Astorian spins the Wheel of Fortune

Posted: Friday, April 13, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 1:23 pm, Thu Apr 12, 2012.

By now many have heard the rumor mill rumbling about Astorian CARRIE THORESON (pictured) appearing on the game show WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Yes, it’s true.

Carrie first auditioned when the Wheelmobile was at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, then aced her second audition, and was finally selected to be a contestant when the show was going to be taped in Portland.

In late March/early April, four weeks of shows were taped in four days at the Oregon Convention Center. Co-hosts PAT SAJAK and VANNA WHITE were on hand to keep things rolling, and the entire Los Angeles-area based crew was there, too – a long way from the show’s home at a Sony Pictures Entertainment studio in Culver City.

Do you have any idea what it takes to tape a show away from its original location? LESLIE JACOBE of Wheel of Fortune Publicity and Promotions filled the Ear in with the details of what they had to bring to Portland.

Just a few of the items they lugged were: 14 tractor trailer rigs for set, lighting and rigging; approximately 1 million pounds of equipment; a 65-foot mobile production truck; 12 miles of power cables; 20 miles of other types of cabling; and 140 color monitors.

By the way, did you know that more than 10,000 people try out each year for Wheel of Fortune, and fewer than 600 are selected? And you can only be on the show once.

So get ready: Carrie’s once-in-a-lifetime appearance will air on ABC at 7 p.m. THURSDAY, MAY 10.

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon

Dream shows the way

Posted: Friday, May 4, 2012 10:00 am

This one’s right out of the Twilight Zone, but in a good way. “I’d never heard of CANNON BEACH until today,” photographer CAROLYN KAMUDA (http://carolyn akamuda.zenfolio.com) emailed the Ear April 26. She’s pictured, inset.

“I’m a New Englander currently living in Massachusetts,” she explained. “If you want to believe, I had a dream last night about a beach with big rocks, so I googled it and found Cannon Beach. The more I looked at images of the place, the more I wanted to go there.”

“So, I went to AAA today,” she continued, “picked up some maps and brochures, and will probably make it there in September. All the way from the other side of the country.”

“Tourism. Yes, you should embrace it,” she added, “... at least for me.”

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon

Green stripes lead the way to where?

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2012 10:00 am

SCOTT McCLAINE of Clatsop Coin asked the Ear why there were GREEN STRIPES on the street on 15TH STREET at Exchange and Duane streets. The Ear, who was buffaloed, and clearly unobservant, had never noticed them.

The Ear emailed SHERRI WILLIAMS at the city of Astoria, who saved the day: They are the outlines of the old original fort in Astoria. More than one member of the Astoria Public Works Department suggested the Ear contact local historian JOHN GOODENBERGER for the history of the stripes.

“The green stripes were repainted on the street during Astoria’s Bicentennial,” John said. He guesses they were originally put there around the time of Astoria’s 150th birthday.

“In 1958, the Clatsop County Historical Society turned to architect JOHN WICKS to provide construction drawings to build a memorial to Astor’s trading post,” he explained. “Wolmanized logs, left over from the reconstruction of the Fort Clatsop memorial, were used to construct the bastion seen today.”

“Local sign maker ARVID WUONOLA provided context by painting a mural on the wall behind the monument,” he continued. “The mural was repainted several times, most recently by ROGER McKAY and SALLY LACKAFF in 2002.

“A site map of the old trading post is carved on the back side of the large wood sign adjacent to the bastion ... It is either based on a diary entry or, more likely, a military survey of the property.”

“But we will soon have the answers to these and more questions,” John added. “Clatsop Community College students will have the opportunity to work with Portland State University and Washington State University students on a` National Park Service guided archeological dig of the site this summer.” Stay tuned.

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon

Post office stamps a mystery

Posted: Friday, May 4, 2012 10:00 am

Here’s a history mystery for you. Not knowing what else to do with it, a Newport post office clerk gave STEVE WYATT, executive director of the LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, a single WORLD WAR II ERA PHOTO ALBUM PAGE someone left in the post office lobby several months before.

Steve’s research led him to believe the photos were likely taken at the liberation of one of the largest concentration camps, MAUTHAUSEN-GUSEN, in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. It was also one of the last to be liberated.

Pictured, two of the photos: left, a mass funeral with rows of wooden coffins; and right, a soldier next to a street sign for “Passau” and “DEGGENDORF.” Deggendorf was a camp for displaced Jewish refugees.

Anyone with information about the photos is asked to call Steve Wyatt at   (541) 265-7509. 

“This page should either go back to its rightful owner,” he said, “or to a museum that is focused on World War II, concentration camps or the history of this region of Germany.”

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon

History buff reveals the truth

Posted: Friday, April 20, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 3:34 pm, Thu Apr 19, 2012.

“One hundred years ago the TITANIC was on its first and last voyage,” lecturer and historian REX ZIAK (pictured, inset) of Naselle, Wash., told the Ear. “On board was a famous American who did not survive the tragedy. His name was JOHN JACOB ASTOR IV.” He was the great-grandson of Astoria founder John Jacob Astor.

“There is more to this story than what has ever been revealed,” Rex disclosed. “By researching newspapers from 1909, 1910 and 1911, I stumbled upon a back-story that has not been told. It appears that John Jacob Astor IV died from what is commonly known today as the ‘mid-life crisis.’”

“It is such a compelling story, I created a ... two part YOUTUBE DOCUMENTARY, totaling around 27 minutes,” he continued. “It is jam-packed with historic photographs, maps and great stories about his life, from start to finish.”

It is, indeed all of that, and let’s not forget Rex’s dynamic and entertaining speaking style is added to the mix, which really brings the characters and situation to life. You can see the videos here: http://tinyurl.com/rexastor1 and http://tinyurl.com/rexastor2

“Because of the sensitive nature of the subject (a mid-life crisis is never pretty), viewer discretion is advised,” he added. “This is a great history and should serve as a lesson to all men as they approach middle life.” Take a lesson, gentlemen.

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon

Gillnetting movie is like old times

Posted: Friday, April 20, 2012 10:00 am

When the Ear was but an earlet, sitting on a stoop and listening to the old timers talk about the glory days of lobstering and oystering was a real treat. The movie, “WORK IS OUR JOY: The Story Of The Columbia River Gillnetter,” has the same feel to it.

A project of the Oregon State University Extension Sea Grant and the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the film is an oral history with reminiscences by ROSS LINDSTROM, CECIL MOBERG, JOHN VLASTALICIA, HANK RAMVICK, ELMER HURULA, GUNNAR HERMANSON, ARNOLD “TOOTS” PETERSON, JACK MARINCOVICH, and many others.

You can watch the movie here: http://tinyurl.com/crgillnet

A little history tidbit: “The first non-Native gillnet on the Columbia belonged to THOMAS HODGKINS, an immigrant fisherman from the Kennebec River in Maine,” says Irene Martin in The Oregon Encyclopedia. “He operated the net in 1853 near Oak Point, four miles northwest of present-day Clatskanie.”

Some local families have been gillenetting for almost four generations. As one gillnetter noted, “I think the fellas that were born into it, that grew up in the game, make the best fishermen. They have a sense for it ... They have a feel for it.”

One fisherman summed up the overall tone of the film perfectly: “I think it’s probably a matter of receiving joy in what you’re doing. There are some people who just fish, and others who love to fish.”

Watch and enjoy  – the film is a real treasure.

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon

Boating history is in the name

Posted: Friday, May 4, 2012 10:00 am

“My father and I caught two CHINOOKS this weekend near Puget Island,” RICHARD MARSHALL LEATHERS IV (aka Marshall ), told the Ear. “We took a nice photo of my new son, Richard Marshall Leathers V (aka QUINT, pictured).”

History buffs will recognize that it’s an old Astoria name. “My great-grandfather (Richard Marshall Leathers) owned a boat building business in the late 1800s,” Marshall explained. “Both my grandfather (Richard Marshall Leathers II) and father (Richard Marshall Leathers III) were raised in Astoria; however I was raised in Portland.”

According to the long-winded-titled tome “Portrait and biographical record of Western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present” (http://tinyurl.com/rmleathers), Chapman Publishing Co., 1904, LEATHERS BROTHERS’ ASTORIA SHIPYARD, “the largest shop for the building of small boats in the west,” built boats in the 11- to 90-foot range.

Quint’s great-great-grandfather was said to be a “veteran craftsman (who) is known all along the ocean front from the northernmost habitable wilds of Alaska to the sunny mesas of Mexico, for no western builder has turned out so many pleasure launches, fishing-boats, or so many row and duck-boats.”

A forward-thinking gentleman, “he constructed his new shop in the fall of 1902, and has fitted it with electric power and the most modern innovations known to boat-building.” He “evolves from his fertile brain some of the most artistic and delightful models which now plow the waters of the Pacific and Arctic oceans.”

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon

Svensen man puts his heart into mission

Posted: Friday, May 11, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 12:50 pm, Thu May 10, 2012.

“RANDY ‘BERT’ HUNT, of the Svensen Hunts, grew up in ‘slough country’ with a congenital heart defect,” CAROL NEWMAN told the Ear. He is pictured with his dog, HARRY.

Living with Tetralogy of Fallot has been quite a challenge. He got his first defibrillator in 1994, and he’s writing a book, “BERT’S BOX: WIRED FOR LIFE,” that combines his experiences with both the heart condition and growing up in Svensen.

His goal is to inspire those who have, or know someone with, a life-threatening illness, or who are in need of a “dose of courage.” But that’s not all. “Randy absolutely means for it to be a regional memoir,” said his wife, CAROLINE TAYLOR, “for everyone in Clatsop County and the Pacific Northwest to enjoy.”

“I read excerpts,” Carol told the Ear, “and found them very engaging, well written, informative and full of local material.”

Even though Randy started the book in August, it has been hard to concentrate on writing while being a hands-on painting contractor at the same time. A man on a mission, he stopped painting and now dedicates all of his time to the book. Here’s where you can help: Randy is seeking funding to “buy time” to keep writing through a campaign on the Kickstarter website.

To donate, go to http://tinyurl.com/randyhunt. North Coasters: Here’s your chance to be a patron/patroness of the arts. If you would like to help this aspiring local writer, please donate by 6 p.m. May 26.

“Randy’s book really is going to be a local treasure,” declared DEBBIE TWOMBLY. “I hope it then goes farther.”

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon

The hauntings of Astoria

Posted: Friday, May 11, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 11:08 am, Thu May 10, 2012.

Many Astoria houses and buildings are believed to be rife with the restless spirits of the dead. A while ago, Portlander ROGER CLOOTEN (formerly of Seaside) of NW GHOST RECON (www.facebook.com/nwghostrecon), paranormal investigators, went searching for ASTORIA’S GHOSTS in the tunnels under the city.

A little background: Roger’s group investigates hauntings and electronic voice phenomena, quite a few of them for CLYDE LEWIS of the GROUND ZERO radio show on KXL in Portland, using video, sound and full spectrum photography equipment to document their findings. A psychic is on staff, and they consult with a paranormal scientist and an electronic engineer, as well.

“I do this because I want people to know the paranormal is real,” Roger asserted. “It’s not a joke.” He would like people to look at the paranormal scientifically.

Roger’s first reaction to Astoria’s underground, not surprisingly, was “it’s disgusting down there.” He took a camera, and went in from the basement at GODFATHER’S BOOKS, at the intersection of 11th and Commercial streets, and headed south, to 11th and Exchange streets.

And yes, he believes it’s haunted. He sat there under the street looking up and down each tunnel, and something caught his eye. It looked like a woman standing there, “a shadow person,” he said. He told the Ear he saw other apparitions, too. One photo is pictured, and more are here: http://tinyurl.com/tunnelast

Are there ghosts in the tunnels? Since it’s commonly believed that several houses and buildings around town are haunted, why not?

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon

Astoria fisherman lured to the top

Posted: Friday, April 27, 2012 10:00 am

Fisherman CHRIS CAMERON of Astoria, pictured inset, is in the midst of the adventure of a lifetime: He is on the PEAK FREAKS MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION 2012.

The team consists of 12 international climbers, three Western guides, 34 Sherpa staff members and leader TIM RIPPEL, who has spent 21 years guiding in the Himalayas. Pictured, some of the group at base camp.

Climbing Everest is a long process. There are several acclimatization climbs back and forth between base camps 1, 2 and 3, a rest, then the wait for the “annual window of opportunity where winds typically start to die down and summit pushes begin,” the expedition blog says (http://tinyurl.com/peakblog). “Peak Freaks has had summits as early as May 6 and as late as May 21 and ... right up till the end of May.”

The climbers’ blog is updated daily, and pictures of the expedition, which are added regularly, are available at http://tinyurl.com/pixnepal. It never ceases to amaze the Ear that it is possible to communicate online and send photos from such an impossibly remote location.

Sadly, on April 21, one of the expedition members, NAMGYA TSHERING SHERPA, 30, fell into a deep crevasse while climbing toward Base Camp 2, more than two-thirds of the way up the 29,029-foot mountain. Fortunately, his body was able to be retrieved “by climbers who were in the area at the time,” the blog says.

The full news story is here: http://tinyurl.com/nepalifalls.

Chris’ mother, AUDREY CAMERON, his daughter, NATASHA CAMERON, his ex-wife, XIAO HONG LIU and his mother’s sister, GEORGIA MARINCOVICH, are holding the fort stateside. After the upsetting news about the Sherpa’s fall, the family was relieved when Chris was able to call home and reassure them he was fine.

“We of course have been worried from the get-go about this adventure, but he was bound and determined to go,” Georgia observed. “We continue to keep Chris and the other climbers in our prayers.”

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon