February 2006 Quarterly Newsletter
Seaside Museum & Historical Society
570 Necanicum Drive
Seaside, OR 97138
(503) 738-7065
www.seasidemuseum.org |
IN THIS ISSUE:
> President’s Message
> Old Iron Cookstove
> The Winning Quilt Ticket
> 4th of July
> Gingerbread Tea...A Success!
> Annual Board Meeting
> Saltmakers Stamp Cancellation
> Garden Clippings
> In Memorium |
President’s
Message... by Ken Ward
Usually
I use this space to write about something of particular interest
that has taken place at the museum during the last three months.
However, this is a departure, first, because I think it’s important
and can save you significant amounts of money, as it did
me, and second, because you can tell others about it and perhaps
help them like I was helped.
A
short time ago I received an E-mail from a friend in Seattle
that told about a pharmacy in the United States that was different
from every other pharmacy because it did not markup generic
drug prescriptions 300 % to 3000 % (literally) like every other
pharmacy did. The E-mail went into great detail about specific
drugs, what it cost to make them and what they were eventually
sold for. It was a long story done by an investigative news team
for a television station in Detroit. It ended by saying, make
a comparison yourself. And I did.
For
the past 15 years I’ve
been taking a generic drug called Warfarin that changes the
viscosity of the blood. 100 tablets at Safeway, Holiday Drug,
Fred Meyer, AARP or any where else costs about
the same, $57-$63. Guess what the other pharmacy quoted.
$16.57! Can you believe it? I couldn’t. A $40-$45 difference,
almost $200 a year on one prescription. And I take four different
generics. Now we’re talking about lots of dollars. Depending
on the medications you take, their cost and your circumstances,
the cost could be lower than Canada, the Medicare Drug Plan or
any other source. Now for the name of this little miracle store....COSTCO!
They decided long ago that they wouldn’t take the same
huge markups on generic drugs as everyone else! But it only applies
to generics and you don’t have to be a member
of Costco to purchase drugs there (that is because drugs
are Federally regulated and are not allowed to be controlled
in that manner.) The bad news is that Costco in Warrenton does
not have a pharmacy. They do in most stores in Portland,
however, and you can purchase on-line at costco.com. Check it
out.
The Old Iron Cookstove and Its Lid Lifter:
A Reminiscence by Micki Towell
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We’ve
made use of a lot of handy devices this winter to make life more
comfortable. Think of the old days when the old
iron cookstove provided our heat and hot water, and cooked our
meals. Take a long look at the cookstove in the kitchen
of the Butterfield Cottage. The cooking, baking, and water
heating would take place on this big iron stove. There were
holes in the ceiling, covered
with grating, for the warm air to rise to the bedrooms above. Getting up on
a cold morning, you stood over the grating while you dressed,
or ran downstairs with your clothes to dress by the cookstove.
You kept your nightshirt (or nightdress) around your neck
to act as a tent while you put on your clothes.
It was a chore
to keep the stove burning, and usually the fire was not
allowed to die out, even at night the hot coals were banked
so that they would last until morning. Chopping firewood
and kindling was a daily chore. It was a balancing act to
keep the fire going: kindling and then wood chunks, while
getting just enough air through to get the fire going, not
so much that it blew it out.
Some of us remember the blessings
of the old cookstove. If we were lucky, there was a damper
on the stovepipe to regulate the flow of air. By regulating
the flow of air and the amount of fuel, a person could regulate
the temperature of the ovens. Different places on the stove’s
surface were different temperatures too, so water or coffee could be kept
always hot but not boiling on the back of the stove. The
cook moved pots and pans around on the cookstove top to cook
at different temperatures.
The lid lifter was inserted
into the slot of the various lids on the cookstove top. With the lifter,
a person could lift a lid to add wood or blow on the fire, or she remove
a lid to put a pot over the hold directly above the flames to get it extra
hot. From my own experience, pancakes and lefse and popcorn tasted better
cooked
on a woodstove then they ever have since! And when your feet were wet and
you were damp and cold, what comfort to sit before the open oven, with your
feet on the door, and warm up!
THE WINNING TICKET!
By Mary Cornell
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A raffle fund-raiser for the Seaside Museum in honor
of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial was quilt by Micki
Towell and quilted by Janis Hurd. Raffle tickets were
sold at various locations in Seaside. The drawing was
held December 10, 2005 at the Gingerbread Tea at the
Butterfield Cottage.
The
winning ticket #0018 was purchased by Kathy Scott of
Tigard, Or. Kathy purchased her ticket at the Museum’s
4th of July Gala. She and her daughter-in-law, Laurie
enjoyed the festivities and the silent auction. Laurie
purchased the gift certificate from Ter-Hars. Kathy gave
the Quilt to her son, Mike and daughter-in-law Laurie
for there Christmas present. Mike and Laurie have a vacation
home in Seaside near the Salt Works Monument. Mike enjoys
reading the history of Lewis and Clark so the Quilt has
certainly settled in a very good home. |
4th of July
If
you are interested in helping at the upcoming
4th of
July Old-fashioned Gala in
any capacity, please phone
the Seaside Museum & Historical Society at 738-7065.
If perchance you would like to help at the “Children’s
Game” booths, please contact Helen Gaston at 738-8320
or help with the “Cake
Walk”,
please contact Peggy Kirkham at 440-7473. You, the helpers, are extremely appreciated
and
highly valued for volunteering your time and energy to such a worthy fundraising
cause.
Thank You.
4th of July Parade Taking
Shape
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Parade
Coordinator, Roy Kirkham, has started preparing
for the 2006 4th of July Parade and he wants to
let participants know how to send in their parade
application. If you can go on the Internet, go
to the Museum Website: http://www.seasidemuseum.org/
and the home page has the link, “July
4 Forms & Photos”.
Click on that link and you will be taken to the
various Old Fashioned Social links. Click on the “2006
Parade Online Enrollment Form” link and you
will have two choices. First, you can fill out
the form
and submit it online, or you can print out the
form and mail it to the museum.
Roy will, also, be contacting
last year’s parade participants by E-mail
or postcard. It seems odd to be preparing for a
summer-time parade when temperatures are freezing
outside, but this is the time for people to start
their planning.
While you are online, check
into the link, “2005 Parade Line-up”,
and see the folks who participated in last year’s
Independence Day Parade. We’re looking forward
to seeing everyone at the 2006 Parade in Seaside.
Contact
information for the July 4th Parade is:
Parade Coordinator Roy Kirkham, PO Box 615, Seaside,
OR 97138-0615
E-mail: kirkhamrs31@seasurf.net |
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The Gingerbread Tea......A
SUCCESS! THANKS TO ALL!
by Peggy Kirkham
We wish to thank those who helped to make the Gingerbread
Tea, at the Butterfield
Cottage a success. Mark Mathre, the harpist, entertained
at all the “Teas” and captivated
the audience with his enchanting music and we’re
so looking forward to
having him play again next year.
The
Gingerbread tea received many compliments on the new
Christmas tree which
was adorned with new ornaments this year, the artistic Gingerbread Houses
constructed
by many volunteers and how beautifully decorated the Butterfield cottage
was, inside and out. The upstairs “Ladies Room” now has a new
Christmas tree thanks to Mary Cornell’s generous donation.
We
would like to congratulate the following people for
winning the Gingerbread Tea
raffle prizes: Dorothy Boyle, Harold Lampi, Patty Stanley Meade, Roberta
Meling and Margerate Niedermeyer. |
Annual Member Meeting Luncheon
The
annual member luncheon will be held at the Butterfield
Cottage on April 6th at 11:30. Home-made clam chowder and
salad will be on the menu as well as good conversation,
laughter and of course, business. The
revised “By-Laws” will be voted on at the meeting and all ballots
will need to be brought in at that time. Mail-in ballots will need to be delivered
to the Museum no later then Wednesday the 5th. So bring your ballots and your
appetites! |
SALTMAKERS
RETURN 2006
Plans
are now being made for the next Saltmakers Return program
scheduled for
July 14 -16th and August 18 - 20th 2006. We will
again be scheduling volunteers as greeters and helpers
for setting up and taking down at the site. The Program
has been very successful the past five years and we
are looking for even more participation this year as
the Lewis & Clark bicentennial come to a close.
SALTMAKERS
RETURN & SPECIAL STAMP CANCELLATION
On Feb.. 17th, 18th, and 19th, The Saltmakers Return, sponsored by the
Seaside Museum and Historical Society in conjunction with Ft.. Clatsop
National Park and the city of Seaside, celebrated the 200th Anniversary
of the Lewis & Clark Expedition's making of salt on the Seaside beach.
The 1st-person interpretation took place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
In addition, the museum sponsored a special stamp cancellation, on the
beach at Avenue U, on Saturday. The cancellation and envelope design was
rendered by the graphic artist, Gary Randall. These limited edition cancelled
envelopes can now be purchased through the Seaside Museum gift shop for
$5.00 each and/or a Post Card depicting Jenni Michelle at the original
Salt Cairn site for $2.50 each.
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Garden
Clippings by Nancy Berry
Ere man is
aware
That the Spring is here
The flowers have found it out
(Ancient Chinese Saying)
I
have used some of our welcome sunny weather to prune
and lime the roses in the garden. They
will benefit from both and I have benefited from the opportunity
to observe the beginnings of spring.
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The
Snowdrops are finished having bloomed in early January
when our windows were
to
covered with raindrops for us to be able to see them. The crocuses are in
bloom - bright
bits of purple and white here and there. These spring blooming ones (C. vernus)
were
among the tubers credited with founding Holland’s bulb industry. By the
1600’s, there
were white, purple, and striped forms. The yellow hybrids came later.
There
are the beginnings of poppies and the irises are about three inches high
and look
wonderfully healthy. Unfortunately that may not last as I have come upon
a few snails big
enough to stop traffic and fear they are up to no good - laying eggs and
hatching hungry
little snails all about the garden.
As
I was beginning to grumble at the sight of the first
yellow dandelion, It came to me how different my grandmother’s
reaction might have been to that particular plant.
I, of course, have been buying fresh greens all winter
at the supermarket. My grandmother, homesteading up
in the Okanogan Valley, or your grandmother homesteading
in Heppner,
Hood River or anyplace else, would have spent all winter eating canned,
dried, salted and
root cellar foods. By late February, even the remaining cabbages and
carrots were tired
and wrinkly. The sight of that first dandelion probably made her mouth
water for a fresh
green salad. Too early to plant the garden, she and the children would
have gathered
dandelion greens, chickweed and perhaps early Miner’s lettuce which she
would then
dress with hot bacon fat and vinegar. What looks like a weed to me most
likely looked
like something tasty to our grandmothers. |
IN MEMORIUM
Jerry Franciscovich
Elna Marlantes
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