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Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • JULY 24, 2013
LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888
For Don P., family and farming were a sure bet By Denise Porter
For the Headlight Herald
Right from birth, it seemed the odds were stacked against him. But every now and then, the longshot finishes the race well ahead of the pack. Known to his family and friends as “Big Don,” Don P. Averill was born in 1929, the year the Great Depression rocked the U.S., leaving 10 years of poverty and additional decades of backbreaking work for those hardy enough to help their country climb out of it. Don P. was raised by his mother;
Don P. Averill
SEE OBITUARY ON PAGE A6 he looked to his grandfather, Herman Sander, as a father figure. He battled childhood diabetes during a time when the medical profession was just learning about the illness. Despite these setbacks, Don P. became the crucial generation that kept his family’s farming roots firmly planted in Tillamook County. He raised a cohort of successful Tillamook businessmen and women,
built a successful dairy farm and created a stable of award-winning race horses too. “My dad, all he ever wanted to do was farm,” recalls his son, Don G. Averill. As a small boy, Don P. gravitated to his grandfather’s Chance Road farm. He loved the beautiful horses, and the cows and pigs. After graduating from Tillamook Catholic School in 1949, he received a football scholarship offer from the University of Portland. “But he turned it down,” remembers daughter Debbie Downie. The joke he always told was
that the college was going to give him only $50 a month for living expenses and “that wasn’t enough drinking money,” says Downie. In truth, Don was eager to start making progress toward owning his own farm. He married Bertha Berns in 1950, acquiring two immediate children, daughters Janice Huxoll and Judy Sullivan. “Mom had been through a divorce,” said Downie. “That was taboo back then, you know.” It seemed Don had always had
See DON, Page A7
‘Dory Days’ delivers another fun weekend Photos by Sayde Moser
State Sen. Betsy Johnson cuts the ribbon to officially open Near Space Corp.’s new facility at the Port of Tillamook Bay.
By Julius Jortner
For the Headlight Herald
The Pacific City–Nestucca Valley Chamber’s “best decorated” dory float.
INDEX Classified Ads...............B5-8 Crossword Puzzle............ B2 Fenceposts....................B3-4 Letters.............................. A4 Obituaries......................... A6 Opinions........................... A4 Sports.......................A11-12
Fred Carl, Kim Hawling for heaviest catch and and Ray Hawling winners largest fish.
1908 2nd St. 503-842-7535 www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
VOL. 124, NO. 30 $1.00
k ble ender, is coming bac r Photos by Julius Jor tne
le dou “Sea Breeze,” an old-sty the sur f. to the beach through
The 54th-annual “Dory Days” celebration in Pacific City took a back seat to no one July 19-21. As in years past, the event featured a parade through town, dorymen’s contests, a fish fry, an artisans’ fair, a variety of children’s activities and live music. The weather cooperated by delivering gentle surf, no rain and a good deal of sun for the outdoor events. The occasional stiff breeze did little to deter the activities. Come Saturday morning, more than 40 entries gathered at the boat ramp near Bob Straub State Park. They paraded north on Sunset Drive, crossed Beachy Bridge over the Nestucca River, turned at the four-way stoplight (where Roy Hanson announced each entry) and headed north on Brooten Road up to Chester’s market. The bridge and the streets were lined with spectators, many sitting in portable
See DORY DAYS, Page A5
Near Space Corp. cuts ribbon on high-altitude balloon flight facility By Sayde Moser
smoser@countrymedia.net
Tillamook County officials say a new facility here has the potential to put Tillamook on the map for … its innovative balloons. “Sometimes, it’s tough to tell people you’re a balloon engineer,” said Near Space Corp. president Tim Lachenmeier during an open house July 19 for the company’s new commercial high-altitude balloon flight facility. “But when all else fails, balloons can typically get stuff done.” The 31,000-square-foot facility at the Port of Tillamook Bay is a major step for Near Space, which began operating out of Tillamook in 1996. “This area is ideal for us, because it’s remote and we can launch balloons directly from where we are,” said Lachenmeier. The $6.9-million facility serves as the company’s headquarters and houses engineering, manufacturing, payload integration and flight operations at a single location. Key features of the facility include the balloon launch circle, observation tower, payload integration hangar, the engineering and administration offices, and the balloon production wing. Commercial balloon flights to near space
See BALLOON, Page A9
Adults benefit summer school JULIUS JORTNER
For the Headlight Herald
A local group is enriching summer school at Nestucca Valley Elementary by providing real-world, sciencerelated input. Ecology is the theme of this year’s three-week summer school program, which meets four days a week through July 25. In addition to the school’s scholastic offerings, Nestucca Valley Community Alliance members participate each Thursday with contributions by adult specialists. Bill Busch, a retired oceanographer and university professor, seemed quite at ease with his young audience, and they with him. “Who has ever been fish-
ing?” he asked the 13 kids in the classroom. Almost every hand shot up. “What kind of fish did you catch?” he asked. Tuna, salmon, mackerel? Busch showed Powerpoint slides of each fish. “What do you notice about the colors?” he asked, pausing as each fish was pictured. “Are they the same on top and bottom?” And off they all went, on a give-and-take conversation about nature’s adaptations. Outdoors, another age group was painting on cedar, applying colors onto images of fish (first, having donned protective smocks). Community alliance members Noe Martinez and Paul Carlson were supervising the activity, which commanded the kids’
intense concentration. Elsewhere on the grassy playground, Rob Royster had deposited his dory boat, the “Mox Nix.” He invited half a dozen youngsters aboard, as he demonstrated what a doryman does to bring in fish and crabs from the ocean. At one point, Royster played out the lines by having some of the kids pull them away from the boat into the green “ocean.” Nearby, other students reeled in the lines, bringing in the first group – who now were the “fish.” Marie Heimburg was on hand to help with the fish painting. A community alliance member, Heimburg also coordinates Tillamook
tillamook farmers’ co-op serving tillamook county since 1935 all
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503-842-4457 Fax 503-842-7684
H50974
Tillamook’s Country Store
Photo by Julius Jortner
See SUMMER, Page A5 Rob Royster shows the class how dorymen fish.
commercial & Office (503) 842-6220 Home Delivery Toll Free (877) 339-4572 1813 5th Street, Tillamook (South and directly behind Safeway)