Favorite
Adam Hardtke, ’03
Places
Memorial Building at sunset
and things to do
at and around
Whitman College
Dogwoods near Maxey Hall
2 Whitman Magazine
by Tom Cronin
from “Forty Favorite Places and Things
to Do at and around Whitman College”
W
alk along the south side of Maxey Hall in
springtime when the brilliant dogwoods are in
full bloom.
Listen to a music performance — in one of several
beautiful music auditoriums
including Chism Recital
Hall, Kimball Theatre, and
Cordiner Hall — from a
senior recital and “Fridays
at Four” chamber music
program to a concert by
the Walla Walla Symphony
Orchestra. Or attend a Friday or Saturday night musical entertainment at the
Reid Center coffeehouse.
Watch the sun set across Ankeny Field from Lyman
House.
Tour the Whitman College sculptures (see pages 8-11 in
this issue) as well as those featured in downtown Walla
Walla.
Take an architectural tour of the Whitman campus,
neighboring streets such as Palouse, University, and
Bonnie Brae, or downtown Walla Walla, with its many
historic, renovated buildings.
Join an astronomy class outing or a tour to see the
stars from the roof of the Science Center or from the
Whitman College Kate Bracher Observatory located
nine miles north of the campus on one of the College’s
wheat farms.
Visit Sheehan Art Gallery. Next, view the many other
artworks displayed throughout the campus. Highlights
include the Robert Juarez painting, Trigo, and a magnificent handmade canoe by Robbie Thompson, ’02,
in Penrose Library as well as paintings by professors
Keiko Hara and Tania Cronin, parent Aaron Burgess,
Leslie Cain, ’75, Gunnar Ramstedt, ’02, and David FolkWilliams, ’02, on exhibit in various buildings including
the library, Memorial Building, Hunter Conservatory,
and Reid Campus Center.
Coffeehouse
Take a leisurely tour of the Whitman Mission seven
miles west of Walla Walla, and imagine what life was
like in the 1830s and 1840s in this beautiful valley.
Watch a varsity soccer game at the new athletic field
north of campus, a tennis match in Bratton Tennis
Center, or other athletic competition ranging from intramural flag football on Ankeny Field to the Sweet Onion
Crank competition on the Sherwood climbing wall.
Have a picnic lunch in the College Creek glen, sometimes called “Narnia.”
Watch a concert or a one-act play or just relax on a
sunny day in the Whitman College amphitheatre.
Amphitheatre
March 2003 3
Visit some of the dozen or so art galleries in Walla Walla and include
art displayed at the Waterbrook and Seven Hills wine-tasting rooms
and the recently restored Marcus Whitman Hotel.
“My favorite
Hike up Klicker Mountain to see the elk and sunsets, and in midsummer visit the Klicker homestead to pick and purchase blueberries
and raspberries.
thing to do
Go with Shirley Muse, division assistant in Maxey Hall, on a “tree
tour” of the campus to see Whitman’s champion trees and its many
native and introduced tree varieties.
i n Wa l l a Wa l l a
Take in a choral program at Cordiner Hall such as the fall Whitman
Sampler and the annual Choral Contest.
walks. There
Try fly-fishing on the South Fork of the Walla Walla River or on the
Tucannon River near Dayton.
is so much
is to take long
to see. . . .”
Have a shake and burger at the legendary Ice-Burg drive-in.
Take a two-mile jog from the Douglas-Prentiss Hall area on campus
to Martin Track near Borleske Stadium, and do four laps before
returning to campus.
— Mary Anne O’Neil
Professor of French
Have a weekend brunch at Mr. Ed’s or Weston’s Longbranch Café.
Go to Merchant’s Deli on spaghetti night or order lasagna at the
Pastime Café. Have dinner at Patit Creek or the Weinhard Café in
Dayton or at one of the Walla Walla Valley’s great eateries such as
the Whitehouse-Crawford Restaurant, Creektown Café, Backstage
Bistro, and Grapefields.
Have a student introduce you to the Whitman tradition of “pinging.”
Yell “hello” from the “sweet spot” in the middle of the circle in front
of Penrose Library. Play a nine-hole game of frisbee golf on the
campus.
Attend a play at Walla Walla’s Little Theatre.
Roller blade with Professor Hollibert Phillips; mountain bike with
professors Dana Burgess and Kevin Pogue; go with librarian Henry
Yaple to one of his favorite kayaking spots or with Dean of Faculty
Pat Keef for a 50-mile bike ride or aggressive skiing at Bluewood.
Sit in on a rhythm and blues session with professors Keith
Farrington and Bill Bogard.
Learn a new skill from a faculty or staff member — salsa dancing
from Victor Trejo, piano from Jackie Wood or Laura Curtis, wilderness leadership from Brien Sheedy, or kickboxing and aerobics from
Rebecca Sickels.
Go hiking in the Wallowa Mountains above Wallowa Lake or on the
Lostine River near Joseph, Oregon.
Go with the Outdoor Program on a rafting trip through Hells Canyon
or on Oregon’s Deschutes River.
Take the beautiful three-mile stroll around nearby Bennington Lake.
4 Whitman Magazine
Adam Hardtke, ’03
Volunteer with Professor Bob Withycombe to help build a Habitat
for Humanity home.
A frisbee game amid fall colors
Trails at
Bennington Lake
Adam Hardtke, ’03
I love the new Allen Reading Room
in the library. It’s a great space
— very relaxing and uplifting. It
gives the Whitman community a
quiet, cozy place to read or study
with a great view of what is going
on on Ankeny.
— Helen Tanaka
Whitman Fund Officer
I really enjoy going to late night
productions in HJT. There’s
something exciting and special
about seeing a play at 10 p.m. or
later. The buzz in the air and the
sense of community give “late
nights” an incredibly supportive
and alive environment to both perform and watch performances in.
— Morgan Brady, ’03
I love playing Ms. Pac-Man downstairs in the Reid Campus Center
and trying to beat [interest houses
resident director] Bri TestaWojteczko’s high score (which
is close to impossible, but it gives
me a goal to shoot for).
Talking with friends over a glass
of local red wine in the loft at
Vintage Cellars.
— U. J. Sofia
Associate Professor
of Astronomy
Favorite study break: snatching a
children’s book from the fourth floor
of Penrose Library and reading it on
the comfy couches in the basement
— with a hot drink of the caffeinated variety.
— Alicia Aho, ’03
My favorite place is Pioneer Park. I
love to walk around the perimeter,
through the aviary, by the duck
ponds, and through the trees, which
provide respite, beauty, and joy in
every season.
— Susan Buchanan
Director, Career Center
— Kory McDow, ’02
Soccer on
Whitman’s new
athletic field
March 2003 5
Birding at the Rempel Trail by Fort
Walla Walla. Going to dinner at the
Weinhard Café in Dayton and then
taking in a foreign film at Dayton’s
newly renovated Liberty Theatre.
I should add that bird watching at
Bennington Lake is fabulous, and a
hike around it is another favorite!
— Nancy Mitchell
Associate Director
of Alumni Relations
College Creek by Prentiss Hall
One of my favorite things to do
is to walk over to the Odd Fellows
and just chat with the residents.
— Thuy Pham, ’03
Exploring the historical novelties
tucked away in Walla Walla’s
numerous thrift and antique stores
along Alder and Main streets.
— Jackie Wong, ’05
Penrose Library
Main Street, Walla Walla
6 Whitman Magazine
Adam Hardtke, ’03
My favorite thing to do in Walla
Walla is to take long walks. There is
so much to see. For example, to the
north of Isaacs, there are alleys
behind houses that give you peeks
into flower and vegetable gardens,
interesting garages and guest houses.
Another good walk is along Oak
Street to the old Washington School,
Canoe Ridge winery, and the
foundry. You can see the tracks
of old trolley cars, art, trees, old
houses. Finally, I love to walk
through the cemetery at the end of
Second Avenue. Some of the graves
are quite old, from the 1860s. Then
there are the Irish, Chinese, and
Jewish sections, even a small plot
built by prostitutes to honor their
dead.
— Mary Anne O’Neil
Professor of French
Hiking on the South Fork of the
Walla Walla River, in the North Fork
of the Umatilla Wilderness, in the
Wenaha Wilderness.
— Dale Cosper
Professor of French
“A bike ride out
Mill Creek and up
t o t h e r e s e r v o i r,
e s p e c i a l l y w h e n i t ’s
hot and dry . . .”
A bike ride out Mill Creek and up
to the reservoir, especially when it’s
hot and dry . . . when the blue of
the sky crashes down into the wheat
fields tall and golden, and groups of
migrant workers take a Sunday stroll
around the water . . . and then, of
course, riding back along Isaacs to
Mr. Ed’s for pecan waffles and loads
of eggs and spending the rest of the
day comatose in the library “studying” in a very comfortable chair.
— Valarie Hamm, ’01
March 2003 7
campus
Sculpture
at Whitman College
A walk through
t h e C o l l e g e ’s
open-air art gallery
Styx, 2002, bronze, by Deborah Butterfield. Cast at the Walla
Walla Foundry, owned and operated by Mark Anderson, ’78.
The original driftwood for the horse came from the Columbia
and Snake rivers.
8 Whitman Magazine
Four Columns, 1988, steel and enamel, by Lee
Kelly, who based the work on ancient columns
discovered in central Persia. Acquired in 2002
with funds from the Garvin Family Art Fund.
Three Stories (above), 1997, bronze,
by Squire Broel. Cast at the Walla Walla
Foundry. Broel, a native of Walla Walla,
drew inspiration from Hong Kong’s
fish and fruit markets. In China, the
carp represents prosperity; by warping
and scarring the surface, Broel implies
the loss of tradition and values in the
search for wealth.
Joined Together, Let No Man Split
Asunder (right), 1980, aluminum alloy,
by Ed Humpherys, professor of art
emeritus. The title of the 14-foot-tall
sculpture suggests the flow of the
curved pieces. It also represents
the difficult process of joining
together the 21 separate sections
of the sculpture.
Fountain of Vibrant Waters (bottom
right), 1992, bronze, by George
Tsutakawa. Dedicated to Robert Allen
Skotheim, president of Whitman
College from 1975 to 1988. Tsutakawa
has created more than 60 bronze
fountains in the United States.
Lava Ridge (below), 1978, steel, by
Lee Kelly. The sculpture was acquired
in 2002, with funds from the Garvin
Family Art Fund.
March 2003 9
Imagination and Understanding:
Phusis and Techne (above), 2000,
steel and glass, by Doug Ludlow,
’00. The piece is inspired by the
Golden Section, a mathematical
principle which in nature relates
to such forms as the nautilus shell
and the sunflower blossom.
Balancing Act (below), painted
stainless steel, by Jim Wood. It
was given by friends in memory
of Reine Hillis, ’65.
10 Whitman Magazine
Untitled (above), 1999, metal, by
Barby Ream, ’01. Several of her
twisted metal representations
of musical instruments are on
permanent display in the atrium
of the Hall of Music.
Carnival (above right), 1997, bronze, by Jim Dine. Cast at the Walla Walla
Foundry. Dine is an internationally-known artist with roots in the Pop Art
scene of the 1960s.
Topophilia Gates (below), 1999, bronze and glass, by Keiko Hara. A professor of art at Whitman since 1985, Hara combines traditional Japanese
themes with personal concepts of transformation and passage. She drew
inspiration for this piece from a temple in Mon, Japan, where numerous
gates lead to a shrine atop a mountain. The water flowing through the
gates represents the passage from one realm to another.
Students Playing 4D Tic Tac Toe
(above), 1994, cast aluminum,
by Richard Beyer. Commissioned by the Class of 1954, the
work represents the intellectual
and playful aspects of college
life. Beyer is known throughout
the Northwest for his intuitively
realistic public art.
Marcus Whitman (below), 1992,
bronze, cast at the Walla Walla
Foundry. The work is an exact
replica of a statue displayed in
Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol
in Washington, D.C. Created
by Avard Fairbanks in 1950,
it depicts medical missionary
Marcus Whitman (1802-1847)
in whose honor Whitman
College was named.
Totem pole, 2000, by Jewell
Praying Wolf James. James
is a master carver and member of the Lummi nation of
northwestern Washington.
The totem pole, carved from
western red cedar, is 24
feet tall. It is carved in a
combination of Coast Salish
and Alaska Native styles.
The stone lantern at the west
end of Lakum Duckum was
part of a Japanese garden
presented to the College in
1962 by Mr. and Mrs. Tokuzo
Yasu of Tokyo, Japan. Their
son, Kinji Yasu, is a member
of the Class of 1962.
The tiki, which stands near
Maxey Hall, celebrates the
contribution to the life of
Whitman College of the many
students from Hawaii and
the Polynesian islands.
March 2003 11