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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2015)
8A • September 4, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Wheels and Waves: A blast from the past Wheels from Page 1A Schedule of Events Mespelt, the show “helped to extend the sum- mer season for downtown merchants.” In 2004, the association took on a new partnership with Flashback Promotions and local businessman Gary Diebolt, Tra- vis Diebolt’s father. The Wheels and Waves name-change followed. Under Gary Die- bolt’s leadership, the car show thrived. He added activities for car owners and visitors to do throughout the weekend. “He was very much a people person,” local car owner David Pedegana said. “He wanted to make sure everyone had a good time,” After Gary Diebolt’s death in 2009, the downtown association partnered with Trent Campbell as the event’s next promoter. Af- ter that, the association started promoting Wheels and Waves on its own. THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 Coastline Poker Run: Noon to 4 p.m. Senior Cruise: Starting at 4 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 Show and Shine downtown: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Coastline Poker Run: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Poker Walk: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vendor Alley on Edgewood Street: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Beach Party at the Sea- side Civic and Convention Center: 5:30 to 8 p.m. JEFF TER HAR/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Reliving the past One of the activities longtime event pro- moter Gary Diebolt added before his death that remains a tradition is the Senior Cruise. Starting Thursday at 4:30 p.m., a number of early birds will gather to tour the three local assisted living facilities — Avamere at Suzanne Elise, Avamere at Seaside and Neawanna By the Sea — and give residents an exclusive preview of show cars. The last stop is Thousand Trails’ Seaside RV Resort, where about 50 car owners are treated to a barbecue, courtesy of the resort. The event usually involves about 50 vehicles, about 90 percent of them out-of- towners, said Pedegana, the Senior Cruise director. Pedegna got involved in the cruise about eight years ago by accident. Gary Diebolt mistook Pedegana’s car for the car leading the parade, and thanked him for helping out. Pedegana confessed it wasn’t him but volunteered to lead the tour in the future. “It’s so much fun,” Pedegana said. “We have such a good time.” Residents from the assisted living facili- ties come outside or watch from their win- dows as the cars cruise by. “They’re reliving a part of their past again, because some of the cars in the pa- rade are cars that either their parents owned, or their brother owned, or they owned, or they dated in. We’ve got all kinds of sto- ries,” Pedegana said. Nostalgia tends to be a leading role in the car show as a whole. Many people who participate do it “because you get to sit and talk to people,” Pedegana said. “There is always interest in the cars,” he added. “There is interest in how the upholstery was done, why the engine was swapped, a variety of different things. Or they want to reminisence about cars they had when they were kids, and that’s a lot of times what happens.” Cars lined up at the 2014 Wheels and Waves event. Pedegana and his wife, Kathy, have participated in Wheels and Waves since 1999, when they purchased a 1961 Impa- la. On a trip to Redding, Calif., for a car show called Kool April Nites, Kathy spot- ted a 1937 Ford Slantback and was tak- en by the teardrop headlights. She said if they were to acquire another car, that was the one for her. In 2000, Pedegana tracked down an identical model — bright red — and presented it to Kathy for Mother’s Day, complete with a license plate reading Her37. Kathy grew up with four broth- ers who always had cars and that’s why Pedegana bought the Ford for her. “I wanted her to have a car equal to or better than what her brothers had, because she never had an opportunity to have a car when she was young. That’s just the way it was in those days,” Pedegana said. While “it’s her car,” he added, “I get to drive it to car shows and put gas in it, and clean it up.” Over the years, he’s touched up the car with new upholstery, wheels, bumpers and air conditioning. Passing along the hobby For Travis Diebolt, involvement with car shows started because of his father. They would attend car shows as vendors, selling 1950s and 1960s nostalgia items. One sum- mer, they hit up 72 events, he said. “My dad joked around that we were like carnies,” Travis Diebolt said. “I’ve seen ev- ery state this side of the Mississippi, minus Hawaii, due to going to car shows and travel- ing with dad.” When Gary Diebolt became the main promoter for Seaside’s car shows and Bike- Fest, Travis Diebolt helped out as his father’s “errand boy,” he said. Later, he contributed his artistic skills for T-shirts and promotional items, even during the few years he lived in New Orleans. Travis Diebolt remembers his father as very dedicated and meticulous when it came to promoting events. “The night before the car show, he’d be out there counting parking spaces trying to ¿JXUH RXW µ:KHUH FDQ , JHW RQH PRUH FDU comfortably?’” Travis Diebolt said. “He had a passion for Seaside. Anyone who knew him knew that. He was always for events that would bring people to Seaside to help out Seaside.” Because Wheels and Waves is scheduled in September, the weekend after Labor Day, it is one of the last big shows for the season in WKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW ³,W¶VNLQGRIWKHµHQGRIWKHVXPPHU¶W\SH thing,” Travis Diebolt said. When his father passed away, Travis Die- bolt got his 1952 Chevy Sedan Delivery. He now shares the tradition of attending Wheels and Waves with his own 8-year-old son. They park the car along Broadway with the rest of the participants for the Show and Shine, put out chairs “and play tourists for the day,” Tra- vis Diebolt said. Something for everyone From Friday through midday Sunday, %URDGZD\ZLOOEHFORVHGWRWUDI¿FDQGWUDQV- formed into a pedestrian mall from its in- tersection with Holladay Drive to the Turn- around. The public can walk freely and enjoy the “Show and Shine” from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Cars will spill over to Columbia Street and the public parking lot by the Sea- side Civic and Convention Center, as well. Saturday is the main event, as several bands are scheduled to perform throughout the day. At 4 p.m., the signature “Downtown Street Cruise” car parade starts, allowing owners to show off their cars in action. SATURDAY, SEPT. 12 Show and Shine downtown: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Treasure Hunt: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vendor Alley on Edgewood Street: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Beach Party at the Sea- side Civic and Convention Center: 5:30 to 8 p.m. SUNDAY, SEPT. 13 Show and Shine downtown: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendor Alley on Edgewood Street: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Seaside Elks Lodge also is putting on the Elks Swap Meet to coincide with the car show. The swap meet will be from 10 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Seaside Elks Lodge, 324 Avenue A. About 20 vendors will be selling memorabilia, clothing, car and motorcycle parts and other items. A few unique cars, such as a Stanley Steamer, will be on display. The cost for vendors is $60 per two days for an indoor space and $50 per two days for an outdoor space. The revenue will go to the Elks’ scholarships for local seniors. The organization hopes to make the swap meet an annual event. There is no admis- sion cost to attend the swap meet. On Sunday, the Seaside association will hold an awards ceremony for car owners at the convention center. Pedegana said his wife once won an award titled “Car Crazy Chick.” They do not put much emphasis on the 35 plaques and trophies they have col- lected, though. “If you enter a car show strictly to win hardware, you’re going to be disappointed. Because that’s not what it’s about,” he said. “It’s a nice thing to have happen, and no- body says it isn’t, but it’s not why you go.” For more information about Wheels and Waves, contact the Seaside Downtown De- velopment Association at (503) 717-1914. Seaside committee 100 years: Looking back, looking forward ponders fate of old church building School from Page 1A Church from Page 1A “It’s wide, wide, wide open,” Larson said. “We’ve got a building — what do we do with it?” The committee met for a preliminary meeting in early Aug, 5 at the build- ing, at 1115 Broadway, and is meeting again this week to consider options for the property. Committee mem- bers see potential for the building, centrally locat- ed just west of the Seaside Public Library and across from Broadway Middle School, the Seaside Visitors Bureau and the Sunset Em- pire Park and Recreation District pool. “We have a lot of places we can feed into this,” Lar- son said. KATHERINE LACAZE/SEASIDE SIGNAL A Seaside committee dis- cussed the future of a former church building acquired by the city in September 2014. said. One idea, Tschannen said, would be to “keep it almost like a blank can- vas” that could be used for many events and purpos- A space with es, perhaps an art gallery, potential after-school youth center, Committee members en- theater space or lecture hall. vision the space as a poten- Assistant Seaside Li- tial wedding hall, reunion brary Director Jon Burke center or performing arts asked if there was a budget room. for the project. Darren Gooch of the park Not yet, Larson said. and recreation district said A few maintenance proj- the former church could be ects will need to be done “an extension” to the Bob on the building, such as re- Chisholm Community Cen- constructing the wheelchair ter, which is currently used ramp outside to meet Amer- for public events. icans with Disabilities Act Kristin Tschannen, a requirements, installing a local business owner and new heating system, bath- member of Clatsop Coun- room renovations and new ty’s Way to Wellville Stra- ÀRRULQJ 2WKHU SURMHFWV tegic Advisory Council, such as removing pews in said it might be best to the main hall, depend on look at existing gaps when the building’s future use. it comes to city facilities. Burke estimated there was “What are the needs we’re at least $50,000 worth of QRWIXO¿OOLQJ"´VKHVDLG work to make the building suitable for any purpose. Identifying needs Once the building’s fu- Identifying those needs ture is decided, then the would be a good start to city will determine how to deciding where the old manage and maintain the FKXUFK EXLOGLQJ ¿WV LQ VKH building. district with its own board of directors. In November 1916, after several delays, the com- munities dedicated a recently ¿QLVKHG8QLRQ+LJK School in Seaside. “Seaside can well feel proud of this excellent edu- cational building, and those instrumental in the build- ing of this valuable adjunct to this great resort can feel highly elated at the result of their labors,” the Seaside Signal wrote Nov. 16, 1916. Another Signal article described the new school would be “bigger in its en- rollment” and “better in its equipment, broadened till it stands second to none in the county.” J.W. Branstator was the principal at the time. Un- der his direction, the district planned to expand its curric- ulum so the caliber of Union High School would equal that of Astoria High School. Union High School was located directly west of the current facility, along what is now North Holladay Drive. Some time in the 1950s, the district constructed a new building that became the core of the current high school. That facility was added on to in 1962, increasing the capacity of the school to 600 students. A gymnasium large enough for two basketball courts and folding bleachers was a highlight of the up- grade. KATHERINE LACAZE/SEASIDE SIGNAL A photo at the Seaside Museum depicts the Union High School built in 1916 that served stu- dents from Gearhart, Seaside and Cannon Beach. Fast forward to now, as the school prepares for its 100th year of serving high school students in South County. Roley, Assistant Principal Jeff Roberts and other staff members and teachers are preparing for the arrival of approximately 450 students for the 2015-16 school year. Freshmen and new stu- dents will come the Tuesday after Labor Day, Sept. 8, for a program called Link Crew. Junior and senior crew lead- ers will show the new stu- dents around the school and put on several team-build- ing exercises to help them get acclimated before the remaining students arrive Sept. 9. “It’s a great transition program,” Roley said. Incor- porated about 20 years ago, she added, it is “one of the PRVWVLJQL¿FDQWFKDQJHVIRU setting a positive school cli- mate we’ve ever made.” Personally, Roley is en- tering her 30th year as an educator, and she said the “excitement and anticipation has never diminished one bit for me.” “I anxiously await the ar- rival of the staff and kids each year,” she said. Each year, she anticipates leading the high school into the future. Educators are nev- HUVDWLV¿HGVKHVDLGEHFDXVH “they know there is growth we can continue to make.” Renovations around the district GEARHART ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Resurfacing, re-striping and signage in parking lot Roofing projects that included the gym, com- puter lab/music room and rooms 15 through 18 SEASIDE HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Resurfacing, re-striping and signage in parking lot (Scheduled for Saturday) BROADWAY MIDDLE SCHOOL: Upgrading one boys’ and one girls’ restroom (In progress) One new roof pack (In progress) SEASIDE HIGH SCHOOL: New section of sidewalk on east side New ramp on west side (portable buildings park- ing lot) Installed a platform lift for access to band/music/ stage areas Installed platform lift for access to upper gym Resurfacing, re-striping and signage in parking lots Upgrading boys’ and girls’ restrooms throughout building (In progress) DISTRICT OFFICE: Repaving, resurfacing, re-striping and signage for ADA parking area.
