August 11, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
When the Tillamook Head Lighthouse went dark
W
hether you’ve walked
the shores of Cannon
Beach or Seaside, you’ve
probably noticed that lighthouse out
there. From shore the Tillamook
Rock Lighthouse might seem small
and unimpressive. Just another
shoreline feature, but the lighthouse
is far more impressive than one
might imagine.
The Columbia River access was
discovered in 1792, by the mid-
1800s the river became and import-
ant trade route. Oregon’s trapping,
lumber and fi shing industry were
booming.
It didn’t take long before the
need for lighthouses became
apparent. The oldest lighthouse on
the northwest coastline is located
at Cape Disappointment. In the
mid-to-late 1800s, 10 lighthouses
were constructed. On the Washing-
ton coastline nearly 30 lighthouses
were constructed in the late 1800s
early 1900s. A lighthouse was even
constructed on the southern Oregon
coast in late 1990.
The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
was lit for the fi rst time in 1881 and
was in operation until 1957. Just a
few years after the lighthouse was
decommissioned it was put on the
auction block. It was sold to private
investors in 1959 for around $5,000.
According to articles, the investors
intended on turning the lighthouse
into a casino, but subsequent visits
to the area made it clear that that
would be impossible.
The investors put the lighthouse
back on the market and it caught the
eye of one George Hupman. He was
an executive with GE who had ties
to Oregon. In previous interviews
Hupman stated that he purchased
the lighthouse, “on a lark.” Pur-
chased for $11,000 in 1973, he and
his wife made plans to visit the
REFLECTIONS
ELAINE TRUCKE
lighthouse and start getting it back
into working order. They had hoped
to turn it into a vacation home. A
few visits and a lot of elbow grease,
the couple and friends were able to
get the generator up and running.
Word is that they even had a soiree
on the lighthouse. Can you imagine
enjoying cocktails among the sea
birds?
Eventually, though, the couple
realized the diffi culty with maintain-
ing their lighthouse. The Hupmans
described their helicopter voyage as
“harrowing.” Traveling by a small
1970s helicopter the couple and
friends were able to land a small fl at
portion of rock that is only accessi-
ble during low tides. Normally, this
area would have been covered by
seals and sea lions, but the helicop-
ter noise scared them off the rock.
Hupman said that the blades were
within centimeters of the rock.
Not an adventure that he wanted to
repeat.
The Hupmans put the rock back
on the market after just a few years
before it was purchase by Max
Shillock Jr. People in Cannon Beach
and Seaside were immediately inter-
ested in the young man. It’s not ev-
eryday that someone turns up with
$27,000 in cash. It wasn’t just the
cash that made Shillock so interest-
ing. He drove a Mark V Continental
with a personalized plate that said,
“GENIUS.”
Shillock assured nervous locals
that he had a love for the coast and
a feeling of “responsibility to the
people of the state of Oregon to
Robert Adrian Malo
Aug. 3, 1949 — July 17, 2017
R
Robert Malo
digging and surfi ng.
Bob is survived by his
children, Matthew Malo
(Becca Bostwick) and
Katelin Malo; his brother,
James Malo (Kathleen);
his niece, Angela Royer
(Glenn) and their children,
Malia, Krystopher and
Mathew; his nephew, James
Malo (Jennifer) and their
children, Summer, Emily
and Casey; as well as many
lifetime friends who were
like family.
He is preceded in death
by his parents, Robert
and Violet Malo; his baby
brother, Raymond Malo;
and his grandparents, Roy
and Bessie Malo, Raymond
Robertson and Leonard and
Viola Hespack.
Bob’s passing leaves
a void that will never be
fi lled. His infectious smile,
willingness to help anyone
and his constant “good job”
words of encouragement
will forever be missed. He
never met anyone he didn’t
like, and was often seen
driving around waving at
people he knew, and those
he didn’t.
A celebration of life pot-
luck barbecue was held on
Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, at
Les Shirley Park in Cannon
Beach.
egarding consideration
of the cannabis
dispensary license
application for 140 South
Hemlock St., Cannon Beach.
The city issued a land
use compatibility statement
regarding this property as
requested by the Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
in November 2016 for a can-
nabis dispensary. However,
at that time, the property did
not meet Cannon Beach code
requirements, i.e., it was
a mixed-use building with
three apartments upstairs
(mixed use not allowed). The
site plan submitted with that
LUCS request, however, did
not include anything indi-
cating the existence of those
apartments.
The City Planner, Mark
Barnes, said at the Tuesday,
Aug. 1, City Council meeting
that at the time of the origi-
nal LUCS, he was not made
aware of the three residences
in the building. That should
have made it an invalid
application, and it probably
should have been rejected at
the time of its original fi ling.
The LUCS is used to “de-
termine whether a land use
proposal is consistent with
local government’s compre-
hensive plan and land use
regulations.”
In fact, this application
is not consistent with the
Cannon Beach compre-
hensive plan. According to
the plan’s vision statement,
“Cannon Beach will continue
to be a small town where the
characteristics of a village
are fostered and promoted.
Both the physical and social
dimensions associated with
a village will be integral to
Cannon Beach’s evolution
during the next two decades.”
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UPCOMING
TASTINGS
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
George Hupman purchased the
lighthouse “for a lark” in 1973.
them from swindling funds from
elderly women in the future.
Shillock’s story began to quickly
and publicly unravel before his
eyes. More women started coming
forward. It didn’t take long before
he settled with Goolsby out of court.
As part of this settlement Goolsby
was awarded the title to the Tilla-
mook Rock lighthouse. In March of
1980 the house was put back on the
market.
Just when you think that this
story couldn’t get even more bizarre
the lighthouse was sold for $50,000.
The buyers were listed as Mimi
Morrisette and Cathy Riley. In
interviews conducted by the Oregon
Journal in late 1980, the two hoped
to conduct some restoration and
turned the lighthouse into a colum-
barium. They called it Eternity at
the Sea Columbarium. The move
seemed to be a good one. The two
hoped to do more work on the
lighthouse than had been done since
being managed by the Coast Guard.
The two sold niches in the rock
in Forbes Magazine, The New York
Times and across the nation. They
even registered the landmark on the
national register of historic places.
Research indicates that there
could have been around 20 sets of
remains interred there, or even more.
It’s hard to say because records were
spotty. At some point vandalism oc-
curred, and according to an article in
The New York Times, many families
were upset about the state of the
lighthouse. They felt that the loca-
tion should have been maintained
better. Eventually the company was
sued and the story becomes a big
question mark.
The lighthouse is a registered
historic landmark. It’s a wildlife
refuge. It’s private property that is
still considered to be a “cemetery”
according to the state. Eternity at
Sea Columbarium is still a regis-
tered business name.
Many ask whether there are still
remains there or what might happen
to that property. The concrete walls
are still in good shape decades after
it’s decommissioning, but even in
the 1960s the roof, stairway, kitchen
and rooms were in a terrible state.
In the early 1960s former lighthouse
keeper Oswald Allik visited the
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse with a
crew from The Oregonian.
Recent drone footage taken over
the last three summers shows that
the door, stairway, roof, and pretty
much anything made of metal is
nearly completely disintegrated. It’s
hard to say what will happen to the
property. Located just over a mile
off shore, the lighthouse is not in a
rather diffi cult spot to reach — not
to mention the wildlife that has tak-
en over there. An iconic coastal im-
age, the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
will invariably remain an important
part of our coastal heritage and a bit
of a mystery for those who notice
her from shore.
Pot proposal inconsistent with
Cannon Beach comprehensive plan
OBITUARIES
Robert Adrian Malo
passed away July 17, 2017.
Bob was born on Aug. 3,
1949, in Portland, Oregon,
to Robert and Violet Malo.
Growing up, he enjoyed
working on the family farm
and playing baseball.
After graduating from
Tigard High School in
1968, he followed his
dream and moved to Ha-
waii to surf. Returning to
Oregon, he divided his
time working for the fam-
ily seafood restaurant and
business, doing construc-
tion and surfi ng. He worked
to create the North Shore
Surf Club, and helped
open a Cannon Beach surf
spot “The Needles.” Bob
purchased the F/V Bobby,
which he operated for com-
mercial fi shing and crab-
bing out of Garibaldi.
He married Pam Sowa
in 1981, welcoming a son,
Matthew, in 1983. After
the passing of his father,
the family relocated to the
family farm outside Sher-
idan in 1987. A daughter,
Katelin, was born in 1988.
At the farm, a small herd of
cows, chickens and geese
could always be found, as
well as Bob and Matthew
working on haying chores.
Bob was a hard worker,
operating the farm and be-
ing employed with Yamhill
County Public Works.
Surfi ng remained a pas-
sion of Bob’s, splitting
his time between Cannon
Beach and the valley. Bob
permanently relocated to
Cannon Beach, renovating
a small beach cabin into
his home and working for
the city of Cannon Beach
and then Tillamook County
Public Works. After he re-
tired in 2011, Bob spent his
time fi shing, hunting, clam
preserve the best
of my ability the
historic land-
mark.”
As time went
on, this claim
came under scruti-
ny. Shillock listed
the property with
an L.A. Realty
fi rm for $750,000.
He stated that
he would only
consider selling the
property if he was
offered $1 million. During his own-
ership Shillock made a few attempts
to visit the lighthouse by boat. At
one point become so sea sick that
they didn’t even make an attempt to
go onto the rock.
An article from the Oregonian
called Shillock, “Portland’s most el-
igible bachelor.” In the same article
he stated that he was a “Calvinist,”
fi nding personal pleasure such as
smoking or drinking a sin. And yet
in the same article he admitted to a
love of money.
Shillock held onto the lighthouse
until another attempt by boat led to
the death of James Sealy, a 26 year-
old local man. The 12-foot skiff that
the crew used to reach the light-
house was overturned about 300
yards off of Seaside beach. Shillock
nearly lost his own life as well.
That’s when things took an
unusual turn. Shillock was sued for
fraud. Joy Goolsby, a Eugene wid-
ow, claimed that he had “bilked”
her of $30,000. The 74-year-old
woman fi led a suit with Clatsop
County asking for the recovery of
the property and $50,000 in puni-
tive damaged. Goolsby said that
Shillock and his father had inten-
tionally swindled her of money and
sought enough in damages to keep
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GUEST COLUMN
DAVID FREI
Among the elements of
the town’s physical form
which the plan will foster
are:
Small-scale family-owned
businesses.
Comment: This is hardly
a “small-scale family-owned
business.” There are in fact
six Five Zero Trees cannabis
dispensaries in operation or
“opening soon” in Oregon,
according to their website.
General development
policies. Commercial uses
which detract from the
unique character of down-
town, or are detrimental to
the small town atmosphere of
Cannon Beach shall be pro-
hibited.
Comment: The dispensa-
ry-eligible area downtown
where this store would be
located (between First Street
and Washington Street),
has 37 residences, eight
businesses and one church.
Our “unique character of
downtown” becomes less
unique with the addition of
a cannabis dispensary (there
are fi ve in Seaside, six in
Astoria, more than 400 in
Oregon).
Downtown policies. The
city will encourage the pro-
vision of permanent housing
in downtown by provid-
ing zoning incentives for
mixed-use structures which
incorporate housing.”
from the
‘Because of code requirements
regarding mixed use, this business
would take away a mixed-use
building (with three apartments) and
make it into a commercial building,
eliminating apartments in aff ordable-
housing-challenged Cannon Beach.’
Comment: Because of
code requirements regarding
mixed use, this business
would take away a mixed-
use building (with three
apartments) and make it
into a commercial building,
eliminating apartments in af-
fordable-housing-challenged
Cannon Beach.
All things considered,
denial of this application
will specifi cally preserve the
residential designation of
the building and continue to
provide much-needed hous-
ing. And generally speaking,
denial will preserve the spirit
and composition of this resi-
dential neighborhood.
All of this is in keeping
with the comprehensive plan,
which states: “All city ordi-
nances, policies and actions
must be consistent with the
comprehensive plan. Where
there is a confl ict between
the plan and ordinances or
other city policies, the plan
shall prevail.”
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Better Late Than Never Department
A 1996 article in the
Cannon Beach Gazette
mistakenly referred
to Cheri Lerma as a
bodybuilder. Cheri was
not a bodybuilder. She
was a world champion
powerlifter.
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Cheri’s Café Fan Club