Hoppy Thanksgiving from Thebeerchaser

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post) (#1)

Rather than focus on a bar or brewery in this post, I’m going to end November with some miscellaneous tidbits I’ve been saving for you – trying to emphasize the positive – at least for the most part…..

Here’s to the Scouts!

My two brothers and I participated from the time we were in grade school in Ohio (where our wonderful mom, Frannie was a Cub Scout Den Mother) and during early years of high school in Oregon. We went camping, hiking, earned merit badges and did community projects and our Dad (FDW) was also an encouraging influence and helper.

My late brother, Garry, went to the Scout National Jamboree in Valley Forge and earned his Eagle Scout. This was, in part, a pathway to his appointment to the US Military Academy, where he graduated (1972) and became commissioned.

Similarly, my youngest brother, Rick and I were able to secure four-year NROTC scholarships and commissioning in the Navy and our scouting background helped in that selection process.

(Rick was career Navy and retired as a Captain after he served as skipper of the nuclear sub USS Spadefish – SSN-668). Read about his remarkable career in this article from “Deep Dive” – the newsletter of the Deep Submergence Group Association.)

I even found the one remnant from my scouting history – a medal our troop received when we completed an eleven-mile hike along the Whitewater Canal Trail in Indiana after an overnight camping trip when I was ten.) (#2)

Two years ago, my wife and I were walking through a development near our new house on Veterans Day and noticed that almost every house in the two cul-de-sacs had an American flag in its parking strip.

Upon inquiry, I found that this was a project of a West Linn Scout Troop. For an annual fee of $50, the scouts place a flag in your parking strip on four holidays – 4th of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Labor Day. At the end of the holiday, they return to pick-up the flag and store it.

I asked them if they would expand to include our neighborhood and it is gratifying to see flags in front of houses regardless of party affiliation or political beliefs. These are people who love America and want to support the young men and women in their endeavors.

Terms of Endearment!?

While in Lincoln City along the Central Oregon Coast, I passed the following street sign outside of a Valvoline Oil Change outlet on Valentine’s Day. To Janet’s chagrin, I insisted on stopping and taking a photo for a later blog post.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Honey – it’s full-synthetic 30-weight….

As Janet scoffed, I theorized that this begged the question as to whether on the 10th anniversary, he presented a transmission repair and on the 25th, new Michelin tires.

Speaking of Lincoln City

I like many homeowners in the Roads End district of Lincoln City are somewhat puzzled at what is purported to be the solution to speeders along a main residential street along the ocean. While there is a need to mitigate the excess speed problem along Logan Road, the solution seems a bit convoluted.

Rather than put speed bumps across the entire intersection, they staggered them. And in what seems like a matter of common sense, 95% of the cars (including me) veer into the other lane to avoid the bump. I guess, at least if there’s going to be a head-on collision, it will be at a lower speed.

One of my sons-in-law is a traffic engineer and I’m waiting for him to explain the rationale.

No More Flack!

I was sorry to see the passing of American vocalist Roberta Flack in February at the age of 88. Not only did she have a few wonderful tunes such as “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” but in a sort of peculiar and perhaps morbid way, I felt a personal connection, of sorts, based on of all things, a one-vehicle auto accident I had in 1974.

I had moved back into my mom’s house in Oregon City after my dad’s untimely passing in 1974. I was returning in my subcompact car from a date in Canby – about nine miles south of her house. It was very late and I took a bypass along a rural road to save some time.

Having burned the midnight oil during the past week, I was pretty sleepy, but it was only a twenty-minute drive and I thought I would be fine. Well, when the road curved, I went straight because I had momentarily dozed off. Rolling across the gravel side of the road immediately woke me up.

It was surreal – like being in a slow-motion movie…Although the car didn’t role, it tipped and bumped through the ruts in a field. A projector in the back seat went flying by my head into the front windshield.

My vivid recollection is the song on the radio – Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” – 1974 Grammy winning Record-of-the-Year. (#3 – #5)

In a brief moment of lucidity and insight while contemplating that if the car rolled, I might not survive, I remember thinking, “That would really be ironic in light of the song playing, but no-one would ever know!”

Fortunately, the car stopped – tipped at an angle. I reached up to turn off the headlights cutting my hand in several places on the glass fragments from the cracked windshield. I climbed out the driver’s side, walked through the field, crossed the road and knocked on the door of a rural house (at 2 AM in the morning.)

The sleeping occupants didn’t answer and unfortunately, a decent amount of blood from the cuts in my hand stayed on their doorsill. I imagined what they’d think when they came out on their front porch the next morning – was this a re-enactment of the Children of Israel story in Exodus?

“And the blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians.”

My neighbor, the stepfather of my best friend, was the Chief of Police in Oregon City and I called him to see if I could get the car towed and not have to make a police report. He told me to wait until the next morning, and it didn’t require any filing.

I thanked the Lord the next morning when I saw the tire tracks through the gravel – I had missed hitting a telephone pole head-on by about six inches.

Farewell to Rogue Brewing – We Mourn the Passing of Dead Guy

Beer drinkers in Oregon, throughout the Northwest and beyond were shocked and saddened by the abrupt closure of Rogue Ale and Spirits in mid-November. The company shut down its operations in Newport, Oregon and all of its pubs in the state. Rogue was a respected and admired company, founded in 1988 and one of Oregon’s top ten craft beer companies.

“It is uncertain what the financial state is of the company, but breweries have been a difficult market lately. Six of the 10 biggest craft breweries in Oregon saw sales decline in 2024, according to data from the Brewers Association.” Oregon Live 10/19 (#6 – #8)

The testimony to Rogue’s legacy may be best summed up by Jeff Alworth, one of the nation’s foremost beer experts, in his Beervana Blog 11/17

“We shouldn’t lose sight of its legacy as one of the most important breweries in the early craft era, or why people once thought it was so special.

Thirty-five years ago, most of the people making and selling beer were thinking small. Not for nothing, their businesses were called ‘microbreweries.’ But Rogue thought big at a time when the industry needed to see ambition in order to grow. Its importance was much greater than its absence today.”

Non Alcoholic?

Not only the pandemic, but other factors have added to the struggle of craft brewers – one of them being the trend to avoid alcohol. And Rogue never merged with a larger brewery or produced non-alcoholic beer:

“The push into nonalcoholic beer is a reminder of how much the industry is struggling. Craft beer peaked. The hard seltzer boom fizzled. Younger adults are going out less. Legalized cannabis is replacing six packs.

Weight-loss drugs are a threat. Global beer volume has declined the past two years. Meanwhile, stocks of the world’s big brewers haven’t returned to their pre-pandemic levels.” Bloomberg.com 7/9/25

Lest you think this just an American phenomenon, check out this excerpt from a recent New York Times article “Germans Are Going Off Beer. That’s Forcing Brewers to Adapt or Go Bust.”

“Alcohol consumption in Germany has been sliding for decades. But the sudden, accelerating drop has caught brewers and bar owners by surprise. Out of approximately 1,500 breweries in Germany, more than 50 have closed in the past year.”

Good Taste or Taste Good?

My wife and I have tried some NA beers – on weekdays if we drink – and they are fine e.g. Athletic and Best Day Brewing. And Deschutes Fresh Haze IPA (.05ABV) is the best NA beer I’ve tried. (#9)

And Then There’s Sam Adams

Founding Father, Samuel Adams, took risks when he became a leader in the American Revolution and rebelled against the British. While his patriotic role is well known, many are unaware that Samuel Adams inherited his father’s brewery in Boston and also worked as a brewer or maltster.

The American brewery named after him has also shown audacity and is bucking the trends mentioned above with its 2025 release of its limited-edition Utopias. You can pay $240 for a bottle of this barrel-aged brew:

“Utopias has a staggering ABV of 30%. The company’s website claims it is ‘perhaps the strongest beer on Earth.’ In fact, it’s so potent, it’s illegal in Oregon and 14 other states that have caps on how high a beer’s alcohol by volume can be.” Oregon Live 11/6

I will not soon forget one time when I did buy a Sam Adams. I still laugh about when Portland Mayor, Sam Adams (2009 though 12/31/12) and I Beerchased at the Tugboat Brewery (RIP) in downtown Portland. (#10)

Our visit occurred soon after he left office and became the Executive Director of the City Club of Portland in spring of 2013. The big grin on Matt, the Tugboat bartender’s face when the recently departed Mayor with a straight face said, “I’ll have a Sam Adams,” was priceless.

Oh, for the Love of Beer!

Happy Thanksgiving

External Photo Attribution

#1. Bing AI Images

#2. Wikimedia Commons (White water canal trail Inc. – Trails, Hiking/Biking) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Chris Light at English Wikipedia – April 2006.

#3. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Roberta Flack 1976.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1930 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of “publication” for public art. Source: Atlantic Record – 26 April 1976.

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Killing Me Softly with His Song by Roberta Flack US vinyl.png – Wikimedia Commons) This logo image consists only of simple geometric shapes or text. It does not meet the threshold of originality needed for copyright protection, and is therefore in the public domain The depicted text is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain because it is not a “literary work” or other protected type in sense of the local copyright law. Source: Atlantic Records – 1973.

#5. Gemini AI Assistant Image Generator

#6. Wikimedia Commons (File:Rogue Ales in NW Portland, Oregon in 2012.JPG – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Another Believer – January 2012.

#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:Dead Guy Ale (5913690805).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Source: Dead Guy Ale – Author: Erik Cleves Kristensen – 5 July 201.

#8. Wikimedia Commons (File:Astoria Pier 39 (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0065).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted. Attribution: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives.

#9. Wikimedia Commons (File:Best Day Brewing beers – January 2024 – Sarah Stierch.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Attribtution: Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0) – 27 January 2024.

#10. Wikimedia Commons (File:BTA’s Alice Awards 1 (7172943200) (cropped).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Team Sam Adams – 10 May 2012.

Did We Really Do That — Take a Hike?

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the video at the end of the post and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution # at the end of the post.)

Note: One of the primary topics of this blog is reviews of bars and breweries. Although I’ve frequently wondered from that during the pandemic and in the last few months with a residential move, I’ve got a number of great bars to catch up on at the first of the year – The Wildwood Saloon, Von Ebert Brewery, Old Town Pizza and Grand Fir Brewery. Stay tuned.

Sixty-three years ago on January 2nd. That’s when my dad – FDW as we affectionately called him – and I started an unexpected nine-hour wilderness trek at 5:10 in the afternoon in the snowy Mt. Hood National Forest.

The newspaper account by one Vera Luby Criteser in the Oregon City Enterprise Courier is shown below, but first a little background. (The paper stopped publishing in 1990.)

In previous posts, I’ve mentioned that both of my parents – FDW and Frannie our mom, were saints. They demonstrated love for their kids, patience and faith continually, as well as having the courage to take bold steps while we were growing up to improve our lives. – including a move across the country without FDW having a job in Oregon, our new home.

This couple, who met in 1942 while both were working for American Airlines in New York City, married the next year. They were role models for parenting (and living) for my siblings and me.

I’m named after my Dad’s best friend and SAE fraternity brother at George Washington University (Don Wilburn) – a US Army aviator, who was killed while piloting a military flight.

In, several blog posts I’ve chronicled FDW’s traits – focusing on his willingness to take risks and his affinity for the “Spirit of High Adventure” – especially after we moved to Oregon from Ohio in 1960. https://thebeerchaser.com/2021/10/21/fdw-beerchaser-of-the-quarter-part-i/

I’ve retyped the newspaper article dated 1/17/61 – about two weeks after we safely returned from the trip. The group below participated in the adventure (except for our dog, Candy and our cat, Buffy). We were fortunate, given the circumstances and the weather, and learned a few lessons that stood us in good stead for many future wilderness adventures.

Family Christmas about eight years after the trip up the Clackamas

It should be noted that along with the six of us on that trip was a new friend I had met in my seventh grade class. Ellwood Cushman joined us (I’m sure to his parents’ dismay when he failed to return home until the next morning).

Ellwood went on to become 1966 valedictorian at Oregon City High School, graduate from University of Oregon and have an outstanding career in law enforcement, becoming a police lieutenant for the City of Eugene before retiring. (#1 – #2)

From the Oregon City Enterprise Courier January 17, 1961

“What Would You Have Done?”

“The Duane Williams family, newcomers to Oregon City, had an experience the day after New Year’s they would not care to repeat but which has not affected their enthusiasm for a future trips to the mountains. If they had panicked, something tragic could have happened.

As you remember, the day was still and clear and a holiday, a wonderful opportunity to drive up to the snow country and frolic. Williams decided to take the Clackamas River Road above the city of Estacada and the Estacada Ranger Station and come to snow in the upper reaches.

He told his wife, Fran, to put in a change of clothes for the children so they wouldn’t have to ride back with wet feet and legs. (#3- #5)

The children are daughter, Lynne, 14; Donald, 12; Garry, 10, Ricky, 8 and a friend, Ellwood Cushman, Don’s new friend, who went along.

Williams, himself, since he was caught in a big blizzard and deep snow in New York City in 1948, always kept snow-boots, extra mittens and a sterno-stove in their car although he had never needed them since that time until this day.

They drove out before noon, planning to be home by 6 PM – 7 at the latest. The trip up the river was not new them because they had hiked into Bagby Hot Springs with the Harry Gehrings and Ed Millers. They were thrilled with the big trees, primitive nature and the mountain air with room to stretch their legs.

The road was good Monday, January 2 and the VW bus performed excellently.

They passed the Colowash River Road Junction and Austin Hot Springs and sped on through the light snowfall to find a deep covering where the children could play. (#6)

Olympic_National_Forest_-_November_2017_-_4

They decided to stay just until 4 PM and start home. Seventeen miles above Austin Hot Springs they stopped – a big tree lay across the road. (#7)

Fallen_tree_blocking_forest_road_on_Main_Rig_near_Mollin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4058392

No snow in this photo, but you get the idea!

Someone ahead of them had also been stopped and turned and the track was plain so Williams swung the car around in tracks but somehow swung too wide and hit a soft shoulder. The car slipped and with each try to pull it out, it slipped farther. No amount of pushing and throwing rocks and limbs did any good.

They worked over an hour and finally gave up. The car was lodged at a 45 degree angle and seemingly safe from further slippage. By this time it was 5:10 and the map in the car showed the nearest assistance would be at Ripplebrook Ranger Station as they learned later, well over 20 miles away.

Williams and Donald left the others in the car, unheated because at the angle it was sitting, no gas could reach the carburetor to start the engine. He took one of the flashlights and began their hike for help. (#8)

Sterno Stove – Not much heat, but psychologically helpful…

The moon came up – full and brought out their diamond-studded path, almost as bright as day. The miles stretched longer and longer as they tramped back. Donald had hiked as a Scout and needed another 10-mile hike to earn his merit badge. He earned it well that night.

At first, when they became tired, they sat to rest, but when Williams began to get stiff, they leaned against trees for a few breaths.

Finally about 2:15 AM, they came to Colowash Junction and saw a piece of road equipment sitting by the way. Williams decided to risk using government equipment to save their lives. Hunting around the cab, they found the key although nothing was marked, so it took some time see where it fitted and some experimenting to which levers worked.

At last it roared like a plane and began to move. He maneuvered it around and headed back down the road.

Revisiting our “ride” for the last eight miles the next Spring

Eight miles farther on they saw the welcome Ripplebrook Station, which was closed, but they saw a light burning in the Ranger’s house about a half-mile above. So they took to their feet again.

A few pounds on the door brought out the Ranger and his wife followed. Donald was soon bedded down on a couch and Williams headed back with thermos bottles of coffee and cocoa and the rangers were speeding back to the car.

A welcome sight after hiking 21 miles and 8 miles in a Caterpillar

Frances in the meantime had her hands full with four cold, hungry children. If the hours went slowly on the long hike, time crawled in the stalled car.

They sang, played guessing games, the younger ones huddled together and napped – hard to do at such an angle. When they became too cold, she lighted the sterno-stove for the psychological effect of something burning.

Williams gives his wife most of the credit for the safety of the group. Two years ago, they drove to Oregon from Cincinnati, Ohio to look over the West with the idea of locating here and camped along the way.

The experience came in handy last summer when Frances, a New York City girl and the children moved to Oregon alone with a trailer on the back of their car – camping along the way.

Frannie – our wonderful Mom was the real hero

Duane had come to Oregon first and couldn’t return with them for the drive West. The family had experience with hazards the year before when they were caught in the great Yellowstone Park Earthquake of 1959.

Williams has one piece of advice to people who go up to the mountain – get maps from the rangers to show the country in detail – they can be vital.” (#9)

This gives an overview, but one needs Forest Service detailed maps.

A Few Observations After Years of Additional Perspective

As mentioned in the article, the real hero during this escapade was Frannie. This New York City gal – new to the West – wondering whether there were bears and wildlife outside the car when they had to go to the bathroom (There were!) and how long, and if, the two rescue hikers would make it back as well as keeping up the sprits of four young kids in a cold vehicle for almost eleven hours, showed incredible courage.

At first, I was thrilled with the excitement and being the oldest son – the one to hike out for help – but after six hours, the novelty wore off. We had walked about six hours and at an 11 PM rest with Dad starting to stiffen up (he was not in great shape for a 21-mile trek) he said to me:

“Don, if I can’t finish this hike to Ripplebrook, you are going to have to do it and I know that you can.”

Right after we resumed walking on that clear night, one of the brightest meteors I’ve ever seen, flew overhead. I don’t remember if I thought that this was a divine sign, but it re-energized me physically and mentally. (#10)

The Time in the Car

My brother, Garry, passed away in 1989, but in the last three days, I’ve talked to Lynne, Rick and Ellwood about their memories of the eleven hours in the car before rescue.

Ellwood said that he was not scared and alluded to Frannie’s confident spirit that all would be okay. He remembered it being cold and them ripping up the rather flimsy seat covers to provide warmth as a covering. (Since we remained friends, his parents evidently didn’t forbid him to see the kid who got him into the mess.)

Rick (age 8) reiterated not being scared:

“Because Mom said everything would be fine. She lit the Sterno-stove and said it would warm us up and even though now I know that it couldn’t, it seemed like it did.”

Lynne, at 12, as the oldest child left in the car, said that although she was not frightened, she became very concerned especially after the hours continued to drag and no one had come.

“I don’t know how Frannie did it. We sang songs including ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ many times, played guessing games and when we had to go out, she was right there with us, reassuring us.

When I saw the bright light from the Ranger’s truck through the thick ice that had formed on the back window of the VW, I thought it was the angels coming to get us because it was too late!”

Now whether Lynne assisting in managing the other kids that night, helped her when she became a very successful teacher and school principal or Garry to develop the patience and discipline he needed to graduate from West Point, we don’t know.

But I’m sure it helped them in some ways just like being confined in that cold-tight space helped Rick when he commanded a 20,000-foot record deep submergence vehicle dive in 1985 and surfaced up through the ice at the North Pole when he was the skipper of the nuclear submarine USS Spadefish (SSN 668). (https://thebeerchaser.com/2023/07/06/dirt-and-dust/)

The Army vs. Navy Rivalry during college years

The Advantage of Lessons Learned

FDW was a very smart guy and realized the trip could have ended tragically and he learned from those mistakes. From that day forward, he had survival supplies from clothes and energy snacks to flares to two sleeping bags and a GI shovel in the ample storage compartment of the FDW-VW.

He had an extensive sales territory in Eastern Oregon and it came in handy when I went with him in the summer after my senior year in high school and traveled over a Forest Service road in the Mount Emily Wilderness in Union County.

He had a sales call in John Day and we decided to take a roundabout way to get to Pendleton – part of which would be a gravel unimproved road that would take us by the summit of Mount Emily. We had a good Forest Service Map but late in the afternoon came to an unmarked junction and decided to take what looked like the more improved road.

After about a half-mile, we went down a steep grade and saw bulldozers and road construction equipment, but there was no room to turn around and the grade was too steep for the approximately 70 horsepower bus to back up.

So we put the seats down, had a snack, broke out two sleeping bags and slept soundly that night. I still remember being “rudely awakened” about 6:15 the next morning by a loud knocking on my window. I rolled over, looked up and saw a guy with a hardhat smoking a cigar who shouted, “How in the hell, did you guys get down here?” (#11 – #12)

He pulled us up the grade backward with his bulldozer and we were on our merry way to a good breakfast in Pendleton commenting about how nice it was nice not to have to walk out this time. It would have been a lot longer than 21 miles!

Well, the Clackamas River Trip was a definite bonding experience which we talked about at family gatherings for years to come.

family2

The original article in the Enterprise Courier

Cheers and Happy New Year

External Photo Attribution

#1. Pioneer Log – Junior High Yearbook – Thora B. Gardiner Jr. High.

#2. The Hesperian – 1966 Oregon City High School Yearbook.

#3. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clackamas_Wild_and_Scenic_River_(27727585360).jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington – 14 October 2005. This image is a work of a Bureau of Land Management* employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.

#4. Estacada News (https://www.estacadanews.com/news/clackamas-river-ranger-district-office-will-move-from-estacada/article_ce8cf036-75a9-5485-a32c-3d958f9a0cd3.html

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clackamas_Wild_and_Scenic_River_(27905348422).jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. This image is a work of a Bureau of Land Management* employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.

#6. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Olympic National Forest – November 2017 – 4.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This image is a work of the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. Author: https://twitter.com/olympicforest/status/928396680512225281 – 8 November 2017

#7. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallen_tree_blocking_forest_road_on_Main_Rig_near_Mollin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4058392.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/27184 5 July 2014.

#8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Kochstelle mit Gamelle.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Author: TheBernFiles – 27 October 2005.

#9. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprdb5192432.jpg)

#10. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonid_Meteor.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author: Navicore 17 November, 2009.

#11. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_emily_wilderness_4_reesman_odfw_(14997983254).jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife – 27 September 2011.

#12. Image courtesy of Pam Williams.

Dirt and Dust

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

I Haven’t Washed my Hands of this Nickname….

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. External photo attribution at the end of the post. (#1 – #2))

I often understandably get questions from followers of this blog on the origin of my nickname. Credit is due to my long-term friend, fraternity brother and Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Jud Blakely, for the design of the logo which has the moniker, “Don ‘Dirt’ Williams.”

The story on the derivation of that label can be found in the 2021 blog post under the section entitled “The Origin of Dirt.”

It was not due to a nefarious action, but college fraternity brothers at the SAE house at Oregon State University in 1966. And it has stuck all of these years.

From Dirty Donnie to Dirty to Dirt

And I get a good chuckle when I see examples. For instance, this Rogue Brewery truck we saw on the Oregon Coast and this creatively named hauling company whose truck came rumbling by our house recently.

And, one of my favorite radio personalities is Andy “Dirt” Johnson on Portland radio station 1080 The Fan. Dirt has had a great career in a competitive industry and he’s carried the nickname from an earlier age than I:

“He was an all-league quarterback at Portland’s Cleveland High School, where he picked up the nickname ‘Dirt,’ which has stuck professionally. It came from some inappropriate pictures he drew on an overhead as a Cleveland freshman.” (The Oregonian) (#3)

7NPUQrAT_400x400

From Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, “Dirt to Dust….

Yes, I’ve slightly modified this burial service phrase from the Book of Common Prayer to relate the derivation of my younger brother, Rick’s nickname, when he joined the SAE’s at OSU four years after me. It was logical that he should become known as “Dust.”

And I want to talk about Dust a bit – not only because he had a remarkable career in the US Navy before retiring as a Captain, but because it’s relevant in light of the recent tragic implosion of the Titan submersible.

His career story is conveyed in my blog post when I named him as one of my Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter in 2015. Rick, like me, graduated from Oregon State and was commissioned as an Ensign after four years in the NROTC program.

The photos below show him as a midshipman and at his 1987 wedding (clockwise from left to right: brother-in-law, Dave Booher, Dust, Captain Jim Taylor, Dirt and middle brother, Garry – a West Point graduate)

With wife Mary Jean and two sons, Timothy and Taylor receiving his first Legion of Merit Award from Vice Admiral Herb Brown, Commander of the US Navy Third Fleet in 1997

But to summarize, after graduation and commissioning in 1975, he was off to Naval School Diving and Salvage as a “hardhat” diver, followed by Surface Warfare School.

In his first sea tour on the Navy’s newest ocean engineering platform, submarine rescue ship USS PIGEON (ASR 21), he qualified as a Deep Sea (HeO2) Diving Officer and Surface Warfare Officer. During this tour, he attended Naval School Deep Diving Systems for saturation diving training as a Navy Aquanaut.

In an usual career twist, he went through a challenging interview with the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover (Father of the Nuclear Navy) (read about it in the post) and attended Nuclear Power School in Orlando and Submarine Warfare School in Groton, Connecticut.

He served two deployments on the USS SEAWOLF (SSN 575) – the oldest operational fast-attack sub in the world. Rick qualified in Submarines and as a Nuclear Propulsion Engineer. (#4 – #7)

He served almost three years during the SEA CLIFF’s conversion from a 6,500 feet steel-sphere and aluminum frame vehicle, to titanium-rated for 20,000 feet – an extraordinary and accelerated nine-month project – and the deep ocean operations that followed.

Before I relate his amazing experience as captain of the Sea Cliff, Rick’s final command was as skipper of the USS Spadefish (SSN 668 – a Sturgeon Class fast-attack nuclear sub. Dust led two under-ice expeditions to the North Pole during his command of SPADEFISH. She surfaced through the ice “about a dozen times.”

The trips were also “Freedom of Navigation Exercises” to assert US rights of passage in international waters — as the Russians were trying to assert territorial rights in the Arctic Ocean – a situation which is still a critical defense issue today. (#8 – #10)

A Classic 19th Century Novel

Jules Verne’s classic 1869 novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a fictionalized account inspired by “…a model of the French submarine Plongeur (launched in 1863) figured at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, where Jules Verne examined it.”

“The book was widely acclaimed on its release and remains so: it is regarded as one of the premier adventure novels and one of Verne’s greatest works.”, (Wikipedia) (#11)

I didn’t know until researching this post that:

“The title refers to the distance, not depth, traveled under the various seas: 20,000 metric leagues (80,000 km, over 40,000 nautical miles), nearly twice the circumference of the Earth.” (Wikipedia) (#11 – #12)

20,000 Feet Under the Sea!

Now the book was science fiction and Dust, while skipper of the Sea Cliff, did not encounter a giant squid as did Captain Nemo of the Nautilus.

He did, however, have an incredible adventure in 1985 – and that’s not hyperbole as you can see by reading the article below:

Rick Middie_0002

The key paragraph of this 1985 Oregonian article about the Sea Cliff dive off the coast of Guatemala states:

“Now at 33, Williams sits as the first man to command a deep-sea diving submarine 20,000 feet below the ocean surface. He and his team, which he credits most for the achievement, are known throughout the community for their feat and the United States owns the title of being the first country to master those depths….

When the day finally came (after two years of preparation) Williams and two crew members crowded into the vessel’s main cabin – 6 1/2 feet in diameter and after fourteen hours, mastered the mission.” (#13 – #14)

The most graphic representation I saw to help understand the pressure at those depths was the “squashed cup” you see in the picture below. It was a full size coffee cup tied to a line outside the Sea Cliff on the operation and shows the effects of the pressure at 20,000 feet.

The Titan Submersible (#15)

The Titan implosion was a tragedy and given his experience in the depths, I wanted to get Rick’s perceptions. He was somewhat tight-lipped because of the tragic consequences although he has typically been reticent about his Navy experience.

Part of that is for security purposes and part of that is probably to “repay” me for the transaction we had when I was eight and he was four. I told him that if he gave me a dime, I would give him five pennies. Since he was not into currency at that time, he readily agreed.

And speaking of payback, he did, in a manner of speaking on his First -class Midshipman Summer Cruise in 1973 as recounted in the aforementioned 2015 blog post:

“While Rick was a whiz at math and science, his comprehension of world geography was lacking. While on this 1/C cruise and in port in Singapore, he awoke me with a phone call at 3 AM.

He wanted to borrow $50 for what he characterized as ‘an investment in the future’ – to buy a watch. Although he maintains that he paid it back (…and he later did give me the watch as a gift), it is still carried as an Accounts Receivable on Thebeerchaser’s personal balance sheet.” (#16 – #17)

Recently I started reading Bob Woodward’s book Veil – The Secret Wars of the CIA (1981-1987) Stansfield Turner was transitioning from the position after Reagan was elected. Turner referenced the “SNCP” (Special Navy Control Project) involving high-risk surveillance by US subs on their Soviet counterparts and other Soviet assets.

I asked Dust if had had ever been involved in that and he responded, “

“I can neither confirm nor deny receipt of your email referring to submarine operations. To quote General Schwarzkopf. ‘We do not discuss submarine operations.'”

This facetious response was similar to the retort, “If I told you, I would have to kill you,” that he often gave me when I asked Rick about the games of “chicken” that US subs were having with their Soviet counterparts in the Pacific while he was on active duty.

But I Digress…..

While I didn’t do any meaningful research, my understanding was that one of the issues of controversy with the Titan was its carbon-fiber hull as contrasted with the steel and titanium hulls of Navy and other deep submergence vehicles.

The debris field of the Titan was evidently about 500 meters from the hull of the Titanic which is at a depth of about 13,000 feet. The Sea Cliff dive went to 20,000 feet and their final practice dive was at 15,000.

Rick’s comments were few but meaningful. When I asked him about the lack of certification and rumors of rushed inspection with the Titan, he said that going that deep in the ocean is “inner space.

“The Navy’s rigorous inspections make it “obscenely safe. There is no margin for error or backup plan. The Navy’s approach has been validated.”

He quoted a former Navy Admiral:

“Never begrudge a precaution.” (#18)

640px-Deep_sea_corals,_Wagner_Seamount

And finally he stated:

“I was extremely proud of going to 20,000 feet and particularly proud of returning from 20,000 feet!”

Dust earned his MBA while in the Navy and is now a Senior Fellow in the Center for Public Service at Portland State University, and a doctoral student in Public Affairs and Policy. After working for several defense contractors he founded Oregon Applied Research LLC. – an executive and technical management consultancy and veteran-owned small business.

And Finally….

While Rick and I may have disagreed on the value of coinage and the net present value of investments, we were harmonious during college years in our annual rivalry with Brother Garry, while he attended the US Military Academy at West Point.

Garry’s most articulate response came in the mail one year the week before the Army vs Navy Game.

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traffic_signs_buried_in_a_pile_of_dirt,_Molenlaankwartier,_Rotterdam_(2022)_02.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Donald_Trung – 25 September 2022.

#2. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dust_bunnies.jpg) This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Stromcarlson at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide – 23 January 2016.

#3. Twitter (https://twitter.com/TheDirtJohnson/photo)

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Standard_diving_dress_1.jpg

#5. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Pigeon_(ASR-21)_underway_off_Southern_California,_California_(USA),_on_28_July_1976_(6392003).jpg) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States – 28 July 1976. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Mark.murphy at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. Author: Mark.murphy.

#6. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover#/media/File:Hyman_Rickover_1955.jpg) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States – Circa 1955.

#7. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Seawolf_(SSN-575) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States. US Navy – August 1977.

8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Spadefish_%28SSN-668%29) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States. 1969.

#9. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Insignia_of_SSN-668_Spadefish.PNG) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.

#10. History Central – (https://www.historycentral.com/navy/Submarine/spadefishII.html) Always cite unless otherwise noted Marc Schulman as author, Publisher is Multieducator Inc and Publication.

#11. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Seas#/media/File:’Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea’_by_Neuville_and_Riou_036.jpg) By Henri Théophile Hildibrand – http://jv.gilead.org.il/rpaul/Vingt%20mille%20lieues%20sous%20les%20mers/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23310394.

#12. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Seas#/media/File:Houghton_FC8_V5946_869ve_-_Verne,_frontispiece.jpg) By Edouard Riou (1833-1900), Alphonse Marie de Neuville (1835-1885), Jules Verne (author) – Houghton Library, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37326342.

#13. (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08354.htm) USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.

#14. (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0835400.jpg) Photo courtesy of Larry Beaver..

#15. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OceanGate_Titan_schematic_nevernude.svg) licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. By Mliu92 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

#16. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stansfield_Turner#/media/File:Admiral_Stansfield_Turner,_official_Navy_photo,_1983.JPEG) This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States – 13 June 1983.

# 17. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woodward#/media/File:DIG13846-168.jpg) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code – Author: Jay Godwin 2 March 2016…

#18. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deep_sea_corals,_Wagner_Seamount.jpg) This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made as part of an employee’s official duties. 15 September 2017.

A Decade of Beerchasing!

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Thebeerchaser

(Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.)

I guess it is appropriate that my 300th post on Thebeerchaser blog be a celebration, of sorts – ten years of this retirement hobby – started in August 2011. My plans for a more formal gathering in the early fall were delayed by the pandemic and will be held in 2022.

Some Background

After first working in the public sector and then legal management for the the last thirty-years of my career – the final twelve as the Chief Operating Officer at the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt law firm – a 150 attorney firm with its principal office in Portland, Oregon, I retired in early 2011.

A retirement present from the firm – note the name of the wine which was appropriate….

Since I spent many of my waking hours working, there was some concern about how I would handle retirement. But from the first day, I loved it.

There has never been a boring period whether it was from trying to remaster the oboe – I had abandoned after junior high – with lessons, traveling with my wife of thirty-one (now forty-one) years, playing with the blessings to come – four granddaughters, enjoying the Oregon coast or what became my primary hobby – a blog named Thebeerchaser.com.

The seed germinated before retirement was sown with visits to two great dive bars – The Stanley Rod and Gun Whitewater Saloon in Stanley, Idaho and Lumpy’s Landing in Dundee, Oregon. It prompted the crazy idea to personally experience and then tell the story of bars and breweries – initially just in Portland – but shortly thereafter, all through Oregon and parts of the US and even a number in Europe.

The books and bar guides shown in the picture at the start of this post, are some of the references I used in framing my posts.

So Thebeerchaser.com was brewed – starting slowly and with the help of two wonderful and talented friends who created the two logos I’ve used (Teresa Maclean and Jud Blakely), I slowly (and often painfully) learned how to use WordPress to convey the impressions on my subject.

It was not a technical commentary on my favorite beverage, but narratives on the history of the bar or brewery, interviews with the regulars and bar staffs, descriptions of the trappings and what distinguished the ambiance from other watering holes.

Early on, I also decided to relate the stories of individuals or groups (primarily those I knew personally) who may not have had any connection with bars or beers, but had an interesting story and made a notable contribution to society in my humble opinion. These soon came to be “honored” with the moniker of Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

This is an eclectic group and past recipients include lawyers (some worked at the Schwabe firm), authors, athletes, clerics, musicians, environmentalists, military heroes, academicians and athletes.

Also three family members – Janet, my wife, in part, for supporting and joining me on many of my Beerchasing travels, my brother, Rick, for his remarkable career in the Navy which culminated as skipper of the nuclear sub USS Spadefish (SSN 668) and most recently, my Dad (F. Duane Williams – FDW), who although he passed away at the age of 54 in 1973, left a notable legacy.

For a composite list of these remarkable individuals and groups and some additional background, check out the following Beerchaser link for the 2020 post entitled, “Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter (Who,What,Why? – thirty-five at that time.

Since I have expanded on my tribute to lawyers with multiple posts and composed several chapters to my Dad’s story in 2021, the count now is thirty-six which I hope to expand more diligently in 2022.

Some Statistics

Not once have I considered commercializing this blog – it’s strictly a hobby, so I don’t have to worry about deadlines, number of viewers, etc. That said, since I worked in a law firm for twenty-five years where statistics translated into economics i.e. compensation, I do have some interest in the metrics of my blog.

I will also freely admit that my posts are usually too long – they average 1,677 words for the ten years, but for the last five the average has increased to 2,136 and this one is over 3,000 (sorry!), which discourages most viewers from reading the entire post – even with the pictures scattered through the narrative. But this trend, probably won’t change since I’m writing primarily for my own enjoyment after framing numerous legal management memos during my career that bored even me – the author!

And while Thebeerchaser.com is a hobby, I have been delighted with the additional exposure it has gotten every year which leads to more interactions with people from all over the world.

The Slammer – A Portland bar with barbwire….

My wife says I spend more time these days on the computer than when I worked and since my 299 posts have generated 501,485 words, she’s probably right. Unfortunately, the pandemic has essentially curtailed my visits to new locations since early 2020

Up to that time I had visited (usually twice for each one counted) 366 establishments of which 119 were in the Portland metro area and the other 247 scattered through God’s country and beyond. It’s almost impossible to identify a few favorite watering holes, but the photos above show four of them. In reviewing my galleries for this selection, I note with sadness that a number I could have included are no longer in business.

I also state – with disappointment – albeit with some anticipation, that in the last two years because of lockdowns and our own caution in dealing with COVID, I’ve added only nine premises to that total – seven in Portland and two in Bellingham, Washington – a very nice town we visited on a long weekend with lots of breweries, expansive parks and a nice college. At both the Boundary Bay and Aslan Breweries, we were able to eat on decks with plenty of ventilation and mask protocols. We will return!

Diverted, but not Diminished…

Instead, my blog posts have been devoted to catching up on the narratives of the forty-nine bars and breweries we visited on an extensive Montana road trip in 2019 – six days with Don flying solo and the remainder after I picked Janet up at the Billings Airport to continue our trip through the Dakotas, Wyoming and Idaho before returning to Oregon.

A wonderful 2019 road trip filled with watering holes and National Parks and Monuments

I also offered reflections on life during a worldwide pandemic, memories from high school and working around lawyers, sarcastic comments about technical reviews on beers, and updates on some of my Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter along with miscellaneous other trivia from my files – those that my wife insisted I clean out during the pandemic.

The blog now has 411 “followers” – individuals who get an e-mail every time there’s a new post. I also realize that my metrics pale compared to some of the blogs I regularly follow and have gotten to know the authors – something I will elaborate on in a future post.

In 2021 Thebeerchaser.com garnered a total of 28,500 views from just over 20,000 “visitors” – up from the comparable figures of 6,800 and 4,800 in 2012 – the first full year of the blog. The majority are people searching the internet and land on “Thebeerchaser.”

An increase in viewership through ten years

Although just over 90% of these views are from the US as one would expect, the exact localities in the 104 other countries where views have emanated in 2021, fill me with curiosity.

This includes three from Iceland – a place I hope to eventually visit and raise a mug of their Kaldi Fresh Breeze beer at the Micro Bar on Second Street in Reykjavik after seeing the Northern Lights.

Related Benefits

Besides the opportunity to quaff hundreds of great craft beers (although I will always opt for a PBR Tallboy), the blog has presented many other ancillary benefits. One I’ve written about numerous times is becoming involved in the planning of the Benedictine Brewery on the grounds of the Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary and which opened in late 2018.

The Brewery and St. Michael Taproom has since expanded and been very successful – even during a pandemic – under the skillful management and superb brewing skills of Fr. Martin Grassel, who has become a good friend. It also led to my service on the Abbey Foundation of Oregon Board of Trustees for which I just started my second three-year term.

The Benedictine Brewery – Taste and Believe!

I’ve also had the pleasure of speaking about my Beerchasing journey to four Rotary Clubs in Oregon – West Linn and Lincoln City in person and Lake Oswego and Bend over ZOOM – a new and challenging experience in public speaking – it was hard to tell if anyone was laughing at my bar and lawyer jokes…..During the in-person presentations, I, at least, knew that they weren’t!

Learning a lot of history and geography while researching the places I’m reviewing has been rewarding; however, the most beneficial and lasting aspect of this retirement pursuit (without question) has been the diverse range of people we’ve met while Beerchasing.

I met people ranging from loggers in Wallace, Idaho at the North Idaho Mountain Brew pub; to an Alaska fisherman – a guy in his fifties named Bill – at Darwin’s Theory in Anchorage, who in the ’70’s used to transport marijuana in the fenders of his big Lincoln across the country. And there was Irish Mike, who journeys twice yearly on his Harley from San Francisco, to Lincoln City, Oregon.

Irish Mike is a burly, bearded guy and designated the “local ambassador” at one of my favorite dives – The Old Oregon Saloon on the Central Oregon Coast. As I was taking pictures, he motioned me to come over to him, reached in his wallet for some dollar bills and told me to plug the juke box adding “Don’t screw it up!”

Irish Mike at the “Old O” in Lincoln City

Then there was the regular at Eilers’ Place in Pueblo, Colorado, who coincidentally happened to be in the bar with three friends after the bartender responded to my question about the history of the bar. She took out the photo below to demonstrate that the bar has always been a family oriented place and asked:

“You see that mama in the photo holding her baby – second from the end? Well that baby is sitting in the booth right over by the door.”

I went over and introduced myself and he shook hands and he said, “I’m James Mohorcich, but you should just call me ‘Horse.’ I live across the street and I’ve been coming here for at least forty years.”

One of the great bars in Pueblo, Colorado

I’ve met some wonderful bartenders and owners from Phoebe Newcombe – who gave me a baseball cap she autographed on my first Beerchase in 2011 at the Brooklyn Park Pub, to Andre’, from Macedonia, who had an infectious smile, a warm personality and joked with us notwithstanding a very busy bar at the Little Missouri Saloon in Medora, North Dakota.

On one of our East Coast swings we visited the Marshall Wharf Brewery in quaint Belfast. This Maine town of a little less than 7,000 was founded in 1770 and like our Portland, the name (derived from the Northern Ireland city) was determined by a coin toss.

There, Kathryn, our friendly bartender, went through the list of their brews (German beer is their specialty) and talked me into trying a German Rauchbier – a smoked malt beer – Marshall’s Deep Purple Rauchbier (6.0%). Beer Advocate described it as:

“Smoke on the water! This Bamberg (Germany) inspired smoked ale is Bacon in a Glass (emphasis added). Very polarizing beer – you either like the style and taste or you never want to drink it again…..”

I loved it. Of course, what food or drink with bacon infusion wouldn’t I savor…..?

I love the bars in Montana and won’t forget one of my favorite regulars of Thebeerchaser’s Tour – Fritz – who had his own stool at the Antler Saloon in Wisdom, Montana. About fifty miles away from that great bar, I had a long chat while nursing a Miller High Life with Tom Davis, the “seasoned” owner of the Wise River Club.

He emigrated from Scotland in 1964 and told me, “In those days if you had an accent and could sing, you could make some money.” He formed a band and played lead guitar. Tom and his group fronted and toured with Sonny and Cher, the Mamas and Papas and in the Northwest with Portland’s own Paul Revere and the Raiders.

And, by chance, when I walked in one late Saturday afternoon, after reading about them in the book “Montana Watering Holes,” I had a memorable and extended conversation with Dick and Charlotte Sappa, the legendary owners since 1973 of the Blue Moon Saloon in Columbus Falls, Montana.

It’s purported to have the longest bar in Montana and is known for its legendary taxidermy including a polar bear. I was fortunate to get a tour of the “Upper Room” – filled with exotic trophies – by their son, Bill – “something we don’t usually do for strangers……”

Three “Unforgettable Characters“!

I can’t end without naming three of the most unforgettable people I’ve met strictly as a result of this hobby – again hard to narrow the candidates down – but they stand out – John Runkle, the late Brian Doyle and Matt Love.

John Runkle, who up until one month ago, was the owner of my favorite and most iconic bar I visited in the ten years – the Dirty Shame Saloon in Yaak, Montana.

I spent two days in Yaak and stayed in the Wolf Room at the Yaak River Lodge which John still owns. (His goal is to move to Texas.) John has charisma and both a personality and heart as big as the Montana sky. (He also claims to be the only sixty-year old with three kids under five (four, two and three months!)

I met the late author, Brian Doyle, in 2013 after I wrote a letter and asked him to meet me at his favorite bar (the Fulton Pub) so I could interview him for Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter honors. To my surprise, he agreed. He was a wonderful human being who left a legacy at the University of Portland, where he was on the faculty, the basketball courts of the Boston City League and most notably fans of great literature. His award-winning books and essays are mentioned in the post I dedicated to him – Brian Doyle – Beerchaser Eternal

Runkle accepting a peace offering of Benedictine Beer

Matt Love, is a fellow Oregon City High School grad who lived in Oregon City during his junior high and high school years and graduated from OCHS in 1982. He is a prolific author (nineteen books) who owns the Nestucca Spit Press – a small publishing company. His repertoire, to name a few I’ve read, includes Oregon Tavern Age – an exploration of dive bars on the Oregon Coast – something Thebeerchaser relished.

Add to this list, “The Bonnie and Clyde Files – How Two Senior Dogs Saved a Middle-aged Man.” In 2009, he won the prestigious Oregon Literary Arts’ Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award for his contributions to Oregon history and literature.

Matt and I after communicating by e-mail for several years, finally met last fall – joined by another OCHS grad – former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter Jim Westwood at the Falls View Tavern.

Matt’s writing style, his humor and rich descriptions are especially evident in his 102-page tome on dogs entitled Of Dogs and Meaning.- it’s absolutely captivating – and I make that assertion even though Janet and I have never had a dog during our 41 years of marriage.

Besides Matt’s own heart-warming stories from athletics, teaching and most notably, of his own dogs – Sonny, Bonnie and Clyde, and Tex, he relates canine tales ranging from those involving George Washington, James Madison, John Kennedy, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill and WC Fields. And of course, his years in dive bars yield a few good anecdotes:

“I met a dog in an Oregon Tavern who fetched cans of Hamm’s for humans from behind the bar, but only Hamm’s. Budweiser was out.”

A Wonderful Book from the Nestucca Spit Press

Matt also has a big heart and compassion and respect for others. His latest project is a newsletter entitled “The New American Diaspora.” You can (and should) subscribe by clicking on the link:

“I coined the phrase the New American Diaspora to describe the growing phenomenon of those people living in homelessness and those people checking out of the so-called American dream and taking up residence in the margins.

The focus of this newsletter is on Oregon where I live. I float around the state. I don’t necessarily hold my observations and interactions out as representative of what’s happening elsewhere around the country, but perhaps they are.”

Say Goodnight, Geoff!!

For the finale and to further explain why Montana will always be my favorite Beerchasing state, I have to leave you with a tune by an affable old guy named Geoff at the Yaak River Tavern – across the street from the Dirty Shame Saloon (but no comparison on the ambiance). He was playing guitar and singing – on a bar stool at the bar – nursing one of a number of beers he had consumed that day/night and telling stories.

I told the owner that I was buying him a beer when he came in the next day (he didn’t need any more that night…) and to credit his account. So Geoff sang us his favorite song. This is an excerpt although it essentially captures all the lyrics in 19 seconds…. (When the lyrics have “palm trees,” “banana,” “beach” and “Montana” in the same verse, you know there’s creativity!)

Geoff Rocks Out

Cheers and Happy New Year!

External Photo Attribution

*1 – 2 Facebook Page – Micro Bar – Rekjavik, Iceland (https://www.facebook.com/MicroBarIceland/photos/a.305930982827754/30593102949441

*3 Kaldi Brewery Website (https://www.bruggsmidjan.is/is/bjorinn/kaldi)

*4 Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moon_and_Aurora.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Wa17gs 6 April 2017.

Retired Navy Captain Rick Williams — Beerchaser-of-the Quarter

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Thebeerchaser

Each quarter Thebeerchaser recognizes an individual or group that in his opinion has made a contribution to humanity. Said “honoree” may or may not have anything to do with beer or bars other than enjoying an occasional microbrew (or PBR) in a favorite watering hole.

Captain Jud Blakely, USMC

Several of the past recipients have been selected, so to speak, for their distinguished military accomplishments – Jud Blakely – USMC – and Doug Bomarito – US Navy — and Steve Lawrence (now Mayor of The Dalles, Oregon) – US Army – all recipients of the Bronze Star with Combat V for service in Viet Nam. In fact, Lawrence received both a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for heroism in combat. (Click on the links above to see the posts.)

Bronze and Silver Stars awarded to Steve Lawrence

The new Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, had a diverse and distinguished Navy career, before retiring in 2000 and “homesteading” in Redland, Oregon. He also happens to be Thebeerchaser’s youngest brother. The narrative below is his story:

Rick as a naïve and idealist 4th class or freshman midshipman

Rick as a naïve and idealistic 4th class or freshman midshipman

Captain Rick Williams stood on the bridge of the Third Fleet Command Ship USS CORONADO on a sunny day in June, 1997, as she steamed up the Willamette with four other Navy ships for the Portland Rose Festival. Rick thought about his time spent in Corvallis as a Class of 1974 OSU NROTC Midshipman – where he graduated with a degree in Construction Engineering Management in June 1975 – and the mentors who had guided him along the way. OSU was where he was commissioned by Captain Chuck Dimon, his Professor of Naval Science, and sent to his first sea tour.

200_ Change of Command Ceremony in San Diego

With family receiving his first Legion of Merit Award from Vice Admiral Herb Brown, Commander of the US Navy Third Fleet in 1997

Fast forward to July 2000 — Rick was at his change of command and retirement ceremony at Submarine Base – Point Loma, where the same Captain Chuck Dimon granted him permission to come ashore after 25 years, including 21 years of continuous sea duty and 17 cross-country moves.

Although an additional tour at the Pentagon carried the potential of Flag rank, he and his wife, Mary Jean, agreed that their two young boys deserved some stability rather than being uprooted every few years. So Rick retired and his family took root on several acres in rural Redland, near Oregon City where he graduated from high school.

Since retirement, Rick has worked at Tektronix for three years, and now Leidos, a defense contractor for over 12 years. He consulted as Chief Technology Officer of Oregon Iron Works, helped industry and Oregon State University develop wave energy and continues to work with the military on wave energy test centers. In 2014, the Oregon Wave Energy Trust renamed its annual Ocean Energy Leadership Award in his honor. He was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2012.

Brothers Garry and Don Williams

Rick’s NROTC scholarship and future Navy career may have been preordained because of the family military roots of his two older brothers.

Don, in the OSU Class of 1970, received his commission as a surface line officer, while his brother Garry, US Military Academy at West Point Class of 1972, served as an Armored Cavalry officer.

His brother-in-law, Dave Booher, also served as a sonarman on two Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines for five nuclear deterrent patrols and was aboard the diesel boat USS Dogfish (which is older than the Beerchaser, having been launched in 1944) before he left the Navy. Dave’s naval service was not significant except by his own admission, “I saved Democracy from the USSR during the Cold War…..” It should be noted that he also redefined the meaning of the term, “Lost the Bubble,” while serving on those patrols.

Don (2nd from left) his senior year with then Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird in Wash. DC

Garry (3rd from left) and the West Point Glees Club at the White House with President Nixon in 1971

Garry (3rd from left) and the West Point Glee Club at the White House with President Nixon in 1971

Indeed, Thanksgiving holidays at the Williams’ household would see the loser of the Army vs. Navy game bet make payment on the outcome.

“Hard hat” Diver

Rick’s career would be viewed by most Navy detailers as an anomaly, or… ”No, you can’t do that…!” His motivation evolved from his 2nd Class (sophomore) Midshipman tour of Submarine Base – Point Loma in 1972, where he learned of the Navy’s Sea Lab and Deep Submergence Systems Project.

That inspired a year’s leave of absence from NROTC to study ocean engineering at OSU in 1973, Navy scuba diver qualification as a 1st Class Midshipman and summer cruise on a salvage ship in 1974.

Note: While Rick was a whiz at math and science, his comprehension of world geography was lacking. While on this 1/C cruise and in port in Singapore, he awoke me with a phone call at 3 AM.

He wanted to borrow $50 for what he characterized as “an investment in the future” – to buy a watch. Although he maintains that he paid it back (…and he did give me the watch as a gift), it is still carried as an Accounts Receivable on Thebeerchaser’s personal balance sheet (… just to keep messing with him for the 3am phone call).

After graduation and commissioning in 1975, he was off to Naval School Diving and Salvage as a “hardhat” diver, followed by Surface Warfare School.

Note: Rick maintains that he can still swim 500 yards in 12.5 minutes (using only combat side-stroke or breast-stroke), do 50 push-ups in two minutes, 50 sit-ups in two minutes, six pull-ups in two minutes and then a 1.5 mile run in 12.5 minutes (after a ten-minute rest period) – required to qualify as a diver. No bet has been placed……

Underwater dives from the SEA CLIFF

In his first sea tour on the Navy’s newest ocean engineering platform, submarine rescue ship USS PIGEON (ASR 21), he served as Communications Officer, Damage Control Assistant, Acting Engineer, and Operations Officer, and qualified as a Deep Sea (HeO2) Diving Officer and Surface Warfare Officer .

During this tour, he attended Naval School Deep Diving Systems for saturation diving training as a Navy Aquanaut. At the graduation, where he was elected class honor man, he met Submarine Development Group One Commodore Chuck Larson, who became a four-star Admiral as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC) and then Commandant of the Naval Academy. Larson urged him to go into submarines.

He had to volunteer for nuclear power to get to submarines, however, Rick wanted to become a Navy Hydronaut and command a deep submergence vehicle. So, the Commodore’s plan was for Rick to “flunk” the interview with Admiral Hyman Rickover, go to sub school, and stay in SubDevGru One.

USS SEAWOLF

But, after an unusual interview and an unplanned outcome (the Admiral selected him), it was off to Nuclear Power School in Orlando where he was again class honor man, then Nuclear Prototype Training in Idaho and Submarine Warfare School in Groton.

He served two deployments on the USS SEAWOLF (SSN 575) – the oldest operational fast-attack sub in the world. Rick qualified in Submarines and as a Nuclear Propulsion Engineer.

After this five-year detour, he took command of the Deep Submergence Vehicle SEA CLIFF (DSV 4), an “inner space ship” built for deep ocean recovery with a crew of fourteen special projects submariners including three officers. Rick served almost 3 years during the SEA CLIFF’s conversion from a 6,500 feet steel-sphere and aluminum frame vehicle, to titanium rated for 20,000 feet – an extraordinary and accelerated nine-month project – and the deep ocean operations that followed.

USS Sea Cliff surfacing after operations in the Pacific

He then served as Engineer on the newest Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine USS ALABAMA (SSBN 731 Gold Crew) during four strategic deterrent patrols, as Executive Officer on the USS CAVALLA (SSN 684) and on the USS OLYMPIA (SSN 717).

After graduation from the Command Course, Rick became CO or skipper of the USS SPADEFISH (SSN 668). Note: Knowing what I knew about my youngest brother’s college escapades, this promotion made me acutely aware that this same kid now had responsibility for a nuclear reactor.

His final fleet billet was Third Fleet Submarine Warfare Officer, embarked on the USS CORONADO in San Diego. So what were the highlights of this amazing military career?

Rickover Interview in ‘79 – While Rick would not describe it as a “highlight,” one of the most memorable incidents was his interview with the irascible Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the Father of the Nuclear Navy, who served for 63 years.

Admiral Rickover - Father of the Nuclear Navy.

Admiral Hyman Rickover – Father of the Nuclear Navy.

“The Admiral sat behind a large gray, dented, desk (“LGDD” in Navy terms). He started by berating me for being an athlete in college (Rick was Captain of the OSU Ski Racing Team) and then castigated me for dropping a typing class at OSU. He was critical of my Navy career path and did not want “late” entries to his Program.

He told me several things about my service history that were… well, just wrong. So, after several unsuccessful attempts at correcting the record (and given that I was supposed to flunk the interview anyway), I told him ‘Your paperwork is wrong, Sir.’”

The 5-minute interview ended with the Admiral screaming at his Executive Assistant and yelling at Rick, “Get out of here!” Rick was extremely surprised that Rickover selected him for the Program. Note: Thebeerchaser thinks that most men would be crotchety if they had to go through life with the first name “Hyman.” He was probably making up for the abuse he took from schoolmates on the playground…..

DSV SEA CLIFF Dives in ’84-85 – After post-conversion sea trials to 15,000 feet, SEA CLIFF successfully recovered the downed CH-53E helicopter — a crash that had the Rapid Deployment Force grounded around the globe — in a six-month effort off the Pacific Coast. Rick and his crew then completed other deep ocean operations and SEA CLIFF’s initial dive to 20,000 feet in the Middle American Trench off Guatemala.

Underwater shot of the Sea Cliff

Problems with this cup if you order a Starbucks Tall Coffee

The “squashed cup” you see in the picture was a full size coffee cup tied to a line outside the vehicle and shows the effects of the pressure at 20K.

Press coverage of record dive.

One thought-provoking moment occurred at 19,700 feet under water when the SEA CLIFF’s high pressure air gauge, which was supposed to register 3,000 psi, pegged off-scale.

USS Sea Cliff

In spite of the “sea water intrusion event” (or flooding of the high pressure air system) and after verifying depth control, the crew successfully completed the test dive.

As a result of the 20K dive, SEA CLIFF was designated by the Secretary of the Navy as America’s Flagship for America’s Year of the Ocean and Rick was elected as a Fellow in the prestigious Explorers Club, the international society which is headquartered in New York City.

USS SPADEFISH Adventures in ’92-93 – Rick led two under-ice expeditions to the North Pole during his command of SPADEFISH. She surfaced through the ice “about a dozen times” and visited Tromso, Norway.

Sequence of pictures surfacing at the North Pole in the SPADEFISH

Original USS SPADEFISH Battle Flag in WW II

SPADEFISH was the Squadron Six Tactical Top Performer in 1994.

USS SPADEFISH

Third Fleet in ’94-98 – While on sea duty, Rick earned his MBA at San Diego State. His thesis project led to the reorganization of Third Fleet as a Sea Based Joint Task Force and he became Assistant Chief of Staff for Command and Control.

He was led the design team and was the Fleet Manager for the conversion of the flagship into the prototype Joint Command Ship of the Future and created the Sea Based Battle Laboratory to accelerate capabilities into the Fleet. This led to one of his Legion of Merit awards.

Certificate for CORONADO after the conversion

The USS CORONADO in Seattle Harbor

Rick was selected as an Acquisition Professional. His next tour was at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command as Deputy Director, Advanced Concepts, working on Fleet Battle Experiments.

From a naïve 4^th Class Midshipman taking naval history courses in the NROTC Quonset hut and participating in weekly drills, Rick Williams fully utilized the knowledge and skills he acquired at OSU and in numerous Navy schools. He rose through the ranks to Captain with two Legions of Merit in a diverse Navy career and post retirement work as a consultant. he still wonders, however, why Admiral Rickover chewed him out over dropping a typing class…!

Rick's Wedding in 1986 - Three Navy Guys (Dave, Rick and Don), a minister and an Army Guy (Garry)

Rick’s Wedding in 1987 – Three Navy Guys (Dave, Rick and Don), a minister and an Army Guy (Garry)

The Williams clan in the ’60’s including sister, Lynne, Duane and Frannie

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