In One Ear: Around town

Published 6:00 am Thursday, January 8, 2026

Tidbits from The Daily Morning Astorian, Jan. 8, 1884:

• Jackson’s Day.

Note: Before Andrew Jackson was president, he beat the British in the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815, during the War of 1812. Jackson Day is still celebrated in Louisiana. 

• There is a little item floating around the papers that the lighthouse at Point Adams has been discontinued. The fog signal is no longer heard, but the light streams out as brightly and steadily as ever.

Note: According to OregonEncyclopedia, Point Adams, on the ocean side in Hammond, opened in 1875 with a steam fog signal (Oregon’s first), which was discontinued in 1880 because it couldn’t be heard over the pounding surf. Obsolete by 1899, the lighthouse was demolished in 1912.

• Mrs. Parrish … nursed a daughter who was suffering from typhoid fever … The mother contracted the same disease, which proved fatal.

Note: Highly contagious, typhoid fever spreads through contaminated water. In 1908, Jersey City, New Jersey, became the first U.S. city to routinely disinfect public drinking water. 

• Dinner at Jeff’s Chop House every day from 4:30 to 8 o’clock. The best 25-cent meal in town: soup, fish, seven kinds of meats, vegetables, pie, pudding, etc. A glass of beer, French claret, tea or coffee included. All who have tried him say Jeff is the “Boss.”

Note: Quite a deal! Twenty-five cents in 1884 is $8.27 today.