Deep Inside an Ancient Oregon Coast Aquarium
Sea cucumbers. Sea lemons. Sea lettuce. These are the words I
hear from Seaside Aquarium staff recently. What is this??? Some
kooky seafood salad recipe?
Manager Keith Chandler tells me this is among his bounty on this
day, after having gone down to Netarts Bay - on the Oregon Coast
- and grabbed a few species for the aquarium. He holds up a sea
cucumber to my face and makes motions like it's moving to attack
me - in a parody of an old horror flick or something. This
purplish, bumpy freaky thing, it turns out, is related to
starfish and sand dollars.
All this takes me back to my first tour of the historical
landmark - the Seaside Aquarium, in the northern Oregon coast
resort town of Seaside. It's early summer 2004, and the aquarium
was just the recipient of five brand new seal pups born in
recent months. I, and a couple others from the local paper,
receive a little tour of the facility, getting a chance to look
at the nearly 70-year-old aquarium.
The seal pups splash and cavort, their adorable little faces
wowing the three of us press-types and causing us to constantly
coo, "they're so cute." Four were named Wyatt, Ivar, Travis and
Sarah. A fifth was named Reagan, born on the day the former
president died. The others were named after members of the
family which has owned the aquarium since the 30's. Ivar was
named after a branch of the family that started the Ivar's Fish
& Chips empire in Washington State.
Another two were born a few months earlier, named Lewis & Clark,
after the explorers who some two centuries ago actually wandered
around the area that would become this town.
Part of the eternal big fun of the aquarium is feeding the
seals, which visitors can do after purchasing a cheap bag of
yummies for these water-slapping, barking and comical creatures.
Keith tells me all the seals are related, breeding with cousins
and other family members, but says this hasn't degenerated their
gene pool - yet - and there are no signs it will.
We wander to the tanks that the public sees - except we're
above, where they open the tanks to feed the fishies. He gets me
to stick my hand into the octopus tank and touch the suction
cups on the tentacles. There's a little sticking action to my
hand, but not much. Still, it doesn't take much for me to get a
little creeped out and my hand doesn't stay for long. Keith says
these guys have their own distinctly different personalities,
and calls them almost as stubborn as seals. They seem to like
some staff members more than others, getting in their way while
working in the tank or not cooperating if the octopus decides he
doesn't dig you.
Inside this behind-the-scenes area, it's like a labyrinth of
wooden structures, walkways above you, corridors of tanks and
other functional equipment. It's a little spooky, actually. All
around are old, old remnants of the aquarium's history,
including a sign about Clara the seal, who had a messed
up-looking eye. It stated she was in no pain, and that one of
her favorite tricks was to put her flippers to her mouth,
showing tourists she wanted to be fed. Clara died in 1978, Keith
says.
This place was actually a natatorium in the 20's, until the
Depression killed its economic feasibility in the early 30's.
This was a warm, saltwater public bath, with water pumped in
from the sea through a pipe (still visible today at the tide
line) and then heated. Around the walls were balconies so people
could watch others swim in the pool below. For a time, the place
served as a salmon rearing facility, and then a place to watch
wrestling matches.
The aquarium was started in 1937, making it one of the oldest in
the entire nation.
Keith leads us down a stairway some ten feet to a dank-smelling
basement, with three giant holes in the ground, filled with
rocks. This is the former deep end of the pool, Keith says, and
the holes are the filters for the seawater that feeds into the
tanks. Each hole spills into another, until water is finally
pumped from the bottom of the third filter. Without that, he
says, the water would be too murky for the public to see into
the tanks.
That pipe is still used to bring water into the aquarium, lying
six to 20 feet under the sand, depending on its location.
Regular visitors to the area will notice it occasionally changes
shape out on the tide line. This is because sands shift and they
need to periodically reconfigure it to keep it from being
smothered.
Fast forward again to the day I encounter Keith after his trip
to Netarts. I'm hanging out behind the scenes again, and his
assistant Tiffany shows me a little yellow critter called a sea
lemon. If you smell it closely, it does smell a bit like a
lemon. There are, apparently, also creatures called sea lettuce
on reefs.
Tiffany holds up a sea cucumber, and out of curiosity I move
close to sniff it. This place is full of pranksters, and Tiffany
says, "you almost kissed a sea cucumber" - admitting she almost
shoved it into my face.
They show me starfish, including one type with really long arms.
Keith demonstrates how they stick to things by letting it
suction itself to his hand. When he pulls it off, a few of the
little "feet" come off. These regenerate, he says. Tiffany adds
that they have two sets of eyes at the end of each arm.
The public area of the aquarium showcases dozens of sea species,
along with a touch tank and the opportunity to feed those
adorable seals. There's nothing like just hanging out, having
fun with pranksters and still learning something.
I did, however, get my own prank in: I crank called Keith's cell
phone a week later. 200 N. Prom, Seaside, Oregon.
www.seasideaquarium.com (503) 738-6211.
For more on the Seaside area, see
http://www.beachconnection.net/vtour_seaside.htm