V4 N4 Winter 1979 New Building Fund Receives $500,000 Grant

REVIEW WINTER 1979

VOL. 7

16TH & EXCHANGE STREET, ASTORIA, OREGON 97103

N0.4

NEW BUILDING FUND RECEIVES $500,000 GRANT "The most wonderful Christmas present we could have imagined." That was how Director Rolf Klep described the Building Fund gift of $500,000 that arrived just before the holiday from an anonymous California couple. And there is little doubt that the season was brighter for every Museum supporter who learned of it as the news quickly spread.

The grant followed several personal contacts with the donors, including a visit to the Museum and a tour of the incomplete new building. "They were enthusiastic about the Museum's accomplishments and indicated a desire to help complete the building program," the Director said.

"But I had no idea they would be so generous!"

By far the largest single gift ever received by the Mu seum, the half-million -dollar bonanza brings us to within

$150,000 of finishing the new facility. The total raised for the project now exceeds $1,750,000.

Work will proceed as rapidly as possible. It is expected that a contract for installation of the newly -designed heating and ventilation system will be awarded at the end of January, to be completed by mid-spring. Other interior work, such as floor and wall treatments, painting, installation of light fixtures and hardware, etc., will follow. Meanwhile, landscaping and paving will be under way. While a firm completion schedule has not yet been set, it is likely that the building itself and landscaping can be completed by late summer or early fall. Installation of exhibits will go on for several months after that before the new Museum can be opened to the public.

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NEW OFFICERS, TRUSTEES ELECTED Ronald J. Honeyman, formerly of Portland and now a resident of Seaside, has been elected to a one-year term as President of the Museum by the Board of Trustees. He succeeds Fred L. Barnum, who has retired from the Board after serving as President for two terms. Replacing Mr. Honeyman as Vice President is Dr. Charles W. Browning.

Fred A. Lindstrom was reelected Secretary, and Mrs. Edith Henningsgaard will serve as Treasurer for the coming year.

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FROM THE QUARTERDECK 1979 was a success on nearly every count. Membership increased substantially. There were many fine additions to the collections, some truly superb. The education program continued to develop and expand, reaching far more students than ever before. Attendance, while off slightly from 1978, was not hurt nearly so much as we feared it would be by the shortage and price of gasoline. As always, every staff member performed his duties superbly, and I continue to marvel (with many others) at how much can be accomplished, so well, by so few.

But the most exciting developments of 1979 had to do with the Museum's new building. Several large grants early in the year enabled us to proceed with plumbing, wiring, insulation, and fire extinguishment system, though spiraling costs precluded installation of the heating system. By mid Decem her, however , additional generous grants from old friends and new made it possible to plan to proceed with that vital work. Finally, at Christmastime, came the magnificent half-million-dollar gift that put us on the threshold of completion.

Ahead, 1980 lies full of promise and challenge. There is the promise of the expected completion of the new build ing, of continued success and recognition for the Museum's programs, and of growing effectiveness in our foremost task - preserving and relating the rich maritime heritage of the Pacific Northwest.

The challenges, too, are clear. Greater support and participation must be developed through increased memberships , etc. We must begin to build an endowment to ensure the Museum's future. Only through the efforts of Staff, Trustee, and Member alike can excellence be assured.

Museum President Ronald J. Honeyman

New Trustees, elected to four -year terms by the Members of the Museum at the Annual Meeting in November, are Captain James T. Clune, USCG (Ret.); Eric A. Hauke III; and Eugene Lowe. Reelected to additional terms were Mr. Honeyman; Rear Admiral David L. Roscoe, USN (Ret.); and Harry R. Swanson, Jr. Retiring from the Board after two terms were Mr. Barnum, H. Patrick Lavis, and J. Dan Webster.

There are twenty-seven Trustees. Twenty-four are elected by the Museum Membership (six each year), and three are appointed. Officers are elected by the Board.

Rolf Klep, Director

• MICHAEL NAAB APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR An important change in the administration of the Museum was charted in early December when the Executive Committee, acting for the Board of Trustees, created the position of Associate Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Michael Naab, Curator of the Museum since 1971, was appointed to the new post, effective January 1st, 1980.

As Associate Director, Mr. Naab will have responsibility for all fiscal, administrative, and personnel matters, as well as education and curatorial activities. He will report directly to the Board.

Museum founder Rolf Klep, having served variously as President and Director since 1962, will retain the latter title, along with responsibility for fund raising. A new Curator will be appointed in 1980, until which time Mr. Naab will continue to carry out the activities of that position.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS, CONTINUED Mr. & Mrs . Graham Barbey Mr. & Mrs. Holt W . Berni Mr. & Mrs. William Blitz Mr. & Mrs. William P. Buck Mrs. Edward L. Casey Mr. & Mrs. Maurie D. Clark Dr. & Mrs. David A . Durfee Mr. & Mrs. William B. Feldenheimer Mr. & Mrs. Walter Gadsby , Jr. Mrs. Roberta C . Graham Mrs. Elizabeth Gregory Mr. & Mrs . Thomas H . Hindman Mrs. Mary Hoffman Mrs. Dorise Irwin Junior League of Portland Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Klep Mr. H. W. Kretzmeier Mr. & Mrs. Henry Kuckenberg Mrs. Herbert Malarkey Mr. & Mrs. David C . Meyer Ms. Este Morrison Mrs. Helen M. Neu Mrs. Roland W. Pinger Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Rogers Mr. & Mrs. L. F. Van Dusen Mr. & Mrs. Frank M. Warren Mr. & Mrs. Sion Wentworth Mr. & Mrs. Robert]. Wilhelm CLIFFORD L. DRISKELL Astoria Marine Construction Co .

Mr Fritz Fremstad Mr. & Mrs. Harold Hendriksen Mrs. Joe Henningsen Ms. Esther A. Jensen Mr. & Mrs. A.J. L'Amie Ms. Margaret Lervick Mrs. Blanche Mjelde Mr. Jon Norgaard CHARLES DUISENBERG Mr. & Mrs. Elmer T. Hjorten DAVID V. ENLUND Capt. & Mrs. Kenneth McAlpin Scandinavian Midsummer Festival Association

DONALD FORRESTER Tillamook Maintenance Section, State Highway Division Seaside Bridge Crew & Extra Gang, State Highway Division FRANCES GUSTAFSON Mr. & Mrs. George Fulton DOROTHY HARRINGTON Mr. & Mrs . Elmer T. Hjorten HUGH P. HARRIS Mr. & Mrs . Frank E . Ross JOHN F. KEMPF Mr. & Mrs. A.J. L'Amie ALICEKLEP Mr. & Mrs. Karl R . Klep

EVA FAYE LARSON Miss Adeline Svenson Miss Leila Svenson Miss Medora Svenson ROBERT W . LARSON Mr. & Mrs . Alan Ahola Mr. & Mrs . E. Forseth Mr. & Mrs . Eric A. Hauke, Sr. Mrs. J. Henningsen Mr. G . Edwin Larson Mr. & Mrs. Robert Palmrose Mr. & Mrs. Frank E. Ross Mr. & Mrs. Frank Steiner RONALD J. LARSON Mrs. Aagot Anderson & Family Astoria Marine Construction Co .

Mrs. Berenice I. Baker Ms. Francis Banich Mr. & Mrs. Richard Baty Mr. & Mrs. Ted Bellingham Mr. & Mrs. Ed. Bergholm Mr. & Mrs. Carl Bondietti Bumble Bee Shipyard Carpenters & Shipwrights Local Union #780 Mrs . Glenn Carter Mr . & Mrs. Charles Coggins Mr. & Mrs. Bill Cunningham Mr . & Mrs. Trygve Duoos Eagles Auxiliary #2189 Mrs. Wilma Englund Mr. & Mrs. Donald E. Fastabend Mr. & Mrs. Heinz]. Fick Mr. & Mrs. George Fulton Mr. & Mrs. Howard Graham Mr. & Mrs. Andy Grove Mrs . Frances Gustafson Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Halsan Mr. & Mrs. Gunnar Helligso Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Hughes Mrs. George Huhtala Mr. & Mrs. Richard Jackson Mr. & Mrs. Arthur R. Johnson Mrs. Grace P.Johnson Mr. & Mrs . Charles R. Keller Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Klep Mrs. Carl Kvistad Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Kuhnau Mr. & Mrs. Howard Landon Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Long Mr. & Mrs. Terry Loomis Mr. W. I. Loomis, Sr., & Family Mr. & Mrs . Sven Lund Mr. & Mrs . Fred Mestrich Mr. & Mrs. Sam Minsker Mr. & Mrs . Cecil Moberg Northwest Natural Gas Co. Mr. & Mrs . Martin Nygaard Mr. & Mrs . Eldred Olson Mr. & Mrs . Grant Orr Mrs . Elsie Osterlund Mr. & Mrs. Frank E . Ross Scandinavian Midsummer Festival Association

Mr . & Mrs. Gerald Schwenke Mrs. Fran Severson & Family Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Story Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Tadei & Family Ms. Harriet Thompson Ms . Betty Whetstone Mr . Jim Whetstone Mr. & Mrs . Lafe Whetstone Mr. & Mrs. Claude Winlund Mr. & Mrs . Andrew Young Mr. William Young DAVID C. MCCAULEY Mr. & Mrs. Ed Fearey HONORA MCCLUNG Mr. & Mrs. Denny Thompson ETHEL MCCOY Mr. & Mrs. George Fulton JOHN PEDERSEN Mr. & Mrs . Roland C . Hendrickson GEORGE F. PEEKE Mr. & Mrs. Trygve Duoos Mr. & Mrs. George Fulton Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Klep Capt. & Mrs. Kenneth McAlpin ANN PURCELL Capt. & Mrs. H. T. Bohlman Mr. & Mrs. Ernest E. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Trygve Duoos Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Klep Mr. & Mrs. D. B. Morden · Mr. & Mrs. Michael Naab ALLIE REDDING Mrs. Frances Gustafson Miss Jessie Miller DELMAR C. REDDING Mr. & Mrs. Elmer T . Hjorten Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Hjorten DOROTHY RULJANCICH Mr. & Mrs . Don Brunner Clatsop Co . Officials & Employees Mr. & Mrs. Trygve Duoos HARVEYJ. SCHROEDER Mr. & Mrs . Rolf Klep Mr. & Mrs . A . J. L'Amie Capt. & Mrs. Kenneth McAlpin Dr. & Mrs. Robert D. Neikes JAMES SIMMONS The WayneJ. Salo Family ARTHUR S. SMITH Mr. & Mrs. A. J. L'Amie THELMA STEEG Mrs . Georgia Maki VERNON 0. TIMMEN Mr. & Mrs. John Price

A TRICK THAT FAILED (How Fortune Favored an Old and Bold Bar Pilot)

The following article is taken from the Astoria Daily Budget of October 16th, 1893. Courtesy of Captain Fred Klebingat.

things the faces of the oppos1t1on pilots began to cloud like the stormy sky above them.

Last Friday morning, however, the British ship Poseidon from Australia, was boarded by Captain Al Stream of the opposition pilots, about 35 miles to the south of the bar. Saturday morning, when abreast of the lightship, the tug Escort came out and promised Captain Stream to tow him in at high tide, one o'clock.

Everything was got ready for the tow and at time appointed he was the steamer coming toward him, but she suddenly turned and steamed northward, where she picked up and towed in the ballasted ship Yarana. The Poseidon was a loaded ship, and according to the rule should have been towed in first.

Capt. Stream was, however, equal to the occasion, and sailed the ship in and up to the city front without the aid of a tug.

It never rains but it pours. Captain Stream left early yesterday morning on the tug Traveler for his home on Gray's Harbor. Just after getting out over the bar they met the ship Falls of Clyde. He imme diately boarded her and gave the U. P. tugs another lesson in good manners, by sailing her in without their aid.

Ever since the four Democratic pilots were cast out by the Republican Commission the former have had stormy sailing and close to a rocky lee shore in order to make a living, as they are professional pilots and have been too long in the business to readily turn their attention, with reasonable hope of success, to any other business or avocation. In their perilous way of life they learn to love the sound and scent and swinging glory of the sea and cannot be weaned from its heaving breast.

So it was that the four discarded Democratic pilots, going with two other well-known pilots, Captain Al Stream and Al Malcolm, went over to the state of Washington and procured a branch commission with the old sealer, Louis Olsen as their pilot schooner, and were soon watching and waiting outside the bar.

But the Union Pacific tugs always being around the Olsen and being faster than the latter, until recently managed to capture every ship that was sighted north or south of the bar. With this state of

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NEW MEMBERS, INCREASED MEMBERSHIPS(*) SUSTAINING Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Catlin, Seaside* Miss Solveig Pedersen * Mr. Frank M. Warren, Portland*

Mr. & Mrs. Jerome D. Davis, Nehalem Mr. James H. Jensen, San Mateo, CA Mr. & Mrs. Claude Palmer, Portland* Mr. & Mrs. R. E. Mohr, Portland Mr. James V. McCallister, W arenton * Mr. Glen 0. Yates

SUPPORTING Capt. & Mrs. Robert G. Braun, Nehalem* Mr. Gerald Capps, Portland* Capt. & Mrs. Raymond H. Collins* Mr. Robert G. Hemphill, Cannon Beach CONTRIBUTING Mr. & Mrs. Felix G. Caballero

ANNUAL Mr. Nicholas W. Brower, Jr., Olympia, WA Mr. & Mrs. Paul E. Christian, Portland Mr. & Mrs. Edgar A. Davis, Ocean Park, WA Mr. Edgar A. Davis,Jr., Homer, AK Mr. William A. Delaney, Portland

Mr. & Mrs. William C. Farrens, Portland Mr. Bob Fraser, Cannon Beach Mr. & Mrs. Peter Gearin, Portland Mr. Joseph M. Greeley, Portland* Mr. & Mrs. Clyde A. Hamstreet, Newport Mr. Bo Hermanson, Vancouver, BC Mr. & Mrs. Robert Latta, Portland Mr. & Mrs. W.R. Meeker Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. O'Laughlin, Portland Mr. & Mrs. David L. Stout Mr. Charles M. Walther, Seattle, WA Mr. & Mrs. Jon Westerholm, Springfield Ms. Jan A. Wieting, Seaside Mr. Robert E. Wirkkula

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS RODNEY W. BANKS Mr. & Mrs. John Baily Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Klep

CLIFFORD CRAWFORD Mrs. Margaret V. Foster Mrs. Helen Ryan

ANNE M. DAVIS Mr. Thomas E. Autzen The Autzen Foundation

S.S. GREAT NORTHERN One of the best-known luxury liners to operate on the West Coast, and certainly one of the fastest, was the Great Northern. Amid much fanfare, she arrived in the Pacific Northwest in 1915, accompanied by her identical sister , the Northern Pacific. Both ships were operated by James J. Hill, owner of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railways . Thwarted in his attempt to build a rail line between Portland and San Francisco in competition with the rival Southern Pacific Railway, he solved his problem by using ships instead of trains. Hill was determined that his new steamships would better the schedule of the Southern Pacific's Shasta Limited. Consequently, the two ships were built with luxury and, above all, speed in mind. Because the Columbia River was not considered safe for high-speed passenger ships, a 600 foot pier was built as a terminus at the mouth of the Columbia River, in the town of Flavel (now part of Warrenton) . Passengers were carried by express train between Flavel and Portland.

Built in Philadelphia, the Great Northern measured 524 feet in length and displaced 12,000 tons. Manned by a crew of 200, she could comfortably accommodate 800 passengers. Steam turbines generating 25,000 horsepower drove the vessel at speeds up to 28 knots.

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S.S. Great Northern at Flavel, 1916

As soon as service between Portland and San Francisco was inaugurated, records began to fall. The Great Northern and her sister ship were outrunning the crack express trains between the coast cities. Cruising at an average speed of 23 knots, passengers were whisked to San Francisco in 26 hours. The ships quickly gained great popularity on the run, in spite of their tendency to roll heavily.

• With the outbreak of World War I, the Great Northern was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and converted to a troop transport vessel. When hostilities ceased, she helped in returning troops from overseas. During this time she shattered by more than a day the transatlantic record of the Mauretania, until then the undisputed Atlantic speed queen.

Following her distinguished war service, the Great Northern became the flagship of the U.S. Navy, an honor never before bestowed on an American merchant vessel.

Scrubbed, painted, and polished from stem to stern, she was renamed USS Columbia. Soon after stepping into this glamorous role however, a tragedy occurred which drastically altered the Columbia's future. In February, 1922, her sister ship, the Northern Pacific, burned, capsized and sank at sea off the entrance to the Delaware River. The Pacific Steamship Company, owners of the vessel, now required the services of another fast passenger liner for West Coast service. President Harding ordered the Columbia decommissioned, and she was bought by the company. After being rebuilt from the plans drawn up for her ill -fated sister, the Columbia was again renamed. For the next twenty years she was known as the H.F. Alexander, in honor of the President of the Pacific Steamship Company.

When the H.F. entered the coastwise trade once more, she attracted more than her share of attention. She also acquired the nickname ''Hot Foot" -derived from her H.F. initials, and used affectionately as a tribute to the stopwatch precision with which she covered the Puget Sound-San Francisco - Los Angeles route. On the southern leg of the run, ''Hot Foot" would routinely overtake the newer luxury liners, Yale and Harvard, even though departing a full hour later on the coastwise route. The latter vessels were adver tised as being among the fastest and most modern ships under the U.S. flag, but "port hole navigators" on the H.F. would place wagers on the exact time "old Hot Foot" would overtake them.

With the passage of time and the progress of technology, and because of her voracious appetite for fuel, ''Hot Foot's" season became shorter and shorter. By the mid thirties, she was decommissioned and laid up at Alameda, California. But when the U.S. entered World War II, the Alexander was taken to San Francisco and converted once again to a troop transport. Renamed General George S. Simonds, she transported many thousands of GI's safely across the Atlantic. She was equipped only with a few small guns, but her great speed afforded her ample protection from enemy submarines. Perhaps her greatest achievement during the war was leading a column of troop reinforce ments to Omaha Beach on the coast of Normandy on D -Day plus one.

After the war, her name again reverted to H.F. Alex ander. She was decommissioned and laid up in the James River near Norfolk, Virginia. By 1948, her services no longer in demand, she was stricken from the register. "Old Hot Foot," rusty, battered and tired, returned under tow to Philadelphia, where 33 years earlier she had first won the admiration of the seafaring world. During those years, under four different names, she had received world -wide acclaim. But now, under a bleak February sky, the end of the line drew near, and the scrapper's torch awaited. She deserved better.

R.F.

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MEMBERS BY MEMBERS Not long ago the Museum received a letter from Don and Marion Moir, members from Newport, Oregon. Enclosed were three checks from couples in Newport, Portland, and Mercer Island, Washington who wanted to sign on. Apparently, the Moirs had written to several of their friends with an invitation to become Museum members.

It is interesting to contemplate what the result might be if every Museum member followed the Moirs' example, even if only to the extent of recruiting one new member.

Memberships are a vital source of income for the Mu seum, particularly now, when the cost of operation is ex pected to rise markedly as the new building nears com pletion. Help us broaden the base of participation and involve new people in the Museum. Sign up a new member!

COME ABOARD 1

JOIN THE

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COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS TO BECOME MEMBERS

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Benefactor

$2,000 or more

Life Sustaining

$1,000 or more

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My Check

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$10,000 or more

Patron

$100 per year

Money Order □

Supporting Contributing Annual Student

$50 per year $25 per year $10 per year $2 .50 per year

for $ .............. . is enclosed

Memberships Start from Month of Receipt NAME ADDRESS CITY

ZIP ... ..... .

STATE .

ACCESSION NO. 79-61 To a museum employee, the. word "accession" means an item, or group of items, taken into a museum's collection at one time from a single source. In 1979 the Columbia River Maritime Museum made 70 accessions, ranging from a single post card to collections of several hundred objects.

By far the largest of the Museum's 1979 accessions, and certainly one of the most significant, is a fascinating assortment of books, photographs, prints, ship models, and nautical memorabilia from the collection of the late McKee A. Smith, a long-timF mFmhn and good friend of the Museum, a collector, and a marine bibliophile. His widow donated the items to the Museum.

Perhaps the most intriguing item of the entire accession is a ship -in-a-bottle. For lively detail it is unmatched in the Museum's collection. Inside a clear, two-litre wine bottle, 17 inches long, a model of a full -rigged American ship is set in a painted putty sea. The vessel is rigged with sails, and is represented as being hove-to. In the background is a for bidding, snow-covered rocky headland that could easily be Staten Island, off Cape Hom. In the foreground, one of the ship's boats is overturned in the sea. Some of the boat crew cling to their craft, while others swim toward a second boat,

QUARTERDECK REVIEW OF THE

COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM ASTORIA, OREGON 97103

which has been lowered to rescue them. Several men line the rail of the ship, observing the action.

Seldom does one encounter a bottle-ship (or a larger model, for that matter) that presents such a realistic tableau. The treatment of the model, from patched sails and tattered ensign, to the life-like putty sea, suggests that it is the work of a sailor ~ or at least a modeller who knew well thF sFa and its moods. Whatever the case , this charming little ship is destined to become a favorite among the Museum's exhibits.

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Astoria, Oregon Permit No. 209