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.
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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.
GRAPHICS:
RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager
(USP 133880)
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