Laurel Gerkman
As It Was ContributorLaurel Gerkman is originally from Canada. She earned a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Geography from Humboldt State. This fed a lifelong curiosity of observing physical and human landscapes鈥攁lways wondering 鈥渨hy.鈥� 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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On Jan. 1, 1906, Carrie Guerin married Allen H. Boice at Langlois Ore. The bride told her friends, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have a dozen children.鈥漈he babies soon鈥�
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In late December 1917, Thomas Rilea traveled from Portland to Agness, Ore., to spend Christmas with his family. He rode a train south to West Force鈥�
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On Dec. 20, 1924, the Wedderburn, Ore., Social Art Club presented the comedy titled 鈥淢y Friend from India鈥� at the community hall.Most of the audience came鈥�
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In 1908, Frank Lowery was an accomplished river boatman when he began running the mail route from Gold Beach to Agness, Ore. He earned the nickname 鈥淥ld鈥�
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Driving home one day in 1941, Archie McVay of Harbor, Ore., saw Willis Belknap walking beside the road.Belknap was a popular figure in the community,鈥�
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In November 1924, the bow from a wrecked ship burned in the harbor at Port Orford, Ore., freeing tons of salvageable metal, including spikes and drift鈥�
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On a stormy day in 1934, the Southern Oregon coastal town of Gold Beach held an Armistice Day program in the community hall, followed by an outdoor鈥�
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In October 1881, a distinctive gravestone arrived in Port Orford aboard a ship from San Francisco for delivery to the town鈥檚 founder, Capt. William鈥�
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On October 5, 1942, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the SS Larry Doheny, which sank off the Southern Oregon Coast near Gold Beach.The 430-foot oil tanker鈥�
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There are no complete records for the Brother Jonathan Cemetery in Crescent City, Calif., located on an early burial site described in the 1920s by a鈥�
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In the early days, isolated Curry County settlers built schools that serviced several neighboring homesteads. Students of all ages walked or rode horses鈥�
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On Sept. 9, 1942, Japanese pilot Nobuo Fujita dropped incendiary bombs near the town of Brookings, Ore.Fujita鈥檚 World War II mission was to start massive鈥�