June 8, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A
GEARHART FIRE DEPARTMENT
Members of the Gearhart Fire Department.
GEARHART CELEBRATES AT ANNUAL BALL
Supporters are ‘elbow to
elbow’ at the firehouse
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Gearhart residents and visitors from through-
out the region and beyond came to Gearhart Sat-
urday, May 26, for the annual Gearhart Volun-
teer Fireman’s Ball. With Gearhart celebrating
its 100th anniversary year and perfect weekend
weather, attendance and spirits were high. This
was the 57th year of the ball, held in the fire-
house.
“In the 20 years I’ve been here, this is the most
people I’ve seen,” said city administrator Chad
Sweet, a volunteer firefighter. “People are spend-
ing money, they’re elbow to elbow and a lot of
people that have not come for many, many years
decided to come this year.”
Volunteers manned gaming stations, served
beer, wine and champagne, and sold special anni-
versary sweatshirts — at $50 a hot-ticket item and
sold out early in the evening. Dancers joined the
fun rocking out to the band 24/7, with music from
the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
“I think Gearhart is coming together as a fam-
ily and it’s great to see,” Sweet said. “It’s a lot of
fun.”
Funds raised goes to the Gearhart Fire Associ-
ation for fire operations.
The event heralds the start of a series of anni-
versary events, including the July Fourth parade
and a street dance July 6.
JEFF TER HAR/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
GEARHART FIRE DEPARTMENT
Craig Weston deals at the firemen’s ball.
Scene before the annual ball.
R.J. MARX
Karynn Kozij, Angels Garcia and Tia Prudholm volun-
teer at the Gearhart Volunteer Fireman’s Ball.
R.J. MARX
Wyndham exec celebrates with a dip in the ocean
Seaside
Wyndham
celebrates
success
R.J. MARX
Melissa Eddy and Matt Brown.
Peggy Stein and Tracy Williams.
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
By R.J. Marx
Great Restaurants in:
Seaside Signal
A promise is a promise —
and when Wyndham senior
area vice president Richard
Wieczerzak told employees
he would jump into the ocean
if they met his sales goals, he
meant it.
“We’ve made a commitment
to the team and if I achieved
that goal, I agreed to take a
dip,” he said as he walked the
sandy beach in a blazer and
slacks on a 54-degree morning,
ready to bear the chilly waters
fully clothed.
Wyndham employees from
throughout the region joined
him on the beach to celebrate
the goal-breaking moment for
Seaside’s vacation and time-
share hotel. Seaside was first in
regional sales of all West Coast
GEARHART • SEASIDE
CANNON BEACH
Excellence in family dining found
from a family that has been serving
the North Coast for the past 52 years
R.J. MARX
Wyndham senior area vice president Richard Wieczerzak high-fives after wading into the ocean
to celebrate sales goals.
destinations.
The event coincided with
the consolidation of the corpo-
ration’s timeshare business in
the creation of a new company,
Wyndham Destinations Inc.,
which began trading on the
New York Stock Exchange on
June 1.
With a low tide, Wieczer-
zak, accompanied by a swim-
ming buddy, dared past the
sand line and into the water be-
fore dipping head first into the
waves.
A dunking in Oregon’s Pa-
cific waters is something he is
not likely to repeat.
“The first and the last time,”
a shivering Wieczerzak said.
“It’s something to remember.”
Laird is already dreaming of her next design job
Laird from Page 1A
EVE MARX
Kitchen designed by Aman-
da Laird.
Great
Great
Great
Homemade
Breakfast, lunch and
pasta,
Clam
but that’s
dinner
steaks &
Chowder,
not all...
menu,too!
seafood!
Salads!
For the show, Laird and her
then-boyfriend gutted a nasty
kitchen and rebuilt it in a week.
When the Eugene house was
completed, she rented it out
before selling it, eventually us-
ing that money as seed money
to purchase the Seaside house.
She said the Seaside house was
built in 1906, and at one time
was a brothel.
The Ninth Street house was
a beautiful wreck when she
bought it, but it’s completely
transformed now. As a nod to
its history, Laird left the orig-
inal numbers from its brothel
days on the bedroom doors.
The house is listed with a
vacation rental company, but
it’s also available as a location
for commercial film shoots.
While maintaining a classic
beach house aesthetic, the
Ninth Street house is a master-
piece of clean, modern, Scandi-
navian design.
A friend of Laird’s from
high school who shoots for the
Hanna Andersson children’s
clothing catalogue, saw the
house and immediately saw its
potential. “She said it would be
perfect for them,” Laird said.
The house became the back-
drop for the company’s spring
2018 catalogue. Laird’s two
young daughters, Olivia and
Charlotte Rose, became models
for the project.
Laird is already dreaming of
her next design job. “I am for
hire as a home stager and I wel-
come new design work,” she
said. She loves taking a place
down to the studs.
“I love a clean slate.”
Amanda Laird can be
reached at 503-440-5506.
Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily)
Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144
MAZATLAN
M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T
Phone 503-738-9678
1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside
WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO?
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
BEST
BREAKFAST
IN TOWN!
• Lighter
appetite
menu
• Junior
Something for Everyone menu
Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak
Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib
Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight
All Oregon Lottery products available
1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am