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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2021)
The Columbia Press 1 50 ¢ Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly www.thecolumbiapress.com Vol. 5, Issue 14 April 2, 2021 Pioneer cross an enduring symbol of spring, Easter Pioneer Presbyterian Church member Denny Holmes works Wednesday morning on repairs to the daffodil cross on the front lawn. A work party to repair damage done by winds ear- lier in the week is set for Saturday. The cross heralds spring and celebrates the risen Lord. Photos by Cindy Yingst By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press Even a pandemic can’t stop Clat- sop County’s most steadfast sign of spring: Pioneer Presbyterian Church’s daffodil cross. Last weekend, church members inserted dozens of blooms in the ground on the church’s front lawn, blooms grown in the fields surround- ing the church. But the bulbs planted last fall are a midseason variety and many hadn’t reached full spring splendor. Then came winds on Sunday and Monday that wreaked a bit of havoc. “This time it’s a little skimpy,” ad- mitted the church’s pastor, Dwight Caswell. However, by Wednesday, the fields were a riot of color and members plan another Saturday work party. “It’s an Easter tradition with us,” Caswell said. “We like to remind people that Easter isn’t just about Easter bunnies and hiding eggs. It’s also about the resurrected Lord. The cross is a symbol of Christ’s resurrec- tion. We have a hill everybody sees and, with all the daffodils, it makes a statement.” Pioneer was established in 1846 and the church building – the con- gregation’s third – was built in 1929. It is the oldest church in Clatsop County and the longest continually operating Presbyterian Church west of the Rockies. Even the daffodils are historical. Clatsop Plains once was filled with commercial daffodil farms running the length of Highway 101 from War- renton to Gearhart. Sometime in the 1940s, when the world was reeling from the devasta- tion of World War II, church mem- bers sought to construct a symbol of rebirth. And they haven’t missed a year since. A history of how the daffodil cross See ‘Cross’ on Page 4 Mary Docherty of Hammond took this photo of her husband, Scott, shooting photos of the US Naval Ship Mercy as it passes by their house. Mercy, that’s a big ship! The Columbia Press The US Naval Ship Mercy attracted a crowd of on- lookers in Clatsop County on Saturday as it made its way to the Pacific Ocean after eight months of repairs in Portland. The massive 894-foot-long hospital ship received a major overhaul at Vigor Industrial Shipyard that in- cluded a flight deck upgrade, propulsion and structur- al work. The ship now has a month of sea trials and other See ‘Mercy’ on Page 6 Would-be shoplifter faces much bigger charges The Columbia Press A Warrenton woman was arrested on a variety of charges, including robbery, after she kicked and hit a police officer who chased her as she was trying to flee from a local retail store. Ashly Alexandria Lukoszyk, 36, was booked at Clatsop County Jail on sus- picion of second-degree theft, criminal Lukoszyk mischief, criminal trespassing, escape, assaulting a police officer, fourth-degree assault, and See ‘Robbery’ on Page 2