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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2018)
February 2, 2018 T he C olumbia P ress 6 This Week in Aborigional History Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Cocoa brings serenity now I woke up feeling sad the other day for no good reason. Has this ever happened to you? Relax, it’s a somewhat com- mon phenomenon for many seniors from time to time. So, what to do about it? A cup of hot cocoa has therapeutic tendencies for me. And, in aging, it speaks to our cogni- tive performance. Believe it or not, I wasn’t the first person to realize this amazing application for sad feelings. In doing a bit of research, I learned that hot choco- late often is “drunk to make the drinker feel happier or warmer.” There are healing antioxi- dants in hot chocolate. Doc- tors discovered that way back in the 1800s and used it as medicine. Anyway, I promise it will make you smile no matter the time of day. In further research, I learned hot chocolate first was used by the Mayan peo- ple about 2,000 years ago. Different forms of what is of- ten referred to as the “cocoa drink” were popular among the Aztecs around 1400. It became popular in Eu- rope as well as Mexico before it was brought to the “New World.” Coincidentally, we’ve had some happy campers (happi- er than usual) at Warrenton’s senior meal site recently. Let me explain. For a few weeks now, small bowls with round chocolate truffles have mysteriously appeared on all the lazy Susan turntables. I don’t know who is putting them there, but we have all appreciated them. Thank you to “whomever” is doing that! As with cocoa, the chocolate truffles contain bioflavonoids that promote happy feelings. We all laugh a lot anyway, but all the more with chocolate! While focusing on choc- olate, we got into a discus- sion about where lazy Su- sans originated and why that name. As promised, I did a bit of research. The most popular reason given is that Thomas Jeffer- son designed it and decided to name it after his daughter, Susan, who often complained she was served last and left the table hungry. Maybe a small pitcher of cocoa was on their lazy Susan after that? Packages are fine and easy for the busy person, but you may want to buy a can of cocoa power and try mak- ing your own from scratch. I think it’s better, but be care- ful not to put too much sugar in it. We want full benefit of those flavanoids and antiox- idants. Oh, and that cup of hot chocolate made me think of something else. Maybe it was Thomas Edi- son who invented the turn- table at the same time he invented the turntable for his amazing phonograph ma- chine? Makes sense to me. By the way, the U.S. Nation- al Library of Medicine tells us that consuming chocolate gives us a lower risk of de- veloping Alzheimer’s disease and can decrease the risk of stroke. Maybe I will drink a little more hot chocolate! by Carl A. Ellis We’re starting a new fea- ture this week written by Carl A. Ellis, an author and historian who is working on a book about American Indi- ans. Feb. 1, 1917: By execu- tive order, the Papago Indi- an Reservation (now called Tohono O’odham) is estab- lished in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The reservation is about the size of Connecticut. The act was later amended in 1931 and 1932. Feb. 2, 1887: A law is passed prohibiting the use of Indian languages in gov- ernment or mission schools. In 1990, more than a century later, the law is reversed with passage of the Native Ameri- can Language Act. Feb. 3, 1838: The Oneida, part of the Six Nations (Iro- quois) Confederacy, sign a treaty in Washington, D.C., establishing the Oneida Res- ervation of Wisconsin. The tribe’s ancestral lands are in New York. Feb. 4, 1861: John Ward’s stepson, Feliz Tellez, is kid- napped by Indians from his rancho on Sonoita Creek in Arizona. Ward complains to the Army, which sends 2nd Lt. George Bascom and 54 soldiers to find him. Feb. 5, 1692: Canadians and Indians attack York in southern Maine. Fifty settlers are killed and another 70 are captured. Feb. 6, 1998: Activist groups worldwide declare this “Free Leonard Peltier Day.” Peltier, and Ojibway and Dakota, was convicted in 1977 of the murder of two FBI Agents – a crime many people believe he didn’t commit – and is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary. Feb. 7, 1861: Convinced they’ll get better treatment from a southern government, the Choctaws announce their support of the Confederacy. Feb. 8, 1887: The Dawes Act, which deals with land al- lotments, takes effect, forcing Indian reservations to be di- vided into plots for individual ownership and breaking up tribal relations. American In- dians eventually lose title to 90 million acres of land be- cause of the Dawes Act. Learn more about Ameri- can Indian history at face- book.com/snippetsintime. Letter to the Editor Activist offended by ‘lies’ allegation I recently sent a package of documents to property own- ers in the Skipanon Water Control District. I observed: “It appears the Skipanon Water Control Dis- trict would like to remove all flood control structures on the Skipanon River starting from the Warrenton Mari- na and extending to Cullaby Lake.” I attended the mediation ses- sion between Warrenton city commissioners and directors of the district. Tessa Scheller and other directors said they had the right to do anything they wished on the Skipanon River. In addition, I’ve reviewed the North Coast Watershed Association website, of which Scheller is a prominent member. You can read about their “concerns regarding impacts to water quality and flow modification, tempera- ture, nutrients and aquatic weeds.” Until the recent Clatsop County Commission meet- Senior lunch menu Monday, Feb. 5: Pork goulash, boiled potatoes, carrots, pea soup, berry trifle. Thursday, Feb. 8: Chicken with apples, brown rice, broccoli, to- mato soup, bread pudding. The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is $5 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. ing, Scheller had never pub- licly stated the district’s plans for the Cullaby Lake flood control structure. I used the words “it ap- pears” to show that I was not sure; it was my observation based on the mediation state- ments and the website that it was possible once the Eighth Street flood control structure was fully removed the district would move on to structures in the Tagg Ranch area and Cullaby Lake. Tessa Scheller has implied I’m a liar. She states I said the district was going to drain Cullaby Lake. I made no such comment. Any resident who’d like to read documents I have can contact me at P.O. Box 82, Warrenton, 97146 and I’ll bring my research to them. I have a right to state my opinions and I have reason- able proof to sustain them. Scott Widdicombe Warrenton