4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 22, 2017 O PINION Offbeat Oregon History: A bucket of blood L ow on the east bank of the river, in the shadow of the Fre- mont Bridge, stands a narrow brick building that looks like it’s right out of the 19th Century. It’s not — almost, but not quite. The White Eagle Saloon was ac- tually built in 1905. But it’s one of a tiny handful of watering holes still open today that people were almost certainly shanghaied out of back in the age of sail. Now owned by the McMenamins brew-pub-and-restaurant chain, it also regularly tops the lists of “most haunted places in Portland” which occasionally appear in the popular press. “At the White Eagle, the line between this world and the other — and between fact and fi ction — seems to have been thoroughly and wonderfully blurred,” writes the author of McMenamins’ offi - cial history of the place. “There is more than just good storytelling going on here, though.” Whatever may be the truth of that, there have been quite a few reports of strange happenings at the White Eagle over the years. According to these reports, things get mysteriously thrown around; people feel strange touches; toilets fl ush for no apparent reason; doors slam; and sometimes people hear things. According to Susan Smitten, the author of Ghost Stories of Or- egon, a number of psychics have visited the place and report “a sensation of violence and death in the basement, some playful and mischievous energy on the main fl oor, and a deep well of sadness on the second fl oor.” The more secular-minded among us might be tempted to suggest that all of this is a deep well of SOMETHING, all right. But the ghost stories spring from a history that’s colorful enough that it re- ally doesn’t need supernatural help to be interesting. The White Eagle was established in 1905, close to the waterfront in the hard-working neighborhood of Albina. It was founded by two Polish immigrants, and it was named after the white eagle that ap- pears on the Polish national coat-of-arms and fl ag. Poland at the time existed only in the hearts and minds of its patriots; 110 years earlier, its neighbors — Russia, Prussia and By Finn JD John For The Sentinel LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Swinging Bridge help Hello, this is an open letter to citizens and visitors of our home, Cottage Grove. As many of you know the popular and iconic Swinging Bridge over the Coast Fork of the Willamette River has been closed due to safety concerns. We are announcing the formation of a group of volunteers, Friends of Cottage Grove Swing- ing Bridge, whose goal is to assist the City of Cottage Grove in the restoration and for the maintenance of the bridge and its surroundings into the future. We under- stand that the city is taxed with many infrastructure improvement needs at this time; the Pioneer Bridge, Pump Stations, the City's streets. We seek to agument the efforts of the city's staff by assisting in fundraising, publicity, work parties, soliciting donations. You can join us through our Facebook Page - Friends of Cottage Grove Swinging Bridge. Please fi nd us, consider joining us and sharing us with friends & neighbors who have also been missing our Swing- ing Bridge. Let's help ✩ get this community treasure back in circulation. Let our ● School district budgets children build and ● Property auctions share memories on ● Public hearings the bridge like you ● Local tax changes did growing up in the ● Adoptions Grove! Let's bridge Find out about these into the future Look what America NOTICED! and much more in your local newspaper! Participate in Democracy. Read your Public Notices. ADMINISTRATION: JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher.............................. GARY MANLY, General Manager................942-3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com AARON AMES, Sales Repersentative...............942-3325 Ext. 216 • aames@cgsentinel.com TAMMY SAYRE, Sales Repersentative......... 942-3325 Ext. 213 • tsayre@cgsentinel.com Dana Merryday Cottage Grove SPORTS DEPARTMENT: SAM WRIGHT, Sports Editor...................942-3325 Ext. 204 • swright@cgsentinel.com CUSTOMER SERVICE CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager.................942-3325 Ext. 201 • cwilliams@cgsentinel.com LEGALS.............................................................942-3325 Ext. 200 • cwilliams@cgsentinel.com NEWS DEPARTMENT: CAITLYN MAY, Editor......................................942-3325 Ext. 212 • cmay@cgsentinel.com Austria — had ganged up on it, carved it up and absorbed it into their empires. Poles around the world were deeply interested in the resistance movement that was still busily and furtively making life diffi cult for the conquerors, and planning and dreaming of a free and independent Poland in the future. The White Eagle, naturally enough, became a local focal point for the Polish expat community. It also became a focal point for the hard-drinking stevedores and sailors who worked the nearby waterfront. Among these hard-work- ing, hard-playing rowdies, it acquired a new name: “The Bucket of Blood.” It was during this time, the saloon’s fi rst 10 years of existence, that shanghaiing would have been done there. Shanghaiers don’t keep records of their conquests, so it can’t be proven; but the prac- tice was very common in Portland before 1915. As late as 1912 the president of the International Seamen's Union testifi ed before Con- gress that Portland was the worst nest of shanghaiers in the country. So it would have been weird if a waterfront bar as rough and rowdy as the old Bucket of Blood didn’t participate. One persistent legend claims that there was a tunnel in the base- ment of the building leading to the waterfront, used to shanghai sailors. There may well have been a tunnel there, but if so, it would have been used to smuggle booze, not sailors. Prohibition in Ore- gon started in 1916 and ended in 1933, and that would have been a long time to try to survive as a soda-and-ice-cream shop. Shang- haiing, when it was practiced, didn’t require furtive stealth. No one could tell the difference between a sailor, passed out after drinking too much, being carried back to his ship to sleep it off; and a farm hand, doped with laudanum, being kidnapped. Other stories include a claim that there was an opium den in the basement. It’s almost inconceivable for this one to be true. Opium was legal in 1905, but profoundly unrespectable outside the Chi- nese community. A dock worker of European descent smoking opi- um in 1905 would be like a mill worker today huffi ng spray paint. Less egregiously bogus, but still pretty unlikely, are the stories of a brothel run discreetly upstairs. The rooms in the upstairs part of the White Eagle are of the classic fl ophouse type — bed, nightstand, tiny sink hanging on the wall — and were typically rented out cheap to dock workers. Some of these dock workers, after payday, would hire female companionship for the evening and bring the ladies home with them, and that’s most likely where these rumors came from. After Prohibition ended in 1933, the White Eagle remade itself as a neighborhood hard-hat bar, pouring cold glasses of Olympia and serving hamburgers and fries and similar tavern fare. Then in the 1970s an ex-bookie from Brooklyn named Tony Ferrone took over and started booking live music. Within a couple years, the White Eagle was one of Portland’s hottest hot spots for rock and roll and blues. Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, the bar hosted locally famous acts as Robert Cray, Paul DeLay, the Holy Modal Rounders, the Pete Karnes Blooz Band, and the Razorbacks. The beverage of choice during the Tony Ferrone era at the Eagle was tequila, served in a shotglass with a slice of lemon and sold for less than a buck a shot. Ferrone was the kind of gruff, hot-tempered bartender who would kick you out if you tried to order something complicated when things were busy. During shows by popular acts, sometimes he’d have them stacked up on the bar, dozens of shot- glasses full of Cuervo Gold with lemon slices on top, ready to go. On one memorable occasion, after a Mighty Good Eatin’ show in 1974, the band decided to spend its pay for the night — $100 — on shots of tequila for the audience. Ferrone stacked 125 tequila shots on the bar as happy customers swarmed it. It was a night to remem- ber … or not, depending on how many of those free shots one got. Today the waterfront neighborhood the White Eagle stands in looks a lot different than it did 100 years ago. The two freeways — interstates 5 and 405 — both cut through within a few blocks of it, leaving it in a little triangle-shaped island, and it can be diffi cult for the uninitiated to fi gure out how to get to it. But it’s well worth the effort just to sit and have a burger and/or brew at a 110-year-old bar and contemplate all the others who sat there before you, in that very same spot, chatting and drinking with a friendly stranger and never dreaming they were about to become sailors. Honor Flight thanks South Willamette Valley Honor Flight would like to take this opportunity to thank Payne West Insurance for their fi nancial sup- port earlier this year. Payne West's support in 2017 will allow us to provide deserving veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War their Honor Flight to Washington DC to see their memorials. It will also allow them to receive some of the thanks and recog- nition from their fellow citizens that they richly deserve. Our next Honor Flight will be on May 11-14. We know there are other organizations in Cottage Grove who support our veterans. We look forward to thanking them as well. Thank you Payne West. Ed Bock Director South Willamette Valley Honor Flight Nuts and seeds good for health Eating nuts and seeds reduces the risk of cardiovas- cular disease. Epi- demiological studies have consistently shown that nut consumption is benefi cial for heart health. Eating fi ve or more servings of nuts per week is estimated to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 35 percent.1 Eating nuts and seeds protects against sudden cardiac death and reduces cholesterol and infl ammation.1-4 In addition to reduced heart disease risk, nut consumption is now consistently linked to a longer life. Several large, long-term stud- ies have reported a lower rate of death from heart disease or from all causes in those who were eating nuts and seeds regularly. For example, In the Adventist Health Study, a number of lifestyle fac- tors were found to be associated with longevity. Those who had a high level of physical activity, followed a vegetarian diet, and ate nuts frequently lived on average 8 years longer than those who did not share those habits.5 Similarly in the Nurses’ Health Study, nut consumption was identifi ed as a dietary factor associated with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancers.6 A meta-analysis published in 2015 pooled data from many of these studies concluded that one daily serving of nuts reduces the risk of death from all causes by 27 percent and cardiovascular death by 39 percent. A reduced risk of death from cancer was also reported.7 Nuts and seeds also aid weight loss.8 Someone who is trying to lose weight should not be trying to avoid nuts; in fact, in obese individuals, adding nuts to the diet aided in weight loss and also improved insulin sensitivity, which could help to prevent or reverse diabetes.9 Nonetheless, nuts should not be eaten to excess. Nuts and seeds are high in nutrients but also high in calories, so they should be eaten with consideration for one’s caloric needs. One to By Joel Fuhrman MD For The Sentinel two ounces daily is usually appropriate for people trying to lose weight. Nuts and seeds of course should be eaten in larger amounts for the slim, highly physically active people who could use the extra calories. Part of why eating nuts and seeds is linked to greater survival may be due to their cancer prevention properties. This is a newer area of study, but benefi cial links have been found for a few cancers, especially in women.10 Nut consumption during adolescence was found to be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer later in life; women who ate one or more servings of nuts daily had a 24 percent reduced risk compared to those who ate less than one serving per month.11 Flax, sesame, and chia seeds contain lignans, anti-estro- genic phytochemicals, which have been found to protect against breast cancer.12 Lower risk of colorectal cancer and pancreatic can- cer has also been reported in women who eat nuts regularly.13,14 The effects of nuts on brain function is another new area of re- search. Walnuts, probably because of their omega-3 ALA content, have been predominantly extensively studied so far. Animal studies suggest that walnuts and almonds could be helpful for preventing age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.15,16 Also remember that eating nuts and seeds with leafy greens can enhance the body’s absorption of fat-soluble nutrients from the greens, so a nut-based salad dressing is an excellent way to absorb more nutrients from your salads.17 Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a board certifi ed family physician specializing in lifestyle and nutri- tional medicine. The Eat To Live Cookbook offers over 200 unique disease-fi ghting delicious recipes and his newest book, The End of Heart Disease, offers a detailed plan to prevent and reverse heart disease using a nutrient-dense, plant-rich eating style. Visit his in- formative website at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to newsquestions@drfuhr- man.com. 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