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History of University

Fall 2023

Celebrating Master Gardeners’ 50 years

Master Gardeners started at Washington State University 50 years ago.

Watch videos from Master Gardeners and WSU commemorating this anniversary of the volunteer gardening program with such an impact. (Videos produced by the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences)

 

Seeds of a Movement

 

Making a Difference in Today’s World

 

Looking Ahead to Vibrant Future

Dick Fry with radio equipment in black and white photo
Summer 2023

WSU stories by and about Dick Fry on his 100th birthday

Richard B. “Dick” Fry devoted 70 years of his life, good humor, and storytelling skills to Washington State University. The Coug legend turned 100 on February 12, 2023.

Fry was WSU’s sports information director from 1957 to 1970, the university’s director of news and information services until 1985, and author of the definitive book on Cougar sports, The Crimson and the Gray: 100 Years with the WSU Cougars. He continued to write stories for Cougar football game-day programs well into the 2000s.

Here are some stories about Fry and a few of the stories he wrote about WSU sports.

 

Happy … » More …

Old crew shell from WSU hangs from ceiling
Summer 2023

Resurrecting the remnants

It might sound odd but the Winlock W. Miller and the 101 were sisters. They died together, on the same day, at Almota.

In early 1971, University of Washington head rowing coach Dick Erickson provided the newly formed Cougar Crew with two used Husky shells on a long-term loan. The Miller and the 101 didn’t row on the Snake River until December 4 that year. Just 37 days later, they were gone.

The second week of January 1972, winds on campus reached 75 mph. Gusts of 150 mph were recorded at Pasco. The recently built Almota shellhouse was designed to sustain winds … » More …

Newspaper clipping about Washington State College Spanish House
Summer 2023

A brief history of the Spanish House at Washington State College

During part of her time in Pullman, Anne H. Fornfeist of Deer Park lived at Spanish House.

A member of Sigma Kappa Phi, she would go on to graduate from Washington State College with a degree in foreign languages and literature in 1922 and raise a family in the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley. One of her sons, another Coug, would became a state representative, senator, and congressman before serving as secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Sid Morrison (’54 Hort.), featured in the Summer 2023 issue of Washington State Magazine, knew his mother went to college in Pullman and that she … » More …