Associate Professor of Journalism, Rich Riski will give a presentation about Egbert “Edward” R. Murrow and his ties to the West End at Peninsula College Forks on Dec. 6 at 6:30 pm.

Born in Polecat Creek, North Carolina, Egbert R. Murrow was the descendant of four Scottish prisoners who sailed to Boston aboard the British merchantman ship, the John and Sara. His Quaker parents, Roscoe and Ethel, then crossed America in 1913 on board the transcontinental railroad to Seattle, with their three young children to join relatives in the Pacific Northwest. Murrow and his older brothers, Dewey and Lacey, spent their formative years in Skagit County near Blanchard until his parents were forced to move West …once again. This time they landed in Beaver Creek on the Olympic Peninsula.

The young compass man, Egbert, who mapped out land for Bloedel-Donovan Lumber soon became the Washington State College basketball player, award-winning debater, and thespian we know as Edward. After college graduation in 1930, he moved to New York City to begin his public career in international education and diplomacy. Five years later, he joined Columbia Broadcasting System and CBS Radio.

E. R. Murrow is arguably the most influential journalist in American history. Murrow would help save dozens of Jews and academics from Hitler’s concentration camps and report news from London rooftops during WWII. After the war, Murrow would continue in radio and then television where he challenged the fear-mongering campaign of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy on his “See It Now” broadcast. Finally, Murrow brought life-saving clarity to cruel migration policies from the East Coast to the West Coast with a documentary called “Harvest of Shame” broadcast on …Thanksgiving Day 1960. Murrow ended his career in service to the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

The community is invited to Associate Professor Riski’s talk. Studium West is a free monthly lecture series at Peninsula College, 481 S. Forks Ave, featuring a variety of topics from the arts to history and culture.

For more information, contact DScannell@pencol.edu.