Mike Morgan

Warrenton interim planning director; former Cannon Beach mayor • Cannon Beach

Q: Have you noticed any changes in the 50 years you’ve lived on the coast?

A: I used to be a planner here. So I’d say geographically, the boundaries of Cannon Beach have not really changed over the last 50 years. Because of the land use laws, there’s no way that we can expand eastward … but it’s become much more intense and much more expensive to live in Cannon Beach. Workers can’t live here. That’s really a tremendous problem. It used to be when I moved here, we could rent a house for 100 bucks a month. Now the cheapest house is $2,000, it’s $1,800 to $2,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. So that’s one thing. … The number of people that are coming to town to Cannon Beach because of its reputation is much more intense than it used to be. Summers, summers were always busy. But now, you know, any weekend like this, whether it’s in January, November, whenever, is filled. … People are streaming in from Portland. We’re only an hour and 15 minutes from Hillsboro. That’s another thing.

Q: What do you love about living on the North Coast?

A: I mean, look around you. It’s insane, it’s so beautiful. Even when it rains, you know? The rain’s gonna come tomorrow. Then it’ll clear up after that. I don’t mind the rains. I live in the forest.

Kelli Crocker

Real estate agent at Pacific Realty; business owner of Nutz-R-Us; acrylic artist • Ocean Park, Washington

Q: You said you moved here from Long Beach, Washington, 11 months ago. What brought you here?

A: Getting out of town, out of the busier environment. Getting into a smaller community. And then I wanted to try selling real estate and it seemed like a perfect place to do it. Things are a lot different here. You know, there’s just a lot of different factors to consider here with wetlands and the ocean.

Q: Do you have any hobbies?

A: I think I’m at that point in my life I want to try everything that I haven’t tried. So I do acrylic pours on furniture. And I’m going to be starting the Ilwaco farmers market. … Most people do canvas work. But I decided, well, if I do the canvas, too, but then I thought what if I start doing furniture to kind of do something different. So I pick up random things at thrift stores.

Q: What do you like about living on the coast?

A: The sense of community. Life. You know, it’s a double edged sword. Everyone knows your business, but everybody looks out for everybody. … And you get real familiar to people real quick, and it’s just so much more relaxing. And the wildlife probably. We have bears and deer and the bald eagles and yeah, it’s just a slower pace of life. Much better.

Q: Do you see many bears out here?

A: We have a den on our property. That’s so cool. So we catch them on our trail cam.

Dwayne Smallwood

Owner, Bridge & Tunnel Bottleshop and Taproom • Astoria

Q: What brought you to the coast?

A: My grandmother lived out here, up in Ocean Park. Didn’t really know her growing up, so I had the opportunity, after I got out of the Army, to move out here and spend the last few years of her life with her and start a life out here.

Q: What changes have you noticed in the 30-plus years you’ve lived here?

A: It’s been really nice to see some of the empty storefronts being filled. Some of the buildings that have been sitting empty for quite a while have had some revitalization. Since I moved in, the J.C. Penney’s store next door has pretty much been basically empty and sitting for several years. So it’s nice to see some work starting in there and something going to be moving in soon.

Q: What inspired you to start Bridge & Tunnel?

A: Driving all over the Northwest to find the beers that I wanted to try. And just being this big beer geek that wanted to meet other people that had the same interests as I did. Eventually it was just like, I kept having to go further and further and further, and I can’t be the only one doing this. I’d walked out of several shops similar to this around. Astoria doesn’t have this, I think it’d be a good fit. I talked to my friends that worked in breweries, and they were like, “Yeah, it’d be a great fit, you should do that.” So they’ve been super supportive since the very beginning.

Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of work?

A: I do love to go and hike when I do get time out of here. I love going, oddly enough, traveling to other breweries, and to see my friends outside of my place of work as well. The amount of tourism here is pretty fantastic, especially in Astoria. People come for all different kinds of reasons. But with the draw of Fort George and Buoy (Beer) and Reach Break, Astoria Brewing, with having that brewery culture here, people are coming here for beer, and to be a part of that. I get to see a lot of tourists that pass through and it’s fantastic. I get to meet people from all over the country because they came up here for a very similar interest.

Shaya White

Bookseller and barista at Godfather’s Books • Astoria

Q: How do you spend your free time?

A: I forage. I’m a crazy mushroom person. I’m renting from a lady that lives right back up to the south side. So I spent a lot of time walking around, looking around the trees, digging the grass. I write a lot. I write poetry, I write short stories, and read. I’m always walking around town with my face in a book. I’m surprised I haven’t walked into a wall yet.

Q: Have you published anything?

A: No, it’s just for myself. Sometimes I’ll be reading something and I’ll really really feel it and I’ll love it and I’ll burn it.

Q: Do you have a favorite book you sell at Godfather’s?

A: “White Oleander” by Janet Fitch is probably the most beautiful book I’ve ever read. It is a complete love story between a woman and herself as she tries to grow outside the shadow of her mentally ill mother. This is my favorite book in the world. I even wrote my favorite line from it on (a tag on the shelf): “Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water.”