First Responders

Seaside is a town that bustles with tourists during the summer season. It’s right on the rugged Oregon coast with miles of beautiful beaches right on the water.

The first inhabitants of the area were Clatsop Native Americans. They lived there for centuries until explorers arrived in the 1700s, seeking a water route across the continent. They are first mentioned in written history in 1792 by a merchant captain named Robert Gray. He explored 20 miles up the Columbia River, and named it after his ship “Columbia.” Sadly, the explorers and merchants brought smallpox along with them. By the time the first European settlers arrive in the area, only around 250 tribe members remained.

The famous Lewis and Clark Expedition—the Corps of Discovery—also visited Seaside. In November 1805, they reached the Pacific Coast and set up a winter camp near the mouth of the Columbia River. They’d run out of salt, so an expedition of three men were sent to find a place to establish a salt-making operation.

They established the salt-making camp in what would become present-day Seaside where they boiled 1,400 gallons of seawater to make four bushels of salt for their trip home. Today, a recreation of the original gives visitors a glimpse into the salt camp of the past. Lewis and Clark’s expedition is memorialized in a huge statue at the center of Seaside’s round-about at the end of Broadway, the busiest street in town that leads down to the beach.

John Jacob Astor was the next to come to the area. In 1811, he established a fur trading post and Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. By the early 1820s, people arrived and began forming permanent settlements and claiming land in the Seaside area.  However, the city was not incorporated until 1899.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, going to Oregon’s beaches from Portland wasn’t an easy trip.

Trunks were hauled down from attic storage. Bathing suits were cleaned and repaired. Bed linens, clothing, toys, food supplies, and cooking utensils were packed. The adventure was at least a week long and it could last all summer. Prior to 1890, the main means of travel were river boats down the Columbia River to Astoria, or by horseback and stagecoach. It was an all-day trip. Hotels were limited, and vacationers rented cottages or set up tents and camped.

After 1890, a train connected Portland to Seaside. It cut the travel time in half, even though the trip included the Ecola Toll Road with 111 motion sickness-inducing curves. Because the trip wasn’t easy or simple, families who could afford it would often stay in cottages all summer with the fathers commuting on the weekends on what became known as “daddy trains.”

Seaside grew. Hotels were constructed. A highway along the Columbia River opened in 1920, making travel even easier.

August 7, 1921, was a memorable day in Seaside.  A new promenade that stretched for a mile and a half was dedicated in a ceremony that brought thousands of people to town. Visitors flocked to the area for the proceedings. Oregon State dignitaries and politicians traveled from the capitol to give grand speeches and join the throngs of merry makers.  The dedication of The Prom, as it would become known, was held with parades, cornet and trumpet orchestras, and fox-trotting into the wee hours at the dance halls on Broadway. Today, people still stroll along vintage lamp-lit walk watching the waves caress the shore.

During the 1920s until World War II, Seaside was a popular place for musicians to stop along the West Coast, with names such as Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller among the most popular acts.

In 1942, Seaside witnessed the shelling of Fort Stevens by a Japanese submarine in the only attack on a mainland American military site during World War II. It happened June 21, 1942. After covertly following American fishing vessels to bypass minefields, a Japanese submarine  entered the mouth of the Columbia River. It surfaced near Fort Stevens, an old Army base that dated back to the Civil War. Just before midnight, the submarine used its deck gun to fire 17 shells at the fort. Wisely, the commander of Fort Stevens ordered his men not to return fire, fearful the muzzle flashes of the fort’s guns would reveal their position. The plan worked, and the bombardment quickly ended. A nearby baseball field bore the brunt of the damage.

Seaside survived a tsunami that swarmed the coast March 27, 1964. A 9.2-magnitude earthquake hit near Alaska and sent waves down the West Coast. According to local legend, some people dancing at a club in town noticed water rising to their ankles. Thinking a pipe had burst, the dancers went outside to find water streaming through town ,carrying along debris from destroyed buildings.

Today, Seaside continues to be a popular tourist destination with many historic buildings and landmarks near the sandy beach where visitors can take in spectacular sunsets.

Just like those in my soon-to-release book Sunset Shore.

An artist, a fire chief, and a troubled teen team up to track down an arsonist.

Hallie Hart roams the country seeking inspiration for her cyanotype creations. After deciding to spend the summer in Seaside on the rugged Oregon coast, she unexpectedly encounters the fire chief, a man who captivates her. Despite her hesitancy to set down roots, she forges friendships, discovers a newfound sense of belonging in Seaside, and treasures the love blossoming in her heart.

Seaside Fire Chief Sloan Davis faces a daunting challenge as an elusive arsonist escalates from dumpster fires to burning buildings. Amid the chaos, Sloan crosses paths with a spirited traveling artist. Their immediate attraction sparks a tender romance, making him realize Hallie is everything he’s been missing in his life.

Forced to spend the summer with his aunt in Seaside, Dellas Reeves fights his boredom by following fire trucks out on calls. While his admiration for the first responders grows, he unwittingly becomes entangled in an arsonist’s scheme.

As they join forces to unravel the mystery surrounding the arsonist, their bonds deepen. When Hallie gets too close to the truth, will Sloan and Dellas be able to save her before the arsonist adds murder to growing list of charges?

Find out in this wholesome small-town romance full of hope, love, memorable characters, mystery, and humor.