Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2015)
12A • June 5, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Sandcastle contest a legacy despite unclear origins Sandcastles from Page 1A That night, a folk music concert featuring several lo- cal musicians will be held at 7 p.m. at the Community Hall. Then, at 8 p.m., a beach ERQ¿UH ZLOO EH KHOG DW WKH Tolovana Wayside. S’mores will be served, but attendees must bring their own chairs. Finally, a 5K Fun Run takes off from the beach at Second Street at 9 a.m. June 21; regis- tration begins at 8 a.m. For more information, visit www.cannonbeach.org/ businesses/SandcastleCon- test. ‘64 or ‘65? occurred on March 27, 1964, Cannon Beach became a ghost town. The wall of water and the debris it pushed up Ecola Creek knocked out the Eco- la Creek Bridge, eliminating Cannon Beach’s north en- trance. The incident sparked a “mass exodus”; many res- idents sold their property and left Cannon Beach for good, according to Elaine Murdy-Trucke, executive di- rector of the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum. That summer, a group of locals formed a sandcastle event held in August, accord- ing to documents submitted to the state Parks and Recre- ation Department. “The intention was to kind of boost the morale of the community and to show that the beach is not a scary place, that it is safe to come,” Murdy-Trucke said. 7KDW¿UVWVDQGFDVWOHHYHQW ² ZKLFK LV QRW WHUUL¿FDOO\ well documented — was a relatively rinky-dink affair, mostly concocted as a lark for the children, many of whom came dressed in cos- tumes, she and other sources said. “It was mainly a com- munity event that year,” she said. Murdy-Trucke added that, like today, the event included DSDUDGHWKRXJKLWGH¿QLWHO\ did not include master sand sculptors and high-stakes judging. So a sandcastle event of some sort almost certainly happened in 1964. On this point, Bill Steidel, Peter Lindsey and Billie Atherton — three people who were ei- ther involved in the event or were around at the time — all agree. Confusion has cropped up lately among some locals re- garding the origins of Cannon Beach’s Sandcastle Contest, which received the Oregon Heritage Tradition award from the Oregon Parks and Recre- ation Department last year. That last year’s Sandcas- tle Contest was variously billed at the “50th Sandcastle Contest,” the “50th annual Sandcastle Contest” and the ³WKDQQLYHUVDU\´RIWKH¿UVW contest doesn’t help matters (though, to be sure, any of WKRVH GLVWLQFWLRQV TXDOL¿HV the contest for the heritage tradition award). The orthodox narrative SLQV WKH ¿UVW VDQGFDVWOHW\SH event in 1964, the year of the Good Friday Quake — a 9.2 megaquake in early spring that originated in Alaska and sent tsunami waves crash- LQJ DORQJ 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW shores. However, the Library of Congress states that the event began in 1965 “as a promo- tional event for this small Oregon coastal town.” Fur- thermore, the Seaside Signal archives from summer 1965 advertise the “1st annual ‘Annual’ vs. ‘anniversary’ %HFDXVH WKH ¿UVW HYHQW Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest,” which took place in 1964, was planned as a one-off, it wasn’t designated July 29 that year. ³¿UVW DQQXDO´ EHFDXVH WKHUH So what happened here? was nothing annual about it Origin story yet. But, on the basis of that In the wake of the earth- experience, the town decid- quake and tsunami, which ed to make it an annual event SUBMITTED PHOTO Cannon Beach will host its annual Sandcastle Contest Saturday, June 20, the oldest competition of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and the most popular event. Dozens of teams of professional sand sculpture artists, amateur groups and fami- lies will construct remarkable creations in the sand during the event which will celebrate its 51st year in 2015. the following year, complete with judging categories and cash prizes. 7KLVPHDQVWKDWWKH³¿UVW annual” Sandcastle Contest, as publicized in the Seaside Signal, was, in fact, the sec- ond contest, that the “second annual” contest was the third contest, and so on. ³7KH ¿UVW RQH ZDV QRW WKH ¿UVW RQH´ VDLG 7UHYD Haskell, who co-founded Bruce’s Candy Kitchen in Cannon Beach in 1963. So — if one starts count- ing from 1964, as tradition dictates — the 2014 celebra- tion marked both the “50th annual” event and, yes, 50th anniversaryRIWKH¿UVW event. But it was actually the 51st consecutive contest, not the 50th Sandcastle Contest — unless one starts the clock LQ ZKHQ LW RI¿FLDOO\ became “annual.” This year, then, marks the “51st annu- al” event but the 52nd con- secutive event. Lasting legacy Historical hair-splitting aside, one thing appears beyond dispute: The Good Friday Quake, a formative event that could have de- stroyed Cannon Beach, end- ed up revitalizing it. By cre- ating the Sandcastle Contest, the locals used the traumatic episode to their advantage, purposefully founding a leg- DF\ GH¿QHG E\ RSSRUWXQLW\ rather than tragedy. And the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 visitors that drove WR&DQQRQ%HDFKVSHFL¿FDO- ly for the Sandcastle Contest last year prove that the lega- cy endures. SCHEDULE FOR 2015 SANDCASTLE EVENTS Now more than a 50-year tradition in Can- non Beach, the community’s annual Sandcas- tle Contest draws thousands of spectators who view the monumental, but temporary, sculptures by teams of professional “masters” and amateur sand artists. The 51st annual Cannon Beach Sandcas- tle Contest will draw thousands of onlookers beginning Friday, June 19 at 5:30 p.m., and the weekend includes a series of other relat- ed events that typically make this the busiest weekend of the year in this small beach town. Additional events planned for 2015 include a parade, a folk music concert and a fun run and walk. The Sandcastle Contest awards will be announced Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on the beach, making 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the best time for viewing the completed sculptures. The Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest was recognized as an Oregon Heritage Tra- dition by Oregon State Parks last year when the event celebrated its 50th anniversary, making it one of just 11 events statewide to achieve such a designation. The contest was founded in 1964 following an earthquake in Alaska that created a tsunami, which washed out the Ecola Creek bridge and flooded the downtown area. Local residents got together that summer to put on a community sand- castle contest to raise spirits and draw visi- tors back to Cannon Beach. The event grew and, more than 50 years later, the Sandcastle Contest weekend is still the busiest weekend of the year for Cannon Beach. Make lodging reservations early for this popular weekend as hotels typically sell out all rooms in advance. Day-trippers should plan on arriving early. The Sandcastle Contest is the only day of each year when the beach is used for parking to accommodate the large crowds. For information on the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest or to find lodging, visit www.cannonbeach.org or call the Can- non Beach Chamber of Commerce at (503) 436-2623. Online registration for all sandcas- tle-building teams is also now open. Divisions available are Masters, Open, Teen, Junior and Sand Fleas. Visitors can also sign up online in advance for the Shovel and Bucket Dinner or 5K Fun Run/Walk, as well as purchase Sand- castle T-shirts and commemorative posters. Ha ts off to the C la s s of 2015 G ra d u a tion is a tim e of joy, a tim e of grea t prid e, a tim e of lookin g b a ck a t pa s t a chievem en ts , a n d a tim e of lookin g forw a rd to n ew b egin n in gs . C on gra tu la tion s a n d m a n y bles s in gs to the C la s s of 2015.
