From the Editor
A Sense of Place
by Rosa Jimenez
If you ask me, one of the great perks of parenting is the field trip. Unlike students in my school days, today’s schoolchild is encouraged to bring mom and dad along on these adventures. Because they are still young and don’t mind being seen with me, the kids beg me to come, so I join when I can. I get to have fun with them and find out all sorts of interesting tidbits.
Did you know that the body of water created by the Snake River’s Ice Harbor Dam is named Lake Sacajawea? Did you know that a new fire engine could cost $350,000? Did you know soft drinks are the hottest sellers at Walla Walla’s Rose Street Safeway?
I’ve learned these and other facts from tour guides leading our kindergarten or grade school groups. But even if I didn’t hear one word, the sights, sounds, and smells of the places would complete the experience. It’s those peeks into dark storage rooms, employee lunchrooms, and busy labs that truly give you a sense of a place.
I had that “field trip feeling” tagging along with photographer Kirk Hirota to two locations he photographed for our feature story. In the college’s power plant, the massive steam pipes and powerful hum gave me a better idea of what it must take to provide heat to campus buildings. In the library’s periodicals collection room, I thumbed through bound copies of old Collegians and 19th-century Signs of the Times. I wondered what people might think in the future if they picked up a copy of this Westwind.
I hope they have a sense of Walla Walla College as a unique place, rich in history and the everyday tasks required to keep it moving forward.
On a personal note, with this issue we say goodbye to staff member Amanda Gibson. For four years her contributions to the magazine, especially to photography direction, have been invaluable. Amy Wilkinson, a 2004 graduate, joins the staff as Westwind’s production manager and copy editor.
