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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
A6 • Friday, December 21, 2018 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com SignalViewpoints THE MAN WHO BLESSED KEIKO with the divine through nature providing sacred spaces through- out our campus.” SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX Lasting legacy Seaside owes debt to Tom Chatterton W hen Seaside’s Mary Blake read a remem- brance of Tom Chatterton at the Seaside City Council this fall, newcomers may be unaware of the long history and contribu- tions Chatterton made to the city of Seaside. Chatterton was a renaissance man, a builder, landscaper, volun- teer, preacher, counselor, adviser, mentor and more. Many of Sea- side’s public spaces bear his mark. Chatterton was a member of the South Clatsop Interfaith Partner- ship, bringing together represen- tatives of the secular and spiritual communities. He was a member of t the city’s landmark commission, the public library siting committee and served on the tree board from its inception until 2011. “He volunteered thousands of personal hours over his quarter of a century commitment,” Mary Blake, former longtime director of the Sunset Empire Park and Rec- reation District recalled.” With- out question it was a labor of deep love.” A love for animals “Not only did Tom volunteer with us,” Blake said. “He shared his talents and skills with others. He would perform commitment ceremonies, weddings, celebration of life gatherings for friends and community members. As well as services for our four-legged mem- bers of our families.” Perhaps his most legendary moment was when he conducted a service for Keiko the whale. In January 1996, Tom Chatter- ton sat mesmerized as he watched Keiko the orca being airlifted to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, where the International Marine Mammal Project built a state-of-the-art rescue and rehabil- The memorial in front of Keiko’s exhibit at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Seaside’s Tom Chatterton is remem- bered for his spiritual message and love of the city. itation facility, where Keiko was fl own to bring him back to health. When Keiko died in Decem- ber 2003, Chatterton was moved to write a poem as a memo- rial, which he sent to the aquar- ium. He was contacted by Pat- rick Helbling, acting president at the aquarium, who told him that the aquarium had received many phone calls and emails about the whale’s death. Chatterton sug- gested the remembrance service and was later asked to offi ciate. More than 700 mourners turned out in Newport, as Keiko’s for- mer handlers recalled his love of games and gentleness. Animals large and small were his passion. Chatterton was described as sharing his home with three cats and Buckley, a 6-year-old Lhasa Apso. “I think we’re hardwired by creation to deal with nature’s creatures on a deep level,” Chatterton told a reporter. Chatterton served as an inde- pendent chaplain and offered ser- vices for normal “passages-of-life events” and as a support in times of crisis. For many people, those times of crisis involved pets. One of Chatterton’s goals was to bring a pet cemetery to Clatsop County. “Some dear friends of mine lost their 13-year-old cocker spaniel about fi ve years ago,” Chatterton told the Signal. “She went into a grieving period and did not come out of the house for seven weeks. “That started our remarkable 25 year relationship,” she said. His work was so good it grew to include the entire district, she said, from design to mentoring kids on how to pick out boul- ders to plant materials. “Nothing was done without Tom’s steady guidance, landscape mastery and whimsical wit,” Blake said. They worked so well together, he helped transform a crumbling unused Scout hut into a commu- nity structure that today hosts civic and nonprofi t groups at no charge, known as the “Mary Blake Playhouse,” intended to provide common areas where people can visit and get connected. No detail was too small — Chatterton selected Idaho quartz for the layered rock fountain, designed so the quartz’ mica con- tent gives the fountain a slight iridescence when the morning sun shines. He even knew what time of day was best for view- ing. Shrubs, plants and trees were “chosen in a nursery in the foot- hills of Mount Hood,” Chatterton said at the time, noting that the grounds featured several species not often seen on the North Coast. The remarkable landscaping was enjoyed by all of our com- munity, Blake said. “It was a source of pride for all,” she said. “It also was something that went through each season with great beauty and introspection. Tom was very spiritual. He connected Oregon Coast Aquarium I thought, who responds to people who are hurting over an animal?” His dream was to create a Clat- sop County pet cemetery — alas, never fulfi lled — and to expand his ministry to include veterinary chaplaincy. Landscape dreams But it was as a landscaper and designer that Chatterton ultimately left his mark on Seaside. Within a year of moving to Seaside in 1992, he ran an ad in the local newspaper inviting indi- viduals interested in forming a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Within a year, the fellowship was formed. Chatterton also had a deep spiritual passion and reg- ularly attended various other churches, including the Catho- lic and Lutheran churches, and he wrote about his faith in col- umns in both the Signal and Daily Astorian. It was in the city’s parks, nooks and crannies that his mark is the most evident. He fi lled in the spaces with his own majestic vision. “The district, with the help of the city, just completed the con- struction of the Seaside Youth Center,” Blake said. “We had this beautiful building but it was stark naked! No landscaping whatsoever!” Chatterton volunteered to design a landscaping plan and Blake agreed to support it with resources. “I fi rst met him through my work with the park district and his emergence as a volunteer during the early days of the district as he designed the landscaping in and around the pool and youth cen- ter as well as the community cen- ter,” Sunset Empire Park and Rec- reation District board member Michael Hinton said in Novem- ber. “He strove to maintain and enhance his work into the memo- rial garden near the skate park.” Chatterton continued to work with rec district director Skyler Archibald. “He had strong con- victions on all things landscap- ing but was an amazing volunteer who never expected anything in return for his service,” Archibald said. “That area doesn’t have all the exact same features as it did when he designed it but we’ve tried to keep the essence of the design while making the building a bit more visible from the road.” Archibald said he and Chatter- ton had been working together on a piece of art by the skate park to honor Jacob McCulloch, a vol- unteer fi refi ghter, Seaside High School grad, skater and surf- boarder who was killed in a car accident in 2005. Other projects included design of a columbarium for the Amer- ican Legion, and an “ambitious” plan for a veterans memorial for Broadway Park reached the engi- neering phase, but remains an unfi nished goal. “His failing eyesight and health impaired his ability to keep up with his love,” Hinton said. City councilors Tom Horning and Tita Montero proposed that a tree of “appropriate species and size” be planted in his memory at Cartwright Park. That appropriate species was a redwood — a sturdy giant. “He was deeply engaged to help improve the quality of life for all of us,” Blake said. “He will forever remain alive in our hearts, memory and beautiful naturescapes he envisioned and planted.” Christmas: It’s the most wonderful time of the year VIEW FROM THE PORCH EVE MARX M y husband, also known as “Mr. Sax,” has been living up to his name playing sax- ophone versions of Christmas music pretty much around the clock. He’s in a band and they’ve got some holiday shows; he says the thing about Christ- mas music is that even if you think you know all the songs, you still have to practice. We live in a small house and there is no getting away from the sound of “Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” like it or not. I rather like Christmas music. Every now and then it comes up why do I celebrate Christmas and not Hanukkah? Why not celebrate both? When I was a kid, my parents put up a Christmas tree my mother insisted on calling a Hanukkah bush. One of my stepfathers, defi nitely Jewish, was into extravagant gift. One year he gave me a pair of English jodphurs and boots and signed me up for riding lessons. That was the same year he gave me a Chatty Cathy doll and my stepsister Chatty Cathy Baby. We pulled the strings that allowed them to talk so much by New Year’s Eve they were broken. In middle school I was in chorus and there was a Christmas program. I learned all the words to “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear,” and “The Little Drummer Boy” — songs I still love. PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx Eve Marx Christmas is always better with a dog! A sad thing about that middle school holiday program was that my mother invited my grandfather, her father, to attend. My grandfather came to this country to escape Nazi’s and was horrifi ed that his Jewish grand- child would be singing Christian songs. I’m pretty sure he walked out of the show before the fi nale number, ”Silent Night” was sung. What both- ered him was the message infi ltrat- ing my ears, a message he thought dis- tinctly Christian. Aside from novelty tunes like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and my own favorite, the Beach Boys rendition of “Little Saint Nick,” the message of Christmas music generally refl ects what some might call values. “Do You Hear What I Hear” includes in its lyrics the words, “Pray for peace, people everywhere.” John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas, War is Over,” released in 1972 with Yoko Ono, CIRCULATION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER Jeremy Feldman John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES SYSTEMS MANAGER April Olsen Carl Earl CLASSIFIED SALES Danielle Fisher spread a message of unity, resolution, optimism and peace. Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas,” encour- ages hope for a better tomorrow. The Ramones “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight” suggests that no matter what is going on between you and your family members, give it a rest, at least until New Year’s. This Christmas, although I’ve improvised our tree, I also sprinkled every available surface of the house, including the bathroom, with fairy lights. I know my son, now an adult, would love me to recreate the Christ- mas food of his youth, i.e. pancakes for breakfast; a mid-afternoon snack of shrimp dip, and a grand and much slaved over dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. My main goal for the holiday is to be a spreader of joy and good cheer. It’s ridiculously easy to fi nd a kind word for someone who at that very moment could use a kind word. This is also the time to give money to oth- ers doing work you admire, be that your local fi re department, animal shelter or rescue group, water council or land trust. I’ll never forget my mother watch- ing the Andy Williams Christmas Spe- cial in 1966, transfi xed in front of our black and white television while he sang, “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” “It’s the most wonderful time of the year There’ll be much mistletoe-ing And hearts will be glowing When loved ones are near It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Merry Christmas, everyone! STAFF WRITER Brenna Visser CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Skyler Archibald Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Esther Moberg A new look online By Jim Van Nostrand The Daily Astorian The Daily Astorian and its sister newspapers on the North Coast launched new websites Tuesday, Dec. 10. This includes the Sea- side Signal, Cannon Beach Gazette and Coast River Business Journal. The new Chinook Observer website launched in late November. What is changing? For starters, the websites will load much faster. Slow load times have been a constant frustration for both our readers and our staff for a long time now. We think you will be very pleased with the difference. The websites will also look very different. It’s a fresher, cleaner viewing platform for news. All the content is customized for optimal display on smart- phones and tablets, as well as desktop computers. And the visual presentation of photos and video is much more eye-popping. On the back end, our reporters and editors will have more tools at their dis- posal to deliver news more quickly and present it in new ways. Reporters, for example, will be able to post breaking stories, photos and video from their smart- phones directly online when the occasion demands. There are usually some glitches when media com- panies transfer their web- sites to new hosts, and this move is no different. The most noticeable will be that most old links to sto- ries won’t work anymore. The stories will still be there, just with different addresses. We’ve imported archives going back over a decade. There’s a robust search engine to fi nd them again. The other is a new commenting system. Old comments will no longer appear, and readers wishing to comment on stories will need to create new logins. What won’t change is our commitment to provide the most comprehensive local news about the North Coast available anywhere, both online and in print. This new system is simply a means to that end. We welcome your feed- back as you kick the tires. Send your thoughts to edi- tor@dailyastorian.com. Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright 2018 © Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright 2017 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.