June 17, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
When mail delivery meant a treacherous route
T
he United State Postal Service
established a coastal mail route
between Tillamook and Asto-
ria on 1870. This southern portion
presented many hazards. On those
stretches where there was no beach
or when stormy weather prohibited its
use, the carriers were obliged to travel
a narrow trail over Hug and Humbug
points, Arch Cape, and Cape Falcon,
and, fi nally make the 800-foot ascent
of Neahkahnie Mountain, where the
trail was less than two feet wide in
places.
In addition, the carriers were often
faced with horrendous gales, drench-
ing rains, windfalls, and much mud.
These early mail carriers were the true
heroes of the coast.
In the late 1800s John Gerritse took
over this southerly route. John, born
in Holland, ran away at sea at 15. Af-
ter sailing the world several times, he
jumped ship to Astoria, where he soon
got a job as the mail carrier between
Seaside and Tillamook. His wife,
Mary, stated, “It took a week to make
the round trip, bringing the mail back
to Seaside.”
REFLECTIONS
ELAINE TRUCKE
Mary took over the route in 1897.
She plunged through the wilds of the
Oregon rain forest, braving Northwest-
ern Squalls, changing tides, and narrow
cliff hugging trails to deliver the mail
until 1902. Mary was fearless. Once
while delivering the mail she came
upon several men on the trail she fre-
quented. The waved at her not to come,
the trail was rather narrow and they
were afraid that she would not be able to
pass. Without hesitation Mary plunged
onward. One man became so afraid he
clambered up the opposite cliff side
clinging to grass while she rode past,
Mary commented in her journal, “I felt
sorry for him. The other side of the trail
went down 400 feet to the ocean. I did
not know how to be afraid.”
On more than one occasion Mary
held herself together when most would
have struggled with fright. Whether it
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE/SUBMITTED PHOTO
John Gerritse on Prince.
was coming face to face with a bear or
a cougar Mary held her ground. When
Prince, Mary’s beloved horse was
close to skittering down a cliff into the
sea, Mary remained calm, slid down
the 150 feet to where Prince teetered on
the edge and soothed him back onto the
trail. Despite Prince’s cracked ribs, and
Mary’s own slide, the mail was saved!
Prince was the ideal horse, as much of
a friend to Mary as a human being.
Sadly, Prince lost his life due to a
dramatic change of tides while Mary
was taking the beach trail home. The
loss of her trusty stead was devastating
to Mary. While Mary found another
LETTERS
Letters from Page 4A
Protect our trees
In defense of the trees.
I wish to draw your attention to a
letter written by Roger Dorbend to Sen.
Bernie Sanders in the current issue of
Hipfi sh. Why, Bernie Sanders? Because
he appears to be the only candidate run-
ning for a major offi ce in this state who
just might care that the citizens of Ore-
gon have a state forest in the future.
Why, this letter? Because Mr. Dor-
bend lays out the facts surrounding
the current practices of the persons in
charge of our state forests. Also, Mr.
Dorbend supplies solutions to the fi nan-
cial crisis in the state that do not include
the clear cut of our state forests.
More than 2,000 people in the Ne-
halem Watershed approached the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry in January
asking them to spare the old growth
section of the Homesteader Forest on
the Nehalem watershed. Our requests
fell on deaf ears. If you would like to
see what the Oregon Department of
Forestry did, go to the North Coast
Forest Coalition website. If you have a
weak stomach, don’t go.
I refuse to believe our legislature
cannot generate the funds necessary to
run our counties. I have a great deal of
confi dence in the human mind and I am
willing to help fi nd ways to fund our
state that does not include clear cutting
our state forests.
We need to make noise. LNG went
down to defeat in Astoria and Warren-
ton because Oregon citizens refused to
accept LNG to pollute our waters and
land. The developer who somehow
bought Arcadia State Park East with-
drew his plans to develop this land.
Why? Because citizens of Clatsop and
Tillamook counties refused to accept
our state parks being used for a housing
development. In short, they made noise.
We all use wood and I am not
against the harvesting of our trees. I am
against clear cutting what is left of our
old growth and second growth forests.
I am also for developers, just not de-
velopment of our state parks. The state
parks and the state forests are mine as
well as every citizen of Oregon and it is
time we start defending our trees. It can
be done. If you stand with me on this
issue, I would like to hear from you.
We need to mobilize all of us: children,
adults and visitors. If you plan to visit
our state to enjoy our pristine beauty,
much of which relates to trees, feel free
to take a stand in defense of trees.
Louise Christianson
Nehalem
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE/SUBMITTED PHOTO
Mail carriers went to great lengths in Cannon Beach long ago.
Local students win arts scholarships
As part of its mission to provide
fi nancial resources to artists in the
Cannon Beach community, the Can-
non Beach Arts Association annu-
ally awards scholarships to support
students who are pursuing higher
education in the arts. This year,
CBAA had the pleasure of awarding
scholarships to four different stu-
dents: Lucy Swenson, James Har-
kins, Kelsi Leer, and Hayley Rollins.
Each student actively participates in
different art forms ranging from mu-
sical arts and theater to visual arts.
Three of the student will soon be
continuing their education in the arts
by pursuing degrees at universities
throughout the nation.
Swenson, a multi-talented stu-
dent from Seaside high school, loves
to write her own music and has
taken lessons in piano, guitar, fl ute,
oboe and voice. She will be attend-
ing Bennington College starting in
fall 2016 in hopes of studying music
education, composition, or music
therapy. The second recipient, James
Harkins, has been involved in the-
ater and has been the lead in sever-
al productions. He has also been an
assistant director in a production of
“Urinetown.”
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE/SUBMITTED PHOTO
Scholarship recipients James Harkins, Kelsi Ellen Leer, Lucy Swen-
son and Hayley Rollins.
Harkins plans on attending Old
Dominion University in Virginia to
continue his education in theater arts
or fi lm/creative media.
Kelsi Leer is a visual artist with a
deep interest in animation and illus-
tration. She has completed several art
classes at Seaside high school such
as Graphic Design and Drawing.
Leer is planning on attending Clatsop
Community College to study art and
pursue her interests in animation. She
later plans on transferring to Acade-
my of Art University in California.
Hayley Rollins is our fourth re-
M U N I C I PA L M E M O
Is published monthly by the City of Cannon Beach
163 E. Gower Street • P.O. Box 368 • Cannon Beach, OR 97110
(503) 436-1581 • Fax: (503) 436-2050 • TTY (503) 436-8097
June 2016
MEETINGS
JULY 2016
5
12
21
28
City Council Regular Meeting
City Council Work Session
Design Review Board
Planning Commission
7:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m
6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, June 7, 2016
• Reviewed the proposed Derelict Building Ordi-
nance 16-04, made some minor typographical
changes and had the irst reading. Scheduled for
the second reading and adoption at the July 5,
2016 regular City Council meeting.
• Adopted the Recology Western Oregon rate
increase of 0.5% per the CPI index after a presen-
tation and question and answer session with Recol-
ogy General Manager Fred Stemmler.
• City Attorney briefed the Council on the recent
change in the recreational immunity program and
Council voted to delegate the decision making
/ discretional authority to develop a program to
maintain the city’s recreational areas to the Public
Works Director.
• Approved the spending of recently awarded
Oregon Health Authority grant money on non-
perishable medical supplies for the Cannon Beach
Medical Reserve Corps.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING / WORK SES-
SION, June 14, 2016
Council is scheduled to act on /discuss the following
items:
• Consider the following Budget Related Resolu-
tions:
• 16-05 to adopt the FY 2016-17 Budget;
• 16-06 to receive State Revenues for FY 2016-17;
• 16-07 & 16-08 to amend the current year bud-
get;
• 16-09 to repeal Resolution 15-08 and establish
water, wastewater and storm drain utility rates.
• Consider the Sunset Empire Transit District Inter-
governmental Agreement with the City for bus
services for FY 2016-17.
• Consider the Cannon Beach Chamber of Com-
merce Visitor Information Center Agreement with
the City for services for FY 2016-17.
• Police Chief Schemerhorn will introduce the Police
Department summer staff.
• Council will review the FY 2016-17 Tourism & Art
Fund grant award amounts recommended by the
Tourism and Arts Commission.
• Discuss time/place/manner restrictions for mari-
juana businesses within the city limits.
• Review the results from the Strategic Planning ses-
sion held May 25th and 26th.
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD - At their May 19, 2016
meeting, the Design Review Board discussed:
This story and many more are an
integral part of the Cannon Beach
History Center & Museum’s latest
exhibit “From the Vault.” One of the
key artifacts is the saddle Mary wore
while riding Prince. The exhibit also
includes excerpts from her journal.
The Cannon Beach History Center
& Museum is open Thursday through
Monday from 1 to 5 p.m. and is located
at the corner of Sunset and Spruce Street.
horse the horse was never quite the
horse Prince was.
In 1904, the Gerritses moved to
Seaside, Mary now carrying the mail
from there to Cannon Beach. In 1912
she retired and a few years later she
and John moved to the present day
Cannon Beach. There, Mary ran a
small dairy farm, though still fi nding
time for good works - helping to found
the library.
cipient, and will be receiving the her
award in recognition of her efforts to
pass an Oregon bill establishing April
14th as Honorary Artists of Oregon
Day. To celebrate and honor this
day, Rollins worked with the Seaside
High School staff and community to
have 25 local artists come into the
school and teach art workshops for
all the students. The bill made April
14 Honorary Artists of Oregon day to
celebrate art and artists, and to pro-
mote art education in the state of Ore-
gon and to encourage engagement in
artistic endeavors.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
MAYOR: Sam Steidel
COUNCILORS: Wendy Higgins,
Melissa Cadwallader, Mike
Beneield & George Vetter
CITY MANAGER: Brant Kucera
Cannon Beach Farmers Market
The Cannon Beach Farmers Market begins Tuesday June 14 from 1-5pm. A local duo
called” Two Crows Joy” will be our opening musical entertainment. We have returning
vendors as well as new vendors! Prepared food and music are from 1-5pm. Vendor are 2
- 5pm, but most open at one. Stop by and visit your favorite vendors and meet our new
ones. See you at the market!
Haystack Rock Awareness Program
Volunteer Training: June 18th, 10-3pm
Cannon Beach City Hall
Volunteer with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program!
Protect and inspire stewardship of the National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding tide
pools at Haystack Rock. Prevent climbing in the refuge and trampling of plants and ani-
mals. Educate visitors about the intertidal and seabird ecology at Haystack Rock.
Training will include:
How to volunteer as a Rocky Shore Interpreter
Guest speakers:
Joe Leibezeit – Audubon society of Portland
Tiffany Booth – Seaside Aquarium & Friends of Haystack Rock
USFW Representative TBD
Refreshments will be provided.
RSVP: HRAPVolunteer@ci.cannon-beach.or.us
2016 CITY COUNCIL ELECTION
At the 2016 General Election on November 8th, two City Councilor positions will ap-
pear on the ballot. The iling period for interested candidates begins on June 1, 2016
and all iling requirements must be completed by 5:00 p.m. on August 30, 2016.
• All positions are non-partisan.
• Council positions are elected at large – meaning candidates may reside in any area of
the community.
• All positions are volunteer/non-paid.
• All terms will begin at the irst City Council meeting January 3, 2017.
QUALIFICATIONS AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
A qualiied elector who shall have resided in the city during the 12 months immedi-
ately preceding the election may be nominated for an elective city position. Nomination
shall be by petition specifying the position sought in a form prescribed by the council.
Such petition shall be signed by not fewer than 50 electors.
Please contact Assistant City Manager Colleen Riggs at (503) 436-8052 or via email
at riggs@ci.cannon-beach.or.us for additional information or for an election information
packet.
NOTICE OF VACANCIES
CITY COMMISSIONS, BOARDS & COMMITTEES
The City of Cannon Beach is seeking applications for the following vacancies:
DRB 16-03, Dave Norstedt, on behalf of Wayfarer
Restaurant, application for exterior modiications
The proposed modiication includes replacing
siding, modifying gate entry overhang and new
staining and painting of the exterior. Approved
with Conditions
The DRB is scheduled to meet Thursday June 16th
at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
PLANNING COMMISSION - At their May 26, 2016
meeting, the Planning Commission had no action
items. The Planning Commission is scheduled to
meet June 23, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall
Council Chambers.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE: Two (2) vacancies.
The EPREP Committee meets regularly for the purpose of providing evacuation
planning and public education regarding emergency preparedness. The committee is
comprised of six at-large community members, who each serve a four-year term, and
a representative of the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District. The Emergency
Preparedness Committee holds its regular meetings on the last Friday of each month at
10:00 a.m. and may schedule work sessions as needed.
To be eligible to serve on a City committee, applicants must have resided within the
city or its urban growth boundary during the one year immediately preceding appoint-
ment; or at the time of appointment, shall have owned real property located within the
city or its urban growth boundary for at least one year immediately preceding appoint-
ment. Applications are available at City Hall, 163 E. Gower Street, Cannon Beach, by
email addressed to riggs@ci.cannon-beach.or.us, or on-line at www.ci.cannon-beach.
or.us.For more information, please contact Colleen Riggs by email or phone at (503)
436-8052.
