Welcome to the Bay City Grapevine

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by John R. Sollman

Though the Lewis and Clark expedition is highly touted in many history books as the first crossing of the North American continent by white men, they were certainly not the first. The Hudson's Bay Company was well-entrenched in Canada, and the Northwest was a favorite source of furs and pelts for the French trappers of that era.

It is even rumored that Sir Francis Drake might have visited the Pacific Northwest in the Golden Hind two centuries earlier, and that Tillamook Bay was actually the Drake's Bay of legend. The tall, straight firs of the Pacific Northwest were highly prized as masts for English men of war. All said, the Indians of western Oregon and Washington were well-acquainted with white men long before Lewis and Clark.

Joseph L. Meek had been raised in Virginia and was well educated. But the lust for adventure, to be part of something new, drove him to St. Louis, Missouri, in the fall of 1828, at the tender age of 18 years. He applied to trader William Sublette for a job as a trapper with his trading company. After some soul searching, Sublette took the lad on, and in March 1829 Joe Meek became one of 54 trappers en route to the Rocky Mountains.

The rest of the story

Dr. William C. Hawk and The Tillamook Bay Hospital
by John R. Sollman

Dr. William Calvin Hawk received his medical degree from Rush Medical College in Illinois and married Emma McLain about 1870. The couple traveled around the country, first in the South, and then westward. In each location, he would hang out his shingle, and she would open up a millinery shop. She also taught the local ladies how to make their own stunning bonnets. According to a piece in "Tillamook, Lest We Forget" by the Hawks' grandson, Herbert "Hub" Miller, Dr. Hawk was in Tombstone the day of the famed Gunfight at the OK Corral. Dr. Hawk and his family finally settled in Jefferson, near Salem, and opened a practice there.

But the Westward urge was strong in him, and in 1905 he traveled to Tillamook County to see whether there would be any prospect for him to establish his practice there. He soon acquired property in Bay City and returned to Jefferson to close out his practice and move his extended family to Bay City.

The rest of the story

Law and Order and Public Services in Old Bay City
by John R. Sollman

Herbert "Hub" Miller, in his book, "Adventures of an Oregon Country Boy," describes a society where murders were rare, most thefts were petty, and domestic spats always got more coverage in the "Headlight-Herald." Most of the action was in white-collar crime --- people getting swindled out of their money through blue-sky investment scams.

Bay City once had a town marshal named Longcore, who threw people in the town jail for fighting, or being drunk and disorderly. After sobering up following a night in the city jail, the now-chastened inebriate would be released after paying a hefty fine of about $2 and promising to lay off the sauce. But rarely were those promises kept for long --- sometimes no longer than 10 or 12 hours. That hefty $2 fine may seem trivial today, but it was a day's wages then.

The rest of the story

The Rise and Fall of the "San Francisco of the North"
by John R. Sollman

When the City of Bay City was preparing to incorporate for the second time in 1910, the region was well along in its transition from the pioneer days to the modernity of the 20^th century. Greed was truly alive in well in those days of blue-sky speculation on everything from dairy animals to logging to real estate development to railroad building.

The area which was to become Bay City had the advantage of a large, reasonably deep bay protected from ocean storms by a sand spit some four miles west across the bay. When Captain Gray first transited the bar in the sloop, Lady Washington, to enter the bay in the late 1700s, he had 36 feet beneath the ship's keel at low tide. (There continues to be speculation whether Tillamook Bay was actually the Drake's Bay described in the ship's logs of Sir Francis Drake some 200 years earlier.)

A mill and shipyard had been established south of Bay City's Goose Point area where the "Morning Star" and several other vessels were constructed. The channels, in those days, were sufficiently deep to permit ocean-going vessels to transit the bay without danger of grounding. The Bay City area provided good docking and moorage potential, and a pier was constructed to facilitate movement by sea of Tillamook products, such as cheese, butter and timber, to consumers in Portland and the Willamette Valley.

The rest of the story

The Bay City United Methodist Church
by John R. Sollman

Bay City's defining feature is the Bay City United Methodist Church, situated at the corner of 5^th and D Streets. The church's origins go all the way back to the 1860s.

Lucy E. Doughty writes in her history of the Bay, or Kilchis, Church that when her family "arrived in Idaville or Bay District" in September 1870, they found that there was already an established church. It was called the "Bay Preaching Place," and met in the Kilchis River School House near the bay shore. (The Idaville area was once known as Jawbone.)

In those days, the bay shore was not where it is now. In fact, the mill where the Morning Star and other boats were built is located on the present-day Pioneer Museum property south of Bay City's Goose Point area, nowhere near today's bay shore. But that is another story.

Doughty writes as follows in "Tillamook History":

"There were only eight white families on the whole bay shore: the Vaughns and Aldermans on the little 'prairie' or open land reaching back from Idaville, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman on the tideland nearby, the Davidsons at the mouth of the Wilson River, the Hiram Smith and Hiram Terwilliger homes at the present site of Bay City, the Elmers across the bay on what is now the Beals place, and the Bayleys at Garibaldi; besides these, Webley Hauxhurst lived on the Sandspit that is now Bay Ocean."

More . . .

City Councilors come and go while the sparks fly
By John Sollman

BAY CITY March 20, 2010 --- The revolving door to the Bay City Council chambers is working well.

On March 9, Attorney Lois Albright administered the oath to newly-appointed Councilor Robert Pollock, whom the Bay City Council appointed to replace Ron Tewalt.

At the end of the March 9 Council meeting, Councilor Amy Fullan resigned from the Council because she is moving out of town. Fullan's seat will be filled through another appointment.

The Council, on a three/two vote, appointed John Gettman president of the City Council, replacing Ron Tewalt in that position. The president presides over Council meetings in the absence of the mayor, and has authority to sign checks, also in the absence of the mayor. But that appointment would be short lived.

More . . .

New Bookmobile on its way --- also salmon eggs
By John Sollman

BAY CITY March 20, 2010 --- Friends of the Library held their long-overdue semiannual meeting today at the Bay City Community hall. The Friends last met March 21, 2009, one year ago. The Friends would have met last September in Garibaldi, but for the death of Friends of the Library president Pat Peterson last August. Pat Vining wielded the gavel as president pro tempore.

But things have come together quite nicely during the hiatus, thanks to a fund-raising spaghetti dinner last August which yielded about $500. But we did learn a lesson at that fund-raiser, said Assistant Librarian Leo Schreiner. "We learned to have some 'to go' plates on hand." Apparently some of the diners preferred to have their pasta in the park.

Schreiner also announced that the new Bookmobile would be departing soon for its final destination, its reserved parking slot at the Tillamook County Library. "It's due April 14," Schreiner noted, to which a member shot back, "Tell 'em to drive carefully!"

But the major announcement of the meeting was made by County Librarian Sara Charlton: The library board has approved a salmon propagation project at the Bay City branch library as a science education feature.

Diane Griffin, who had introduced salmon propagation as a science class project for her fourth and fifth graders at Garibaldi Grade School, was disappointed that the project was not continued following her retirement.

Each January, about 250 Chinook eggs were placed in her classroom fish tank. The children watched the eggs hatch into tiny fish; saw how the fish got their nourishment from the egg sacs clinging to their bellies; and observed how the sacs disappeared and slits in the fish's bellies closed up. Then it was off to Patterson Creek to launch the little guys on their journey to the sea. The children learned firsthand now Nature works if given the chance, and how that chance depends upon having clean water and a clean environment.

Griffin still has her license to rear baby salmon, and the Trask Fish Hatchery is providing some of the equipment needed. Local children will once again be able to benefit from Griffin's resourceful and innovative environmental science project.

Vining brought the Friends up to date on Bay City's planned Centennial Celebration on Labor Day weekend, and displayed one of the tee shirts sporting a picture of old Bay City, which will soon go on sale to raise funds for the Centennial.

Charlton also announced that the library's photos of old Bay City could be made available to the Arts Center for display during the Centennial.

The Bay City and Garibaldi branch libraries each received $5 thousand to make needed improvements during the summer, including new carpeting, paint and some furniture. Also, Charlton advised, the libraries will now have copies of the Oregonian for patrons to read.

Since there had been no meeting for a whole year, it was assumed that all members owed some dues. Several members suggested tiered memberships, depending on amounts contributed. Joe Wrabeck recommended an Adopt a Book program and suggested, tongue-in-cheek, the following membership tiers:

Paperback Membership: $10. You get into any County library for free.

Volume Membership: $25. Any member of your family gets in for free.

Encyclopedia Membership: $100. You can get into other libraries for free; and, you get the tee shirt and a discount on extra tee shirts purchased.

World Wide Web Membership: $500. You get nothing, but you're virtually satisfied.

The Friends agreed to meet September 11 at the Garibaldi branch library and elect officers at that time. They will hold a second fundraiser at the Bay City Community Hall September 18.

Game's afoot to resurface the outdoor tennis court
By John Sollman

BAY CITY Feb. 24, 2010 --- Mayor Shaena Peterson, appearing before the Bay City Boosters Club February 19, announced that a grant request to Tillamook P.U.D. was nearing completion to help fund Phase One of the project to resurface the Bay City outdoor tennis court.

Phase One will remove the existing asphalt covering of the court and replace it with a two-inch lift, a prerequisite of the U.S. Tennis Association for installation of a regulation playing surface. Phase One will include engineering, grading and improving drainage, preparing and compacting the sub-base, leveling and applying the two-inch asphalt lift.

More . . .

Surviving the Big One
By John Sollman

BAY CITY Jan. 15, 2010 —Mayor Shaena Peterson held a Town Hall meeting last December to urge Bay City residents to make preparations to survive a disaster. We've seen many major storms that produce landslides in the mountains and cut the Coast off from the Valley for from several days to several weeks. The December 2007 storm was such a disaster --- some of us would liken it to a major disaster --- but it pales in comparison to a major subduction quake offshore followed by a tsunami: the so-called "Big One."

More . . .

Rails to nowhere
By John Sollman

BAY CITY Nov. 23, 2009 --- 1911 was a big year for Tillamook County. That was the year modern rail transportation arrived. The Pacific Railroad and Navigation Company, incorporated in October 1905, punched a rail line through the Coast Range and down the Salmonberry Canyon, ultimately meeting up with the other end of the line under construction from Tillamook northward through Bay City, Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach and Wheeler. The completed line initially offered Portlanders a scenic eight-hour trip to luxuriate on Oregon's magnificent beaches, a welcome alternative to suffering mal de mer aboard the Elmore or the Argo and braving the hazards of bar crossings at Astoria and Garibaldi.

More . . .

Fireplace and chimney inspections urged
By Don Reynolds, Bay City Fire Chief

BAY CITY OCt. 13, 2009-- On Friday, October 8, the Fire Department responded to a chimney fire in Bay City. The circumstances of this fire pointed out several lessons that everyone must be aware of. The occupants had been painting and had not reinstalled the smoke alarms after finishing the paint job.

Lesson number one: Smoke alarms don't work unless they are properly installed and have good batteries in them.

Lesson number two: Inspect the fireplace or wood stove to be sure it has good internal integrity before starting a fire. If you're not sure, have a qualified inspector look at the unit.

The fire in the fireplace was burning down when the occupants noticed the smell of smoke and noted smoke in the upstairs portion of the house.

Lesson number three: Call 911 as soon as you are aware of a problem in the house.

All went well as far as lesson three was concerned, and the fire department was on scene 8 minutes from the time the residents called.

The fireplace had cracks in it that allowed fire to migrate outside the chimney and created a fire in the wall of the house. The firefighters had to open the wall to get at the fire, causing some damage to the wall that will have to be repaired. Fortunately, no one was injured; only a small amount of damage was done to the house, so repair costs should not be too high.

These folks were lucky. Everyone should take a minute to review their own house for the lessons learned. November 1 is our return to Standard Time, and this makes it a good time for you to check your smoke alarms and make sure your house is fire safe. If you would like a fire audit of you home for your own benefit, please contact the fire station at 503-377-0233 and leave a message if no one is there. We will get back to you.

But, do not call that number if you have a fire or medical emergency. For those kinds of issues, CALL 911.

The Bay City/Tillamook newspaper wars of 1891-‘93
By Peter B. Smith

BAY CITY Oct. 10, 2009 — On June 8, 1888, with word of a town being platted to the North at Obet Thomas’ Landing by timber cruiser Winfield Scott Cone, Tillamook businessmen started a staunchly Republican propaganda organ called the Tillamook Headlight.

Cone dubbed his town Bay City after his home town in Michigan. Backed by Salem businessmen, Bay City was deemed a threat to Tillamook politicians and real estate speculators, whose fortunes depended on Tillamook’s remaining the center of county commerce.
That year, Cone and C.E. Wilson purchased 52 acres of land from Washington and Martha Jacoby, which the Jacobys had purchased from Martha’s uncle, John Monroe. He, in turn, had inherited it from an earlier settler, Obet S. Thomas, in 1882. More. . .