Wild Goose

Starnes-Pharris Ashley Kirtland Starnes of San Marino and Jonathan Michael Pharris of Newport Beach exchanged vows at the Lighthouse Courtyard of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Aug. 31. The bride is the daughter of Janet Starnes of San Marino and Vaughn Starnes of La Canada-Flintridge. The bride wore a Badgley-Mischka's Christa, a white silk and satin strapless gown with beaded detail at bodice and draped waist and train with a cathedral veil. The maid of honor was Margaret Starnes.

Deepa Bharath The Duke's French waterfront chateau is gone. But Newport Beach Realtor Michael Thornton has made sure that pieces of John Wayne's home, which stood majestically on Bayshore Drive until late last year, are still alive. Thornton walked around the 7,105-square-foot home the day its owners, Robert and Beverly Cohen, demolished it to build their proposed two-story, 12,437-square-foot home. Thornton said he "rescued" wood from the demolished home that was headed to the dumpster, cleaned it up, cut it into little squares and mounted them on a card with a picture of the home and a paragraph summarizing its history.

Animals dangerous over at TeWinkle Park I'm sorry that Jessie, the wild goose at TeWinkle Park, was injured ("Animal injuries at park not unusual," Monday). I hope it wasn't somebody's deliberate act against her, but those geese at that park are a menace. I have taken my children and other children there over the years to feed the ducks. Several times, we have been attacked by the geese. They go crazy for that bread. It was just a couple of months ago that I took two little kids there.

Jennifer K Mahal No one living in Newport Beach can escape the influence of its most celebrated resident. After all, John Wayne Airport bears his name. Wayne, born Marion Morrison, would have been 94 today. He died of cancer in 1979 at age 72. Duke's Hollywood Cowboys, a group of Wayne look-alikes, will celebrate the celluloid cowboy's legacy on Sunday aboard his yacht, the Wild Goose, with a celebrity dinner cruise around Newport Harbor. Among those expected to attend are A.C. Lyles, who produced a number of westerns for Paramount Studios, and Gregg Palmer, who shared the screen with Wayne in such films as "The Shootist" and "Chisum."

Alex Coolman Since it was launched by the Navy in 1942, the minesweeper Wild Goose has grown in size like a loaf of particularly yeasty bread. What was once a relatively sleek vessel with lines that betrayed its military function has gained layers over the years as each owner has customized the craft according to his needs. The most famous owner of the Wild Goose, as most Newport boat enthusiasts know, was John Wayne, who bought the boat in 1965 and kept it until his death in 1979.

Alex Coolman Before a boat looks beautiful, it looks like this. Before it has a glossy white hull or creamy wooden rails, it looks like this. In the lot of Newport Harbor Shipyard, Allister McIntosh and John Ward are at work on something that looks like a dusty gray fiberglass bathtub. What the two men -- a boat builder and a shipwright, respectively -- can see in the dull shape is the artful vessel it will eventually become: a snug, 24-foot tugboat with a gleaming teak deck and a tidy, efficient deckhouse.