Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2015)
June 12, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A 165th anniversary of Grave of the Unknown Sailor Neighborhood group tends to monument, hopes to add informational sign includes a poem written about the memorial that re- inforces that story. “There’s a lonely grave on the ocean shore, near to the shadow of Tilla- mook Head, where there is sounding forevermore, the sullen surf with its stormy By Katherine Lacaze roar, requiem sung for the Seaside Signal unknown dead,” the poem About 150 years ago, the begins, continuing in a tale goes, a Seaside resi- later stanza, “Was this the dent named John Hobson captain or one of the crew? met three anonymous sail- Was it a passenger nearing ors on the beach in the cove home? Might it a lover be, near Tillamook Head. They brave and true? Father and were looking for fresh wa- husband with port in view ter and wanted to get back and home ones waiting for to their small sailing ship, him to come?” “Kind hands bore to the anchored off the Head, be- desolate shore all that was fore dark. Hobson, feeling the left of the unknown dead; sailors might be in trouble no requiem sung but the as the wind picked up and sea’s dull roar, and that the ocean got rough, “built is sounding forevermore D ELJ ERQ¿UH RQ WKH EHDFK where the green sod covers and kept it going most of the stranger’s head,” the the night in case it could poem concludes. Another newspaper ar- help them keep their bear- ing, but it was no use,” WLFOHD¿UVWSHUVRQDFFRXQW according to Inez Stafford from C.W. Shively, tells of Hanson in her book “Life the Industry’s journey in early 1865. The bark, or on Clatsop.” The next day, their bod- barque, experienced two ies were found washed weeks of heavy weather be- ashore, and Hobson “bur- fore arriving at the mouth ied them on the rise above of the Columbia River high tide line” in the cove, around March 7 of that year. The ship capsized and Hanson wrote. This incident supposedly seven people were rescued took place April 25, 1865, and 17 people, including becoming the origin of Sea- Cpt. Lewis, were drowned. Jan Barber, who also side’s monument know as the Grave of the Unknown takes care of the grave, Sailor. That retelling — said people have homed where the sailors were in on the story of the three searching for water and met sailors, but “then you start Hobson shortly before their digging more, and you hear demise — is the one Sarah different things.” What Gearhart Byrd shared for may possibly contribute to Hanson’s book and which WKH ³FRQÀLFWLQJ´ YHUVLRQV now is the most consistent of the grave’s origin, Bar- ber said, is they could all and popular belief. Further research, how- be true stories — just not as ever, shows there may be they relate to that particular FRQÀLFWLQJ VWRULHV UHJDUG- site. Montero agreed, say- ing the origin of the grave, said Robin Montero, who ing, “I hate to say it — this lives near the memorial whole area is a graveyard.” Several of the early resi- DQG LV SDUW RI DQ XQRI¿FLDO neighborhood group that dents, according to Hanson, serves as the site’s collec- remember incidents before the 1900s when the cove tive caretaker. In a correspondence area near the sailors’ grave to the Sacramento Daily was used to bury other de- Union from Aug. 19, 1871, ceased persons, particular- a man named S.A. Clarke ly several individuals who wrote the solitary grave — died from drowning acci- which is about a quarter dents. “None of these spots of a mile from the former Summer House that used were marked with any to occupy the Seaside Golf lasting marker, however, Course property — is “sup- and no records were kept posed to be that of the Cap- so their locations were tain of the bark Industry, soon lost to view,” Hanson then wrecked on Columbia writes. Before the neighborhood bar.” He doesn’t say where he got the information but group adopted the Grave of .AT+ER,NE LA&A=E P+OTO Robin Montero, left, and Jan Barber are part of an unofficial neighborhood group that has adopted the Grave of the Unknown Sailor in the cove and sees to its care and maintenance. A marker at the site says the sailor, or sailors, depending on which version of the grave’s origin is correct, were found April 25, 1865, making this year the site’s 150th anniversary. the Unknown Sailor, which met its 150th anniversary this year, it also was close to becoming a wholly ne- glected burial site, broken and overrun with weeds. Now it is carefully main- tained by Barber and her husband, Jay; Montero and her husband, Bill; Walt and Denise Walthour; John Parks; Walter Dagatt; and other neighbors. “It’s just become a great way to meet your neigh- bors,” Montero said. “We just care deeply about it. It’s our history; it’s who we are.” Together they weed WKH VLWH WHQG WR ÀRZ- ers and plants, keep the paint looking nice and occasionally replace the 86 0DULQH &RUSV ÀDJ that waves numerous feet above the unassuming plot that contains two small markers, one engraved with the words, “Known Only to God,” and the other engraved, “Found On the Beach April 25, 1865.” Sometimes people ZLOO OHDYH ÀRZHUV PDU- bles, sand dollars or other knickknacks at the grave as a way of paying homage to someone or something. Prior to the summer of 2011, the memorial was used as a geocache loca- tion, which was “totally inappropriate” and led to DEL’S O.K. The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside Oregon 97138. 503-738- 5561. www.seasidesignal.com PUBLISHER Steve Forrester EDITOR R.J. Marx REPORTER .AT+ER,NE LA&A=E P+OTO Seaside’s Grave of the Unknown Sailor turned 150 years old this year. The monument, which sits near the cove by Tilla- mook Head, is said to be the grave site of three anonymous sailors who perished during a storm on the ocean in April 1865, but other conflicting origin stories exist. ocean safety information. While the City Council showed interest in the proj- ect at that time, nothing came of it. But Montero and Barber plan to bring the proposal before City Coun- cil again soon. • CUSTOM WHEELS • • AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES • 503-325-2861 35359 Business Hwy 101 For emergencies 503-325-0233 Been there, banked that. Astoria, OR (miles crossing) Katherine Lacaze You’ll notice the difference. ADVERTISING MANAGER Betty Smith PRODUCTION MANAGER John D. Bruijn CIRCULATION MANAGER Samantha McLaren SYSTEMS MANAGER Carl Earl CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Claire Lovell John Rahl Darren Gooch Esther Moberg ADVERTISING SALES Laura Kaim Wendy Richardson C all F or A Letter policy The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number Ior Yeri¿cation. :e also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285. Or email nmccarthy@seasidesignal.com free IN -H O M E C O N SU LT AT IO N ! Shutters, W ood B lind s, C ellular Shad es, Soft Shad es, Vertical B lind s, Valances, W oven W ood & m ore! SAVE 2 5 % on Select Signature Series Financing Available SUBSCRIPTIONS Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR 97138 and at additional mailing of¿ces. &opyright 2015 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be re-produced without written permission. All rights reserved. seasidesignal.com Lincoln City 541-994-9954 SW Washington 503-738-5242 www.budgetblinds.com *Offer not valid with any other offers. Offer good at time of initial estimate only. Offer good at participating franchises only. Each franchise independently owned and operated. CCB# 177717 Subscribe online at Oregon Coast 503-738-5242 “We need to honor the people that have come before us, and this board would do that,” Barber said. Montero agreed. “If we keep forgetting, eventually it will be forgot- ten,” she said. Experience is our strong suit. We’ve been the bank of choice for every kind of business from tech to timber, and everything in between. Our bankers know your business, and nothing will come between you and the service you deserve. Get to the next level with the community bank built for businesses. YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR TIRES Hours: Mon-Fri 8-6 Sat- 8-4 people climbing around the site and causing dam- age, Barber said. Having the geocache removed im- mensely helped the state of the site, Montero said. Even now, however, some people do not seem to real- ize the monument is a grave site, and the neighbors have an idea for bringing more awareness. Whatever the grave’s true origin story may be, the neighborhood group is leading an effort to get a historical information board placed on the north- east corner of the memorial where it would not obstruct any resident’s ocean view. The sign, as proposed by the cove residents at a Sea- side City Council meeting in August 2011, would be 16-by-30 inches and in- clude the lore of the three sailors, a map of various shipwrecks in the area and Find out more at columbiabank.com or call 877-272-3678. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender
