Maritime Memorial on the river's edge

On the River Walk in the shadow of the soaring Astoria-Megler bridge, you'll come to this small Maritime Memorial park. There's about a quarter circle of curved wall and a few benches. The vista from this spot is breathtaking, and the overall aspect is peaceful and respectful. But it's an interesting and somewhat lively memorial, too, as each rectangular space includes a name; the years of birth and death; a charming engraved image of a boat, a fish, a building, or some other reminder; and a brief comment about how the person's life related to the river or sea. The memorial is for those who lived and/or died in relation to the water. Tomorrow I'll show a photo of some of the images carved into the stone. Although there is nothing built into the wall to allow for flowers and tokens, people are creative, and you'll always find flowers (usually plastic, but not always) taped to the wall or set at the foot of it in a container. I love the bright flowers here and thought it would make a good post for Ruby Tuesday, one of my favorite days of the week. (Check out the link for additional photos featuring the color red.)

The words chiseled into the monument certainly evoke a spirit of this place. A few of them are:

. Gillnetter
. Troller
. Fisherman
. Cannery worker
. He loved the water
. She loved the sea
. Pile buck USCG
. Bumblebee employee
. Oysterman
. Cannery family
. Seafarer
. Captain of Nutsanet
. Keeper of the lights
. FV Valkyrie
. Assistant to Flatfish
. Tugboat operator
. Ocean Foods Market
. Voice on the Columbia
. Salmon buyer & smoker
. Merchant Marine
. Union Pension Advocate
. Columbia River Bar Pilot
. Clatsop Indian

Tomorrow's post will continue this theme.