November 20, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
Peter Lindsey takes us on stroll through city’s history
I
’ve been wandering
lately into the history of
Cannon Beach.
And what I’ve learned
is how much our landscape
has shaped our history.
My dip into the local
past began several months
ago when Rainmar Bartl,
retired city planner for
Cannon Beach, told me that
he and several friends were
working on getting Peter
Lindsey’s book, “Comin’
in Over the Rock,” pub-
lished with new stories and
photos.
When the time came to
publicize a Tuesday, Nov.
10, fundraiser to collect
donations for the book’s
“reboot,” Bartl asked me
to write the story (see the
Nov. 5 Coast Weekend or
the Nov. 6 Cannon Beach
Gazette).
Lindsey, who is known
as “Professor” Lindsey
because he used to teach
English at Clatsop Com-
munity College, is one of
just a handful of Cannon
Beach residents remaining
who remember the village
of the 1950s, when it really
was just a little village of
200 people or fewer.
But as a boy whose
family summered there
in the 1940s and moved
there permanently in 1954,
Lindsey knew practically
everyone who lived in or
regularly visited town. He
knew all the stories — ei-
ther those he experienced
¿ rsthand or those that were
told to him.
In 2004, he wrote down
those stories and put them
into a book. He got the ti-
tle from a quote by former
gas station owner George
Malstead, aka “Happy
Tooth.”
“She’s comin’ in over
the rock today!” Malstead
I MPRESSIONS
By
NANCY
McCARTHY
In those days,
‘characters’
numbered in
the dozens.
told the boys, including
Lindsey, in 1957, as wind-
swept rain dashed against
Haystack Rock and beat
on windows throughout
town.
Lindsey’s stories re-
count the days when there
were several gas stations
— now reduced to one
— and when youngsters
roamed freely without a lot
of supervision, although,
undoubtedly the small vil-
lage did, collectively, raise
its children.
In those days, cars
drove regularly on the
beach, and local tow-truck
drivers competed to extract
them from clutching sand
during high tide. “Char-
acters” numbered in the
dozens, including several
“pops” — men with genial
dispositions, long-stand-
ing relationships in the
community, patience with
youngsters and idiosyn-
cratic skills or trades; men
Wearing a headlamp to help
him read in the dimness,
Peter Lindseyrecites his
own work and others’ work
during the Beachnik Cafe
last year. He was the fi rst of
many readers that evening.
EO MEDIA GROUP/FILE PHOTO
and women nicknamed
“Preach,”
“Beargrease”
and “Dog Lady; artists
who immigrated to Cannon
Beach in the 1960s and
’70s; dory boat operators
who took off in 12-foot-
long boats near Haystack
Rock; and assorted log-
gers, tall-tale tellers and
rascals.
The “rascals” who
moved to Cannon Beach
were drawn by the land-
scape,” Lindsey contends.
“When this country was
young, the spaces were
vast,” he writes. “The
northern Oregon coast had
scant population and lim-
itless nature. Large spaces
require powerful spirit and
character.”
A place of history
In another encounter
with Cannon Beach’s his-
tory, I visited recently with
Diane Collier and Dick
Basch, chairwoman and
vice-chairman, respective-
ly, of the Clatsop-Nehalem
Confederated Tribes. We
met, appropriately, at Ne-
Cus’ Park, the site of a
village where Clatsop and
Nehalem tribes lived along
the banks of what is now
Ecola Creek. Eventually,
the tribes hope to create a
cultural center at NeCus’.
Basch and Collier told
me how excited they were
that U.S. Rep. Suzanne
Bonamici, D-Ore., had
introduced House Reso-
lution 3736 that would, if
Congress approves it, give
federal recognition to the
Clatsop-Nehalem
tribes
and the opportunity for
funding to improve mem-
bers’ health and education.
The tribes lost federal
recognition in 1954 (co-
incidentally the same year
that Peter Lindsey’s family
moved to Cannon Beach)
when Congress passed the
Western Oregon Indian
Termination Act. At that
time, more than 100 tribes
throughout the United
States lost federal recog-
nition.
During our conversa-
tion, Collier talked about
A proposed design of a Clatsop-Nehalem interpretive center shows the elements planned
for the former Cannon Beach Elementary School property. Ecola Creek is to the north, and
Beaver Street is to the south.
her great aunt who was
born in NeCus’ village.
Basch reminisced about
Joe Scovell, who was the
tribe’s hereditary chief
until his death in 2014.
They described Hobson-
ville, a community on Til-
lamook Bay just south of
Garibaldi, which became
home to some Nehalem,
Clatsop and Tillamook
tribal members but which
also was the target of hor-
rific local Ku Klux Klan
raids.
As we sat at the picnic
table in NeCus’ (once the
playground of the former
Cannon Beach Elementa-
ry School) and discussed
the area’s earliest history,
I could almost visualize
the longhouses on either
side of the creek where
generations of Collier’s
and Basch’s relatives once
lived, ¿ shed and hunted. I
recalled a photo I once saw
of Basch as a youngster,
dressed in native garb,
participating in the 1955
sesquicentennial celebra-
tion of Lewis and Clark’s
arrival on this very site.
While they talked nos-
talgically about the past,
however, Collier and
Basch dared to dream that
the federal government
would, at last, honor the
tribe’s history, a history
that reaches back in this
area several centuries and
also includes inhabitants
embodying the powerful
102.3 fm
the Classic Rock Station
M U N I C I PA L M E M O
November 2015
spirit and character that
Lindsey writes about.
Federal
recognition,
Basch said, would allow
the Clatsop-Nehalem Con-
federated Tribes to move
forward. It would give
the tribes’ 182 members,
spread throughout the re-
gion, a reason to come
home to the North Coast.
“It means it would allow
us to carry on our culture,”
he added, “to carry on to
the future.”
Nancy McCarthy is
the retired editor of the
Cannon Beach Gazette
and Seaside Signal and
the former South County
reporter for The Daily
Astorian. She lives in Can-
non Beach.
Is published monthly by the City of Cannon Beach
')QYGT5VTGGVr|21$QZr%CPPQP$GCEJ14
r|(CZr|66;
(14;174+0(14/#6+10
/#;145CO5VGKFGN
%170%+.1459GPF[*KIIKPU
/GNKUUC%CFYCNNCFGT/KMG
$GPGƂGNF)GQTIG8GVVGT
%+6;/#0#)'4$TCPV-WEGTC
MEETINGS
DECEMBER 2015
CITY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SESSION
November 3, 2015
Council met in executive session pursuant
to
• ORS 192.660
(2) (i) to review
and evaluate
the employ-
ment related
performance
of the chief ex-
ecutive of any
public body, a
public officer,
employee or
staff member
who does not
request an
open hearing;
• ORS 192.660
(2) (e) to
conduct
deliberations
with persons
designated by
the govern-
ing body to
negotiate real
property trans-
actions;
• ORS 192.660
(2) (h) to con-
sult with coun-
sel concerning
the legal rights
and duties of
a public body
with regard to current litigation or litiga-
tion likely to be filed.
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING,
November 3, 2015
• Adopted Ordinance 15-03 for the
%KV[%QWPEKN4GIWNCT/GGVKPI
%KV[%QWPEKN9QTM5GUUKQP
&GUKIP4GXKGY$QCTF
2NCPPKPI%QOOKUUKQP
purpose of amending Municipal Code
Chapter 13.08 Sewer System, Article I
Standards and Regulations, Section 040,
Building Sewers and Connections;
• Tabled an ordi-
nance which would
have amended
the Oceanfront
Management (OM)
Overlay Zone to
prohibit foredune
grading until an
amendment to the
Comprehensive
Plan was adopted;
• Adopted
Resolution 15-11,
for the purpose of
requesting carbon
pricing by the State
of Oregon;
• Adopted Resolu-
tion 15-12, for the
purpose of apply-
ing for a Connect
Oregon VI grant.
This will assist with
the cost of a study
to build a pedes-
trian bridge across
Ecola Creek for use
in evacuating to
higher ground after
a seismic event;
• Revoked a tran-
sient rental permit;
• Took public
input regarding marijuana retail busi-
nesses within city limits and discussed
options. Agreed to get more information
before making any decision; and
• Adopted the City Manager annual evalu-
ation.
RO
RO
RO
RO
CITY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SESSION
November 10, 2015
Council met in executive session pursu-
ant to ORS 192.660 (2) (e) to conduct de-
liberations with persons designated by the
governing body to negotiate real property
transactions.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING &
WORK SESSION, November 10, 2015
• Reviewed and modified a contract
between the city and the Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce regarding the
use of the increase in the transient room
tax to promote tourism. The new contract
will be considered at the next City Coun-
cil general meeting, Tuesday, December
1st at 7:00 pm.
• Cannon Beach Farmers Market (CBFM)
General Manager, Philomena Lloyd, pre-
sented the CBFM annual report;
• Haystack Rock Awareness (HRAP) Coor-
dinator, Melissa Keyser, presented the
HRAP annual report;
• Cannon Beach Rural Fire Department
(CBRFD) Captain, Matt Gardner gave
a presentation on the 2015 wildfire
season;
• Finance Director, Laurie Sawrey, present-
ed the first quarter FY 2015-16 finance
report;
• City Planner, Mark Barnes, gave an up-
date on the FEMA mapping; and
• City Manager, Brant Kucera presented an
update of the upcoming strategic plan.
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD - Scheduled to
meet November 19, 2015 at 6:00pm.
PLANNING COMMISSION - At their
October 22, 2015 meeting the Planning
Commission discussed:
ZO-01, City of Cannon Beach Zoning Or-
dinance Text Amendment Restricting Fore-
dune Grading Until the Comprehensive
Plan’s Sand Management Plan is Amended.
Made Recommendation to Council.
Note: Scheduled to meet Monday, No-
vember 23, 2015 at 6:00pm.
NOW HIRING
The City of Cannon Beach is seeking
qualified applicants for the full time po-
sition of Receptionist/Court Clerk. This
is a regular, full time position working
Monday - Friday. Salary range is $16.00
- $19.93/hr. Must have high school
diploma/GED; experience with office
procedures, equipment and computer
software. Candidate must posses strong
customer services skills and be able to
become a Notary Public and LEDS certi-
fied.
Download the job description and
application form from our website: www.
ci.cannon-beach.or.us/jobs.html. Send
application, cover letter and resume to
Colleen Riggs riggs@ci.cannon-beach.
or.us or PO Box 368, Cannon Beach, OR
97110.
Deadline: Received at City Hall by
5:00PM November 25, 2015. Cannon
Beach is an EEO.
City Hall will be closed
Thursday November 26
&
Friday November 27
in observance of the
Thanksgiving Holiday
The recycle center will also be
closed these days.
