A4 • Friday, April 16, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Seaside library through the decades
BETWEEN
THE COVERS
ESTHER
MOBERG
This year we are celebrating
the Seaside Prom Centennial of
100 years. The appealing prome-
nade cement boardwalk that bor-
ders the ocean and off ers beautiful
views. I’ve walked, biked, roller-
bladed and ran on the prom for at
least 30 years of the 100. But over
the last 100 years of the prom and
the Seaside Public Library, a lot
has changed. Libraries in general
have changed quite a bit from 1921
to 2021.
The Seaside Library began eight
years before the prom was built,
back in 1913. The library started
out in the public bathrooms (The
old Dresser building where Seaside
Coff ee House and Tom’s Fish and
Chips now live) near the Seaside
railroad stop where families got off
for the weekends to visit Seaside
from Portland. The train took most
of the day and cost $2.
Twelve diff erent librarians have
managed the Seaside library over
the years including myself which
averages to approximately 10-15
years per librarian!
Back in 1921 the librarian was
paid $400 a year to run the library
with most of that salary paid in the
summer and $75 paid over the win-
ter. Seems that it was pretty quiet
in the winter in Seaside back then.
Most of the money that supported
the library came from the women’s
club in Seaside before the library
became a city and public library
offi cially in 1935. The Oregon
State Library still holds the origi-
nal charter document.
One of our library patrons
remembers going into the library
back when it was in the building
next to the old city hall, which is
now the Seaside Brewing Com-
pany. All the adult books were
up a very rickety staircase with a
wobbly banister. She still remem-
bers the librarian telling her the
upstairs was for adults only. Her
mom looked at her and said, go
on upstairs, so she did. She viv-
idly remembered the railing for
the stairs were not in great shape
and she was afraid she might pull
it off . This was back in the 1940s
or 1950s.
Up through the 1950s much of
what librarians did was reader’s
advisory, helping library patrons
fi nd books. They also sometimes
helped people use phone books
or fi nd an address. Library books
were all cataloged using a card cat-
alog with real cards.
One of my favorite pictures
from the library when it was on
the highway, where Cleanline Surf
shop now stands, shows one of the
librarians in a gopher or beaver
costume reading to a small group
of children in the ’70s. I believe
In 1913 the Seaside library opened for business as a reading room in the
Dresser building. The building now houses Tom’s Fish and Chips and the
Seaside Coff ee Shop.
this was a summer reading pro-
gram. I applaud the full commit-
ment by that librarian. Unfortu-
nately, the picture didn’t have a
name on it so if anyone remembers
this program, please let me know.
The old library on Roosevelt also
had an event with a cage full of
baby chicks in the library for story
time back in the ’80s.
In the ‘60s and ’70s, Librarians
did complicated searches in data-
bases that only they could access.
You had to know Boolean search
keys and how to fi nd the right
records. Around that time discus-
sion about librarianship changed
from “analog — just books and
card catalogs — to information
technicians. Librarians began to
understand that training in how to
best search and fi nd resources and
information was where the future
was.
Many librarians preferred to just
take care of books, magazines, and
records, and that was it but they
were slowly being left behind. The
new librarian was the keeper of
many types of information in many
forms and not only new the infor-
mation and resources within the
library, but also outside the library
on the Internet as well as commu-
nity resources.
The internet of the ’80s brought
in way more information that
needed someone to help navigate
and librarians found themselves
taking up that role.
In the 1980s the library direc-
tor didn’t drive a car, so to collect
overdue library books and fi nes,
the librarian would be chauff eured
around town in a police car. I have
a feeling a lot more people paid
their library fi nes when the police
showed up at their door!
Programs and spaces where peo-
ple met became areas the libraries
began to focus. The Seaside Pub-
lic Library has always had a strong
focus on families and young chil-
dren reading. Children’s programs
today are focused on STEM, early
literacy, and brain development
and ways for parents to help their
children grow and succeed.
The library continues to off er
programs for children and teens
through Zoom. Due to COVID-19,
our maker space is on hiatus, but we
you can still request items be made
on our 3-D printer. We off er many
things in our “library of things”
collection including a telescope, a
waffl e maker, Wi-Fi hotspots, cul-
tural passes, and much, much more
that are all checked out using your
library card. The library now off ers
many resources and services. We
still have books, we just added
ebooks, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs,
magazines, and more.
Esther Moberg is executive
director of the Seaside Public
Library.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Answers sought
over school sales
The recent tempest in
a teapot at Sunset Empire
Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict is interesting. To hear
these folks talk, the old
Broadway Middle School
property, which SEPRD
recently purchased from
Seaside Administrative
School District #10, is a
toxic dump site of asbestos
and black mold!
Reading their vitriolic
letters to the editor, I’m
left wondering, where was
their hue and cry over this
issue when our children
were in those buildings?
Why were they silent about
this threat all these years?
Why is it now suddenly a
big concern to them? Is the
problem really that bad or
is this all just hyperbole?
It also raises the ques-
tion, why didn’t the Sea-
side School Board “gift”
the middle school prop-
erty to SEPRD, another
taxing district serving the
public, like they did the
Gearhart school property?
Supposedly a big part of
their reasoning for sell-
ing the Gearhart property
to a private concern for
less than a fi fth of its true
base value was worries
about asbestos and mold.
That whole aff air fails to
pass the smell test. Dis-
trict taxpayers were robbed
and the school board was
wholly complicit in the
theft. Especially when you
consider the subsequent
Broadway Middle School
sale.
If either of these sites
are as dangerous as they
are being made out, some-
one needs to prove it. My
children went to both these
schools. I want answers.
And, quite honestly, the
members of both boards
should have their feet put
to the fi re to justify their
actions.
Bill Graffi us
Seaside
Vicious cycle for
those in need
That man from Clacka-
mas County is right (letter,
“Time to move transient RVs
out of Seaside.”) It’s a trav-
esty that people are living in
broken-down RVs parked on
the street.
And, unlike housed peo-
ple and the landlords, they’re
using alcohol and drugs!
Unlike housed people, these
people don’t work or con-
tribute anything to society.
Yes, they collect returnables
and help keep garbage out
of the landfi ll, maybe. But
they’re making a profi t on
that! How dare they! They
could be making, like, $50 a
day hogging the returnables
machine at the grocery store.
That’s only 500 cans and
bottles. They’re not poor —
they just blow all that cash
on drugs. And food!
Plus they’re lazy. I don’t
know how they manage
to fi nd 500 cans and bot-
tles every day seeing as how
they’re stoned and asleep
most of the time. Or they’re
just looking for trouble. Or
scaring the children with
their schizophrenia or what-
ever. Really, they should be
encouraged to live in RV
parks. But they’d need new
RVs, because the RV parks
won’t let those POS campers
in. Which means they’d need
a lot more than 500 cans and
bottles a day. They should
have jobs!
Why don’t they have
jobs? They should be forced
to have jobs — not my job,
mind you, but some other
job. Maybe they could col-
lect garbage or something.
They should be doing some-
thing productive that makes
a profi t for someone else, not
living off the detritus of the
consumer economy.
They should help some-
one else make a profi t, and
then they should take their
stagnant wages and give
that money to a bank, so
the bank can make a profi t
by giving them a mortgage
and allowing them to live
in a house for $50 a day.
Then we wouldn’t have to
see them and their naked
frailty. I don’t want to see
them because there but for
the grace of God go I. We
should not allow people to
be homeless.
People should not have to
resort to living on the street
and relying on the trash of
others to keep them warm.
We have plenty of houses,
and we have plenty of mate-
rials to build more houses if
we need them. But as long
as houses are used to make
profi ts for the well-off and
the wealthy, the man from
Clackamas is right. We will
continue to see increas-
ing numbers of ugly bro-
ken RVs on the street, then
the tents, then the impo-
tent anger, the graffi ti, the
crime, the desperation, and
then the burning. Perhaps
we should round up all the
undesirables, chain them
together and drown them in
the Pacifi c. Then we can dis-
mantle their RVs and get
them recycled.
Pamela Cromwell
Seaside
Thank you to DMV
Over the past 14 months,
I have found it necessary to
visit the Astoria DMV on
three diff erent occasions and
on each of those occasions,
I found the representatives
there to be professional,
knowledgeable, helpful and
friendly.
Each time I received
guidance from one of them,
I found their body of knowl-
edge impressive, not to men-
tion accurate and appropri-
ate to my situation. I was
also taken by how organized
they were and the manner
in which they “kept the line
moving!”
Many thanks to those
who helped me navigate my
way through the paperwork
I needed to complete.
Marti Wajc
Seaside
NOTES
Tiff any Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
Sea otter on the south end of Manzanita beach.
Live sea otter
recovered off
Manzanita beach
A live, stranded sea otter
was reported at the south
end of Manzanita Beach on
April 5. This is the fi rst live
sea otter the Seaside Aquar-
ium has ever responded to,
Tiff any Boothe of the Sea-
side Aquarium said.
The otter was lethargic
and showed signs of possi-
ble neurological issues, she
said. The otter was trans-
ferred to the aquarium and
then to a rehab center up in
Washington, but failed to
survive. While a necropsy
is yet to be performed, it is
thought that the animal was
suff ering from a protozoal
infection.
Sea otters were once
quite common off the Ore-
gon Coast but as a result
of intense hunting from the
fur trade, they were wiped
out and pronounced extinct
in the early 1900s, Boothe
said. Previous eff orts to
reintroduce sea otters on the
Oregon Coast have failed
but there is a group cur-
rently working on a plan to
once again reintroduce sea
otters to Oregon. Sea otters
reside in Alaska, California
and Washington state.
Day of Caring
at the Railroad
Community Garden
The Clatsop County
United Way is partnering
with the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation Dis-
trict to renovate the Rail-
road Community Garden
to increase accessibil-
ity for patrons, beautify
the garden, and help the
planet. The 2021 Day of
Caring is scheduled for
Saturday, April 17 from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Materi-
als for the project have
been donated by the Home
Depot Foundation, Trails
End Recovery, and War-
renton Fiber.
The park district serves
a variety of patrons
through the community
gardens program, among
them, veterans, seniors,
youth, working families,
and other members of
this small, rural commu-
nity. Food shortages are
a major concern in Clat-
sop County, with increas-
ing numbers of citizens
relying on programs like
the Meals on Wheels Pro-
gram, the South Clatsop
County Food Bank, and
the CCA Regional Food
Bank, with additional eco-
nomic impact resulting
from COVID-19.
Interested volunteers
can sign up through the
Clatsop County United
Way at https://www.sig-
nupgenius.com/go/5080c-
4ca8af28a1fc1-2021.
Author debuts
novel set in Seaside
The Hoff man Center for
the Arts hosts a book release
and publishing workshop
with local award-win-
ning author, Melissa
Eskue Ousley on Fri-
day, June 11, at 4 p.m.
on Zoom. The $25 reg-
istration fee includes a
copy of the author’s new-
est book, “Constellations
of Scars,” a novel set in
Seaside.
Alternatively,
there is a $10 fee for just
the event.
Eskue Ousley will read
from the book and dis-
cuss her publishing jour-
ney with Elle Beaumont
of Midnight Tide Publish-
ing, an author collective
“Constellations of Scars”
and independent press
that seeks to give authors
creative freedom while
offering support and col-
laborative opportunities.
“Constellations
of
Scars” received a starred
review
from
Kirkus
Reviews, who called it,
“An indelible story of
loving yourself in a world
of dreadful realities.”
To register, visit hoff-
manarts.org.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for lat-
est meeting information and
attendance guidelines.
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Seaside Budget Committee,
6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, work session, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
Seaside School District, 6 p.m.,
www.seaside.k12.or.us/meetings.
Gearhart Small Business Com-
mittee, 6 p.m., cityofgearhart.
com.
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
Tourism Advisory Committee,
3 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Gearhart Parks Master Plan
Citizens Advisory Committee,
5:30 p.m., work session, cityof-
gearhart.com.
MONDAY, APRIL 26
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
989 Broadway, cityofseaside.us.
TUESDAY, APRIL 27
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Signal
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