4A • January 5, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Gearhart in the early 20th century
A playground for the rich and famous
G
earhart’s November
referendum on short-
term rental rules tore a
community asunder with a binary
choice: repeal short-term rental
regulations put in force or to leave
them be. Everyone in the city of
1,562 — of those, 1,245 registered
voters — picked a side, and those
who could vote locally propelled
defeat of the repeal. Measure 4-188
failed by a lopsided 77 percent to
23 percent.
Gearhart’s 100th anniversary as
an incorporated city comes in the
aftermath of that bruising debate.
“This has been going on since
1918,” Gearhart historian Bill Berg
said at a post-election celebration
at McMenamins. “It’s all about the
fabric of the community.”
A ‘wilderness
playground’
In its early days, Gearhart
offered mansions, surreys and a
“Chautauqua House” in Gearhart
Park initiated by socialite Narcis-
sa Kinney that served as a center
for arts and culture, one of 400
such societies around the nation,
presenting orator William Jennings
Bryan, educator Booker T. Wash-
ington and composer John Phillip
Sousa.
Cannery and sawmill entrepre-
neur Marshall Kinney, who brought
the Astoria & South Coast Railway
to Gearhart, developed the Gearhart
Golf Course in 1902, touting it as
“the finest in America.”
The Kinneys envisioned Gear-
hart as a “wildness playground for
culturally elite Portlanders seeking
fresh sea air, picnic on the dune
meadows and cozy beach cottages
set amidst virgin forests,” Donna
Pizzi wrote in Portrait Magazine.
Even fussy residents of Astoria
ventured south and liked what they
saw in Gearhart: “Last Sunday, a
number of Astoria golfers visited
the links and were well pleased
with the condition of the grounds,”
the Signal wrote in May 1916.
Along with golf, swimming
was only a few strokes behind. The
sport transformed the North Coast,
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
and Gearhart, as published in “A
History of the Multnomah Ama-
teur Athletic Club.” Club member
Arthur Cavill was “an aquatic Pied
Piper in Portland leading every-
one in Portland off to Gearhart for
mid-winter plunges into the ocean.”
In the summer of 1914, Pro-
fessor H.A. Ludwig took the “first
plunge” into the Gearhart natatori-
um, described as a 60-foot-by-40-
foot tank — “the largest of its kind
in the Northwest.”
“It is larger by several feet than
the tank at the Multnomah Athletic
Club,” the Signal wrote.
In July 1915, a headline read:
“Gearhart building active,” re-
counting the building of 17 homes
at Gearhart Park ranging from
$2,500 to $4,500 each, along with
development of several new streets.
In August, a golf tournament
came to Gearhart with “enthusiasts
from Walla Walla, Lewiston, Spo-
kane, Seattle and Portland.”
The new American pastime of
automobiling had come to Gear-
hart, with “almost every cottager
having a car here,” the Oregonian
wrote in 1917.
For those too young to drive,
“the little ones are rejoicing over
their possession of their favorite
ponies, as the riding school is now
in full swing and the lads and lass-
ies are seen each morning riding
along the beach at low tide and
through the woods when the tides
are too high to get to the beach,”
the Oregonian reported.
Cookbook author James Beard
wrote vivid accounts of Gearhart
summer life in the early 20th cen-
tury, when families came for the
seashore while father stayed in the
city to work, rushing to the shore
each week for a family reconnec-
tion. Beard spent weekends and
summers with on the Oregon Coast,
where his family prepared elabo-
rate picnics
Visitors to
the beach
in Gearhart,
circa 1920.
OREGON HISTORI-
CAL SOCIETY
FILE PHOTO
Walking the boulevard in Gearhart as depicted in an undated postcard.
and cooked over an open fire at the
beach, ending “an endless variety
of chowders, salmon, clams and
crabs,” according to a biography of
the celebrity chef.
Enter Gearhart
As the U.S. entered World War
I in 1917, the nation’s thoughts
moved from recreation to battle on
an international stage.
In Gearhart, residents — many
of them over 50 years of age —
joined the Home Guard to protect
the Lower Columbia River District.
The social season opened on
schedule, but headlines shifted to
news from overseas, enlistment
announcements and Liberty Fund
drives.
“In the late 1800s and early
1900s, Gearhart Park was part of
the town of Clatsop and was known
simply as a vacation destination for
folks coming in on the train to visit
the beach and stay at the hotel,”
Mayor Matt Brown said in Decem-
ber. “In 1917, the local residents
who worked at the hotels, the
train station, and in other capac-
ities decided they wanted a
residential community to call
their own. “
They wanted the town
to reflect the views of the
families who lived here year
round and decided to form
the city of Gearhart, he
added.
In early 1918, the town
of Clatsop became officially
incorporated as the city of
Gearhart.
“You can see in Gearhart
today the legacy that was
built by this small group of local
settlers, workers, and families that
wanted a residential community of
their own,” Brown said.
A new charter
Gearhart residents filed a
petition to incorporate in 1917; a
vote followed in January 1918. “A
general improvement of the city
will take place during the coming
season and those who are inter-
ested will strive to make Gearhart
one of the best places on the coast
to spend the summer and winter
months,” wrote the Signal. “Here’s
success to Gearhart, our
neighbor.”
Voters “almost unani-
mously” voted for adop-
tion of a new charter, de-
fining boundaries, naming
officers and establishing
laws governing street
improvements.
Gearhart’s first mayor
was P. A. Lee, from 1918
to 1920. F. L. Hager served
as auditor and Judge D.B.
Schroeder served as trea-
surer. W.H Moffett, D.B.
Hensley, Fred Ober and
Henry Ober Sr. were the
city’s first councilors.
Shortly after, William
Samuel Badger, a con-
tractor and road builder
who moved to Gearhart
in 1915, was appointed
to fill a vacancy. With his
selection, Badger was the
FILE PHOTO
first African-American to serve
Poster highlights the pleasures of
office in Oregon, a state with
Gearhart Park by the Sea.
racial exclusion laws on the
books during his term of office
Seaside surfers brave the winter waves
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
LETTERS
Proper precautions needed
O
ne of the great joys of living so
close to the Cove is that almost
any day, rain or shine, sun or
gloom, I can almost always watch
someone brave these ferocious waters
to surf. It took some time for this East
Coast oriented girl who grew up on the
Jersey shore to fathom why anyone in
their right mind would enter the ocean
in the last days of December unless
you’re in Maui or Malibu, but since
moving to this windswept and rugged
beach town on north Oregon coast, I
am reminded daily that winter surfing is
a call of the wild.
Yesterday, during a break from writ-
ing and cleaning the house, I snapped
a leash on Lucy and headed for the
Cove. I wasn’t disappointed; the short
strip of the parking area across from
Seltzer Park was filled with vans, cars,
and trucks. The air was nippy, but there
wasn’t much wind, and the sun was
shining and the tide was right, which
meant a lot of surfers — old, young,
male and female — were out to test
themselves. I counted eight experi-
enced surfers in the more challenging
waters closest to the Point; another six,
less experienced surfers, were on their
boards in the easier waters slightly to
the north.
Earlier this morning at a coffee shop
I frequent in Gearhart, I was discussing
winter water temps. Someone offered
and remaining law until 1926.
He later owned a wood and
coal fuel supply business. With his
wife, Emma, he operated Badger’s
Chicken Dinners for 23 years.
“The city of Gearhart has only
been incorporated for the past year
and the officers elected will put that
beautiful little summer resort on the
map where it belongs,” wrote the
Signal in 1919.
By 1920, the city of Gearhart
had a population of 127. Since
then, it has grown — for some, too
fast; for others, not fast enough.
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
EVE MARX/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
Seaside is “Surfin’ USA” all year round.
up a theory about the Pacific being
warmer on the Oregon coast in winter
in reaction to Japanese gulf winds. I
went on line and came across a paper
written by a Dr. Tim Ball who in 2013
wrote about an area of warm water off
the Oregon coast known as “The Blob.”
He attributed this phenomenon to a
combination of El Niño, drought, and
global warming. Throughout 2014 and
2015, “The Blob” continued to spread,
but nobody’s mentioned it since. This
warmer water was said to be nutrient
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
John D. Bruijn
ADVERTISING
SALES
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Holly Larkins
Carl Earl
CLASSIFIED
SALES
Danielle Fisher
poor and had an adverse affect on
marine life. I’m guessing the winter
surfers those years didn’t mind it a bit.
If you’re going to get in cold water,
it’s imperative to have the right wetsuit.
According to a surf forecast I found
on line, today’s water temp was 49
degrees Fahrenheit. This is considered
very cold. To get into water this chilly
requires a quality steamer wetsuit, a
neoprene hood, gloves, and boots.
There is something extraordinarily
beautiful about watching winter surfers.
They are brave. Winter waves are big,
and more dangerous. I find it mesmer-
izing to watch these aquatic ninjas,
bobbing in the swell. Experts who have
surfed around the world have called
surfing the Cove a world-class experi-
ence. The wave energy rolls down from
the Gulf of Alaska. There are sharks.
One might wonder what compels a
person to purposefully put themselves
at such risk, but even a few minutes
observing winter surfers has revealed
to me what they’re actually doing is
looking death in the face. And that is
life-affirming. It’s a dramatic outlook.
STAFF WRITER
Brenna Visser
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Skyler Archibald
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
“Rope and rescue team saves stranded dog off cliffside
in state park,” the Dec. 26 article detailing Felix’s dramatic
rescue by Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue personnel with
Seaside Fire Lieutenant Genesee Dennis scaling a 60-foot
sharp cliff face to bring the dog to safety has been widely
shared on Facebook. As a long-time dog owner and lover,
I’m relieved everyone emerge unscathed.
However, the article didn’t detail the fact that Felix’s
owner is a fan of letting her dog run off leash as this helps
him “decompress.” It didn’t note that Ms. Stremming had
Felix running off-leash through the park — a park that re-
quires dogs to be on leash at all times.
Nor did the article detail that the entire incident — one
that put rescuers in harm’s way, took them away from
their family and friends at Christmas time, saw expendi-
ture of municipal money, likely caused Felix stress from
being trapped on a narrow ledge without food or water, and
caused his owner and her friends heartache — could have
been avoided had Ms. Stremming simply obeyed Ecola
State Park’s leash law and had Felix leashed.
If Ms. Stremming continues to have Felix run off leash,
perhaps doing so on her own property or within the con-
fines of a securely fenced area is best.
Dorianne Almann
Hinsdale, NH
Adopt a pet
While volunteering at the Clatsop County Animal Shel-
ter, I met a dog named Bodie. He is a hound, and runs as
fast as any greyhound I’ve seen.
See Letters, Page 6A
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