The Great Coastal Gale of 2007 was a series of powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 3, 2007. This is a story of its impact on my wife and I and a great interview of what it was like for Craig and Dana Westin and Dana’s dad Paul See. Thought this would be of interest since this will be the fifteenth anniversary of the big storm. Happy Thanks giving all.

Over the last 4 years Richie Schroeder became a mentor and helped me get a much better understanding of much of the history on the Clatsop Plains. During this time he passed on copies of most of Barney Lucases records from his best friend Jimmy Lucas Barney’s son. He also allowed me to interview him on this history with several hours of video interviews. Below is one of those interviews where he speaks to how the 24 south lots on Surf Pines lower road ended up having to buy back their Ocean front property and how the building lines gradually went east. 3 minute interview with Richie Schroeder about the history of…

We will miss Richie who was the oldest person to have had a home in Surf Pines. Richie was only 6 years old when his Parents bought the home on the corner of Manion and Ocean in 1951 and became the first owner of a home in Surf Pines. He was a friend to all and loved this area so much. Below is his Obituary published in today 6 November 2022 obituary. RIP Richie. T

Yesterday November 3, 2022, Richie Schroeder passed away after a short illness. I met Richie back in the late 1997 when my wife Annie and I moved into Surf Pines. However, it was not until fall of 2018 that we happened to be both sitting at the bar at McMenamins that I finally got to know him better. We shared our love of local history, and I explained that I was working on a video piece about the 50thanniversary of Surf Pines becoming an association and the 70th anniversary of it being developed by Barney Lucas in 1949 for our annual association meeting in August 2019. He then told me he literally was…

Over the last few months many have wondered what is going on with the new housing development just south of Reed Hertig called The Dunes. Formerly the old Bill Reed farm, this property was platted out in 2016 and as a result a modification was made to HWY 101 to add an exit lane south bound and enter lane to accommodate 87 new homes. We contacted Gail Henrikson Community Development Director Clatsop County and this was her reply. Also she attached 4 documents that show the county information on this three phase development that should clarify what is actually going in and where. On Jun 3, 2022, at 10:52 AM, Gail Henrikson…

CCC HPR Digital Archive The digital archive of Clatsop Community College’s Historic Preservation & Restoration program houses out of print books and publications including historic house plans, building details, and catalogs. Click here to see the collection If you are into old homes in Clatsop County here is a collection of several old magazines and publications showing many of the homes you find in the county. Great resource if you love old buildings. The Clatsop County Historical Society maintains an Archive and Research Library in the Heritage Museum which offers researchers a unique resource documenting the evolution of Clatsop County History. T

Published in the May 10, 1959 Sunday Orgonian, this article explains why and how Barney Lucas ended up converting an 80 acre purchase into the large area that Surf Pines now occupies.

While visiting, Astoria history is amazing. Below is a hand out that lists several online sites covering our rich past. With your phone or tablet, you can scan each QR code, just like you do at many restaurants, to link to our fun past. Just download and print both sides and you have a comprehensive list of the best history of the Astoria and surrounding area. Please forward to your friends and guests who will be visiting this year so they can be prepared for their visit to our fair county. Also we really need more Cruise Host volunteers. Before covid we had well over 100 members and now we are down…

We attended the orientation meeting for the Astoria Cruise hosts this afternoon and the first ships start coming in in April. This is the first for over 2 years and the once huge crew of well over 100 volunteers has diminished to about half that number. We have been doing this for several years and everyone has a ball. Take a look at what we are all about and if interested or would like to know more e-mail them at ClatsopCruiseHosts@gmail.com.

Many of you remember Joe and Gwynn who lived in Surf Pines from the late 80s till 2019 when they transferred their home to their daughter and son in law in 2019. Both were extremely active volunteers in Surf Pines and long time Astoria Country Club members. In November Joe and Gwynn passed away within 7 days of each other. Below are their obituaries. We will miss these long term members.