A feature-length documentary about the Columbia River jetties in the works for a quarter century is nearing completion — like the jetties themselves. 

“Jetties are a critical but overlooked landmark,” said Brett Eichenberger, director of “Taming the Mouth.” He added, “They’re a legacy of engineering and human determination, and this documentary brings those efforts to life in a way that people have never seen before.”

The project, which filmmakers hope to complete later this year, is the brainchild of Joe Foss, a retired electronics entrepreneur from Tacoma, Washington. In 2000, while vacationing at his family cottage in Seaside, he took a hike at the Columbia River South Jetty and was hooked. 

“It’s a unique structure,” Foss said. 

He didn’t quite make it to the break, but the experience inspired him to set out on a yearslong journey of research. 

A decade in, he decided to share what he had learned in the form of a film, and soon came up with the name. During the waning months of the COVID-19 pandemic, he resolved to finally wade into production.

“Time was passing by, and if I was really going to get serious about this, I needed to start moving more towards actually trying to get something done,” Foss said.

In 2022, Foss partnered with Jeff Holt, a pastor and videographer, also from Tacoma, and Gary Kobes, a pilot and retired Astoria Regional Airport manager living in Chinook, Washington, who had written an article about the jetties for the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s publication “The Quarterdeck.”

The trio engaged Eichenberger to direct and Jill Remensnyder to produce the project. Eichenberger and Remensnyder are creative and life partners living in Portland, with coastal connections. 

Remensnyder grew up in Seaside. “The jetties have played a significant role in my life,” she said. “Even more exciting is the idea of sharing the bigger picture with so many people and the impact the jetties have on the community. It really sparked the imagination.” 

Constructed between 1885 and 1939, the Columbia River jetty system consists of three rubble-mound structures: the North Jetty, South Jetty and Jetty A. In all, the system covers nearly 10 miles.

The purpose of building the jetties was to create a safer channel for ships navigating the legendary Columbia River Bar, nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for the thousands of shipwrecks in its shadow.

Today, the jetties support a trade corridor that accounts for $24 billion in commerce each year.

Repair and rehabilitation of the jetties has been ongoing since 2016 and is slated to be completed later this year. In addition to a review of the jetties’ history, the documentary will also trace this work, and the filmmakers plan to complete it shortly afterward, in late 2025.

By permission of the construction company completing the project, the filmmakers have gained unfettered access to the site.

Meanwhile, they continue to invite those with stories to share about the jetty to get in touch. These could be about crossing the bar, fishing, or even about original jetty construction work.

“At one point, this was the largest civil engineering project in American history,” Eichenberger said. “It’s complex as far as the construction and engineering are concerned, and all of those things are great stories.”

They’ve also devised a creative way to fund the project. Jetty sponsorships invite anyone to claim individual boulders comprising the jetty. Each jetty stone has a serial number, weight and geolocation, all of which will be included on the donor’s sponsorship certificate.

Stones will be placed on the rebuilt Columbia River South Jetty.

“This is a story that the entire country should know about,” Remensnyder said. Eichenberger added, “It’s a source of American pride.”

 

“Taming the Mouth”

Participate in the film project by sharing a story or sponsoring a jetty boulder.

Watch the trailer and interviews at www.tamingthemouth.com