drivers and construction crews, and soon the shallow stretches of the upper river toward the Cascade Rapids virtually bristled with them. By 1883, the market was essentially saturated with canned salmon, and 39 fi sh wheel-canneries were run- Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Bike Event — Flagger Smaller fl yers please Saturday’s bike event (Cycle the Lakes) went really well. No bikers were hurt on their long trek or got hit crossing the streets! And that’s why we were there! Post- ing and signage was good. The major- ity of motorists would stop, though some did not. The latter seemed to focus on the 30 mph and not the crosswalk. I was on 10th and Main — a very busy area. I had a great time and the bikers were happy. Thank you all. P.S. Sixth Street and others are still bad! Ike Shepherd Cottage Grove CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS As KNND's Community Calendar Coordinator I'm noticing more groups in town are using a larger size format to promote events on community information bulletin boards and in the windows of businesses. We are blessed to live in a small town that has SO much going on each week. As the editor of T.E.A.M.-Cottage Grove's weekly community e-news- letter, Around The Grove, We distrib- ute a limited number of hard copies around town and most receive it via email. I'm delighted that more local organizations are now promoting their events at least two weeks before it happens. Most businesses are happy to display this information. KNND has dedicated two of our three large windows for posting community Jeff Gowing, Ward 2: 942-1900 Garland Burback, Ward 3: 942-4800 Amy Slay, Ward 4: 942-5501 Cottage Grove City Hall: 942-5501. www.cottagegrove.org/ Cottage Grove Mayor Tom Munroe: 942-5501. Cottage Grove City Councilors: Mike Fleck, At Large: 942-5501 Kenneth Michael Roberts, At Large: 942-5501 Lane County Commissioners: Faye Stewart, East Lane Commis- sioner Lane County Public Service Building 125 East 8th Street Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: (541) 682-4203 Fax: (541) 682-4616 Oregon State House of Representatives: information and I maintain it each week to keep it all current. With an increasing number of the posters, rather than the traditional 8.5 x 11 fl yers, we simply don't have room to put up the new posters if the current posters are still up. These larger posters are a bigger challenge for all the smaller bulletin boards around town and for business owners that want to see out of their front windows. My request is a simple one to local organizations promoting events in the future. Please consider using the fl yer vs poster format in fairness to other events happening around the same time that must share the same space. Thanks! Cindy Weeldreyer Cottage Grove Rep. Cedric Hayden (REP) District: 007 900 Court Street NE Suite H-288 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: (503) 986-1407 Fax: (503) 986-1130 Email: rep.cedrichayden@state.or.us Oregon State Senate: Sen. Floyd Prozanski (DEM) District: 004 900 Court Street NE Suite S-319 Salem, OR 97301-0001 Phone: (503) 986-1704 Fax: (503) 986-1080 Email: sen.fl oydprozanski@state.or.us Jake Boone, Ward 1: 653-7413 Junk food may limit children’s intelligence and learning ability BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel er’s disease and other late-life cognitive disorders. Green vegetables, berries and other plant foods reduce risk, whereas animal products and processed foods increase risk. However, the damaging effects of un- healthy foods on the brain occur throughout life. Research now suggests that the typical Ameri- can childhood diet including burgers, pasta, pizza, chicken T here is a clear im- pact of nu- trition on the poten- tial devel- opment of Alzheim- $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. 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In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2015 Cottage Grove Sentinel. nuggets, French fries, processed sweetened cold cereals, sweets and soda negatively affects school performance and learn- ing. Overall math performance in the U.S. lags far behind many other developed nations, and it is likely that the nutrient-poor American diet is a signifi cant contributing factor. We as parents are strongly committed to supporting our children’s academic achieve- ment. We want the best for our children, and we take an active interest in their schooling; we do everything we can to make sure that they will be well educated and able to compete as working adults in our increasingly tech- nological world. However, how many parents think about the impact of the foods they give their children on their academic performance? Early childhood: Parents must give their chil- dren’s brains the right raw ma- terials with which to learn – and start early. Breast milk provides a DHA-rich foundation for a healthy brain, and when solid foods are added, their nutri- tional quality is of paramount importance for the brain’s con- tinued development. Several studies have now found that di- etary patterns in early childhood affect IQ scores years later. In one study, greater consumption of fruits and vegetables upon introducing solid foods was as- sociated with higher IQ and bet- ter memory skills at four years of age. Similarly, in another study, children who regularly ate cookies, chocolate, other sweets, soda and chips during the fi rst two years of life showed decreased IQ at age eight com- pared to children who did not eat these foods. Nutrition dur- ing this formative period has a meaningful long-term effect, providing building blocks to construct the growing brain. The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, so a health- ful, antioxidant-rich diet is es- pecially benefi cial for the brain and is likely involved in this link between natural plant foods and higher IQ scores. Teenage years: Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers and eventually un- healthy adults. Now 23 percent of teens in the U.S. are pre- diabetic or diabetic, 22 percent have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14 percent have hypertension or prehypertension. A recent study tested cog- nitive abilities and performed brain MRIs on teens with and without metabolic syndrome, a combination of at least three diet-related metabolic abnor- malities among a list including insulin resistance, high triglyc- erides and hypertension. The teens with metabolic syndrome had lower spelling and math scores, lower IQs and reduced attention span. Their brain MRIs showed a smaller hippocampus, especially in those with insulin resistance – extremely impor- tant since the hippocampus is a part of the brain involved in learning new information. This means that our American obe- sity promoting, diabetic pro- moting diet actually can cause parts of the brain to shrink. The researchers concluded that in- sulin resistance and other com- ponents of the metabolic syn- drome, as a result of a poor diet, may impair teenagers’ academic performance, and maybe even their learning abilities through- out their lifetime. The time to feed your children healthfully is now. A diet rich in greens, berries, other fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds is the only way to ensure that children get the array of phytochemicals, antioxidants, fatty acids and other micronutri- ents to adequately supply their growing and constantly learn- ing brains. Junk food is not for kids. Dr. Fuhrman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live and Super Immuni- ty, and a board certifi ed family physician specializing in life- style and nutritional medicine. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com. Letters to the Editor policy The Cottage Grove Sentinel receives many letters to the editor. In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local readers. Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary. If you would like to submit an opinion piece, Another View must be no longer than 600 words. To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent electronically via email or electronic media. Hand written submissions will be accepted, but we may need to call to verify spelling, which could delay the publishing of the submission.
