4A • November 17, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
Conversations
over eggs Benedict
et’s go to Cannon Beach and pretend to be tourists,
I said to my friend, Sandy. Some of my Gearhart
friends enjoy an outing to Cannon Beach. It’s an
interesting thing, but even though Cannon Beach, Seaside,
Gearhart, and Warrenton all are part of the South County,
each community has a distinctive social identity ranging
from dead quiet to boisterous. Some of my Gearhart pals
enjoy the sights, sounds, and feel of Cannon Beach’s glam
beach buzz, as well as its restaurants and its galleries and
shops. It always amuses me how fatigued they seem after
only a few hours, happy to return to their peace and quiet
and their elk.
Sandy is my pal most game for adventure. We’ve only
known each other a few years, but I get the impression
she and her late husband spent a lot of time in Cannon
Beach. Whenever
we drive through
town, she recalls
VIEW FROM
time they spent
THE PORCH
at the American
EVE MARX
Legion, or taking
her mother out for
breakfast at the Pig
’N Pancake. So when I blew it and the coffee shop I’d sug-
gested we go to had a “Shut” sign on the door on a winter
Wednesday, Sandy immediately suggested we go to the
Wayfarer. It’s 11:30 a.m., she said. We could get breakfast
or lunch.
She was a little disappointed we didn’t score a window
seat since I’d never been there before to appreciate the
view, but the view is still pretty spectacular from most of
the main daytime dining room. We were handed menus for
both breakfast and lunch. While a very nice server went to
get our coffees, Sandy and I considered food. I was torn
between the lunch choice of a pumpkin squash risotto, or
two of the breakfast items, eggs Benedict, or house-made
granola with yogurt and fresh fruit. Sandy had her mind
set on crab Benedict. After the server assured us the chef’s
Hollandaise is the most delectable on the coast, I went
for the eggs. I figured between the English muffin and the
ham and the poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce notwith-
standing, this dish would serve as my main meal for the
day. It drives our 30-year-old son crazy, but his father and
I have reached that metabolic point in our lives where we
require only one big meal a day.
You know, Sandy said, as we waited for our food, once
upon a time John and I were having lunch here and right
out the window, we saw a man taking off all his clothes.
He came out of the water and just peeled off his bathing
suit. He was so relaxed and natural, we figured he must be
European. No American does that.
He didn’t think it was a nude beach? I asked.
Our food arrived and Sandy pointedly ignored the
beautifully poached eggs that came with her meal and
went straight for the crab.
I should have told them to hold the eggs, she said. This
is a waste of food.
Go on, I said. I want to hear more about the naked man.
Well he wasn’t naked for long, Sandy said. But for
a minute or so while he air-dried, he was naked and so
relaxed. It was a nice thing to see, she added. Someone
acting so natural and confident about their body.
How old was he? I asked.
I don’t know, Sandy said offhandedly like she hadn’t
really paid any attention to something like that. In his 20s
or early 30s maybe.
I thought I detected in her eye just the tiniest gleam.
So he had a nice body, I said.
Well, she said. It’s not like I looked the other way.
The check came. As usual, we fought a little over it
before she agreed to split.
On the way out to the parking lot, Sandy asked if I’d
enjoyed my meal.
I certainly did, I said. And what an amazing view of
the beach and Haystack Rock. It’s a million-dollar view.
Thanks for sharing. And I absolutely loved your naked
man story.
L
FILE PHOTO
High waters ran through downtown streets in 2007.
FACING THE TEST
y natural disaster moment
Church. Bob Neroni and Lenore Emory
was in 1999 when
of EVOO cooked a meal for volunteer
Hurricane Floyd rode up
firefighters as they made countless
the Northeast coast. It
emergency runs.
came in on a Wednesday afternoon —
Rose Mays and Cathy Willyard
our newspaper’s deadline was Thursday
knocked on doors at Elk Creek Terrace
— and dumped 19 inches of rain on our
to let residents there know about the
small town. As the rain was bucketing
community shelter at the church. In
down, our office, on a hill, overlooked
Tolovana Park, Bradley Linstedt joined
a stone-and-masonry lot. The street —
with others to cut away trees blocking
turned into a fast-flowing basin — was
roads.
already too deep for a concrete truck to
Restaurants and stores with
get through. The police scanner — we
perishable food were giving it away,
still had power then — scratched out
McCarthy recalled. The owners of the
FILE PHOTO
stories of stranded motorists, downed
Driftwood barbecued on the Driftwood
Headlines from the Gazette after the
wires and closed roads. I ended up
deck. Everybody checked in with their
“Great Coastal Gale of 2007.”
spending the night in the office,
neighbors. People brought meals to the
sleeping on the floor, using a cardboard
church.
box as a pillow.
Human stories
And yes, the paper did make its
CANNON SHOTS
deadline.
Like the valor and bravery we
R.J. MARX
Nancy McCarthy’s moment came 10
witnessed time and again at Hurricane
years ago. McCarthy, my predecessor
Katrina, fighting wildfires, and this
as editor at the Gazette and now a city
year’s series of natural disasters, it is
councilor, had moved to Cannon Beach
these human stories we remember.
lower than the top gusts of 147 at Radar
fulltime earlier that year. December
“I remember a neighbor of mine
Ridge, west of Naselle, Washington.
2007 was her first winter. “I told myself
came over with a bottle of wine to see
What caused the most damage to
if I could survive the first winter in
how I was,” McCarthy said. “We sat at
trees, power poles and buildings were
Cannon Beach, I’d continue to live
my kitchen table in the dark, with only
the sustained winds that started Sunday
here. So, the ‘Great Coastal Gale’ be-
our headlamps on, drinking wine and
came my test,” she told me this week.
and didn’t end until Tuesday.
talking into the night.”
“The “Great Coastal Gale” was a
When a roof truss came crashing
The “Great Coastal Gale” had sev-
eral lasting effects, but the major result
euphemism for the hurricane we actual-
through the roof of the home of the
ly had,” McCarthy recalled.
was the wake-up call it sent to the
family of Craig Shepherd — hanging
The wind reached 120 mph in some
cities and counties on the North Coast.
perilously over 18-year-old Ian Shep-
herd — firefighters braved the high
areas of the North Coast.
“It reminded us that the tsunami
“We didn’t have power for about
winds to clear debris.
isn’t the only emergency we should
six days,” McCarthy said. “I remember
Peter Shepherd, 16, and Julia, 13,
prepare for,” McCarthy said. “In Can-
non Beach, there was a huge push to
hearing that 72 transformers had col-
scrambled down the home’s narrow
lapsed all up and down the coast.”
create more preparedness committees,
staircase, filled with so much debris
Thousands of trees fell along the
organize and train shelter volunteers,
they had to jump from the stairs to the
highway.
hire an emergency consultant, develop
living room. They waited in a back hall
The wind and rainstorm blew into
emergency plans and work with other
under a door frame as the wind blew
town for three days, from Dec. 2 to
cities and especially the county.”
out windows throughout the house.
Dec. 4.
In New York, in 1999, I remember
To get to the scene, firefighters had
McCarthy recalled that there was
similar scenes, including the dramat-
to cut through and remove three trees
ic rescue of a father and son from a
no means of communication with the
from Elkwood Mountain Road, where
basement filling with water
outside world for several days,
while power lines remained
until a ham radio operator from
‘I TOLD MYSELF IF I COULD SURVIVE THE live. The risks were as
Seaside could get to Cannon
Beach.
FIRST WINTER IN CANNON BEACH, I’D great for first responders
“City officials thought they
as for those in the rapidly
CONTINUE TO LIVE HERE.’
could use their satellite radio,
submerging waters.
but that didn’t work, and the
The next night, as
NANCY McCARTHY | former editor of Cannon Beach Gazette
cell towers were down, and, of
damage and debris was
course, the landlines weren’t
surfacing, I remember one
available,” she said. “The city couldn’t
particularly poignant moment. The rain
the Shepherds lived. Nearby trees
even communicate with county officials
was pouring and a house had virtually
snapped constantly while crews sawed
for a few days. That lack of ability to
been washed away. But homeowner
through huge logs. “I felt like a sitting
communicate came as quite a surprise
Larry Farrell was getting into his car,
duck,” firefighter Matt Gardner said at
to city officials.”
holding a trombone case. He might not
the time.
have known how he was going to make
After the winds settled and clearing
‘Worst storm’
it, but he was scheduled to play in the
of debris, McCarthy wrote on the edito-
“It’s the worst storm we have on
rial page: “Through the darkness, all of
pit orchestra for a Broadway musical.
recent record that has hit our service
the stars shine here in Cannon Beach.”
“I’d love to talk,” he said to a re-
porter. “But I’ve got a show to do.”
area on the North Coast in terms of
She recounted example after exam-
ple of human kindness.
duration and distance,” Mark Sampson
The Daily Astorian and Cannon
Mariner Market stayed open and
of Pacific Power said in the Gazette at
Beach Gazette are preparing a 10-year
served coffee to drop-ins, while
the time.
More than 470 crews from all over
anniversary special edition commemo-
local restaurants provided free cof-
Oregon and from as far away as Walla
rating the storm of 2007. Please share
fee and meals, she wrote at the time.
Walla, Washington, and Utah, worked
your memories of the 2007 storm with
The restaurants operated by Martin
to restore power from Tillamook to
us. You can find us on the Cannon
Hospitality — Wayfarer, Lumberyard,
Astoria. Winds in Cannon Beach
Stephanie Inn and Surfsand Resorts
Beach Gazette Facebook page, or email
“only” reached 80 mph, significantly
rmarx@cannonbeachgazette.com.
— brought meals to the Community
M
EVE MARX/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Brunch at the Wayfarer offered terrific views, great
food and a place to meet a good friend.
LETTERS
Unprofessional
treatment
I am writing in response
to the headline story in
which the Clastop County
Commission chairman, Scott
Lee, calls for the resignation
of Commissioner Lianne
Thompson (“Lee calls for
Thompson’s resignation,”
The Daily Astorian, Oct. 26).
Interim Publisher
Heidi Wright
Editor
R.J. Marx
Circulation
Manager
Jeremy Feldman
Production
Manager
John D. Bruijn
In all my 30-plus years of
public service, never have I
seen such unprofessional and
inappropriate use of power
in a locally elected board as
that of the Clatsop County
Commission for the past few
years. I say this from a posi-
tion of personal knowledge,
having served as a Clatsop
County commissioner in the
late 1980s. I served with two
Classified Sales
Jamie Ramsdell
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Staff writer
Brenna Visser
Contributing
writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
other commissioners under
the general law form of gov-
ernance.
When I was on the board
of commissioners, if we
didn’t agree on something
we were at least respectful of
each other’s right to an opin-
ion or stand on an issue. We
did not play out our disagree-
ments in the local newspaper
by calling out each other’s
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
transgressions. If a policy
was breached, we discussed
it like adults, and I do not
remember any such public
displays of disagreements or
chastising one another.
I am baffled as to why, if
the county does not intend any
disciplinary action, there was
a public chiding of Commis-
sioner Thompson at a board
meeting. Upon reading the ar-
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ticle, it appeared to this reader
that she was being criticized
for just doing her job. It is in-
cumbent upon commissioners
to keep up with the demands
of the job of making policy,
something I have known
Commissioner Thompson to
have done since she came on
to the county board.
She has been religious in
attending conferences and
summits that are of great
importance to Clatsop Coun-
ty. Her attendance this past
summer at Pacific Northwest
Economic Region did not go
unnoticed. And, this group
is not a “mutual admiration
society not relevant to county
business.” I have represent-
ed Oregon on PNWER for
See Letters, Page 6A
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING