As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
May 30, 2018
The first picture I am sharing this week shows a work party at the grounds of St. John's Episcopal Church in 1961.
St. John's Episcopal Church, 1961
The church is barely visible at right, but church members are busy working on the addition, St. Helen's Hall, built by the W.J. Sweet family in memory of their daughter, Helen Mayes.
Among those that I can see in the picture are Jack Ward, far right, and next to him, also on a ladder is Charlie Tresidder. Around the corner, on a step ladder, is Wes Jarvis. Floyd Shortridge is handling the wheelbarrow, with Eddie Waldrop next to him. I believe those at left on ladders are probably Louie Prahar and Don Potter.
As the church prepares for its quasquicentennial celebration, which will culminate on Sept. 23, they celebrated last Sunday, Pentecost, with a special menu of delicacies including gourmet sandwiches, scones, cucumber cups with salmon, butter cookies and English breakfast tea.
On Sept. 23, 1893, (125 years ago) the cornerstone was laid for St. John's By-the-Sea Episcopal Church.
St. John's was consecrated by Bishop Benjamin Morris on Aug. 25, 1894, at its original location in Block 7, Woodland Addition (somewhere near what is currently Lighthouse Cove Inn). In the 1920s, the church was moved to the corner of 8th and Franklin. In 1936, the church was destroyed in the fire, and it took three years to rebuild at the same location, where it stands today.
The second picture was taken in 1975 when the former city jail had been turned into a plant shop.
Former city jail, 1975
Today it remains for sale after the death of Tim Belmont, who had turned it into a cute shop where he sold Italian purses and other wares.
Later, we learned that it had sold to people who wanted to open a dog grooming shop, but that apparently fell through. I heard it had to do with zoning issues, but I haven't verified that.
The building next door, which now houses the Bandon museum, was part of the Bandon City Hall until the new city hall was built in 1970 at its present location. The part of the building that you can see in this picture housed the city's fire equipment, with sleeping quarters in back for at least one of the firemen. It's now used for storage by the museum.
I love this third picture of Mike Dornath and his father, Cliff, taken during a Boy Scout Court of Honor in 1966 held at the Ocean Crest gym, which was pretty much our community building in those days.
Boy Scout Court of Honor, 1966
I chose this picture because I recently received an invitation to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor June 2 at South Coast Assembly of God honoring two Bandon youths, Timothy Merriam and Skyler Hammons. Tim is the son of Maria and Robert Merriam, and Skyler is the grandson of Beryl Hammons. Both are fine young men and I can't wait to attend the Court of Honor.
Tim's Eagle Scout project was restoring the pews at the South Coast Assembly of God church, which his family attends. Skyler's project was to refurbish the sick room at Ocean Crest Elementary School by giving it a fresh coat of paint and building shelving.
* * *
I've learned that we've lost another Bandon High School alumnus. Barbara Rock Kimball, a member of the class of 1961, died May 23. The last I knew she was living in Coquille. Barbara's parents were Violet and Garland Rock, and she had an older sister, Betty Rock Davis, who died several years ago, and a brother, Tom, who I believe still lives in Bandon.
* * *
The Coquille River Lighthouse is in serious need of repairs, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to get the necessary government agencies to commit to doing the work.
Retired Bullards Beach manager Ben Fisher contacted me recently to see if I could set up a meeting with Rep. David Brock Smith to talk about the lighthouse. That meeting is scheduled for Friday.
During the 10 years that Ben was manager of Bullards Beach he tried to put together a plan to stabilize and restore the lighthouse. In 2007, some repairs were made to the exterior stucco, a new roof with a replica chimney was put on, as well as a new coat of paint.
Ben recalls that in the late 1970s, ODOT did some repairs to stabilize the building. "They did their best, but they did not know how to work with this type of building. The stucco mix they used was not correct and caused some cracking. They also replaced the stairway to the lantern room. When they did this they bolted the stairs to the tower. The bolts they used corroded and expanded, cracking the tower walls. This combined with the failing steps caused me to close the tower to public access," Fisher said.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department estimates that it would take 1 to 1.5 million dollars to make the lighthouse safe and stable. OPRD has a business account as well as a donation account set up to raise funds for the lighthouse restoration. Sales from the lighthouse gift shop fund the business account and the donation account is for donations. In October 2017, there was about $260,000 total in both accounts.
Ben said he was advised by Roger Straus of the Coquille River Lightkeepers that their group had around $200,000. OPRD has applied for a few grants, but with no success.
Not only have they not committed to spend the money on the lighthouse, but they are not sure they will renew the lease with the Army Corps of Engineers, which will further compound the problem. The lease expires Feb. 9, 2021. If the lease is not renewed it will remove the only vehicular access to the beachfront for visitors to Bullards Beach State Park. Loss of this property would mean that beachgoers would have to negotiate a steep foredune to get to the beach.
Ben feels, and I agree, that it's time the public began to put some pressure on OPRD to urge them to make a commitment to do the work. People can email OPRD Director Lisa Sumption at lisa.sumption@oregon.gov. and ask her to renew the lease and commit to stabilization and restoration of the lighthouse.
The point is that donations were made by people from Bandon as well as visitors to the lighthouse, and the donation and business account funds should go to the restoration of the lighthouse as was intended.
This is an iconic symbol of Bandon and Oregon's maritime history.
Ben has also shared his concerns with the Bandon Historical Society board of directors, who, I believe, also plan to send a letter urging that action be taken to preserve the lighthouse.
* * *
I've learned that Dr. Bobby Baharloo, a podiatrist who works for the Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center, was recently involved in an automobile accident. He reportedly broke both hips, some ribs and his wrist, but he is hoping to return to work in mid-June. In the meantime I understand someone may be filling in for him at the clinic.
* * *
I received an email this week from a friend who lives in the Seabird area. He wants to let people know that there are wild turkeys galore, and it appears that they are or could fast become a problem for the neighborhood.
I learned about these guys several years ago when one of our city councilors took pictures of one who visited her house.
My friend is urging people not to feed them, which is what a friend of theirs learned when he contacted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. ODFW is aware of the problem, but who knows what, if anything, they can do about it except to tell people not to feed them.
I've learned that ODFW introduced turkeys into Oregon, as they were not a species previously found here and they are not native.
"Some natural predation would help, but those types of predators, which keep populations in check, usually stay out of developed areas, which is generally a good thing. Yes, coyotes, wolves, wildcats are not something that is desirable to have lurking in a residential neighborhood," said one woman.
But neither is a raft of turkeys, who are fast becoming a nuisance to many in that area. In addition to not feeding them, people need to shoo them away from their property.
* * *
I've learned that Robin Triplett is no longer working for the Southern Coos Hospital and Health District as finance director. Amy Fine, who is also manager of the clinic, has taken over duties as finance director, and at least for the present time, she is doing both jobs.
* * *
The Bandon Police Department has been alerting people to a recent rash of break-ins at Coquille Point, as well as at Bullards Beach State Park. People are urged not to leave valuables on open display in their vehicles when they head to the beach.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
May 23, 2018
The first picture I am sharing has an interesting history. It was built in the heart of Second Street (now Old Town) right after the Bandon Fire of 1936 to house The Golden Rule, owned by the Norton family. The Golden Rule, started by Bob Norton's father, had previously been situated on the south side of First Street, but burned in the Fire. The "new" building served as my favorite department store for many years, but later the Nortons closed the business and the building went through several owners.
Continuum Center, 1982
In 1979, philanthropist Hugh Harrison visited the Continuum Exhibit at JFK University in California, which showcased the principle of life after death. He put the exhibit on tour, and also established a home for it in Bandon in a building called the Continuum Center, according to writer Bob Schwartz, who said it was a "special multimedia exhibit, state of the art for its time."
This picture of the Continuum Center was taken in June of 1982, when people had the opportunity to visit the exhibit, highlighting Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' book "On Death & Dying," complete with impressive holograms.
Between the time that the Golden Rule closed and Hugh bought the building, Joan and Dave Gradt operated The Edgewater department store. Hugh later sold to Robert M. Webb, who with his son Chris still owns the building today. The building now houses a number of businesses, including Pacific Blues wine shop and cafe, a tasting room for Stillwagon Distillery, Neat Old Stuff, High Tide Ceramics, D'Lyn's Studio and Crafters Creations, and Nature's Imagination, featuring tie-dyed clothing.
The second photo I am sharing is the old Surfside Dairy, which sat on the south side of Third Street behind the Coquille Valley Dairy Co-op.
Surfside Dairy
The manager's office was the small house next door, barely visible in the photo. The delivery van sits next to the building. This picture was probably taken in the late '60s or possibly the '70s.
The third picture, taken in 1980, pictures three Bandon women modeling for Virginia Weaver, owner of Black Horse Boutique, when the store was located on the corner of Chicago and Second Street (now the home of The Toy Store, owned by Lynn Davies and her daughter, Jessica Markham-Brink).
Three Bandon women modeling, 1980
Pictured, from left, are Mary Boston, Diane Dornath and Jackie Olinger McNeil.
* * *
I just watched Aaron Wise, who played collegiate golf for the University of Oregon, win the AT&T Byron Nelson PGA championship, at the young age of 21. This was Aaron's first PGA win although he finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship the previous week.
And it wasn't even close. He defeated runner-up Marc Leishman by three strokes. They very nearly did not finish on Sunday as the day's play was delayed by four hours because of heavy rain, which moved across Irving, Texas, where the tourney was being played.
Wise was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and now lives in Las Vegas. He studied pre-law at the University of Oregon, where he became the first golfer in Oregon history to win the NCAA individual title.
* * *
You seldom read about those who are elected precinct committee men and women for both parties, so I decided to look it up after receiving a question as to who won a certain position.
Five women ran for four spots as Democratic precinct women, including Katy Eymann 307, Barbara Dodrill 291, Myra Lawson 237 and Claudine Hundhausen 223. Betty Ketsdever's daughter, Kathy Sellman Peterson, who recently moved to Bandon, also ran. Even though she is not well known, she still received 144 votes.
Earning the nod for male precinct committeemen for Bandon were Bill Bradbury with 344 votes and Bob Hundhausen with 258.
For rural Bandon, no men filed, but Barbara Coulson with 206 votes and Vera Turner with 175 were elected as precinct committeewomen.
No Republicans ran for committee people in the Bandon precinct, although there were a number of write-ins; for rural Bandon, Stan Avery with 300 and Dean (Dino) Kummelehne with 197, were elected. On the female side, Theresa Avery had 238 votes, Faye Albertson 221 and Lynnelle Kummelehne had 174.
As there were five vacancies in each of the rural committee elections and four for the Bandon precinct, a number of people were probably elected via write-in votes, but they are not named on the county elections website.
* * *
Although incumbent John Sweet handily won the commissioner's race with 6,862 votes, he did not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, which means that he and Katy Eymann (with 4,187 votes) will square off in November. Steve Scheer received 2,813 votes, while Dale Pennie (who was recently sentenced to 30 days in jail for violation of probation, involving his alleged refusal to clean up his Prosper area property) earned 915 votes.
For the other commission seat, incumbent Melissa Cribbins received 55.47 percent of the votes, which means she is automatically re-elected and will not be on the ballot in November.
Also receiving votes in that race were Natalie Ranker with 3,468 and Avery Horton with 2,868.
* * *
I've learned that former Bandon High School football coach Don Markham died recently in California at the age of 78.
An article in the Riverside paper referred to Markham as a "former Los Angeles police officer who became a legendary high school football coach in Southern California."
Markham started coaching for the Northridge Knights in 1966. He was head coach for a number of California schools, as well as in Bandon. In Bloomington his team set a then-national record in 1994 by scoring 880 points in 14 games, using the double-wing attack that featured running the ball again and again.
Markham was so successful in Bandon that it resulted in the league adopting the controversial 45-point rule, which ended a lot of games early when one team was ahead by 45 or more points after halftime. And it was generally Bandon.
He and his wife Linda also operated a bar at Two Mile for several years. His brother, the late Chuck Markham, lived in Bandon.
* * *
I read on Facebook last week that Kimberly Small-Jonas, owner of Kim's Book Nook at Beach Junction, had undergone surgery at OHSU in Portland for breast cancer, and was already out of the hospital and doing well, which is good news.
Earlier, I also read on Facebook that Teresa (Terri) Reaves, former ad director for Western World, had also undergone breast cancer surgery.
She and her husband, Mike, former police chief in Coquille, had moved to California several years ago.
* * *
I do not know the details but Miranda Brooks-Gray posted on Facebook May 15 from the Trading Post thrift store. "Last night someone kicked in our door and robbed our shop, they broke our cash register, stole the money inside, and helped themselves to the food pantry.
"If anyone has information about this crime please contact the Bandon Police Department at 541-347-2241. We are in need of a new front door and a new register."
She and the shop owner Kim Logue have helped a lot of people with their food pantry, and it is such a shame that their thanks is to be burglarized.
* * *
I continue to be blown away by the quality of MarLo Dance Studio's fabulous productions, and this weekend's Peter Pan was no exception. MarLo director Maria Merriam is celebrating 19 years of providing us with top-quality entertainment, and she is already on the Sprague Community Theater schedule to present The Nutcracker December 8, 9, 15 and 16, which is always a wonderful holiday treat.
The little ones, some of whom are younger than six years old, are always an audience favorite and help to fill the theater with parents, grandparents, siblings and friends ... not to mention people like me who never miss a MarLo production.
* * *
It's not often that an entire half page of the sports section of the Register-Guard is filled with information about Bandon, but that's what happened on May 18. One big headline read: "Two titles for Bandon's Hutton," and just below that, another headline: "Hutton, Martin defend Class 2A state titles."
The Huttons, of course, are twins Hunter and Sailor, whose parents are Brent and Trish. Hunter won the state title in the pole vault, as well as in the 3,000 meter run.
Sailor wanted to break the record that she earlier set, but had to "settle" for a slice of history when she became just "the fifth girl to earn a state-meet sweep of the 3,000 meters with her fourth career victory," according to the article. She set the state-meet record of 10:22.25 as a sophomore in 2016.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
May 16, 2018
Some things stand out in my memory, and the first picture I am sharing is one of those events. This was taken in 1956 when fire hit Jack Kronenberg's office along the highway just up from the cheese factory. I was still in high school and we lived just two houses west of here, and in one of the negatives I can be seen watching the fire.
But in this shot, which I love because of the age of the fire trucks, you can see George Chappell, far left, whose service station was just west of here, and Police Chief D. S. "Big Mac" MacDonald, in the center of the picture. A big crowd had gathered, some to assist and others to watch.
Fire, Jack Kronenberg's office, 1956
Today that is the property on which Dr. Dowling's office sits.
When I was young, it was the home of Ben and Rachel Huntington and their daughters, Denise, Margaret and Merle. Ben was the Bandon School Superintendent in the 1940s before they moved to Vida where he served as superintendent of the McKenzie River School District for many years. Ben was followed by Keith Goldhammer, who was only here for a year or two, and also lived in the house. Not sure when Jack bought the building for his office or what condition it was in after the fire because I am pretty sure it was a concrete structure, but was badly gutted inside.
I love this second picture of the Port of Bandon boat basin before it was upgraded to what it is today. The Port's tug Active is docked among many smaller vessels in this photo, taken in 1971.
Port of Bandon boat basin, 1971
Back in the '70s, we never missed an opportunity to take pictures of new signs or a host of other "events" that we find pretty trivial today.
New sign, Fraser's Restaurant, 1978
This photo was taken in 1978 of a new sign installed by Fraser's Restaurant, advertising that cocktails were available in their lounge, which was an addition to the original building (known as Gerry's) as was the dining room. Before the Fraser family bought the business, it was known as Ralph's, and was much smaller than the building you see in this picture. Today this is the home of The Asian Garden.
In the background you can see the building that housed a real estate office (probably Larry Means and before that Ken Denniston's office) which was on the corner of Highway 101 and 11th. Today the building is owned by businessman Dave Reed and is home to a workout center.
* * *
Many in Bandon are mourning the loss of long-time businessman and friend Jason Tree, owner of Pacific Blues, who died Wednesday at the age of 64 after a long battle with cancer.
Jason had operated a business in The Continuum Center for over 20 years, and his vegetarian restaurant was extremely popular with those of us who loved his special flair for gourmet cooking.
A Celebration of Life for Jason will be held Saturday, June 2, at 2 p.m. at The Barn/Community Center. Among his survivors is his wife, Judy, whose father, Buck Rogers, died the previous week in the Eugene area. Jason is also survived by his father, Christopher Tree, who lives in Bandon, as well as a number of adult children and grandchildren, several of whom live in the Eugene/Springfield area.
* * *
The town was crowded with people on Saturday, with hundreds enjoying the weekend anniversary celebration at Face Rock Creamery, others enjoying the Bandon Old Town Market, the stores in town, and baseball and softball games at several local diamonds. It looked like the middle of summer ...
* * *
I was sad to learn that one of my favorite people, Pearl Grisham, had fallen recently and broken both of her ankles. After undergoing surgery at Bay Area Hospital she is now recuperating at Lifecare in Coos Bay and doing well. She makes her home with her daughter and husband, Kay and Max Pollin, in Bandon.
* * *
The issue of scams, mostly involving older people, continues to surface in this area. I understand that a Bandon woman was scammed out of $4,000 relating to a call she received from someone claiming to be her grandson, who said he was in jail and needed money. She bought a credit card on eBay for him and then got a call from a fake attorney and sent more money. I understand her daughter was able to recover about half of the money, but it looks like the rest of it went to Guatemala and Honduras.
Many people have been victims of this scam, which is so successful because the "grandchild" cautions the grandparent not to contact his parents as he doesn't want them to know he's in jail. Of course, if the victim did call the parents, they would soon learn that Johnny is actually home with them and not in jail.
I read recently about an Oregon woman who fell for what is dubbed the "sweetheart" scam, and before she figured out that she was a victim, she had sent $35,000 in a two-week period to a guy who was supposedly on an offshore oil rig. Even after her bank tried to stop her, she withdrew $19,800 in cash from her bank account and mailed it to an address in either North Carolina or Texas.
I know of a similar situation right here in Bandon where a woman had supposedly fallen in love with a guy on an oil rig and was routinely sending him money through Western Union even though friends tried to convince her it was a scam.
Victoria Tierney told me that she had been contacted through the oregonprisonart website by a man who wanted to buy one of her paintings for his wife. After several emails he chose one, then sent her a check for $1,190 for a $375 painting. Apparently he wasn't sure exactly how much it cost, so he wanted her to send him the painting along with a check for the difference. She immediately contacted authorities who gave her a number for the consumer protection service of the Oregon Attorney General's Office, where they told her there was really no way to track the guy, adding that they probably weren't even in the country. Later that afternoon, Victoria received a call from a man in Westminster, Calif., who said his name was Mike Evans, but who had a decided Spanish accent. He texted her two more times still keeping up the pretense of wanting to buy art and overpay. She then told him she knew it was a scam, and that was the last she heard from him. She says she may collage the check into her next painting.
I have my own story of trying to send money this week through Western Union, and it didn't have a very good ending. I tried to send some money through the mail to a man in California, who is part owner of the building that I manage for him and his father. It was his money and it was a completely legitimate transaction.
I went to Ray's to send the money through Western Union. The teller knew me and the person I was sending the money to.
But an hour later I received a call from my friend; they refused to give him the money until they talked to me. I immediately called Western Union and no matter how many questions they asked, I answered them truthfully. The end result was: no, they would not transfer the money. They were "kind enough" to give me a number so I could get my money back, as well as the $50 it cost me to send it. But I was furious. I assured them I was not being scammed, that I knew the man, and that I had seen him face to face (one of their questions) three weeks ago. I then set up an app on my phone and within an hour, the money had gone to his bank account. No problems ... no questions asked.
Then Western Union had the gall to send me a survey. You don't want to know what I said, but you can guess the rating (from one to 10) that I gave them.
* * *
The Bandon Community Swimming Pool committee received a letter this week from local attorney Robin Miller explaining that a client, who asked to remain anonymous, had just executed a Last Will and Testament giving $2.5 million to the pool nonprofit, with two express conditions.
One, that the pool nonprofit remain in existence, and second that the swimming pool be in the Bandon City Park.
"Please be cautioned that is a bequest -- not a vested, completed gift. The client may or may not die any time soon. The client might experience significant life changes, dramatically affecting the extent of his or her estate assets. The client could change his or her mind. Life being life, nothing is certain. But I have known and worked with this client long enough, and I have enough familiarity with this client's life situation, that I believe that this planned gift is sincere and of high probability to occur," said Miller.
The letter was announced at the swimming pool committee's annual meeting last Tuesday night and was greeted with a great deal of excitement by those attending.
The city council has not discussed this letter, nor its conditions, but it is always possible that the property owned by the pool committee adjacent to city park could be annexed into the park. Other considerations were also put forth including an amendment to the city charter that would prohibit the city from spending any taxpayer money on either maintenance or operation of a pool, which would relieve taxpayers of the fear that somewhere in the future, the city would have to assume the cost of operating a pool.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
May 09, 2018
The first picture I am sharing this week was taken in 1960 at the dedication of the newly opened Highway 101 between Bandon and Coos Bay.
Highway 101 dedication, 1960
Mayor Eddie Waldrop is at left in front of the mic, I am the only woman in the picture, in the middle, taking notes as one of my first jobs as a cub reporter (and news editor) for Western World. To my left is Ralph Swenston and at right is Ernie Wehner and next to him is Max Howe (both of whom are wearing hats). Most of the men in the photo are dignitaries from the Oregon Department of Transportation except for the KCBY cameraman at far right.
The second photo was taken as youngsters are lining up for the Cranberry Festival parade in 1957.
Cranberry Festival parade, 1957
I think this was taken off Filmore about where the museum parking lot is now as I can see the Standard Oil tank in the background. My cousin John Felsheim is dressed as a clown and his neighbor Bruce Capps is dressed as a cowboy. Behind them is Rosalie Welch, and just to the right of her I can see the Ingram twins, Lilla and Laura.
The third picture was taken in 1981 during one of the visits of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge Yaquina, which is parked at the port dock. In front of the Yaquina you can see Erdman's boat, Kelori. If you look closely you can see people fishing off the dock ...completely dwarfed by the massive size of the dredge.
Yaquina dredge, 1981
* * *
It was sad to learn that Linda Graham, a long-time employee of Cardas Audio and a beautiful woman both inside and out, died Tuesday morning as she and her husband, Robert, were headed to California so she could visit relatives. She had battled cancer for the last couple of years and the doctor's finding was that she died of a heart attack, more than likely due to the stress of chemotherapy.
Bob told friends that the day before her death she had gotten to go outside and enjoy a beautiful evening. Bob is correct: "The world is a lesser place without her ...."
* * *
It takes quite a bit to stump me, but I had to read the subhead in a recent Register-Guard article three times before it finally dawned on me that one (very important) word had been omitted.
"Wife of Oregon lawmaker sues union," read the headline.
But here is what the subhead read: "She says she should be forced to fund group that fought her husband's campaign." Really, she wants to be forced to fund the group? Once I inserted the word "not" after "should" it began to make sense.
You wonder how many people missed that in the composing room?
* * *
It's been nearly 60 years since tug captain Red Pedersen and his lone crewman, Bob Fisher of Bandon, saved 12 people from almost certain death after the Elizabeth Olson capsized while crossing the Bandon bar in November of 1960.
Bob joined Reg Pullen and I last year to present his story at the Bandon Museum, and because of that, the grandson of the Elizabeth Olson's 2nd Mate Norman Deniston, spotted it on the Internet and wrote to me seeking contact information for Bob. He said he learned by reading the article that I had also been at the scene that day, which was true. I wrote a story that ended up on the front page of The Oregonian about the subsequent wreck of the Rebel in March of 1961, which resulted in the death of Pedersen and the rescue of Fisher.
The grandson, Levi Deniston, is an active-duty Marine.
"Red and Bob saved my grandpa and his men, forever changing the course of our family member's lives. Norman, my grandpa, went on to remain in the tug boat business (with Peter Foss) in the Long Beach and Southern California areas until his retirement in 2000 at the age of 73. He also supported the Department of Defense numerous times while leading the Hero, a ship that he would sail to Antarctica and western South America in the '60s and '70s for DoD/scientific research.
"My grandpa had four children and 14 grandchildren (one child and two grandchildren born after this incident that never would have come to be). He lived a happy, fruitful life. This was all possible because of Bob and Red's valor," said the grandson.
Bob later emailed me to say that he had communicated with the grandson, which I know was a heart-warming experience.
* * *
Almost every day I receive a cell phone call from a different Coos Bay number. The result is always the same: I answer it, no one is there and then it clicks once and goes dead.
I received one Monday night shortly after 6:30 as I was preparing for the budget committee meeting. My phone rang, but I didn't get to it in time, so I decided to call the number back and see what they wanted.
An older woman answered, but as so often is the answer, neither she nor her husband had placed a call to me.
Sometimes when I call back after receiving one of those calls, a recorder says: "this number is no longer in service." But at least three times lately a person has answered ... who had not placed the call.
I guess I don't understand the purpose of a scam where no one ever talks, uses someone else's phone number or a number that has been disconnected. I would also like to know how are they able to call from someone else's number?
Answers, please!
* * *
I don't often travel, and I'm beginning to understand why.
My friend Kathy Simonetti, the mayor of Coquille, led a tour group to China in April, but while she was there, she suffered a heart attack and ended up spending the rest of the 10-day trip in the hospital, and another week longer in China than did the others before she could fly home. Another friend, who was on the trip, said Kathy received wonderful care in a hospital there, but will need to have further medical followup now that she's home.
Outside of Kathy's health problems, I guess it was a great trip, highlighted by a trip to the Great Wall of China.
City Attorney Fred Carleton and his wife, Gina, had an interesting trip to Hawaii, when not only did the volcano erupt on the Big Island of Hawaii where they were staying, but there were two fairly large earthquakes. The 6.9 quake that hit the island of Hawaii Friday was said to be the largest in over 40 years. Fred was kayaking on the other side of the island when the earthquake hit, and fortunately it did not generate a tidal wave.
He said that after he left the park, he decided to go the other way to see how a subdivision on the east side the mountain had fared, "But I did not go in, which was smart, because fissures started to open up."
Fred and Gina flew to Honolulu Sunday morning to catch the flight home. but before they left, he texted me again to say, "Now we are learning of toxic air," referring to the toxins from the erupting volcano. "At least the flash flood on Oahu never materialized. Fun times ...." he added.
I'm hoping their trip home was uneventful.
* * *
There is a new gallery in Bandon. Works by 11 local artists are now on display at Oregon Community Gallery, which is Realtor Herb and Brooke Yussim's office on the bottom floor of Bill and Louise Moore's building in Old Town at the corner of Second and Chicago.
People are invited to join the artists for an opening celebration on Thursday, May 17, from 5 to 8 p.m., with music by Crystal Landucci on the baby grand piano and Heidi Connolly on her silver flute from 6:30 to 7:30. The artists who will be showing their work include Vicki Affatati, Ken and Jan Ayers, David Black, Johnny Butler, Susan Gifford, Christine Hanlon, Mike and Yvonne Ousley, Victoria Tierney and Dorothea Tortilla.
* * *
Anyone who thought that last year was one of the rainiest on record was right. Depend on who you talk to, our rainfall ranged from over 100 inches to as much as 150 inches for the fiscal year (October through September).
The rainfall for the 2016-17 fiscal year, according to Gerry Terp, was 102.04 inches, compared to the same months for 2013/14 when we had only 41.71 inches of rain. The total for 2014/15 was 61.03 and for 2015/16 he recorded 64.04. For March of this year, he recorded 13.74 inches compared to 12.95 the previous March.
While going through the 1916 papers on line, I noticed that the March rainfall was 12.49, compared to 3.76 inches for 1915. Captain O. Wiren, who was stationed at the Coquille River lighthouse and was the "official" weatherman, recorded an average of 5.01 inches of rain for a 10-year period for the months of March between 1906 and 1916.
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The excitement of the opening day of the Old Town Market was dimmed by the loss of Steve Chamberlain, "the coffee guy," who was one of the first tenants when the market opened seven years go. He was a definite favorite of those who sell their wares as well as his many customers. Steve died of natural causes while on an overnight hike near Agness, where he made his home.
Peggy and John Towne, who manage the market, were manning his booth opening weekend, and have a donation jar set up on the counter for anyone who would like to contribute to help his family with funeral expenses.
Steve's daughter is expected to decide what will happen to her dad's equipment and the future of his shop.
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After I wrote this, I saw on Facebook Sunday that Buck Rogers died, but I don't know any details. He and his wife, Nadya, who preceded him in death, moved to the Eugene area several years.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
May 02, 2018
I promise to shorten my column this week to better showcase the photos I am sharing. The more I write, the smaller the pictures are since there is only so much space in the paper, which I really appreciate. Of course, if you view it on line, you can blow the photos up as large as you want. But I don't need to be so wordy . . . no matter where you read it.
The first picture was taken in March of 1970 on First Street, near the intersection of Filmore Avenue as crews are moving equipment into the area alongside Coast Lumber Yard (long since torn down) in preparation for work on the new interceptor sewers.
First Street, 1970
Traffic in downtown Bandon, primarily along First, was re-routed for 10 days as work continued on the new sewer project. The vacant lot where the crane is dropping metal pieces is the former bike area, owned by the Port of Bandon, which is just north of Bandon Mercantile. (The spelling of Filmore is now with two "lls" but for years it was spelled with one "l" and I've decided to stick with the traditional spelling).
The wooden building at left was owned by Ernie Panter, and is now the site of the Moore Mill & Lumber Co. office. The building at right is Bandon Seafood, which later became the home of Bandon Fisheries before it was torn down to make way for the Port of Bandon's office, which later became The Loft restaurant.
I don't know the story behind the second picture, which was taken in May of 1959, except that the two boats you see are alongside a sunken vessel, which is to the left.
Sunken vessel, 1959
I love how intact the old Moore Mill & Lumber Co. truck shop looks. At far right, you can see the Moore Mill Retail Yard building, which was on the road leading to the mill, off Riverside Drive. The mill is also visible to the left of the truck shop.
I clearly remember taking a series of pictures at the Bandon High School Spirit Week Assembly in 1972, but I chose this one as so many former students will remember both of these people.
Harbor Lights Principal Paul McCartt and long-time P.E. teacher and businesswoman Margaret Gorman entertained the students in some kind of a sack race, with each having one leg in the sack.
Bandon High School Spirit Week Assembly, 1972
For those of you who read my column on line, I want to apologize for a mistake in the year that the Lions March of Dimes photo was taken, which I posted last week. It was from 1960, not 1970 as several readers pointed out. I heard from Silver Martindale's granddaughter, Katrina, who loved the picture, but said it could not have been taken in 1970 because he had died in 1965. A short time later a long-time reader said he took stock of the vehicles in the photo, and none were older than about 1959, so that was another real clue. It was corrected by the time it appeared in Western World, but not on-line. I had taken about 20 that day, but when I was tagging each one after scanning them into the computer, I got sloppy with the date and hit a "7" instead of a "6" as all the others were clearly marked 1960.
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I've had another serious head cold (the third one in three months) this week, so I kept myself busy by reading each issue of the 1915 and 1916 Western Worlds, which gave me some fascinating insights into what it was like to live in Bandon over 100 years ago. My grandfather wrote all of the front-page material and much of the inside, so it was like talking to my beloved grandfather, who has been gone for over 50 years. He taught me so much the three years I worked alongside of him at Western World. I will share one of the most riveting stories with you in the coming weeks, involving the murder of one of my grandparents' best friends, the 31-year-old City Attorney Graydon T. Treadgold. I actually did not realize just how close the Treadgolds and Felsheims had been until I began to read the social columns and saw that they had gone on a 10-day camping trip up Elk River just two months before his murder. More on that later.
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The very popular man who roasted his own coffee and was a fixture at the Bandon Old Town Marketplace, Steve Chamberlain, 70, was found dead on the Illinois River trail near Agness last Tuesday. Steve lived at Agness and had told friends Monday that he was going on an overnight hike and camping trip. His body was found by a group of motorcyclists 3.5 miles up the Illinois River Trailhead near Buzzard's Roost. They reported it to people at Cougar Lane, who contacted the Curry County Sheriff. The sheriff's department was aided in recovering the body by a group of search and rescue volunteers. The sheriff said it took nine hours (shortly after midnight) for SAR members to make it to the trailhead due to the narrow, rugged, steep trail and distance into the backcountry. He is believed to have died of natural causes as authorities said there was no indication of foul play.
For several years, his booth was alongside Susan Christiansen's Chubby Girl Cheesecake spot, but he had moved to the location just inside the front entryway, which is where I saw him several weeks ago. He certainly will be missed by all who knew him.
Like Susan said on Facebook, "we were family."
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Todd Theiss, who owns Redbarn Dispensary in Myrtle Creek, submitted a pre-application at the Bandon Planning Department in March, indicating his interest in opening a marijuana dispensary inside the Bandon city limits.
Although he has not submitted his final application, a spokesman for the department said he is considering the building, which has housed Gibson Graphics and before that was the home of Takashi Haruna's computer repair business between Highway 42S and Third Street in East Bandon.
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I attended the recent meeting of the Bandon Chamber of Commerce where I learned that Anthony Zunino will head the Cranberry Festival committee this year. The festival is slated for Sept. 7-9.
Theme of this year's festival will be "Proudly Go Where No Berry Has Gone Before," which should result in some pretty creative parade entries.
Although I don't know the names of the local princesses, as they have not yet been announced, I do know that three Bandon High School girls and one from Pacific (Olivia Schmidt) will make up this year's court, and there will definitely be a coronation, which is good. Rogue Credit Union is the main corporate sponsor.
Chamber president Angela Cardas Meredith also announced they are nearing the hiring of a new chamber executive, to replace Julie Miller, who resigned recently. The finalists were said to both be from out of the area, but both had years of experience. I understand Julie has accepted a position with Travel Oregon, but I do not know the details.
As most people have probably seen, a 26-foot tall live tree has been planted at the visitor center, and will serve as the community Christmas tree for years to come.
Kevin Shaw of Coastal Mist (who has been in the hospital suffering from a severe infection) was credited with spearheading the fund-raising efforts for the tree, which cost $3,000 and was paid for entirely through local donations.
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I've learned that Winter River Books has been sold to Veronica Onsurez and her fiance, Brian Foley. Veronica works at Winter River Books and Brian previously worked for Broken Anchor. According to their Facebook page, they will be married Aug. 4 in Bandon. Although they bought the business, the building is still owned by Grover Hatcher and Debbie Johnson.
Previous columns by Mary Schamehorn
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