…Summer 2008 the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Edward and Xerpha Gaines returned to eastern Washington. They talked and laughed, piecing together their own memories of Edward and Xerpha, and mentioning the bundle of letters that gave them the details of their grandparent’s romance.
At the end of the reunion, they delivered to Washington State University an astonishing gift–Xerpha’s steamer trunk which holds nearly a century of private papers detailing the life of a woman whose story is not only threaded through the University’s, but … » More …
Ed Claplanhoo ’56 was chairman of the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay when a winter storm in 1970 eroded the bank above the beach at Cape Alava on the Olympic Peninsula coast, revealing the village of Ozette. The village, ancestral home to many Makahs, had been buried in a mudslide in the 1700s.
Once he realized what the storm had exposed, Claplanhoo called Richard Daugherty, an archaeologist at WSU. Daugherty had been the freshman class advisor in the early 1950s, and Claplanhoo had been the class treasurer.
Claplanhoo and Daugherty worked closely together to explore and preserve what archaeological crews … » More …
In March of this year, a special Congressional action signed by President Obama awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the “WASPS” of World War II. Jeanne Lewellen Norbeck ’33 was awarded the medal posthumously.
Jeanne graduated from Washington State College with a degree in English. President Roosevelt had funded the start of construction on the Grand Coulee Dam, and Jeanne was an early hire. She married a young engineer on the project, Ed Norbeck.
Later, Jeanne and Ed became managers of a large plantation in one of the outer islands in the Hawaiian chain. Given … » More …
On a road trip with a friend in 1988, Kevin Tomlinson stumbled onto what would be the seed of a great story. At the time, he just knew he had to collect it and save it.
“We were out to see the American West,” says the filmmaker, who graduated from the Murrow School in 1975. “It was a Jack Kerouac, Neil Cassady kind of thing.”
Keeping off the main roads and camping from their car, the pair landed in Tonasket where they came across the local food co-op. When Tomlinson perused the bulletin board to get a flavor of the community, he spied a … » More …
Tacoma certainly has had its share of broken bridges. But lately Hans Breivik ’88 has been coordinating the repair of one of them.
The double-bascule bridge across the Hylebos Waterway at the Port of Tacoma was built in 1938 and has been frozen in the open position since 2001. “Double bascule means that it has two leaves that open and close,” says Breivik, a construction management graduate who is now managing the $15 million Hylebos project. “When it worked, it worked on kind of the principle of a teeter-totter.” He raises his arm, imitating the way one arm of the bridge … » More …
Locals often see Mike and Jill Thorne on the two-lane highway between their ranch outside Pendleton and the Oregon city’s rodeo grounds. As the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up comes in September, the couple is busy preparing both the rodeo site and their community for the big party.
Since the first bronco bucked, the event has been drawing participants and spectators from across the Pacific Northwest. Today, it’s one of the 10 biggest rodeos in the country. It may be rooted in Oregon, but the event has many ties to Washington, including two of its key volunteers, Mike and Jill … » More …
(from Day Hiking Mount Rainier, published by The Mountaineers Books).
Shadow Lake Sunrise Camp Loop. This July-October hike was selected because it is fairly level, kid-friendly, and features a lake and lots of wildlife. This hike is usually open July through September.
Rating/Difficulty: 2
Loop: 3.5 miles
Elevation Gain/High Point: 200 feet/6,400 feet
Season: July-October
Dan writes: This is the perfect outing for families, or for anyone wanting an easy day in the glorious wildflower fields of the Sunrise area. Indeed, … » More …
Bill Moos was announced as the new Washington State University athletic director on Feb. 24, 2010. Watch some of the highlights of the press conference, and then read a profile of Moos in the summer 2010 issue of Washington State Magazine, “Back from the ranch,” by Jim Moore ’78.
Derren Patterson went out to see the world and landed in Bolivia leading bicycle tours down the world’s most dangerous road.
Patterson is one for adventure. After graduating from WSU with a history degree, he decided to travel, paying for it first by teaching English in Asia. He spent a year at a middle school in Korea and then found a one-year job in China at a university.
Patterson often rode his road bike and a motorcycle when he was back in the States, but in China his bicycle was his main mode of transportation. During a break, he rode from Northern Vietnam to Saigon. … » More …
