N27 V3 Museum Celebrates with Topping Out

A review and newsletter from the Columbia River Maritime Museum at 1792 Marine Drive in Astoria, Oregon

Take a Seat For the Museum

Get on board for a memory that will last a lifetime The Columbia River Maritime Museum is offering an opportunity for members to purchase a commemorative bench to be placed along the Astoria Riverfront Trolley Route.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to mark "your place" along the Astoria Riverfront. Not only will you appreciate your bench, but so will many others walking and using the riverfront trail. The map on the next page shows where various trolley shelters and proposed shelters are located along the Astoria waterfront. The benches will be placed under these trolley shelters.

The benches will be permanently set into concrete and are made of wood and steel. The sides are blue steel with the Museum's logo in white and the bench seat is made of wooden slats. The benches will have a bronze plaque that purchasers can personalize One of our Museum Trustees, Ken Kim, built and donated the benches to the Museum.

We would like to thank the following members who have already purchased a bench: Jane Beebe Harris, Jim McClaskey, John and Ginny Mccormic, Treva McCall, Frank Baughman II, Elizabeth Dubois, and Ken and Dean Kim.

There are are a limited number of benches available, so order a bench for your family, yourself or to honor a person or organization. All purchases go toward the Museum's Capital Campaign.

If you would like to purchase a bench please contact the museum at (503) 325-2323.

Columbia River

Courtesy of the City of Astoria

USS Rasher (SS-269), a Wor ld War II era submarine, underway.

Curatorial

Th e Qu a rt erd eck

Volume 27, No. 3-4

The Quarterdeck is pub li shed four times a year by th e Columbia River Maritime Museum , 1792 Marine Drive , Astoria, Oregon 97103.

Telephone: (503)325-2323 Fax: (503)325 2331 E-mail us at: information @ crmm.org website: www crmm org

Editor: June Ford Editorial Staff: Betsey Ellerbroek Jerry Ostermiller David Pearson Jill Thurston

JejJSmith

Printed at: Pacific Design Team Corvallis, Oregon

USS Rasher Returns Home

After more than 20 years at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the periscopes and conning tower from the World War II era submarine USS Rasher (SS-269) made one final journey back home.

With a full submarine on display in Portland, the periscopes became much less of an attraction for the Museum

As part of our renovation, the World War II era periscopes and conning tower from the submarine USS Rasher needed to be moved from the Great Hall to make space for new large windows installed across the entire north wall of the room. The windows will make the Columbia River a living backdrop for exhibits that will be more interactive and more touchable, many accompanied by interviews with people involved with the events

depicted.

The periscopes have been part of a generous loan from the U.S. Navy. The Museum has been fortunate to have this artifact on display for as many years as we have, and made every effort to find caretakers who would appreciate the USS Rasher as much as our Museum visitors have over the years. After looking over all the available options with the Director of the Naval Historical Center and interested institutions, it was decided the best possible location would be at the newly expanded Wisconsin Maritime Museum, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The Museum is within a mile of the shipyard where the USS Rasher was constructed 60 years ago. The town of Manitowoc, on the shore of Lake Michigan, was one of the major construction sites for

World War II era submarines.

Moving 32,000 pounds of steel, standing over 30 feet tall, proved to be no small project, and would be undertaken in two major sections. The first would be to remove the heavy, but delicate periscopes from the conning tower for transportation. In order to remove the scopes, a periscope specialist was brought in to facilitate the process. Paul J. Lapinski of Kollmorgen Electro-Optical in Massachusetts spent three days at the Museum doing preparation work and aiding in the removal.

Astoria's own Bergerson Construction generously donated its resources and skilled crew to perform the delicate removal. A barge with a crane was used to remove the periscopes through the ceiling of the Great Hall on Wednesday, May 23, 2001. This was the construction company's first sub marine periscope removal, and it was completed flawlessly. The periscopes are 40 feet long and weigh over one ton each. During the height of the war, the scopes were built

at th e rate of one p er day . Today , these p eriscopes are a rare find . According to Lapinksi , who has worked on periscopes for more than 34 years , the two that were removed from the Museum are the "best examples " he has seen in any museum .

Once the removal of the periscopes was completed, the conn ing tower was lowered to the floor of the Museum and removed through the south side of the Museum's Great Hall. For this part of the operat i on, Morgan Machinery Moving of Portland was brought in to complete the task. The conning tower alone weighed in at 28,000 pounds, and required a huge gantry crane to be constructed inside the museum, just to move such a large section of steel. Morgan Machinery spends most of its time moving supercomputers for Intel in Hillsboro , Oregon, experience that turned out to be a perfect match for the r equirements of working in a clean, fragile museum environment.

After a long week of work , on a late Friday afternoon, the USS Rasher was loaded onto a semi for one last voyage to her home port of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 60 years later.

David Pearson

USS Rasher, a Gato class submarine was built in Manitowoc, WI in 1942. Rasher 's well earned motto was "First Among Equals." The submarine sunk 18 ships, totaling 99,901 tons, during World War II, second only to the USS Thrasher; received the Presidential Unit Citation Award, seven battle stars for service during World War II, and two more for service in Vietnam . Rasher was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1974.

An excellent resource to learn more about Rasher is the book Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of USS Rasher by Peter T. Sasgen, Jr., available at the Columbia River Maritime Museum Store.

Museum Staff: Russ Bean

Celerino Bebeloni

Chris Bennett

Julie Broughton

Frances Burham

Betsey Ellerbroek

JuneFord

Josh Gianuario Charlotte Jackson Arline LaMear Robin Markham

Jim Nyberg

Jerry Ostermiller

David Pearson Sheila Radich Elaine Rusinovich

Molly Saranpaa

Hampton Scudder

JefJSmith

Crindalyn Stevens

Jill Thurston

Patric Valade Shelley Wendt Rachel Wynne

From the Museum Store

The Store has been moved from the front of the Museum to the far comer of the Sailing Gallery, located almost in the middle of the main galleries This is a temporary location while our new Store is being built, and we are making the best of it. We play more sea shanties and we are enjoying the reactions and comments of our visitors as they wind their way through the Museum

There are a few new items to look for on your next visit to the Museum when you check on the progress of the construction.

Merchandise

Ship-shaped watering cans There are four delightfully different painted watering cans to choose from. All hold approxi mately 2 to 3 cups of water and have copper handles They would be a fun accent for a garden room/sunporch or on a mantel. $20.00/$18 .00

Scrimshaw

Ranging from scrirnrned antler pocket knives and rnarlinspikes to beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces done on fossil mammoth and walrus ivories , your Museum Store endeavors to bring you the best possible scrimshaw. Fewer and fewer artisans perform this timehonored maritime art form , and we are very happy to present our members and casual visitors with the opportunity to own a truly beautiful piece of maritime history

Prices range from $37.00/$33.30 to $850 .00/$765 .00.

Books

Death on the Hellships, Prisoners at Sea in the Pacific , Gregory F Michno, U.S.N.I. Press $32.95/$29.66. Though the Japanese treatment of prisoners of war during WWII has been written about before, only with this detailed chronicle will readers come to appreciate the true dimensions of the Allied POW experience at sea. Survivors describe their ordeal in the Japanese hellships as the absolute worst experience of their captivity Crammed by the thousands into the holds of ships, moved from island to island and put to work, they endured all the horrors of the prison camps tenfold.

We Interrupt This Broadcast, by Joe Gamer, Sourcebooks $45.00/$40.50. Few phrases gamer as much attention as "We Interrupt This Broadcast " Wherever we may happen to be, our lives stop for a moment, and we experience those few seconds of anxiety between the interruption and the actual announcement of what has happened. In words and images and on two audio compact discs the famous and infamous moments of the 20th century come to life again Listen to the heart-stopping moments from the Hindenburg explosion to the death of Princess Diana.

Ships' Figureheads, by Hans Jurgen Hansen and Clas Broder Hansen, Schiffer Publishing LTD $24.95/$22.45. "This is the story of the carved wooden bow decorations that once, when sea traffic took place exclusively in wooden ships and under sail, adorned almost every stern." The book begins with a report on the mythological origin of the bow decoration, and moves forward through time to the "imaginative, original variety of the figureheads of the 18th and 19th Centuries, the last windjammers and the school sailing ships that are still in use today." Some 100 illustrations show the variety of figurehead types.

~Rachel Wynne Store Manager

News and Notes

New Interpretive Panels For The Lightship Columbia Exhibit

New interpretive panels have been installed in the Lightship Columbia.The panels welcome visitors aboard, explore life aboard the Columbia, delve into the history of the ship and specifications about the ship .

The panels were donated by Columbia River Maritime Museum staff and volunteers in memory of John Gaw, who passed away in September of 1999. Gaw was a Museum volunteer from 1995-99 He devoted more than 1, 100 hours of volunteer work to the Museum.

"He (Gaw) was invaluable and he was cheerful, flexible and always willing to help," said Chris Ben nett, Volunteer Coordinator for the Columbia River Maritime Museum. "He was very quiet and unassuming. He said that he loved it so much ( at the Museum) that he would have gladly paid money to be able to do

stuff here ."

As a keeper on the Lightship Columbia, Gaw could be found each Friday sharing his knowledge with Museum visitors. His love for all things maritime led him to be involved in many Museum activities and he was dedicated in helping all departments of the Museum. Some of his contributions included building ship models to be used in education programs, inventorying collections, maintaining exhibits and writing a handbook for the Lightship Columbia.

The Lightship Columbia celebrates its 50th anniversary this year This celebration is a very special event for the Columbia River Maritime Museum. As a beacon of hope and a symbol of safety to mariners of all nations, she is the grand exhibit of the Museum.

One of the Best History Sites on the Internet

The Columbia River Maritime Museum's web site was recently selected as one of the best history sites on the Internet by the History Channel. This recognition has allowed the Museum's web site to become part of the HistoryChannel. com Network. The HistoryChannel.com Network is a collection of the Internet's most respected history sites, indexed and connected through a searchable database As part of the network, the Museum's web site had to meet a

variety of quality and technical standards. This recognition allows the Museum to be connected to millions of history buffs, students and educators. The purpose of the network is to provide web users with varied and extensive history content and enables network members to better reach their target audience.

Visit the Museum's Web site at www.crmm.org to discover why this recognition was bestowed.

New Interpretive Panels

New Members

March 21, 2001-October 16, 2001

Statesman

Mr. Robert C. Bueerman

Mr. John Meyer Mr. Howard Olsen Mr. Gene Robertson

Ensign/Individual Membership

Mr. Greg Dinse Mrs. Shirley Hjorten-Richards Capt. Alan R. Hugenot Ms. Kate Lorien Mr. Scott A. Mccorkle Mr. John Rannels Mr. Clem B. Rowlands Ms. Sharon Robinson

Crew IFamily Membership

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Atkinson

Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Autio Ms. Kristin Covet

Mr. and Mrs. Graham Deacon Mr. and Mrs. James Gill Ms. Amber and Ms. Kelly L. Hatfield

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Jensen Mr. and Mrs. Richard Jesser, Jr. Ms. Beth Milauden Mrs. Sarah Munro Mr. and Mrs. Price Northcutt Mr. and Mrs. Vic Osterholm Mr. and Mrs. Brad Rullman Mr. Stephen Sable Don and Marilyn Schreiner Mr. and Mrs. Roger Truax Mr. and Mrs. David Tozer

Helmsman

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Berdine David, Beth and Amelia Fitch Mr. and Mrs. Henry Glick

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Granlund Mr. Peter Miller Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Williams

Boatswain

D.H. Christensen Aretta Christie Ronald Ford

P i lot

Mr. and Mrs. William Rempfer

Increased Memberships

March 21 , 2001-October 16 , 2001

Crew/ Family Membersh ip

Mr. and Mrs. Elmer T. Hjorten Mrs. Wilfred E. Jossy Mr. and Mrs. Dick Olsen

Helmsman

Mr. and Mrs. Burr Allegaert Mr. Roland Andersen Ms. Sharon Bergman Mr. and Mrs. Max Bigby Jr. Mr. Norman W. Brown Mr. Don Budde Mrs. Mary C. Butler Mr. and Mrs. Alton Chase Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dichter Mr. 0. David Dickson Ms. Sally Holloway Evans Mr. and Mrs. Barry Freeman Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gearin Mrs. Shirley Gittelsohn Dr. Gayle Harrison Mr. and Mrs. James Hope Mr. & Mrs. John Inman & David Inman

Mr. E.M. Jones Mr. J. David Kruger Mr. and Mrs. Vern 0. Larson C.C. Leone Mr. and Mrs. Don E. Link Mr. Lee B. Lowenson Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lund Mrs. Velma McKelvey Ms. Lorrie McLaughlin Kevin and Nancy Miller Ms. Sheryl Ohler Mr. and Mrs. Walter Pendergrass Capt. Thron Riggs Mrs. Pat Samuelson Mr. and Mrs. Manuel S. Teles Ramon and Mary Vos Mr. and Mrs. John L. Wentland

Boatswain

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Carlson Mr. and Mrs. Carl 0. Fisher Capt. and Mrs. Mark Freeman Mr. Don Gustafson

Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Harrison Mr. and Mrs. Henry Houser Mr. Jerry Jonasson Ms. Kay Malmberg and Mr. Bill Kyker Mr. Donald E. Manzer Mr. and Mrs. Leys H. Mccarter Ms. Shirley Randles

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Dick Sheldon Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence M. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Norman C. Whitten Frank Wolfe and Kathleen Sayce

Pilot

Mr. and Mrs. Norman Benke Mr. and Mrs. Franklin G. Drake Mrs. Dorothy R. Mickelson

Mr. James Nelson Mr. and Mrs. Wallace L. Preble Mr. and Mrs. Alan J. Skille Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Webster Capt. and Mrs. C.S. Wetherell

Navigator

Mr. Jim H. Branson Louis E. Huff, III Mr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Seppa Mr. Henry T. Swigert

Captain

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Magnusen

Memorial Donations

March 21, 2001-October 16, 2001

Margaret L. Anderson Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Frame Mr. and Mrs. Vern 0. Larson

Duane Autzon

Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Fields

Dickie Baird Buddy Hoell

Ms. Jesse Marchand Mr. and Mrs. Ward Paldanius

Norah Baker Lila Olsen

Donald K. Beckwith J.T. and E.M. Mitchell

Laina Burns Capt. and Mrs. Joseph Bruneau Mr. and Mrs. Don E. Link

Mary Lou Cathcart

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Supple

Maurie Clark

Mrs. Mary Dant Jerry Ostermiller/Lynne Johnson

Jaqueline Y. Comer Mr. and Mrs. David Hallin

Mr. Jalmer Dahl Mrs. Louise Larson

Arlene Darby Mrs. Irene Ochal

Darl Dietchler Mrs. Ella P. Hill

Capt. George Ducich Prudence Ducich Mr. and Mrs. William R. King

Gladys (Haglund) Duncan Mrs. Dorothy Labiske

Oliver 'Red' Dunsmoor Mrs. Lucille Perkins

Aini Duoos

Mr. Allan J. Bemhoff

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Branham Mr. George Fulton Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Jones Ellen Pietila

Ed Ek

Mr. Allan Maki Mrs. Trudy M. Glein Bill and Madonna Pitman

Mr. Alan 'Punch' Green, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robley L. Mangold Mr. Phil Nock Mr. and Mrs. John McGowan Mr. Goerge Shaver Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tevis

Captain Alf Hammon

Mr. Mike Dillon Mr. and Mrs. Eric 'Skip' A. Hauke III

Richard F. Hudson

Mr. and Mrs. Wesley J. Anderson

Marge Hughes Mr. Melvin H. Iverson

Kay Weaver Johnson

Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Andersen

Lilian Johnson Captain and Mrs. Paul A. Jackson

Robert C. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. John R. Warila

Gen J. Wilson Johnston

Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Knutsen Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lowe Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Paulsen

Mr. Wilfred E. Jossy Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Hjorten Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Knutsen Mr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Seppa

Ruby Irene Knudsen

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Kairala

William Krager Mr. and Mrs. James O'Connor

Victoria Lamb Ms. Bernice Larson

Howard Landon Mrs. Freda Englund Mr. Kenneth Landon

Ardena Larson Mr. and Mrs. Toivo Mustonen

William A. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Tevis Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas D. Zafiratos

Joanne Lilleoren Mr. and Mrs. Donald A. Kessler

Floyd Lundberg Mr. and Mrs. Clarence J. Barendse

Mr. Andrew Marincovich Mr. and Mrs Allen V Cellars Mr. and Mrs. Robert Frame Mr. and Mrs. Jay Westerholm

Francis Mcswain Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Aho Mr. George Baker Mr. Ed Lundholm

Clark Miller Mrs Donna M. Gustafson Mr. Phil Nock

Cody Nichols Mr. George H. Shaver

Lila Nimmo Mr. and Mrs. Dick Keller Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Smith

Leo Norton

Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Lindseth Mrs. Julianne G. Maguire Ms. Lydia Morisette Mr. and Mrs. Perry Nordmark Mr. Curtis Olson

George Strom and Georgette Patterson Mr. and Mrs. James L. Ruzic

Mrs. Gertrude M. Oja Mr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Collman

Sven Osterlund Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lovvold Ellen Pietila

Ray Rosenberg Mr. and Mrs. John S. McGowan

Jordis Schick Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Johnson

Jack Smethurst Mr. Donald V. Riswick

Bert Soderman Mrs. Florence Lindgren

Randy Salo Major Duffy E. Morgan

Harry Stearns

Mr. and Mrs. James S. Stacy

Maruel Urell

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Oja

Ken Watts Dr. and Mrs. David L. Williams