Hometown Hero

Laurenne began skiing at 18 months with her father, Rob, who skied for Alberta, Canada’s provincial team. Laurenne moved to Klamath Falls at the age of seven and soon began skiing on winter weekends with the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation.

Britta’s story begins happily with her Jewish family in Germany. In 1932, her father, Curt Lion, expanded the family business, moving his young family to a beautiful house in Aachen where he opened a large, elegant clothing store named Appelrath-Cüpper. But life soon changed for the Lion family.

On Labor Day 2018, more than 100 people gathered at Sugarman’s Corner in downtown Klamath Falls to reflect on the contributions of early Klamath pioneer and haberdasher, Kiva Sugarman, who “helped build schools, streets, public buildings and community necessities.” Among the crowd sat well-dressed, 98-year-old Jim Stilwell, who frequented Sugarman’s Department Store as a young man.