T he C olumbia P ress
October 12, 2018
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Pondering pumpkins and storms
I want to lament my search
for a few small pumpkins with
beautiful stems on them.
Some with stems that curl.
However, when you find a
good-size bin of pumpkins,
the stems are just little shoots
coming out of that beautiful
pumpkin. Some say a machine
is picking them these days.
Recently, as I was trying to
find a small pumpkin with an
amazing stem, I learned a few
pumpkin facts. The original
publication date on the fact
sheet was Columbus Day and
that spurred me on.
Anyway, pumpkins have
been grown in America for
over 5,000 years. Before Co-
lumbus, they were completely
unknown in Europe.
Interestingly, it’s recorded
that at the first Thanksgiving
feast, pumpkins (and other
forms of squash) made up one
third of the meal and, at one
time, were the basic diet of
American Indians.
Did you know that pumpkins
are a good source of nutrition?
They’re low in calories, fat and
sodium and high in fiber. They
are loaded with vitamins A
and B and potassium.
Remember when we were
kids and we salted the seeds
and put them in the oven?
Well, the seeds are very high
in protein and are said to be
an excellent source of B vita-
mins and iron. And, I’m told,
doctors often suggest using
pumpkin seeds for inconti-
nency along with frequency
(especially for men).
So, are pumpkins vegetable
or fruit? Here is a hint: “Pump-
kins, gourds, and other variet-
ies of squash are all members
of the family cucurbitacae,
which includes cucumbers,
gherkins, and melons.”
And, talk about Columbus
Day, I so well remember the
Columbus Day storm of 1962
and suspect many other long-
term Oregonians do, too.
In fact, that was basically
my introduction to the Pacif-
ic Northwest, having moved
from Michigan to the Port-
land area in August that year.
To give those who were not
around then an idea of what
that storm was like, winds
topped 116 at the Morrison
Bridge.
The highest recorded winds
were 138 in Newport and 127
in Corvallis.
If you have an afternoon or
evening to spare, Google the
Oct. 12, 1962, Oregon storm.
Good footage also is available
for the Nov. 14, 1981, storm in
which anemometers hit “only”
85 on the Morrison Bridge.
Just think, these are with-
in the lifetimes of many of us
reading this newspaper.
Now maybe you’ll no lon-
ger wonder why survivalists
stress being ready and many
cared enough to spend an en-
tire Saturday studying surviv-
al needs.
We thank those leaders who
cared enough to give of their
time to educate us in these
areas. And, of course, we
also learned about threats of
earthquakes and, ultimately,
tsunamic happenings.
And, yes, pumpkins are con-
sidered a fruit.
7
Thief steals girl’s backpack while she’s at work
A thief stole a teenager’s
backpack while she was at
work and then immediately
used her debit card.
The 16-year-old War-
renton girl was working at
Dominos Pizza on Ensign
Lane about 6:35 p.m. Oct.
2 when someone entered
an unsecured rear door and
stole the backpack, accord-
ing to a police report.
Inside were her work
clothes, school items, cash,
and a wallet with her identi-
fication and debit card.
The card was used a few
minutes later to buy fuel,
cigarettes and snacks at
Fred Meyer.
According to video sur-
veillance, the man who
used the card was driving a
car stolen earlier in the day.
This Week in Aboriginal History
by Carl A. Ellis
First urban Indian radio station goes live
Oct. 12, 1996: KNBA-FM,
the first urban all-Native
American radio station, goes
on the air in Anchorage. The
station is owned by Koahnic
Broadcast Corporation, an
American Indian nonprofit
organization. “Koahnic” is an
Athabascan word meaning
“live air.”
Oct. 13, 1901: President
Theodore Roosevelt pushes
for the eradication of tribes
in his first annual message by
recognizing “the Indian as an
individual and not as a mem-
ber of a tribe.” He describes
the 1887 Dawes Act as a
“mighty pulverizing engine to
break up the tribal mass” by
assimilating the natives into
mainstream society.
Oct. 14, 1865: Southern
Cheyenne chiefs agree to cede
land they formerly claimed as
their own, most of Colorado
Territory, to the U.S. govern-
ment as a way to end of the
Sand Creek Massacre.
Oct. 15, 1892: U.S. gov-
Senior lunch menu
Monday, Oct. 15: Pork loin, mashed potatoes, red cabbage,
navy bean soup, key lime pie.
Thursday, Oct. 18: Spaghetti with Italian sausage in red
sauce, broccoli, romaine salad, 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.
ernment officials convince
the Crow Indians to give up
1.8 million acres of reserva-
tion land in the mountains
of western Montana for 50
cents per acre. A presidential
proclamation opens this land
to white settlers.
Oct. 16, 2011: Elouise Co-
bell, treasurer of the Black-
feet tribe, dies in Montana at
age 66. She had tenaciously
pursued a lawsuit that ac-
cused the federal government
of cheating American Indians
out of more than a century’s
worth of royalties.
Oct. 17, 1782: Chero-
kee Indians sign the “Long
Swamp” treaty with Gen. An-
drew Pickens in Selacoa, Ga.
They give up land in Georgia
as reparations for the fight-
ing during the Revolutionary
War.
Oct. 18, 1886: Soldiers
with the 10th Cavalry cap-
ture eight Indians in the
Black River Mountains of
Arizona, according to army
documents.
Ellis is an author and his-
torian working on a book
about American Indians.