Gary Schorzman’s Love of Mini-Cassia History & Community Lingers
By Dianna Troyer
Gary Schorzman’s endearing presence endures throughout Minidoka and Cassia counties even though he died May 21 at age 82 on the family farm north of Rupert.
His radiant legacy lingers at the Minidoka County Historical Society Museum through the local history books he wrote that are still for sale there and the newspapers he had digitized for anyone to easily read.
Gregarious and convivial, Gary said in previous Ruralite interviews that he was guided by the values of his grandfather David Schorzman. A German immigrant, David had an unwavering faith in God, love of music, and often said no matter what happens in life, “the sun will shine on our doorstep again.”
Besides researching and writing about the history of the Mini-Cassia area, Gary also focused his gusto, organizational skills, contagious enthusiasm, and endless energy on planning community events.
He led committees to organize the centennial celebrations of Rupert in 2006 and Minidoka County in 2013. For more than 20 years, he was the superintendent of the antiques building at the Minidoka County Fair. To honor him, in 2006 he was named grand marshal of the Rupert 4th of July Parade.
“After joining the Minidoka County Historical Society, I soon learned Gary’s name was almost synonymous with the history of Minidoka County because of all the books he published about different aspects of our county,” says Rick Parker, the society’s president, and a Rupert resident.
Rick relied on Gary’s books about homesteading families, schools, and irrigation projects to find tidbits of information and photos to post on the museum’s Facebook page.
While reading Gary’s book about local schools, many of which are long gone, Rick was pleasantly surprised.
“At the Pioneer School, I found a photo of my Aunt Virgie Parker who taught there and, according to what Gary wrote, she taught him. I’ve never met anyone who knew my Aunt Virgie as a teacher, so this was special to me. She died when I was an infant.”
1 of the projects Rick worked on with Gary was digitizing copies of all the newspapers at the museum.
“When we met, he was only half finished,” Rick says. “He was intent on completing that project. Now, all the years of the newspapers are digitized and available to anyone.”
To benefit the museum, Gary allowed his books to be copied by the museum staff and sold to raise money.
“He didn’t take any money from their sale at the museum,” Rick says. “His knowledge, wisdom, and support will be missed by the Minidoka Historical Society. I’ll miss his humor. No matter where I ran into him, he greeted me with some humorous comments. It challenged me to come back with a counteracting comment.”
A longtime friend, Juliene Kerbs, remembers how Gary made those around him laugh.
“With his unique sense of humor, sometimes you wondered if he was joking or serious.” Juliene says. “We’ve known each other since high school when we met through Methodist Youth Fellowship. I was a sophomore, and he was a year older.”
After graduating from Minico High School in 1960, Gary worked at 2 world fairs, was a clothing model, and opened a yoga and aerobics studio in Southern California.
In 1999, he returned home to care for his father. He bought the family farm from his siblings, leased it, and began writing about local immigrant families and their dreams, frustrations, and successes when they began farming and ranching in the area.
Whatever Gary’s career and life circumstances, his trademark humor served him well. Even during a natural disaster, he created a little levity. During February 2017, when intense unusual rainstorms fell on frozen ground, flooding occurred throughout the Mini-Cassia region. On Valentine’s Day, he set up a comical tableau near his house. He stuck 2 plastic pink flamingos and silk flowers into a snow drift with the flooded fields surrounding his house.
Although jovial, Gary was serious, too, about certain issues.
“If he saw a problem, he worked to solve it,” Juliene says. “He ran for county commissioner in the May primary and came close to winning.”
Campaigning came naturally to Gary with his extroverted personality.
“He loved our community,” Juliene says. “He knew so many people and never met a stranger. When we went out to lunch, sometimes he would start talking to people in a booth next to us, and before you knew it, we left as friends. He was a great guy, and we miss him.”