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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2016)
December 23, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 9A Seaside arts organizations score at culture awards Grants recognize history, heritage, culture By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Seaside’s library direc- tor Esther Moberg received $2,000 on behalf of a summer reading program for children in communities underserved by public libraries. Tita Montero accepted $1,500 on behalf of the Sea- side Museum and Historical Society for updating the Clat- sop Nehalem Peoples social studies curriculum, in use for 390 students in 15 fourth- grade classes throughout the county. Katherine Lacaze accept- ed a grant of $1,055 on be- half of the Sunset Park and Recreation District for the Children’s Theater Summer Workshop presentation of “Alice in Wonderland.” These organizations and others were honored Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Clatsop Communi- ty College’s South Campus Clatsop County Cultural Co- alition grant awards. Edward James left Astoria “a zillion years ago” to pur- sue his theatrical passion in New York, the Midwest and eventually Portland. “I came here about 10 years ago to retire, and I dis- covered something signifi- cantly different than when I left,” James said. “There were few artistic galleries in R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Nettie Lee-Calog, Tita Montero, Daniel Keesler, Carol Lambert, Edward James, Jennifer Crockett, Andrew Tonry, Katherine Lacaze, Esther Moberg and Jane Brumfield, recipients of Clatsop County Cultural Coalition grants. the ’70s. When I came back, ‘Cabaret’ was on the front page, there was music in ev- ery bar, there were communi- ty music organizations devel- oping. It was vastly different. The cultural coalition can take a little credit for that.” James, a director, was in attendance to accept $1,235 for “All in the Timing,” a live production at the Performing Arts Center. The play will be staged in January and features a cast of North Coast actors. “It’s smart theater,” James said. “PAC is providing us a place to do that.” The arts center was among 10 local organizations to ben- efit from $11,240 in Clatsop County Cultural Coalition grants funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and from a small arts and culture grant from the Oregon Commu- nity Foundation. James, like other award recipients, shared not only the passion for their own organi- zations, but passion for the arts in the community. “Our grants are awarded to project that support, main- tain, preserve and protect cul- tural projects in the arts, heri- Author shares a love of community By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Gloria Stiger Linkey was raised in Seaside and remembers its glory days growing up. Before Dec. 7, 1941 — Pearl Harbor Day — the small town was “innocent.” “Nobody locked their doors, we played on the beach all day during the summer, there were no televisions, no cellphones, no computers,” she said. “Just the radio and those wonderful ra- dio shows we used to listen to.” Linkey’s new book, “A Place Called Seaside,” traces the city where she was raised, left and later returned to. Her family moved to Seaside in 1937, when Linkey was 7. In the summer, Linkey recalled, she would watching people strolling the Prom and down Broadway. “You’d stop and watch the people swim,” she said. “You’d go on down watch them bowl, you’d go to the roller-skating rink and watch them skate. That was our enter- tainment.” The closing of the natatorium — the public swimming pool near the Prom — and closing of clubs and entertainment centers contributed to a downtown de- cline. In 1962, at a time when rebellion among the nation’s youth was just un- derway, Seaside made national head- lines. According to Linkey, who has been researching her book for three years, the riots started Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and went for about sev- en hours on Broadway, with the police fighting crowds of unruly youths. “As I understand it, the youngsters wanted a rock-and-roll band to appear on the beach.” When the band was canceled, crowds erupted. “They took the lifeguard tow- ‘To me, the Labor Day riot of 1962 had the most devastating effect on the town, because the families just took off. They didn’t feel safe.’ Gloria Stiger Linkey er down and rolled it down Broadway,” Linkey said. “They looted, vandalized and of course our police department — as efficient as they are — were no match for them because it was so small, so help from neighboring cities was called in.” The unease continued through the weekend as more riots followed Sunday night. “To me, the Labor Day riot of 1962 had the most devastating effect on the town, because the families just took off,” Linkey said. “They didn’t feel safe.” A downtown revival followed, she said, with the participation of the City Council, Chamber of Commerce and other civic entities. In the 1980s, Qua- tat Park was established, the Prom was fixed up and Downing Street became a pedestrian walkway, she said. The con- struction of the Civic and Convention Center and the founding of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District played a part in the city’s revival. The park and rec district was found- ed, she added, because without a natato- rium along Broadway, residents sought a place to swim other than motels or pri- vate pools. Linkey raised her family in South Laguna Beach, Califor- nia. After the death of her husband, she returned to Sea- side, where she Gloria Stiger has lived since, Linkey working in the insurance business, and for a short pe- riod, with the Seaside Signal as an ac- countant. Her daughter Victoria lives in Mesa, Arizona, and Darci lives in Dia- mond Bar, California. Linkey’s sister, Patricia, is also a Seaside High School grad and lives in California. Linkey was 83 when she began her career as a published author, publish- ing “Native American Women: Three Who Changed History.” The book tells the tales of Sacagawea, Warkuese and Marie Dorion and their role in the ex- ploration and settlement of the Pacific Northwest. To conduct research for her Seaside chronicle, Linkey relied on her own memory and newspaper archives. Looking to the future, Linkey said Seaside’s tsunami threat is not a ques- tion of if, but when. Although from her home east of the highway, she antici- pates “I would probably only get my toes wet,” she keeps a go-bag ready. Her new book is “a labor of love,” she said. She plans signings and sales at Beach Books and the Seaside Public Library. “When I graduated from high school I had one year of college at Oregon State University, I had one thought: get out of Seaside. There was nothing here for young people. It’s amazing that we’ve all got out — and we’ve all come back.” N e w Full color, scenic montage postcards of Astoria now available at the Daily Astorian office! Tourists, visitors, family & friends will love sending these! 949 Exchange Street, Astoria • 503-325-3211 tage and humanity in Clatsop County,” Charlene Larsen, the co-chairwoman of the co- alition, said. Liberty Theater Executive Director Jennifer Crockett accepted a grant for $1,000 to fund a workshop and per- formance for kids, “Rhythm Takes Three.” Nettie-Lee Calog, site manager of the Warrenton Community Library, accept- ed $600 for the library’s “Li- bros” program for Hispanic readers. Program coordinator Dan- iel Keesler accepted $2,000 on behalf of the Lower Co- lumbia Hispanic Council for the Teatro Milagro bilingual arts residency. Carol Lambert of the Clat- sop County Historical Soci- ety spoke about John Andrew Buchanan, founder of the Clatsop County Chapter of the Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution in 1920 and the Clatsop County Historical Society in 1921. Lambert’s maternal grandfather, Bu- chanan is best remembered as the lyricist for the state song, “Oregon, My Oregon,” cho- sen among 200 entries. The historical society’s grant of $750 will provide a monu- ment for Buchanan at Ocean View Cemetery. Jane Brumfield received $600 for Cannon Beach Arts Association “Artists Talk.” Andrew Tonry accepted $500 on behalf of the Tolovana Arts Colony’s upcoming Can- non Beach Comedy Festival. “Art saves lives,” KMUN host Carol Newman said in opening remarks. “Culture, libraries, music, history, eduction, the things you are all facilitating or offering. Thank you so much for mak- ing this community so rich. It feeds everything: our river, our land, our earth and our people.” Annual tea held at the Butterfield Cottage Tea from Page 1A could purchase tickets at any of the teas, and the drawing was held Dec. 17. As with many of the activ- ities and events hosted by the museum, volunteers – includ- ing the board members that donate their time to serve the organization – help sustain the Gingerbread Tea from year to year, Reef said. They assist with baking, decorating and serving. In return, Reef said, the organization’s hope is people “who find this an im- portant tradition” will donate or volunteer for the museum. Reef, who has a love for history, got involved after moving to the area from Bos- ton. She soon discovered that “Seaside has its own fascinat- ing history,” especially as the first notable resort town on the coast. The museum, which seeks to preserve and show- case that history, is “a hidden gem,” she said, adding she encourages others “who have a love of history and a love of Seaside” to support and be a part of the organization, as well. Providence Hospital offers community resource desk Providence Seaside Hos- pital and Clatsop Community Action, in a community part- nership, have opened a com- munity resource desk at the main entrance to the hospital in Seaside. The services offered in- clude signing up for food stamp benefits, assistance with finding food pantries, locating housing resources, utility and heating assistance, transportation options as well other needed services. This resource is open to all residents and visitors of Clatsop County and provides a convenient location for all who live in, or are visiting South Clatsop County. This service is also available in downtown Astoria at the Clat- sop Community Action office located at 364 Ninth St. The Seaside location is staffed by Marcelo Hernan- dez, a bilingual referral coor- dinator employed by Clatsop Community Action and fund- ed by Providence Community Health Division. The desk is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located in the main lobby of Providence Seaside Hospital, 725 Wahanna Road; 503-717- 7176.