Laura Smith oral history
Ms. Smith was born in Hawaii in 1947. She recalls that her early exposure to music came from her father playing classical piano and ragtime when she was growing up. Her main musical outlet was choir, and she sang in her church choir through high school. She went to college in Portland, Oregon, and continued to sing there. Ms. Smith recalls her musical influences and interests during those years, including Joan Baez, Mimi Farina, Mark Spoelstra, and Steve Young. She relates how she began playing banjo, and how this led to her playing with Larry Hanks, her husband. She moved to Bellingham in 1979, where she and Larry reconnected with Robert Scholtz and became involved in the WCHMS. As a host, she has sponsored various acts including The Wanderers, Bill Merlin and Carl Allen, the Bird’s Creek Boys, and Sarah Gray. She discusses briefly where she sees the WCHMS headed.
Object Details
Creators/Contributors
- Smith, Laura, Steve - Interviewee
- Hogue, Coty - Interviewer open_in_new Hogue, Coty's website (opens in new tab)
- Brion, Laurel - Transcriber
Collection
collections Whatcom County Homemade Music Society Oral Histories
Identifier
Smith20070211
Date Created
February 11th, 2007
Publisher
Digital object made available by the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University.
Physical location
- WaBeCP
- Western Washington University
Repository
Resource type
Related to
Whatcom County Homemade Music Society Oral Histories
Access conditions
-
This resource is in copyright (subject to U.S. or international copyright law) and is made available for educational purposes only. For more information about rights or to obtain copies of this resource, please contact the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Archives & Special Collections, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; archives.speccoll@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Whatcom County Homemade Music Society Oral Histories, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Archives & Special Collections, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subject Topics
Subject Topics (machine generated)
- Folk music--United States--History--Sources
- Folk music--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
- Folk music--Washington (State)--History--Sources
- Music--Societies--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
- Musicians--Northwest, Pacific--History--Sources
- Musicians--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
- Musicians--Washington (State)--Bellingham--ington (State)--Bellingham--Interviews