8A • February 17, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
CommunityCalendar
Friday, Feb. 17
Sunday, Feb. 19
Chamber Breakfast
PBL Tournaments
8:15 a.m., Finn’s Fish House, 227
Broadway, Seaside, 503-738-6391, www.
seasidechamber.com. Open to the public,
weekly speakers, discussions and a no-
host breakfast.
7 p.m., Seaside, Warrenton, Astoria,
503-717-4308, www.seasidebasketball-
tournaments.com.
Monday, Feb. 20
Low Impact Walk
Knochlers Pinochle
9:30 a.m., 503-738-7751. This low-impact
walking group meets weekly at different
locations. Sponsored by the Seaside
Branch of American Association of Univer-
sity Women (AAUW).
1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside, 503-738-7393,
www.sunsetempire.com, all ages, $1
per session per person. This is a weekly,
regular play card game.
2:AM Pacific
7 p.m., McMenamins Sand Trap, 1157
Marion Ave., Gearhart, 503-717-8150,
www.mcmenamins.com, no cover. 2:AM
Pacific plays a variety of genres from soul
and rock to jazz and pop music.
Open Mic & Jam
7 p.m., Pacific Pearl Bistro, 111 Broadway,
Seaside. All styles welcome at this jam
session hosted by the Tim Kelly Blues
Band.
Poet Reading
7 p.m., Tolovana Hall, 3779 Hemlock St.,
Cannon Beach, 541-215-4445, www.
tolovanaartscolony.org. Oregon’s Poet
Laureate Elizabeth Woody will give a free
reading and discuss her writing process,
followed by a Q&A.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
PBL Tournaments
8 a.m., Seaside, Warrenton, Astoria,
503-717-4308, www.seasidebasketball-
tournaments.com. Enjoy the excitement
of the annual Pacific Basketball League
tournaments held at schools in Seaside,
Warrenton and Astoria.
Randy Burt
7 p.m., American Legion, 1315 Broadway,
Seaside, 503-738-5111, www.seaside-
post99.org, no cover, 21 +. Randy Burt
plays a variety of genre including blues
and rock music.
9:15 a.m., North Coast Family Fellowship,
2245 Wahanna Road, Seaside, 509-910-
0354. Take Pounds Off Sensibly (TOPS)
focuses on healthy lifestyle changes for
weight loss, meets every Tuesday.
7 p.m., Gearhart Bowl, 3518 Hwy. 101,
503-436-0609, www.coastertheatre.
com. Coaster Theatre will host its annual
appreciation party for its many volunteers
including actors, stage crew, ushers,
technicians, building, strike assistants and
general volunteers; RSVP is required.
Ham Radio Breakfast
8 a.m., Finn’s Fish House, 227 Broadway,
Seaside, 503-738-9692. Ham radio opera-
tors meet every Thursday, venues change
the first Thursday of the month.
meditation, music and health/wellness
treatments; multiple venues and times,
registration required.
Seaside Jazz Festival
2 p.m., Seaside Convention Center, 415
First Ave., Seaside, 866-345-6257, www.
jazzseaside.com, $15 to $95, all ages. The
annual Seaside Jazz Festival at the coast
features top performers of traditional and
contemporary jazz, multiple times and
venues; check website for schedule.
SDDA Breakfast
8:30 a.m., Pig ‘N’ Pancake, 323 Broad-
way, Seaside, 503-717-1914, www.
seasidedowntown.com. Weekly speakers,
discussions and a no-host breakfast.
Kiwanis Club Meeting
Noon, Pig ‘N’ Pancake, 323 Broadway, Sea-
side, open to the public, www.facebook.
com/pages/Kiwanis-Club-of-Seaside-Ore.
Features weekly speakers, discussions and
a no-host lunch.
101, Arch Cape, 206-221-6893. Coastal
Observation and Seabird Survey Team
(COASST) offers a beached bird training
session: learn to collect data, identify
species and more; registration required.
10 a.m., Reed Ranch Habitat Reserve,
Warrenton, 503-738-9126, www.
nclctrust.org. NCLC is seeking volunteers
to help plant a windbreak for native
butterflies at the reserve, call to sign up
and directions.
“Bye Bye Birdie”
7 p.m., Seaside High School, 1901
Holladay Drive, Seaside, 503-738-5586 $4
to $8, all ages. “Bye Bye Birdie: A Musical
Comedy” is a family friendly musical
loosely based on Elvis’ journey into the
Army in the 1950s.
Open Mic & Jam
7 p.m., Pacific Pearl Bistro, 111 Broadway,
Seaside.
5 p.m., Seaside Convention Center, 415
First Ave., Seaside, 503-436-0371, $5
to $20. Seaside Kiwanis Club will host
its annual Pancake Feed, a popular, all-
you-can-eat family fun event; proceeds
benefit youth activities and programs in
Seaside and Clatsop County.
9 a.m., Clatsop County Fairgrounds, 92937
Walluski Loop, Astoria, 503-325-4821,
free. CEDR and Worksource Northwest
Oregon will host its annual Clatsop County
Career & Job Fair; open to students in the
morning and to adults in the afternoon
at 2 p.m.
Sou’Wester Garden Club
10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside, 503-738-6786,
free. This month’s program will be “Every-
thing You Want to Know About Dahlias”
with Swan Island Dahlias, visitors are
welcome and membership is open.
12:30 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community
Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside, 503-
738-3311, www.sunsetempire.com, 10
cents per card, $2.40 all games. Bring
your friends for a weekly afternoon of
Bingo fun.
Overeaters Meeting
3:30 p.m., Seaside Public Library, 1131
Broadway, Seaside, 503-440-4390. Over-
Thursday, March 2
8 a.m., call for location, Seaside, 503-
738-9692.
SDDA Breakfast
8:30 a.m., Pig ‘N’ Pancake, 323 Broadway,
Seaside, 503-717-1914.
Kiwanis Club Meeting
“Bye Bye Birdie”
7 p.m., Seaside High School, 1901
Holladay Drive, Seaside, 503-738-5586 $4
to $8, all ages.
Mr. B
7 p.m., American Legion, 1315 Broadway,
Seaside, 503-738-5111, www.seaside-
post99.org, no cover, 21 +. Mr. B plays
classic rock-n-roll music.
Noon, Pig ‘N’ Pancake, 323 Broadway,
Seaside, open to the public.
“Bye Bye Birdie”
7 p.m., Seaside High School, 1901
Holladay Drive, Seaside, 503-738-5586 $4
to $8, all ages.
Friday, March 3
Chamber Breakfast
Matinee Thursdays
Red & Ruby
1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside, 503-738-7393,
www.sunsetempire.com, free. Enjoy
popcorn and a movie on senior matinee
Thursdays.
7 p.m., McMenamins Sand Trap, 1157
Marion Ave., Gearhart, 503-717-8150,
www.mcmenamins.com, no cover. Swing
and jazz duo Red and Ruby (Vince Brown
and LaVon Hardison) perform original
arrangements of songs dating from the
1920s to the present, performing musical
gems, ballads, roots jazz and Western
swing.
Pinochle Refresher
Wednesday, Feb. 22
meetings are held monthly on the first
Wednesday.
Ham Radio Breakfast
Volunteers Needed
Pancake Feed
Bingo!
Volunteer Party
Thursday, Feb. 23
TOPS Meeting
Job Fair
Saturday, Feb. 18
eaters Anonymous groups seek recovery
and support through the Twelve Steps
program, weekly.
1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside, 503-738-3311,
www.sunsetempire.com. The Knochlers
pinochle group offers a free refresher and
beginning course in pinochle to adults 55
and older; beginners welcome.
History & Hops
6 p.m., Seaside Brewing Co., 851 Broad-
way, Seaside, 503-738-7065. The History
& Hops lecture series will feature author
Jerry Sutherland who will give a talk on
“Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s First Pioneer.”
7 p.m., Elks Lodge, 324 Avenue A, Seaside,
503-738-6651, www.jazzseaside.com,
$10. The Seaside Jazz Festival kicks off
with a warm-up party featuring music by
Dave Bennett & Memphis Speed Kings;
limited seating.
Yoga Festival
8 a.m., Cannon Beach Yoga Arts, 251
Hemlock St., Cannon Beach, 503-440-
1649, www.cannonbeachyogafestival.
com. The annual Cannon Beach Yoga
Festival weekend offers workshops,
8:30 a.m., Seaside Convention Center,
415 First Ave., Seaside, 866-345-6257,
www.jazzseaside.com, free, all ages.
Gospel opens the final day of the festival
featuring special performances by Black
Swan with Marilyn Keller and Blue Street
with Sherrie Colby.
PBL Tournaments
7 p.m., Cannon Beach History Center, 1387
Spruce St., Cannon Beach, 503-436-9301,
www.cbhistory.org. The Stomptowners
play Celtic, Americana and folk music
blending Irish instrumentation, voice and
foot percussion.
7 p.m., Seaside, Warrenton, Astoria,
503-717-4308, www.seasidebasketball-
tournaments.com.
Saturday, Feb. 25
8 a.m., Seaside, Warrenton, Astoria,
503-717-4308, www.seasidebasketball-
tournaments.com. Enjoy the excitement
of the annual Pacific Basketball League
tournaments held at schools in Seaside,
Warrenton and Astoria.
Seaside Jazz Festival
Friday, Feb. 24
Jazz Gospel
The Stomptowners
PBL Tournaments
Jazz Kick-off Party
Sunday, Feb. 26
9 a.m., Seaside Convention Center, 415
First Ave.; Elks Lodge 1748, 324 Avenue
A; Best Western Ocean View Resort, 414
Promenade, Seaside, 866-345-6257, www.
jazzseaside.com, $15 to $95, all ages.
Bird Training
10 a.m., Arch Cape Fire Hall, 72979 Hwy.
Monday, Feb. 27
8:15 a.m., Finn’s Fish House, 227
Broadway, Seaside, 503-738-6391, www.
seasidechamber.com.
“Bye Bye Birdie”
7 p.m., Seaside High School, 1901
Holladay Drive, Seaside, 503-738-5586 $4
to $8, all ages.
Eric John Kaiser
7 p.m., McMenamins Sand Trap, 1157
Marion Ave., Gearhart, 503-717-8150,
www.mcmenamins.com, no cover. French
troubadour Eric Kaiser crosses musical
cultures playing traditional French styl-
ings and songs with an American rhythm:
rock, hip-hop, reggae, roadhouse blues.
Business Workshop
Open Mic & Jam
5:30 p.m., CCC Seaside Campus, 1455
Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, 503-338-2402,
$49. Presenter Arnie Hendricks will lead a
workshop in financial management, busi-
ness planning and succession planning;
pre-registration required.
7 p.m., Pacific Pearl Bistro, 111 Broadway,
Seaside.
City Council Meeting
7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway, Seaside,
503-738-5511, www.cityofseaside.us. The
Seaside City Council meets on the second
and fourth Mondays of the month.
Wednesday, March 1
Gearhart City Council
7 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacific Way,
Gearhart, 503-738-5501, www.
ci.gearhart.or.us. Regular city council
RJ Marx Quartet
7 p.m., WineKraft, 80 10th St., Astoria,
503-468-0206, www.winekraftpnw.com,
no cover, 21 +. Saxophonist RJ Marx leads
the quartet in a repertoire of jazz music
with John Orr (guitar), Joe Church (bass)
and Dave Gager (drums).
“The Mousetrap”
7:30 p.m., Coaster Theatre Playhouse, 108
Hemlock St., Cannon Beach, 503-436-
1242, www.coastertheatre.com, $$$,
rated PG. “The Mousetrap” follows the
tale of a group of strangers, a blizzard and
an unknown killer that culminates to the
famous Agatha Christie switch finish.
Portland Olympian dives into memories with autobiography
Book is a journey of
pain, loss and recovery
‘I love everything about
swimming: teams,
training, racing, age
groups, pranks, pools,
medals, trophies, time
trials and pictures in the
paper. I liked to train,
the daily pattern of
warm ups, exhaustion,
cool downs, rest… .’
By Rebecca Herren
Seaside Signal
Many people have written
the Carolyn Wood story —
except Carolyn Wood. Until
now. With urging from her
students and encouragement
from her friends, she has
changed that with a memoir
“Tough Girl: An Olympian’s
Journey.”
“Tough Girl” is the pas-
sage of a young girl who tran-
scends the problems at home,
her struggles with her sexual
identity and who takes to the
water with vigor and guts. It
is a coming-of-age story of
youthful dreams and the cel-
ebration of life through wis-
dom and age. It’s an honest
book written with spirit, grit
and drive.
Wood powered her way
to break national records and
win a spot on the 1960 U.S.
Summer Olympic team. And
though she is modest and
humbled by her achievements,
she has earned the bragging
rights of being an Olympian.
Wood explains that her
memoir started out as a sim-
ple telling of how she learned
to swim — “got good, trained
hard, went to the Olympics.”
That was the intention, but
other things happened. The
book weaves together two sto-
ries — nearly 60 years apart
— of struggles, determination
and triumphs in achieving
Olympic gold and recounting
her solo pilgrimage along the
Camino de Santiago in 2012.
For her Feb. 4 reading at
the Seaside Public Library,
Wood focused on her Olym-
pic journey, leaving her Cami-
no de Santiago trek for anoth-
er visit.
Growing up, Wood and
her family spent summers
visiting Seaside and Cannon
Beach while staying with her
aunt and uncle in Arch Cape.
They would come to Seaside
to swim in the Natatorium,
which Wood called “creepy.”
Carolyn Wood
She recalled the riots in the
’60s as being “attractive but
forbidden” and was recruited
by her boyfriend to volunteer
at Seaside’s first marathon in
the ’70s.
Questions Wood is often
asked are “How did you know
about the Olympics?” “What
made you different from other
kids your age?” “How did you
make the team?” “What was
it like in the Olympics?” and
“What happened during the
butterfly?”
The book answers those
questions and more about
how this impetuous 14-year-
old tomboy swam her way to
Rome; the mouthful of water
that cost her the gold medal
in the 100-meter butterfly;
her childhood friendship with
swimmer Donnie Scholland-
er; and her reason not to com-
pete in the 1964 Tokyo Olym-
pics or beyond.
After learning to race,
make a turn and a start,
Wood’s first race ended badly.
She quit. “It just wasn’t fun to
do all that work and not win a
prize.” But not ready to give
in, she gave it another shot
with coach Tye Steinbach.
The beginning of the tough
girl was born at a big meet
held at Jantzen Beach in 1956,
a junior competitor heat. Cit-
ing her book, this race went by
fastest times only, no prelims
or finals. Wood’s race was
number eight on the docket:
55-yard freestyle. Steinbach
pulled her aside and gave
Wood final instructions to “go
all out, not to slow down, not
to look around, just go, go, go
until I hit the end.” He told her
to warm up, “Get herself mad
and work up some steam.”
From the time Wood start-
ed to compete in swim heats,
her mother kept every news-
paper clipping, photo and
correspondence. One day,
she found an attic’s worth of
memories: childhood clothes,
records and scrapbooks her
mom tediously crafted and
saved. One of those photos
became the cover of “Tough
Girl.”
Wood raced nationally
and internationally for the
next three years. After her
last season on the swim team,
Wood left competition for
good to attend the University
of Oregon. After graduation,
she began her 35-year career
teaching high school English
then substituted for the next
10 years before retiring.
She swam for the Mult-
nomah Athletic Club and Bea-
verton High School, where
she won seven individual
state championships in butter-
fly, freestyle and the individu-
al medley.
Her gold medal win was
part of the women’s 4-x-100
meter freestyle relay team. To-
gether with Chris von Saltza,
Joan Spillane, Shirley Stobs
and Wood, the relay team set a
new world record in the event
final by nine seconds.
In the annals of Portland
sports, Wood was not forgot-
ten. As a young athlete, Wood
defied convention by out-gut-
REBECCA HERREN/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Carolyn Wood displays her 1960 gold medal.
ting some of the best swim-
mers in the world. She swam
an exceptional third leg of the
4-x-100 meter freestyle relay
to chase down Australia’s
star Lorraine Crapp and give
Chris Von Saltza a 1-meter
lead to win the gold.
Wood was inducted into
the Oregon Sports Hall of
Fame in 1992.
Wood remains rooted in
Oregon and lives in her family
home. Her journeys have tak-
en her to far off places around
the world. She spent a year as a
governess for the Robert Ken-
nedy family after his death, had
an audience with Pope John
XXIII before the start of the
Olympics and has backpacked
through the Oregon and Wash-
ington Cascades. These days,
she spends her time practicing
yoga and meditation, working
in her garden and tending to
her bees.
“I truly love the sport,” she
said. “I love everything about
swimming: teams, training,
racing, age groups, pranks,
pools, medals, trophies, time
trials and pictures in the pa-
per. I liked to train, the dai-
ly pattern of warm ups, ex-
haustion, cool downs, rest…
the gun, the cheers, the lane
counter, the coach’s whis-
tles, the happy chaos of pre-
liminaries and the posting of
results. Looking to find your
name and time and looking to
find your main competitors.”
When asked if she still
swims. She answers, “No.”
With a second thought, “may-
be I’ll compete in a senior
heat one day.”
N e w
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