What do people do?

More than half of all the inhabitants in Curry County (our county, comprising of towns like Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Langlois, and smaller communities like Agnes and Nausika Beach and Laurel Grove) are of retirement age. They bring a great deal of stability to the county, with their own money, their own needs for services.  The rest are old time families who have ranched on this coast for as long as Oregon became Oregon. They came west with few friends or family and they established homesteads and services to support ranching and farming.  The Army/Cavalry founded its first fort at Fort Orford, and established provisions and defense for miners, loggers and fishermen who settled here and found easy work in these industries.

Nowadays, artists outnumber fishermen, ranchers, and lumbermen. Mining for gravel and landscaping materials still goes on by the rivers; lumber is still harvested in the groves right off the highway, but these industries are no longer what they used to be.

In our little town of just over a thousand inhabitants, thirty percent just summer people, artists enjoy a peaceful and beautiful landscape to produce and create. Six, locally owned galleries displaying local art dot the main road. In the hills, by the lake, and throughout this land writers. musicians, sculptors, painters, ceramicist, potters, dramatists, fine woodworkers, actors, cinematographers, directors, scrimshaw and mixed media artists give this town a true creative personality.

My husband and I collect local art and appreciate the richness of offerings available to us.
In the picture above, we have a bust by Julie Hawthorne, "Birdland", and a painting by Elaine Roemen, "The Elk River." 

A town that buzzes with artistic personalities leaves a mark on all residents; but it really helps our schools. Local artists like Lani Johnson have organized demonstrations and workshops that expose students to many art forms and many artists. Their enthusiasm and generous spirit can truly transform the new generation.