VOL. 3
16TH & EXCHANGE STREET, ASTORIA, OREGON 97103
NO. 2
NEW MUSEUM BUILDING NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION
After five years of planning and preparation, construction of the new Museum building has at last begun. At this writing all foundation piling are in and workmen are constructing forms and placing reinforcement steel in preparation for pouring the concrete floor beams in July. That will be followed by framing and erection of roof members. According to construction manager Albert Mittet and Building Committee Chairman Clayton Morse, "closing in" (completion of the siding and roof) can be expected before the end of October. Still ahead will be months of interior work before construction of exhibits can begin. Rod Grider of the architectural firm Brown, Brown and Grider is responsible for the building's striking design. The
dramatic roof line is suggestive of cresting waves and of the shed roofs of canneries which once lined the Astoria waterfront. Siding of cedar shakes will be allowed to weather, reinforcing the old cannery feeling. Access doors in the shape of Viking arches symbolize the strong Scandinavian influence in the maritime Northwest . In short, the design is clearly contemporary, yet has its roots deep in tradition. The forecourt at the west end of the building will center around a 75 foot ship's mast flagpole. Simple landscaping will encourage views of the river, passing vessels, and the Lightship Columbia. The fairwater of the World War II fleet submarine Loggerhead will be among large artifacts displayed here.
BUILDING DESCRIBED
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The new building now under construction will be far different from the structure presently occupied by the Museum . For one thing, the new facility will be larger, with more than 36,000 square feet of floor space. All public areas will be on one level, with no steps or other barriers for visitors in wheelchairs. The Museum offices will be accessible both to the main entrance and to the display areas. A spacious library will be available for use by scholars and researchers, as well as Museum staff. The large lecture room will be used for evening functions and lectures, in addition to special exhibitions. A small sales shop near the Museum entrance will offer nautical gifts, books, charts, postcards, etc. From the entry desk visitors will pass into a large exhibit area where a number of small craft up to 36 feet in length will be displayed. Here also will be two operating submarine periscopes, providing visitors with a unique view of the surrounding area. An observation platform 18 feet above the floor will afford a different perspective of the boats below. At its north end a viewing window will overlook the Lightship and the Columbia River. The main exhibit area of the Museum will be made up of seven galleries. Display walls separating these sections will be modular, and can be rearranged as future exhibit requirements dictate. The east end of the building will be devoted to nonpublic areas. Curatorial spaces, workshop, photo lab and dark room will be here, along with secure storage for collections. The new facility has been designed to meet the needs of an institution rapidly growing in size, popularity and importance as an historical center. Its completion will substantially enhance the Museum's ability to function efficiently and effectively in the years to come.
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QUARTERDECK REVIEW Late in May, when the loud, monotonous hammering of a pile driver signaled the start of construction on our new building, we at the Museum experienced the same exhilarating- sense of anticipation felt by seamen at the start of a long or important voyage. Preparations and plans are for the most part behind us. As the seaman is, we are aware that the voyage ahead will be one of hard work if we are to maintain headway and stay on course. But the signs are good and the wind is fair, and we are confident of a smooth passage. One of those "good signs" materialized a week before my writing this. It came in the form of a communication from the Autzen Foundation, already a contributor in substantial amounts to the fund drive. The Foundation pledged to donate an additional fifty thousand dollars for the new building, provided an equal amount is raised from other sources. At press time, thirtyfive thousand dollars have been committed to that goal. This brings the Building Fund total well above $650,000. While it is very gratifying to note that our original goal has nearly been achieved, there is little time for resting on laurels. If work on the new Museum is to continue uninterrupted, the balance of $500,000 needed to complete the job must be secured soon. We hope that the progress of construction and the generosity of donors like the Autzen Foundation will encourage timely support. Rolf Klep, Director
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ANCHOR FROM TUG DANIEL KERN COMES TO MUSEUM
Something new has been added at the Exchange Street entrance of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. It's an iron stock anchor from the steam tug Daniel Kern, which began a long and colorful career in the Northwest in 1880 as the U.S. Lighthouse tender Manzanita. When the vessel was scrapped near Seattle in 1936, the anchor was saved by her former master, Captain Gunnar Johnson, and taken to the Johnson home on Anderson Island in Puget Sound. Captain Johnson's brother Otto, also a tugboat master, donated the anchor to the Museum last month. As the Manzanita, the 153-foot wooden vessel became well known in Northwest waters. Built in Baltimore, Maryland in 1879 for the Lighthouse Service, she was dispatched to Astoria to take over duties of the Shubrick, an aging sidewheel steamer which had been tending navigation aids since 1858.
JANET AND DAVID REED OF LAKE OSWEGO ADMIRE THE DANIEL KERN ANCHOR.
TUG DANIEL KERN OFF ASTORIA, CIRCA
1916.
After a quarter century of service, the Manzanita's career as a lighthouse tender came to an abrupt end. On a fog-shrouded night in 1905, she struck a portion of Warrior Rock on Sau vie Island in the Columbia River, and settled on the bottom with only her masts visible above the surface. The government abandoned her as a total loss, selling salvage rights to Columbia Contract Co. of Portland, who raised the vessel and renamed her Daniel Kern, after the firm's president. Rebuilt as a commercial tug, she was used primarily for towing rock barges to jetties under construction at Grays Harbor and the mouth of the Columbia. During this period the Kern had her share of difficulties. In 1909 she went to the bottom for the second time, after colliding with the coastwise steamer George W. Eliler in the Columbia River. She was soon raised and put back into service. Two years later, she rammed and sank the sternwheeler M.F. Henderson. In 1917, the Daniel Kern was sold to Washington Tug and Barge Co. of Seattle and put into coastwise service. A few years later she joined the fleet of Bellingham Tug and Barge Co. Finally, she was sold to Nieder and Marcus, Seattle shipbreakers. The old tug met her end in 1936, when she was run ashore at Richmond Beach and burned to recover her metal fastenings.
MUSEUM RECEIVES WOODFIELD PHOTO COLLECTION
A gift of major importance was received by the Museum recently in the form of the Frank Woodfield Collection of photographic negatives and prints. Mrs. Joseph M. Dyer and Frank E. Ross, co-owners, made the donation. The collection includes approximately 600 negatives and nearly 300 black and white prints of ships, waterfront scenes, Astoria cityscapes, etc. photographed by Woodfield and others between 1900 and 1940. During that time, Woodfield operated a photo studio and art store in Astoria. His copyright, "Woodfield Photo," became widely known through postal cards and panoramic views of the Lower River area. The collection donated to the Museum was aquired a number of years ago by Mr. Ross and the late Joe Dyer from J.R. Chandler, Woodfield's long-time partner in the photo studio. Many of the negatives in the group are original glass plates. Of special interest to the Museum are the hundreds of views of sailing vessels, steamships, river steamers and launches taken around the mouth of the Columbia. When completely catalogued and added to the Museum's extensive photo archives, they will constitute and invaluable part of the graphic record of maritime history on the Columbia River.
FROM THE WOODFIELD COLLECTION: BARQUE LISBETH MAKING SAIL, CIRCA
1900.
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SALT HORSE AND HARNESS CASKS
RENEWALS
Among the artifacts in the Museum which provide an insight into daily life on board a sailing vessel of the last century, few are more interesting to visitors than the harness cask displayed in the Anisworth Room. Ninety or one hundred years ago, few deep water vessels could be found without one or more of the conical barrels secured on deck. In them, salt meat was steeped in fresh water preparatory to cooking. In ships without refrigeration (this includes nearly all sailing vessels, even those built and operated in the 20th century), meat preserved by salting or soaking in brine was a staple of sustenance enjoyed (or endured) by foremast hand and officer alike. Known as "salt horse" (though it was usually beef or pork), this tough, often odorous, and sometimes foul fare was the main source of protein in a sailor's diet. Some say the harness cask is named for the iron harness with which it was secured to the deck. Seamen would suggest another origin for the name, pointing out a suspicious similarity in taste and texture between salt meat from the cask and old harness leather.
One of the most important and time consuming tasks of the Museum secretary is keeping up membership records. Members will save the Museum time and postage if they renew promptly after receiving a renewal notice.
QUARTERDECK REVIEW OF THE
COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM ASTORIA, OREGON 97103
MODEL COMPETITION RESULTS
Robert C. Lacalli of Seattle and Mike Carruthers of Hammond took top honors in the 2nd Annual Amateur Ship Modeler's Competition, held at the Museum on May 17. Mr. Lacalli's excellent 1/8" scale model of the threemast barkentine W.H. Dimond won the Grand Prize in the adult division, while Mike's model of the clipper Thermopyl,ae was judged the best submitted by a builder under 15. Other award winners were Ray Norcross, Jim Hutcheson, Michael Petrella, Jack Davies, Russel Dedmon, Peter Gates, Mark Tanguay, John Shephard, Don Bender, Greg Edwards, and Lynn Traner. Models were judged by Rear Admiral David Roscoe, USN (Ret.); Dale Archibald, Chief Curator of the Oregon Historical Society; and Ken Manske, Chairman of the Nautical Society of Oregon.
Non.Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE
PA ID Astoria, Oregon Permit No. 209