Laurel Gerkman
As It Was ContributorLaurel Gerkman is originally from Canada. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Humboldt State. This fed a lifelong curiosity of observing physical and human landscapes—always wondering “why.” Laurel, retired from real estate sales, has lived in Gold Beach for 20-years. Her research efforts as a volunteer for the Curry Historical Society produced numerous newsletter articles and exhibits and earned her a reputation as a seasoned local history buff. She remains intrigued by the hardy people who originally came to inhabit this rugged, isolated, and spectacular region, and enjoys seeking stories that weave these elements together. Laurel is the author of Renderings from the Gold Beach Pioneer Cemetery, a 50-page booklet containing a walking tour and snippets about the lives and times of folks buried there. She is also a contributing writer to Oregon Coast Magazine.
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When Heck Timeus was a boy living in Agness, Ore., he witnessed in the fall of 1918 an act that he found embarrassing and could not condone. He said to…
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An authentic 1902 one-room schoolhouse is tucked away on the Del Norte County Fairgrounds in Crescent City, Calif.At the turn of the century, the North…
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The South Coast town of Bandon, Ore., held an unusual Indian pageant at the town park one August Saturday night in 1924.The Klakahma Pageant focused on…
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In August 1914, the Southern Oregon river hamlet of Illahe held its first picnic and venison barbeque at Gold Bar on the Rogue River. It lasted four days…
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An entrepreneur who owned large tracts of land in Curry County, Ore., Robert D. Hume, announced a land giveaway in March 1908.Hume advertised in the…
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On July 24, 1928, the editor of Port Orford News, George Sorenson, called for the end to wanton hunting of sea lions. The misguided carnage had been…
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In 1917, The Ladies Improvement Club of Agness, Ore., organized a Fourth of July celebration for the people of Curry County.Admission to the two-night,…
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In May 1939, the Fourth of July committee in Crescent City, Calif., chose pirates as its celebration theme, complete with treasure hunts, parades, water…
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The morning of July 4, 1880, opened fair and pleasant at Port Orford, Ore., with many celebrants arriving early to take part in Independence Day…
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In June 1934, Ed Huntington was badly injured in eastern Curry County and had to walk 28 miles through the wilderness for help.Huntington had been…
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The Crescent City Chamber of Commerce and the Siskiyou National Forest promoted new parks by inviting everyone in Del Norte County to the grand opening in…
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Seeking retirement, Dr. Wilbur Cartwright came to Gold Beach, Ore., in 1930. Instead, when the area’s only doctor quit, Cartwright spent the next 30 years…