If folks wish to engage in some trivia reading about a woman of noteworthy history here in the Interior of Alaska, look into Irene Sherman, dubbed 'the Queen of Fairbanks.'
Quite a character.
One of 7 children, who was not aware of her siblings other than by word of mouth for the most part.
She survived a house fire at age 5 that left her permanently disfigured, and was known as Fairbanks' (and Healy, Alaska's) own bag-lady.
She lived on mines, sometimes on the streets, pedaled her bicycle around town, almost always wearing heavy overcoats regardless of weather, nearly always with a rope around her waist with a beer mug dangling from it, could make miners and bartenders blush with her verbiage, and was often taken care of by well-known town families.
To say she was eccentric was an understatement.
Fairbanks is looking to erect a statue for her. I have my own cynical views on that, but also believe she deserves her honorary status, and my cynicism is more aimed at the population than Irene.
The communities she lived in share many tales of her wisdom and humor.
One day in Healy, Alaska, in 1938, she was observed to be burying a huge rock outside her home, which was near the railroad tracks. Any time a person of suspect mind engages in 'unique' behavior, some will talk about it. So it was that day, when a local person asked her what she was doing.
She told them that each night the train came by the engineers and others would try to hit that rock with stones they'd throw, and sometimes the stones bounced in through her open window. She said it was better she buried the rock than someone else.
Irene Sherman Project
Irene Sherman was America’s farthest-north bag lady for much of the 20th century, walking or pedaling the streets of Fairbanks, Alaska, and spreading her unique brand of friendship. Born here into a gold-mining family, Irene was terribly burned in a cabin fire at age five due to parental...ireneshermanproject.com
Irene Mary Sherman (1911-1995) - Find a Grave...
OBITUARIES OF ALASKA'S PIONEERS As extracted from END OF THE TRAIL SHERMAN, IRENE 84, the self-proclaimed Queen of Fairbanks, died Feb. 20 (1995) in Fairbanks. Her home for 40 years was her castle, barricaded behind mounds of rock, cardboard and junk. Sherman was a familiar figure on...www.findagrave.com
Pioneers of Alaska Fairbanks
These tidbits of Alaska history are informative, entertaining, and sometimes risqué. Listen to us on the radio and check here weekly for new nuggets on the web.pioneersofalaskafairbanks.org
There's more detailed reading about Irene (especially at the local paper, which has a paywall, though in the spirit of Irene Sherman, I can copy and paste their article here if anyone's interested).
The community took care of Irene when she struggled, one prominent family repeatedly paying for the things she 'shoplifted', when everyone including the store was aware of her 'shoplifting', and it was a sort of warm-hearted joke.
reminds me of the story of Pearl De Vere up in Cripple Creek….i lived seven miles away over by Victor and there were so many stories about Pearl and her Girls..
i believe these are the genealogical lines of our goodnight Irene…
Pearl de Vere – Soiled Dove of Cripple Creek, Colorado – Legends of America
Though little is known of her background, Pearl de Vere would become a well known 'entrepreneur' in the mining town of Cripple Creek
www.legendsofamerica.com
