A4 • Friday, November 26, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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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
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