4A • April 28, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
A library for
everything
Authors seek to chronicle
Hood to Coast history
I
n honor of national library week just passed, I’ve
gathered some things you may or may not know
about libraries. The oldest library in the world still
in existence today is Al-Qarawiyyin located in Fez,
Morocco. It was opened in 859 A.D. and has books
written on camel skin.
One of the best known libraries of the ancient world
was the Ancient Library of Alexandria, founded in the
third century B.C. It was believed at its peak to have
200,000 to 400,000 scrolls. The library books were
mostly written
on large papyrus
scrolls. The
BETWEEN
library had a
THE COVERS
reading room,
ESTHER MOBERG
meeting rooms,
and gardens,
among other
areas for discussion and learning. The library burned
down and most of the scrolls were lost. The exact cause
of the fi re or fi res is lost in antiquity, but legend has
it that Julius Caesar burned it down when he attacked
Egypt.
Perhaps some of the most unique libraries around the
world today include the “graveyard library” in Krems
an der Donau, Austria. The graveyard, which was
desecrated and destroyed by the Nazis because it was a
mainly Jewish cemetery, has a memorial in place that
includes a series of bookshelves created by artists Mi-
chael Clegg and Martin Guttman. According to Grace
Dobush, writing for quartz.com, books in the glassed-in
bookshelves displayed in the cemetery are written in
German, Hebrew, and English and are about Jewish
philosophy and the history of death.
In Argentina, a Ford Falcon has been converted to a
tank like library called the “Weapon of Mass Instruc-
tion” or Arma de Instrucción Masiva. In the 1970s,
Ford Falcons were used by Argentine death squads to
kidnap victims. It is a sobering reminder that has been
transformed into something useful that now educates
and informs peacefully.
Biblioburros in Colombia is run by a primary school
teacher, Luis Soriano who brings books to children on
two burros, bringing books to children in drug and war
torn areas of the country on the weekends.
According to Kimberly Turner on litreactor.com, in
the Norwegian Fjords, a book boat travels to about 250
small communities from winter to spring with about
6,000 books. The librarians on board bring the books to
people who are snowed in for months on end. In the sum-
mer, the boat is a leisure cruise ferry.
In Kenya, traveling librarians take their camels and
books across the desert to the communities they serve.
The Kenya National Library service uses the nine cam-
els of the book train to serve 5,000 to 6,000 people.
Some of the most unusual jobs librarians hold have
nothing to do with books. Wine librarians often work
for private libraries to collect, catalog, and store rare
wines for private individuals. The Nike shoe and sports
apparel company in Beaverton has a library of fabrics
and other materials to aid in the design process and
each year brings in different collections to look at to
get their creative juices fl owing. Previous collections
displayed at the Nike campus have included high end
designer furniture and luggage. Not every library is of
books!
Law librarians will pull court cases or other
archived reference materials for lawyers and law
students. Across the nation, seed libraries to preserve
and replicate heirloom seeds have sprung up in nearly
every state in the United States. These are reminiscent
on a small scale of the Svalbard seed vault that holds
below freezing seeds representing nearly every vital
food source across the planet. Held for a “doomsday”
scenario, these seeds could literally save the planet
someday. Some libraries even loan out gardening tools
and makerspace tools, everything from sewing ma-
chines to ukuleles.
So many libraries may surprise you with what they
lend out or let you use. A library may own collections
of items that aren’t the typical type of information, in
books, as you would expect, but have a proven useful-
ness to the community it serves. Libraries keep rede-
fi ning themselves while keeping their goal of access to
information and resources the community wants and
desires that it serves, remains the main priority.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Author Marc Spiegel’s 2016 Image team at the Ashore Hotel.
G
ot memories of Hood to Coast?
The iconic 197-mile relay from Mount Hood to Sea-
side has brought hundreds of thousands of runners and
their families to our city.
Authors Marc Spiegel and Art Garner place the race in the
league of great American sporting events. Its history offers
a colorful path of
personalities, endur-
ance and commu-
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
nity involvement.
R.J. MARX
Those who compete
often call it the “most
magical” experience
of their lives. The
sense of team-building and accomplishment is akin to scaling a
mountain.
“Art Garner and I are putting together an upcoming book,
tentatively titled ‘Hood to Coast, An Oral History of the Mother
of All Relays,’ ” Spiegel wrote in February. “It will tell the story
of the relay through the words of participants, organizers, vol-
unteers, spectators, media and others involved in the event that
just completed its 35th year. We’re working together with the
Hood To Coast organization, and we’re compiling short person-
al stories and remembrances of the event. Obviously, we would
love to hear from individuals from Seaside and the surrounding
areas that may have stories to share about their Hood To Coast
experiences.”
At times, a rocky path
Anyone who’s spent late August in Seaside knows that not
everyone is a fan of Hood to Coast.
“It’s not been two years, not three years, but 15 years of con-
tinuous debate,” Seaside’s John Chapman said at a 2015 Hood
to Coast workshop presented by the city. “I encourage you to
listen to our business people.”
In 2015, the city of Seaside came close to giving the storied
race the boot, after merchants complained about rude, unruly
crowds, litter and a lack of communication between city and
organizers. The run was marred by heavy winds that diverted
the fi nish line from the beach to the Prom — herding runners
and visitors downtown.
The conversation became so stormy that the city had to think
twice before renewing their contract with race organizers.
“Although the Seaside Chamber of Commerce and many of
the area’s lodging facilities benefi t fi nancially, many of us year-
round business owners feel that the overall impact of hosting
this massive event during the busy summer tourist season is
negative,” wrote 74 business owners in a letter delivered to the
City Council.
As trouble-ridden as 2015 was, 2016 went off without a
hitch. Weather held and celebrities joined newly minted Prefon-
taines on the 197-mile track. Comedian and actor Kevin Hart
ran on the Nike team and Olympians Ashton Eaton, Brianne
Theisen-Eaton, Josh Cox and Lopez Lomong kicked up the
sand for Team World Vision.
They were four of 17,000
participants in the race, quite a
number considering Seaside’s
regular population is less than
a third that.
Inspirational
documentary
A recreational runner, Spie-
SUBMITTED PHOTO
gel fi rst heard about Hood to
Art Garner and Marc Spiegel
Coast at the South by South-
west fi lm fest in Austin, Texas, at a book signing event in
when the documentary “Hood Indianapolis with former
ABC-TV Indy 500 broadcast-
to Coast” made its debut in
er Paul Page.
2010.
“My wife said, ‘We have to
do this event,’” Spiegel said from his home in North Carolina. “I
said, ‘Sure.’ We applied and didn’t get in. On the third time, in
2014, we got into the race, and we decided to do it.”
Spiegel has run each race since. “I think every year it gets
better,” he said.
He and co-author Garner liked the format of their previous
book, “Indy 500 Memories: An Oral History of the Greatest
Spectacle in Racing,” and were ready for a new project.
When Hood to Coast organizers gave the project their stamp
of approval, the authors began the process of collecting memo-
ries: from volunteers and spectators to journalists and celebrities.
Their fi rst stop in the project began with an interview with
race founder Bob Foote, a 35-time marathoner and 13-time
ultra-marathon runner. Foote’s concept was a run from Mount
Hood to the beach. A group of Foote’s running friends and
competitors would form relay teams, handing off every 5 miles,
starting at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and fi nishing in
Pacifi c City.
Over the years, countless love matches have been made,
Spiegel said, including a proposal at the fi nish line. A local
restaurateur recalled preparing 100 pizzas in an hour. A mother
and daughter shared their experiences of running together.
Hood to Coast stirred excitement “from the fi rst whisper of
the event coming to Seaside,” the Signal wrote in 1989, with
predictions of “enough visitors to populate a moderately sized
city.”
Between 12,000 and 15,000 visitors came to Seaside that
year, after race organizers met with city offi cials in February
for preparations. Among the novel features was the participa-
tion of more than 20 licensed massage technicians brought to
the event by van, some of them from as far away as Roseburg.
If you were there back then, you probably remember the
dominance of a running team known as the Killer B’s. They
won the race fi ve of the fi rst six years in Seaside. I hope one of
their members steps forward with some stories.
Share your 500- to 1,000-word reminiscences and photos at
hoodtocoastmemories.com or on Facebook, at www.facebook.
com/hoodtocoastmemories.
The little min-pin puppy with the sorrowful eyes
A
year or so ago, while out and
about with my better half
on a random Sunday drive,
somewhere on Highway 101, just
north of Gearhart, we saw a sign.
The sign said, “Min Pin Puppies
Here Today.” Before I could squeak
out a horrifi ed “What are you
doing?” my spouse was steering his
way in.
This would be a good time to
say my husband has a thing for min
pins. Min pin, in case you’re not
aware, stands for miniature pin-
scher. You might know the breed.
These are tiny dogs but they are
ferocious. My husband also has an
affi nity for Chihuahuas, the meaner
and more disagreeable the better.
A few years ago he sweet-talked
me into adopting a 10-year-old
Chihuahua whose picture he saw in
the newspaper. The dog, who we
promptly named Rinaldo, is sweet
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
David F. Pero
R.J. Marx
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
and loving one moment and barking
and snarling the next. Luckily he
has hardly any teeth; otherwise he’d
be a holy terror.
After easing down a long and
somewhat bumpy driveway, we
pulled up in front of a low-slung
ranch house. A beautiful lady of a
certain age sporting white-blond
hair a la Debbie Harry and wearing
turquoise cowboy boots and a be-
dazzled jean jacket stepped out.
“Hi, I’m Elaine,” she said. “You
must be here to see the pups.”
Over the next hour, we learned
Elaine was in her 80s. A longtime
breeder of American Kennel Club
quality miniature pinschers, she
only breeds the red ones described
by the AKC as ‘red stag.’ She
showed us around the back of the
house to a heated shed where she
had two litters.
I sat on the fl oor and a herd of
9-week-old min pins ran towards
me. Picking up a roly-poly frisky
male, my husband said, “How
about this one?”
“If I have to have another dog,
it’s got to be a girl,” I said. In
addition to the Chihuahua, we also
have another male dog, an elderly
Lhasa Apso called Basil. After a
few minutes, I indicated I was ready
to interact with litter number two.
“They’re only 6 weeks old,” Elaine
warned. “That’s very young.” I said
I was an experienced dog owner and
could handle it. She opened a crate
and half-dozen squirmy puppies
tumbled out. They were very rowdy
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EVE MARX/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
Lucy as a puppy.
and playing roughly with each other
save for the tiniest one. She came
right over and placed her front feet
on my legs. I picked her up and
held her close. We gazed into each
other’s eyes.
This is the one, I told my husband.
Not too long after, a man I’d just
met in Gearhart at the By The Way
gift shop showed me the pup he’d
just purchased from Elaine’s 9-week-
old litter. He said he was naming the
dog Mary after his favorite sister.
Since our little Lucy came into our
lives, I’ve only seen the “Min Pin
Puppies Here Today” sign one more
time. Someone mentioned she might
have moved away. Sometimes the
whole experience — the temporary
sign on the highway, the shed behind
the house, Elaine’s Debbie Harry
hair, her rhinestone embellished jack-
et and turquoise cowboy boots, her
dozen tiny pups — seems a dream.
When people ask where we got our
dog, I love saying it all happened
because of a Sunday drive. It strikes
me as a perfect North Coast kind of
yarn, how our lives were changed by
a highway sign.
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