Craig Daily Press / From the big city to Browns Park

Archive for Wednesday, April 20, 2005

April 20, 2005

With her young daughter in tow, Debbie Hudak-Bertram moved to Browns Park from Cleve-land in 1984.

She came here to be closer to her dad, Jerry Tamlin.
He lived in Browns Park and worked for the county Road Department at the Vermillion Creek Shop.

"It was a huge cultural shock," she said, "but I need-ed to be around family at that time."

Coming from a large, humid city to a desert with very few people was huge adjustment for Hudak-Bertram.

"Traveling to Craig -- or sometimes to Rock Springs -- just to shop, and having to plan for what you might need -- sometimes for weeks -- was a long learning process," she said. "Most of that travel was on dirt roads."

Hudak-Bertram moved to Craig after finding work and has been here nearly 20 years. She said the friends she has made keep her here.

"There are no better people in the world," she said.

But she also understands why some people don't stay long.

"This community is harsh to newcomers and very judgmental," she said.

One of her concerns about Craig is the lack of entertainment for young people.

"I believe if the lack of entertainment choices for those be-tween 14 and 30 were really addressed, drug use -- especially meth -- and drinking problems, would not be so rampant in the area," she said.