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Headlight Herald
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TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • NOVEMBER 7, 2012
VETERANS DAY SALUTE: MEET ARMY SERGEANT AMBER ROCHA, PAGE A8
ZONING THE OCEAN
A soldier’s life BY MARY FAITH BELL
Nov. 7 meeting to discuss impacts of Territorial Sea Plan
mfbell@countrymedia.net
Merle Graham, 86, of Pacific City had such a hard childhood that he was “the happiest guy in the world,” when he enlisted in the Navy in 1944. “It was the first time in my life that I had shoes and pants and a haircut, three meals a day and a little money in my pocket. I thought I had it made. The other guys thought I was nuts or stupid because I was so happy.” Merle Graham and his wife, Merle was born in Portland, Feb. 12, Dorothy, at home in Pacific City. 1926 The oldest of eleven children, the first
BY JOE WRABEK jwrabek@countrymedia.net
On Thursday, Nov. 8, the Tillamook County Futures Council will hold a public meeting on the Territorial Sea Plan — specifically, the inclusion of an area offshore of Pacific City and Neskowin as suitable for development of ocean energy generating facilities. The meeting will be held in the Officers’ Mess building at the Port of Tillamook Bay, beginning at 6 p.m. The Territorial Sea Plan and ocean energy development haven’t been big items on most Tillamook County residents’ radar, though both issues have been in the works for a while, according to county commissioner Tim Josi, who chairs a state Territorial Sea Plan Advisory Committee (TSPAC) and Pacific City resident David Yamamoto, who’s an “atlarge citizen” member of the same committee.
ROCKAWAY ROCKAWAY
Merle Graham reflects on a tough childhood, a traveling carnival, and battle on the shores of Japan
thing Merle will tell you about his childhood is “My mother chose the wrong husband. I never knew my mom when she wasn’t pregnant, and my father was gone most of the time. He only came home to get her pregnant again. There were 11 kids all together, but she had more; some of them died. “I was the oldest, so I had to help my mom raise my brothers and sisters. I spent my whole childhood just trying to get food. “I don’t like to talk about my childhood because I did some bad things. I stole food. I had to, we were starving.
“We lived by the railroad tracks down on 21st Street just off Powell, and Libby’s cannery was up the street. There was a fence with barbed wire around the cannery. I used to go over the fence and toss cans of food to my little brother. He’d be on the other side with a gunny sack. “I sold newspapers on the street. I had to buy them first and then sell them downtown on street corners. I was a little kid. Men would beat me up and steal my money.
See LIFE, Page A8
2
Fundraiser planned for Sandy victims in town’s namesake
See OCEAN, Page A7
WEATHER SEPT 26 27 28 29 30 OCT 1 OCT 2
HIGH 67 73 66 64 66 73 64
STATS LOW 43 43 52 52 41 42 42
RAINFALL .00 .00 .00 .00 .03 .01 --
WEATHER COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND
INDEX Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Fenceposts ..............................B3 Obituaries................................A6 Opinions..................................A4 Sports....................................A12
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WAVE NEWSPAPER, ROCKAWAY BEACH. NY
Chili & Chowder Benefit this Saturday BY JOE WRABEK jwrabek@countrymedia.net
T
hey’re calling it “Rockaway 2 Rockaway.” The community of Rockaway Beach, Oregon, is putting on a fund-raiser for disaster relief in “the other Rockaway” -- in New York -- which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week. Dave Farr and Kristine Hayes are the ringleaders, but “it’s just a bunch of volunteers from everywhere,” Farr said. The volunteers’ Chili & Chowder Benefit Dinner will be held Saturday, November 10 at the Rockaway Beach Civic Center, from 4 to 7 p.m.
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Destruction along the Rockaway Beach, NY boardwalk.
There’s no price for the dinner, it’s by donation. “You can come and eat and not donate, too,” Farr said. “But we hope you’ll donate.” Rockaway, New York -- the name comes from a local Native American word for “our place” -was settled in 1830. It’s now part of the Borough of Queens in New York City. Sitting on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean, it was hit hard by the hurricane. “There is ZERO power, heat, phones, internet, water or cell phone service,” White Plains resident Elyssa Hothe wrote after taking a carload of donated items to the stricken community. “Rockaway is truly cut off from the rest of the world.” Rockaway Beach, Oregon was named after the
one in New York, Farr said. (Manhattan Beach and Brighton are named after New York beaches, too.) The two Rockaways have been considered “sister cities.” The Rockaway Beach, Oregon Fire Department is trying to contact the fire department back there, but there is still no telephone service. “We want to give to somebody who will use 100 percent of the money to help,” he said. “Every penny (we raise) is going to the community of Rockaway.” The band Coaster will perform at the event, and the Neah-Kah-Nie High School FBLA is involved as well, Hayes said. For more information on how to help, call the Rockaway Chamber at 503-355-8108.
Train engine to be restored for use on the coast BY JOE WRABEK jwrabek@countrymedia.net
MARY FAITH BELL/HEADLIGHT HERALD
No. 45, a 1906 Baldwin locomotive, was offloaded at Port of Tillamook Bay Oct. 26.
TILLAMOOK FARMERS’ CO-OP
The latest addition to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad’s locomotive “fleet” sits lonely and a little battered in front of the blimp hangar at the Port of Tillamook Bay. And it’s not OCSR’s, yet. “It’s a joint venture by two OCSR members,” chief mechanical officer Scott Wickert said. “OCSR has another restoration in front of this one,” he said. “This one” is “No. 45,” a 1906 Baldwin locomotive originally built for the Polson Logging Company of Hoquiam, Washington (later part of Rayonier Corp.). Rayonier donated the engine to the city of Hoquiam, where it was on “static display” from 1962 to 1998 in a city park — much like the “Old 90” locomotive in Garibaldi’s Lumbermen’s Park, Wickert said, which also came from Polson Logging. Wickert said he helped remove the Baldwin from Hoquiam’s
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park when it was donated to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad for restoration, “but they picked a different loco to restore.” The Baldwin locomotive was offloaded at the Port of Tillamook Bay Oct. 26. Wickert is one of the partners in the “joint venture.” The other is Chris Baldo, a California resident who is also a member of OCSR. “It will require a total rebuild from the frame up,” Wickert said. He estimated the restoration would be a 5-6 year project. When originally built, the Baldwin was a wood-burning locomotive, he said, but was later converted to use oil for fuel. Once restored, it will still be an oil-burner, Wickert said, just like the rest of OCSR’s “fleet.” The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad needs the additional engines because it’s not just a 13-mile railroad from Garibaldi to Wheeler any more, Wickert said.
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