ELKTON — A small group gathers Friday afternoons on a sidewalk along Highway 38, which cuts through town, and waves signs protesting corporate influence in America.

Staged in Douglas County's smallest incorporated city, population 195, Occupy Elkton may be one of the smaller Occupy gatherings in the United States.

Protesters aren't occupying a city park or camping. They simply gather once a week for a couple of hours to show their concern about the country's direction.

“The richest keep getting richer, and the poor just keep getting poorer,” Elkton resident Lizzie Hall said.

She was one of about a dozen people who stood Friday in the cold across the street from Arlene's Cafe. For the past six Fridays, Hall and others have held signs and talked to passers-by.

The idea came about after Elkton resident Mary Cooley watched police clash with protesters in New York City. Cooley said the protesters were peaceful and that she didn't see why they were getting treated that way.

“I called up some friends and told them I was going to stand out here and asked them to join me if they wanted,” Cooley said.

Cooley and her husband, Ed, raise grass-fed cattle in Kellogg. She said people across the country are struggling to make ends meet while corporations are asserting increased political pressure in ways that make it tougher for average citizens to get ahead, she said.

“I have felt for a long time that things have been going wrong,” Cooley said, holding a sign that read, “Wall Street is not the people.”

Reaction to the street protest has been mixed. Some people driving past on Friday waved their middle finger while others honked and gave a thumbs-up.

“The first week was kind of hostile, but it's been getting better. We're getting more thumbs than fingers,” said Elkton resident Mick Walker, who held a sign saying “UR 99%.”

Hall, Walker's partner, said she would like to see less disparity between the nation's rich and poor and more opportunities for people.

“There are a lot of people out of work in this area and all areas. That's what people should be focusing on,” she said.

The Occupy movement was the idea of Kalle Lasn, the editor of a Vancouver, British Columbia, anticonsumerist magazine, Adbusters. Since Sept. 17, protests have been held in 600 American cities, including Roseburg and Myrtle Creek in Douglas County, along with Elkton.

Yoncalla resident Susan Applegate, who participated in Friday's protest, decried the infusion of large amounts of corporate cash into political races. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission granted corporations the same First Amendment rights as citizens to spend on independent political advertising.

“The corporate arm wields more and more influence,” she said.

The Elkton protesters chose Friday because that's the busiest day for traffic through the town as people from Roseburg, Eugene and other communities in Douglas and Lane counties pass through after work on the way to the coast. Protesters said they plan to continue their weekly ritual.

“We can do this forever,” Walker said.

• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by email at jsowell@nrtoday.com.