Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2021)
A4 • Friday, November 26, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com SignalViewpoints A peace tree comes to Cartwright Park SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX A fter two years of nurturing, a ginkgo tree has found a new home in Cartwright Park. Seaside arborist Pam Fleming led mem- bers of the City Tree Board and the Parks Advisory Committee to the southern edge of the park for the tree planting. The tree, which marks the 75th anni- versary of the close of World War II, was delivered in 2020 as Seaside joined other communities throughout the state in plant- ing the peace tree. The seedling ginkgo and Asian per- simmon trees were grown from seed collected from trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and were brought to Oregon by Hideko Tamura-Snider. The Medford resident is the founder of the One Sunny Day Initiative, which along with the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Community Trees helped dis- tribute the trees across the state. Tamura-Snider received seeds of cam- phors, camellias, Asian persimmons and ginkgo trees from the international non- profi t Green Legacy Hiroshima, collected from trees that had survived the atomic bomb. In locating the tree, Fleming and Dale McDowell, the city’s Public Works direc- tor, recognized they couldn’t plant it in the park’s fi eld or near the swings or under power lines — and sites by the side of the road proved problematic. They settled on a southern area of the park. While still small, the tree could grow from 30 to 45 feet, Fleming said, although don’t expect that anytime soon — ginkgos mature slowly. Ginkgo trees can be found up and down Holladay Drive, she said. “They’re really tolerant of the ocean and they’re drought tolerant. One of the criteria for us getting the tree was that we had to have irrigation, and there’s irrigation here.” Fleming nurtured the tree in a pot in her driveway until it was sturdy enough for replanting. “If you plant a tree too far in the ground and actually cut off its air, it’ll suff ocate it,” she said. “You want to lay a shovel handle across it horizontally. You can use the handle of the shovel to make sure the ‘fl are’ of the tree is not too low.” Daff ne Mejia, Dale McDowell, Nancy Dierly, Robin Montero, Tracy MacDonald, Nancy Holmes, William Barnes, Dan Stark and Pam Fleming at Cartwright Park for the planting of a ginkgo tree grown from seeds that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. After planting the tree, volunteers placed soil back around it and added com- post over the top. Fleming will put protective stakes and netting around the tree, and eventually a plaque with the history of the tree will be installed. The local Kiwanis club donated the Cartwright Park playground equipment and adopted the park. Tracy MacDonald, the lieutenant gov- ernor of the Lower Columbia Division of Kiwanis, said he appreciated the symbol- ism of the planting. “We have progressed since the war,” MacDonald, a former U.S. Marine, said. “It’s been a big shift.” Public Works director Dale McDowell, Pam Fleming and William Barnes dig the pit for the ginkgo tree. Feed the seals, feed the community S easide Aquarium kicks off the holiday season with the “Feed the Seals, Feed the Community” annual food drive. For 33 years the Sea- side Aquarium has been work- ing with the South County Community Food Bank to pro- vide nutritious food to families throughout Seaside, Gearhart and Cannon Beach that face food insecurity. Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day patrons can pay admission to the Seaside Aquar- ium with two cans of food per person. Food items are col- lected at the aquarium then sorted, checked and stocked on the shelves of the Seaside based food bank for clients in South- ern Clatsop County. According to Darren Gooch, board presi- dent of the South County Com- munity Food Bank the “Feed the Seals, Feed the Community” along with other local food drives are critical in sustain- ing the families, children and seniors that do not have regular access to nutritious food. SEASIDE AQUARIUM TIFFANY BOOTHE Over the past three decades the South County Community Food Bank has grown into one of the largest food distributors in the regional Oregon Food Bank network. Volunteers assist in serving 250,000 pounds of food to over 12,000 South County individuals annually. Without such incredible com- munity support and local food drives, the food bank would not be able to afford to continue to provide the amount of food to each family that comes through the door. Public hours are Tues- days and Thursdays 1 to 4 p.m., 2041 N. Roosevelt Dr. on the east side of Highway 101 across from the Seaside High School. Shelf-stable food, fresh pro- duce, dairy, frozen food, refrig- erated food and bulk dry food Seaside Aquarium THANKSGIVING THROUGH NEW YEAR’S DAY PATRONS CAN PAY ADMISSION TO THE SEASIDE AQUARIUM WITH TWO CANS OF FOOD PER PERSON. products are boxed in a three to five day supply and offered to clients. Admission to the aquarium is two cans of food per person and aquarium hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information call the helpful aquarium staff at 503-738-6211. PUBLIC MEETINGS Contact local agencies for latest meeting information and atten- dance guidelines. MONDAY, NOV. 29 Seaside City Council and Planning Commission work- shop, vacation rentals, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. TUESDAY, NOV. 30 Gearhart City Council, special meeting, 6:30 p.m., cityofgear- hart.com. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1 Seaside Improvement Com- mission, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. CIRCULATION MANAGER Shannon Arlint ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Sarah Silver- Tecza PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., cityofgearhart.com. Commission, 10 a.m., 1225 Avenue A. THURSDAY, DEC. 2 Seaside Library Board of Directors, 4:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway St. Seaside Parks Advisory Com- mittee, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. TUESDAY, DEC. 7 Seaside Community Center PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John D. Bruijn Skyler Archibald Joshua Heineman Katherine Lacaze Esther Moberg SYSTEMS MANAGER Carl Earl CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Jeff TerHar Seaside Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., work session, 989 Broadway. THURSDAY, DEC. 9 MONDAY, DEC. 13 Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center Commission, 5 p.m., 415 First Ave. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us. Gearhart Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., www.cityofgear- hart.com. Sunset Empire Park and Recre- ation District, board workshop, 4 p.m., www.seprd.com. Tuesday, DEC. 14 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 © 2021 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: $51.00, monthly autopay is $4.25 e-Edition only: $4 a month 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 © 2021 by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.