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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2016)
4A • December 16, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Views from the Rock No rain, no gain What does it mean to be a member of the local library? I R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Visitors to Cannon Beach are rarely surprised by the winter weather. I want my Thanksgiving turkey! We were all dressed up and ready to go when the rain — the polite word for that drenching from the sky — turned up the volume. We received the word that Avenue U was closed to southbound traffi c — meaning we wouldn’t get through to our Cannon Beach destination. It was a pot-luck affair, and our contribution was fruit salad. We had pounds of cantaloupe, apples, grapes and berries — all dressed up with nowhere to go. Did I only imagine that the early Clatsop tribe had 80 words for “rain”? I am quickly discovering that rain here comes with more mythology than a Greek mermaid. A day after a torrential downpour occupied us for 12 straight hours, the sun peeked from a thinly veiled curtain like a mirage. That little poke of light was enough to hold a promise of sunnier days ahead. “Well at least it can’t get any worse than yesterday,” I mused. Liz, at my left on the stool, cast me a lightning bolt look. “Don’t ever say that!” Liz — who like us is from back East — shared a brief but detailed story of a ride from D.C. to their former home in Connecticut marred by storms that intensifi ed throughout the ride — after one of the riders had prophetically ventured, “It can’t get any worse.” In general, prophecies are about 50-50 truth. Since being in Oregon I’ve learned to read the weather drawings on the forecast page with their own particular nuance. The sunny sky icon is rarely seen. If it shows a crowded number of raindrops on a gray background, I get the sense that it will be really dark, dreary. If they add some “pelting” streaks to the raindrops they can add to the level of intensity. Rex Amos tells me in 1961 it rained every day for a month. “So a friend and I fl ed Portland just to see how long it would take to get out of the rain,” Amos writes. “It didn’t stop raining until we got to Big Sur, California. That was a good place to get rid dry. And we got to work in the Big Sur Inn.” Contrast that: Our friend Jeff recalled driving with his 3-year-old daughter in southern California’s San Fernando Valley when it began to rain. “Daddy, why is the car getting wet?” the befuddled toddler inquired. n 1927, when Cannon Beach was still a small village of about 50 families, a group of women organized the Cannon Beach Civic Club, a congenial social group who would also do worthwhile things for the community, such as creating a small library from which residents could check out books. The fi rst library was set up in a small local store and consisted of books on three shelves; the books were provided by the state librarian. Over the years, this small collection has grown into a thriving, cozy, and full service library. Says Dick Frank, current library board member and former library offi ce manager, “What is remarkable is that the library is still a non-profi t organi- zation that is primarily self-supporting and dependent on its members and the generosity of the community.” There may be AT THE LIBRARY CARLA O’REILLY some confusion about the differ- ence between be- ing a “member” of the library or a “patron.” A patron is someone who has purchased a library card and has library privileges, whereas a member is someone who has joined the library through its membership program and has made a com- mitment to actively help the library continue to operate, in other words, to help raise the funds necessary to keep the lights on, pay the salary of our offi ce manager — our one paid employee — and to volunteer for day-to- day tasks such as desk librarian or shelf maintenance. Today’s Cannon Beach Library is very much dependent on its members to carry on the work of the little group of women who had a vision almost 90 years ago! If you are a patron of the library and routinely check out books and DVDs or otherwise partake of the various programs run by the library, you might well consider becoming a member as well. Cannon Beach and Arch Cape residents, as well as library card holders from all over the world, recently received the library’s annual appeal letter. Donations in response to this appeal letter are a main source of funds needed to cover the library’s operating expenses and are very much appreciated. Also, the appeal letter gives one the opportunity to renew or purchase a library card. If you have any questions about becoming a patron and member, please call Buddie Anderson Deni, library offi ce manager, at 503-436-1391. Cannon Beach Reads SUBMITTED PHOTO Steve Prefontaine set the pace for rainy-day runners. CANNON SHOTS R.J. MARX That wouldn’t happen here. If you leave your car window open overnight, you can collect enough water to soak a brisket. Kids know what rain is before they go through their fi rst binky. Gretchen at Seaside’s convention center told me last December that if you wait for the weather to get better, you’ll be waiting until June. But while Oregon’s rain is inarguable, inconsiderate and inhospitable and sometimes even deadly, its danger is defi ned by its mood. There is rain ringed with anger and fury, rain as faint and dainty as a pianist’s staccato and rain as windy as a horn. All this rain provides lots of opportunities for Yahtzee. But sometimes you have to get outside no matter how hard the wind is blowing or how dark the skies are. The South County is a runners’ destination — there are an astonishing amount of people who just like running in rain cold as a polar bear’s washcloth — look how many sign up for the Hood to Coast Relay every year. The group Cannon Beach Running schedules runs for mornings and sunsets, offering a silent and meditation running in a sacred space. “Listen to your headphones or the ocean.” Their motto is: “Silence is a source of strength.” Alas, running organizer Melinda Sage Bruton told me this week she has taken a pause from the project, but she urges those inclined to carry the torch. She’s on the right track. Maybe it’s the Nike effect or the legacy of Oregon’s track athletes from way back when. I attribute a large part of the state’s running passion to the great Olympian Steve Prefontaine. “No former Duck athlete captured the hearts of a nation as the brash, charismatic native son,” writes the University of Oregon in a tribute. Prefontaine got his feet wet in Coos Bay and then the University of Oregon, where he circled Eugene’s bark paths in rain-fi lled udders of clouds. “Pre” claimed seven NCAA titles and a fourth-place Olympic fi nish before his death in a car crash at age 24. In writing about Cannon Beach author Ursula K. Le Guin for a recent column, I learned of her predilection for a game called “Fibble,” where “the only words allowed are words that (so far as anybody there knows) do not exist.” My entry for today’s consideration: Prefont-rain: What you experience running into a coastal winter headwind, hail and rain stinging like a Waterpik on your cheeks. From 7-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, participants in the li- brary’s Cannon Beach Reads program will complete their tenth year of reading and discussing important books by local, pacifi c Northwest, national and international authors. Linda Gebhart, a member of the group, will be the discussion leader as they discuss the book they have been reading this month, “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania,” by Erik Larson. According to Joe Bernt, group spokesperson, “Partic- ipants are ready for the eleventh year of Cannon Beach Reads. The group has chosen 12 books for 2017. These books will be available for loan at the library or pur- chase at Cannon Beach Book Company.” For the fi rst six months of 2017, these books include “Fahrenheit 451,” by Ray Bradbury (Jan. 18); Looking after “Minidoka: An American Memoir,” by Neil Nakadate (Feb. 15); “Our Souls at Night,” by Kent Haruf (March 15); “Comin’ In Over the Rock,” by Peter Lindsey (April 19); “The River Why,” by David James Duncan (May 17); and “The Im- mortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero,” by Timothy Egan (June 21). For additional information about Cannon Beach Reads 2017, please contact Joe Bernt at 503-436-4186 or send him an email at berntj@ohio.edu. During this busy and wintry time, take a brea k, drop in, and enjoy our fi replace and holiday decorations! We at the Cannon Beach Library would like to wish each and every one of you a warm and wonderful holiday season! COLLAGE POEM #38 REX AMOS NOVEMBER 16, 2016 The new leader appealed To darkness of dreamers Who won on the wrong side Of nationalism’s wall built By this false premise ghost. The chameleon revolution Crawled along crooked roads That smelled of lost corpses Becoming alive in the rain. — R.A. PUBLIC MEETINGS Monday, Dec. 19 Tuesday, Jan. 17 Tuesday, Feb. 7 Thursday, Feb. 23 Ecola Creek Watershed Council, 4:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Dec. 20 Thursday, Jan. 19 Tuesday, Feb. 14 Friday, Feb. 24 Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Parks and Community Services Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Emergency Preparedness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Feb. 16 Tuesday, March 7 Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Jan. 3 Thursday, Jan. 26 Cannon Beach Parks and Community Services Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Jan. 10 Friday, Jan. 27 Tuesday, Feb. 21 Thursday, March 16 Tuesday, April 11 Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Emergency Preparedness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Parks and Community Ser- vices Committee, 9 a.m., 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Dec. 22 Publisher David F. Pero Editor R.J. Marx Reporter Lyra Fontaine Sales/Advertising Manager Betty Smith Production Manager John D. Bruijn Circulation Manager Heather Ramsdell Classifi ed Sales Jamie Ramsdell Advertising Sales Holly Larkins Brandy Stewart CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other week by EO Media Group. 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon 97138 503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285 www.cannonbeachgazette.com • email: editor@cannonbeachgazette.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Annually: $40.50 in county, $58.00 in and out of county. Postage Paid at: Cannon Beach, OR 97110 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cannon Beach Gazette, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Copyright 2015 © Cannon Beach Gazette. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, March 21 Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Friday, March 24 Cannon Beach Emergency Preparedness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, March 14 Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, April 4 Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING
